95 Points | International Wine Cellar , May/June 2001

Full deep red. Blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, mocha, brown sugar, earth and smoke on the nose; comes across as spicier today than the 2000 (see below). Very deep and chewy; sappy and spicy. Truly three-dimensional in texture. Finishes with noble tannins and superb persistence. My early look at the Marcassin 2000s from the Sonoma Coast, from vineyards planted by the Martinelli family to the specifications of Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer, as well as from Turley and Wetlaufer own Marcassion Vineyard site, turned up a spectacular set of young wines. In particular, the pinot noir from Marcassin Vineyard, with its extraordinary aromatic complexity and amazingly silky texture and depth of flavor, is potentially the best wine to date from this site, which may well make it the greatest pinot yet produced in America. However, it is premature to publish notes on these wines, as they will not be released until 2004.

95 Points | Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate