2018 Black Kite Kite's Rest Pinot Noir [WE93][WS93][JD92][V92]

Producer: Black Kite Cellars
Region: Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Year: 2018 

Wine Enthusiast, 93 Points 

"Lavish ripe fruit flavors meet delicious baking-spice accents in this broad, smooth and mouthfilling wine. It's easy to love for the strawberry, and red- and black-cherry notes and the cinnamon, vanilla and cedar shadings from oak aging." 

Wine Spectator, 93 Points 

"Refined and precise, with hints of red licorice to the sleek assembly of cherry, dried berry and currant flavors. Loamy midpalate, with a long, crisp finish of slate and spice. Drink now through 2026. 929 cases made." 

Jeb Dunnuck, 92 Points 

"Coming from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, the 2018 Pinot Noir Kite's Rest sports a healthy ruby hue to go with savory, herbal, complex aromas of red and black fruits, medium-bodied richness, a nicely layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length on the finish. As with all these Anderson Valley releases, there's a compelling, savory, earthy edge as well as plenty of structure." 

Vinous, 92 Points 

"Shimmering ruby-red. Intensely perfumed scents of ripe red fruit, potpourri and baking spices, along with a hint of smoky minerality that emerges with air. Sweet and fleshy on the palate, showing bright, spicy lift to its sappy, concentrated cherry-vanilla, boysenberry and floral pastille flavors. Deepens with air and finishes on a subtly tannic note, with repeating blue fruit character and a hint of candied licorice." 

Winemaker Notes: 

"Kite's Rest Pinot Noir is the wine that Black Kite's estate hillside vineyard in Anderson Valley was designed to produce. It is a blend of three different clones (Dijon 114 and 115 and Pommard) from the three distinct vineyard blocks (Redwoods' Edge, Stony Terrace and River Turn) in the vineyard. This wine offers a wonderful balance between the elegance and aromatics of the Redwoods' Edge block with the richness and length of the Pommard clone from the Stony Terrace and River Turn blocks." 

Alcohol: 14.5% 

*Price and availability in store may vary. Vintage date may differ from pictured.