2012 William Knuttel Pinot Noir Rued Mount Olivet Vineyard Russian River Valley is sold out.

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2012 William Knuttel Pinot Noir Rued Mount Olivet Vineyard Russian River Valley 750 ml

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“Once Pinot Noir Gets its Hooks in You, It Doesn’t Let Go”

After almost a decade at Saintsbury, where he fashioned some of the richest, most elegant Pinot Noirs on the coast, Bill Knuttel finally moved north to Dry Creek, where he focused his winemaking talents on warmer-climate varieties. But, as any passionate winemaker will tell you, once Pinot Noir gets its hooks in you, it just doesn’t let go.

So, even as Knuttel fashioned some of the most lavish, full-throttle old-vine Zinfandels in Sonoma, he spent weekends scouring the Russian River Valley, teasing himself into rekindling the Pinot Noir fire. “Every Saturday, before I went scavenging, I reminded myself to walk away from whatever I might find. I was just getting my life back into balance. I needed a Pinot Noir project like I needed a hole in the head.”

For a couple of years, Bill remained disciplined. He ran up and down the hillsides outside of Occidental, then pushed north, to the warmer reaches of the valley. Every so often, he went so far as to go through the charade of grape contract negotiation — only to retract his offer a week or two later.

Finally, one Saturday in March, Knuttel did what he swore he’d never do, and took the plunge.

In our opinion and the winemaker’s, this 2012 Russian River Pinot Noir, drawn from a mix of Swan, Dijon 777, and Pommard clones, is the richest, most wildly opulent Pinot Noir ever crafted by the brilliant Mr. Knuttel. Spring 2012 was cool and dry, making for an excellent and quite regular fruit set. This was the first of four drought years in California. The summer was exceedingly dry. Barely a drop of rain fell on Rued Mt. Olivet from June to the end of August. Harvest came early, under near-perfect conditions. Clusters were pristine, sugars high, while acids remained firm and crisp.

Brilliant dark-ruby. Gorgeous aromas of crushed raspberry, black cherry, and sweet herbs. Rich, sleek, and opulent on the attack, with a big, juicy core of black- and red-fruit preserves, still perfectly poised and light on its feet. The finish, as always on Rued Mt. Olivet Vineyard, is textbook Russian River — long, bracing, and high-toned. Drink now-2019.


$45 at the winery. A tad over HALF OFF today — ONLY on WineAccess. Shipping included on 6.