Pinot Noir

In a typical vintage, we ferment some 25 different lots (or batches) of Pinot noir, each composed of grapes grown on separate areas of the Dehlinger property, allowing the wine from each area of the vineyard to express its unique topography. As the wines develop in barrel, we are tasked with finding the most harmonious combinations of these distinct lots by creating blends that highlight the best traits the vintage has to offer.

Dehlinger Pinot noirs, sourced from our estate vineyards on Vine Hill Road, are considered a reference point for the variety in the Russian River Valley. Luscious and balanced, with a striking purity of fruit, these wines capture the potential of this great winegrowing region.

The 25 acres of Pinot noir vines were planted in two main groupings: the first between 1975-1989, and the second between 2011-2014. The clones of Pinot noir are primarily Pommard and Swan, with smaller amounts of Martini, Clone 943, Calera, and Mount Eden. The property thus features a diversity of vine ages, soil types, and clones, and our winemaking approach centers on studying individual sections of land and the wines they produce.

We aim to produce Pinot noirs that showcase the special features of our property — be it soil type, vine age, or vineyard block. Through our blending process, we create two Pinot noirs each vintage from the two main soil types in which our Pinot vines grow: Goldridge Pinot noir and Altamont Pinot noir. Dehlinger's Goldridge Pinot noir, with its bright aromatics, appealing red fruit flavor profile, and approachable structure, pays homage to the deeper goldridge soils where the vines tend to grow more vigorously. Dehlinger's Altamont Pinot noir celebrates the hilltop sections of the vineyard, where red, clay-rich soil dominates. The Altamont Pinot noir showcases darker fruit flavors and enticing baking-spice aromas, and the inclusion of a small amount of whole clusters in the fermentation lends greater structure and enhanced aging potential in this sought-after wine.

When the quantity and quality of a given vintage permit, we will highlight specific portions of the vineyard with special bottlings. Octagon is our oldest special bottling, named for the vineyard surrounding The Octagon, an eight-sided house Tom Dehlinger built in the 1970s. Champ de Mars is a section of vineyard with a soil color reminiscent of the red surface of the planet Mars, and the special Pinot bottling named for this section combines some of the oldest and youngest vines on the property.

High Plains originates from a privileged, high-elevation section of our vineyard planted in 1989, whose dry soils produce especially densely-flavored fruit. Renatus is a selection of wines made from our youngest generation of Pinot vines, which produce a dark, structured wine that serves as a counter point to the various “Old Vine” bottlings we have offered over the years. In some vintages we have combined our top lots under the designation Reserve.

We have added a wine simply labeled “Russian River Valley” to the Dehlinger portfolio in recent years. This wine, also from grapes grown on our Vine Hill Road property, demonstrates the authentic character of our region.