94 Points Lisa Perrotti-Brown's The Wine Palate
Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2023 Blue Jay Pinot Noir skips out with cheery notes of raspberry pie and kirsch with hints of spice cake, lilacs, and fallen leaves. The full-bodied palate delivers intense red fruit preserves flavors with a racy line and plush texture, finishing long and savory
93 Points Owen Bargreen
Wild blackberry and black cherry and shades of gran-cola. They incorporate roasted stems in the blend as this offers refined tannins with bright red and dark fruits, with salty soils and a smooth texture.
92 Points James Suckling
A full-bodied, berry-forward wine with a luscious mouthfeel and plush tannins. Broad and voluptuous with sweet toasted oak in the finish.
91 Points Wine Spectator
Plump, soft and friendly in feel, with lightly steeped red and black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with touches of sandalwood and wood spice. A light twinge of briar on the finish adds nice energy.
Winemaker Notes
About This Wine: Our Blue Jay is sourced from a unique set of vineyards from 'The Corner' of Anderson Valley - located in the hills to the East of Boonville. Both of our estate properties have steep hillsides, aspect, and light gravelly soils that combine to create optimal ripening conditions. These very rugged vineyard sites continuously produce fruit of great depth and character.
Tasting Notes: The 2023 'Blue Jay' Pinot Noir is rich with aromas of dark cherry, briary fruits, and loamy earth. The smooth, silky palate gains extra depth from the inclusion of roasted stems during fermentation, enhancing the structural tension and spice notes of the wine. Dark fruit flavors lead to a finish graced with notes of licorice, clove, and black tea.
Vintage Notes: Remarkably cool and late, the 2023 vintage produced wines of singular character and quality. The winter season started wet, with record rainstorms and mountaintop snowfall, leaving aquifers full and vines healthy. A cool spring indicated the later harvest to come, with a late start to budbreak and a long flowering period on the vines that was accompanied by wildflower super blooms. Through mild summer temperatures the vines set an ample crop load with strong canopy growth. After patient waiting and long hangtimes, warm weather came at just the right moment in fall to push ripeness to completion, resulting in wines that are deep, vital, and age worthy.
