Wine Of The Week: Gary Farrell Russian River Select Pinot Noir
An intense California red with big, lush notes of wild strawberry and raspberry.
When Gary Farrell started working in California’s Russian River Valley in the 1970s when he was in his early 20s, the Sonoma County region wasn’t yet known for wine. Instead of vineyards, it was dotted with redwoods. But by the 1980s, winemaking was blooming and Farrell had started focusing on single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, each that captures a different part of the valley. Even today they have dozens of different wins, each showing off tiny little vineyards around the region. (Collect ‘em all, then compare and contrast!)
The Russian River Selection shows off all of the above—some grapes from Bacigalupi (run by grape growing legend Pam Bacigalupi), some from over in Sebastopol, some from up in Santa Rosa (it’s crisp and cool up there). It’s an intense red with big, lush notes of wild strawberry and raspberry, rose metal and a bit of redwood. $50
