DuMol Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

1 August 2015: Bright ruby. Intense aromatics, characterised by bright and ripe fruit, with nuances of black cherry, violet, sage, hint of sous-bois. Silky fine-grained tannin and vibrant acidity giving the wine a balanced structure, against the substantial richness of bright fruit. Slightly warming alcohol at finish (14.3% abv). Finishes long. Drinking very well now and over the next 5 - 6 years.


Michael Verlander and Kerry Murphy started DuMol in 1996, driven by a keen passion for Burgundy wines. Since 2000, they had been joined by winemaker and viticulturist Andy Smith who also became Partner of the business in 2005. Smith came with a strong CV, with prior experience under Neil McCallum (Dry River, Martinborough), Ted Lemon (Littorai) and Paul Hobbs. This bottle we tried was an Estate Vineyard bottling, from vines in the Green Valley appellation. Russian River Valley is endowed with substantial daytime warmth (Region III according to UC Davis Degree-Days scale), but is sufficiently moderated by cool nights and morning fogs to ensure slow ripening, an aspect extremely beneficial for Pinot.


2011 would be the fifth vintage of this estate bottling. Pinot clones Calera, Swan, Pommard, 667 and 777 have been planted in the estate vineyard. Burgundian stylistically. Natural yeast and natural MLF. Aged 14 months in approximately 50% new French oak barrels, before bottling unfiltered.