Raen 2024 Pacific Rock Vineyard Pinot Noir, Fort Ross-Seaview

100 points - limited release                      
The limited production Pacific Rock Vineayrd Pinot Noir comes from a new generation of Mondavis, Carlo & Dante. Limited.

100 Points James Suckling: "An incredible debut wine, showing beautiful aromas of strawberries, cantaloupe, flint and dried seaweed, as well as iodine and dried flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, with Musigny-like power, a magical flex of tannins and closed, poised fruit. Endless. Nothing like this in California pinot noir. Drinkable now, but wait five years if you have the patience."

Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "A new wine in this range, the 2024 Pinot Noir Pacific Rock emerges from McDougall, a well-known site in Fort Ross-Seaview. Bold and explosive, the 2024 possesses tremendous textural depth and intensity. Dark-toned fruit, new leather, cedar, cloves, menthol and licorice fill out the layers. This imposing, broad-scaled Pinot has a lot to offer. There’s a bit of toughness in the tannin that needs to be addressed, but this is nevertheless a very fine debut. I expect the Pacific Rock will continue to improve now that the vineyard is being transitioned to organic farming, a process that takes 7-10 years to show full results....These are some of the finest wines I have tasted from RAEN.”

...Raen focuses on coastal sites where fruit can ripen at relatively low sugars. The wines are fermented with ambient yeasts and see a good deal of whole clusters. In tasting, the Raen Pinots convey the essence of site with tremendous depth and intensity, but no excess weight. Perhaps even more importantly, these are wines of real personality and breed. Don't miss them."

When Robert Mondavi Winery was sold in 2004, the brothers joined their father Tim, Aunt-Marcia and grandfather Robert as they founded Continuum in 2005. In 2013 Carlo and Dante founded RAEN winery with the goal to produce world class Pinot Noir on the western hills of the Sonoma Coast. RAEN currently focuses on making three Pinot Noirs, from three unique sites on the Sonoma Coast.