2021 Martinelli Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch Vineyard

2021 Martinelli Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch Vineyard

2021 Martinelli Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch Vineyard Taking on a richer hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch is ripe and expressive with black cherry, dark wet stone, and anise. Full-bodied, it’s packed with ripe wild black raspberry, ripe tannins, and a bit of iron-rich earth. It has good structure and broad shoulders, with balanced acidity to hold it together. Cellar this another couple of years and drink it 2025-2035. 96pts JD

A fruit-driven red, with a large core of mulberry, blackberry and black cherry fruit flavors that fan out steadily, picking up light anise, fruitcake and incense notes along the way. Showy, but with a beautifully subtle mineral thread as well, which vibrates precisely just underneath the encore of fruit on the lengthy finish. Drink now through 2032. 512 cases made. 95pts Wine Spectator

The 2021 Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch has pure, layered aromas of cranberry sauce, red cherries and orange peel plus nuances of rosewater, tea leaves and earth. The light-bodied palate is soft, supple and refreshing with delicate, floral fruit, and it has an ethereal, spicy finish. 95pts Parker’s WA

Aromas of Blood Orange peel, wet earth, and blackberry preserves fill your nose. Balanced acidity upon the entry and the palate is enhanced with flavors of black cherry, hibiscus, and  raspberry tea. The finish is weighty and long and accompanied by flavors of orange peel. Winemaker

If there is a first family of the Russian River Valley. It would be the Martinelli’s. The Martinelli family has been growing grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1887. At the ages of 19 and 16, Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini left their small village in the Tuscany region of Italy and made their way to California looking for land to farm and start a winery. Giuseppe had been a winemaker in Italy and with his viticultural knowledge, he was hired to plant a vineyard for a farmer in Forestville. 100 years later, the historic Martinelli Estate vineyards are farmed by Lee Martinelli, Sr., and sons Lee, Jr. and George Martinelli.

They make some of the greatest Pinot Noir in California. They are made in tiny lots from specific sites that are extremely hard to get and are some of the greatest Russian River Pinot Noir I have ever tasted. We have the Martinelli Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch Vineyard 2021 for you, 95pts Spectator and 95pt Parker, from the great 2021 vintage that received 96pts by the Wine Spectator for the vintage which is the highest they have rated a vintage going back 28 years. The “Zio Tony Ranch” is named after Lee Martinelli Sr.’s uncle which was acquired in 1959. This is one of the great wines made in this great vintage. It combines the spectacular fruit only found in Russian River Pinot’s with the complexity, layering and length. If you are crazy about California Pinot, look no further.