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Saturday, September 28, 2019

2014 RAEN Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert Cuvée (Sonoma Coast)


13.3% abv 

Produced by Carlo and Dante Mondavi (sons of Tim Mondavi). The RSR cuvée is named in honor of their grandfather, Robert Mondavi.

Palate of purple berry and cardamom balanced with a savory streak of minerality. Masculine fruit structure framed with fine-grained tannins. Gorgeous nose of violets and sous bois. This is a really nice pinot noir.

Paired beautifully with whole roasted Branzino and to-die-for Pommes Anna.

In 5 years or so it should be at peak with more evolved tertiary development.

In a blind tasting, I would have guessed this to be a Morey Saint-Denis premier cru, possibly Les Ruchots...?

RAEN (which stands for ‘Research in Agriculture and Enology Naturally’) was conceived as a validation of the Sonoma Coast as one of California’s most important terroirs for Pinot Noir.

The vineyard source is located near the town of Freestone in the hills overlooking Bodega Bay. 

ELEVATION: 658 feet
SOIL: Lower parcel: well-drained Goldridge Sandy Loam and Steinbeck Fine Sandy Loam. 
Upper parcel: Iron-rich Franciscan sandstone 
EXPOSURE: SouthEast
CLONES: Dijon 667, 828, Calera, PN-VR1

Vinfied using 70% whole cluster with wild-native fermentation. Aged for 10 months in 60 gallon French barrels and one puncheon with no new oak.

2014 was the second vintage produced at RAEN with 18 barrrels of the RSR cuvée.

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