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2007 Hot New Dozen Pinot Producers
—Wine Spectator
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2006 VINTAGE REVIEWS:
91 pts
2006 Black Kite "River Turn" Pinot Noir
"Shows off a distinctive loganberry and wild plum flavor that's complex and appealing. Elegant, balanced and well-focused on the fruit, this picks up a nice anise and cedary oak edge that's a joy to drink. Drink now through 2015"
90 pts
2006 Black Kite "River Turn" Pinot Noir
Well-focused on elegant black cherry ad red plum fruit. Delicate tight and complex, with subtle spice, cedar and mineral notes, ending with a clean, lip-smacking finish.
93pts
2006 Kite's Rest Vineyard Pinot Noir
"Black Kite has established itself in a short time as a winery to watch from the increasingly impressive Anderson Valley. The grapes for this bottling are from the "deep end", the coolest, foggiest part of the appellation, and the wine is firm in acids. Yet it's supple and silky and elegant with bracing cherry, currant, balsam, soy and oak flavors that are complex and delicious."
90pts
2006 Black Kite Cellars "River Turn" Pinot Noir
A bit reserved at first but lifting and unfolding with air, this very pleasant bottling starts in the nose with sweet cherry aromas and then picks up creamy, quietly toasty oak notes. Full and balanced on the palate, direct at this writing but suggesting bits of layered complexity in the late going, this wine wants a few years in the cellar to show at its best.
92pts
2006 Black Kite Cellars "River Turn" Pinot Noir
The debut release for this north-facing vineyard block within the estate Kite's Rest Vineyard in the valley's remote, chilly "Deep End." This unfined, unfiltered Pinot offers dark berry-strawberry aromas enhanced with vanilla custard and a touch of mushroom. Fleshy, round and silky smooth with medium tannins, the flavors focus on juicy wild strawberry with a touch of oak spice; elegant yet generous, lingering nicely in the close.
91pts
2006 Black Kite Cellars "Kite's Rest" Pinot Noir
Intense, fragrant nose of cinnamon-clove spice, ripe, just-crushed dark berries, mocha and lavender with a hint of pomegranate juice. Super smooth and juicy with medium tannins, this is an elegant Pinot with generous flavors that replicate the nose, together with wonderfully focused acidity. The long finish takes on a framboise-like richness.
90pts
2006 Black Kite Cellars "Stony Terrace" Pinot Noir
Alluring, complex nose of freshly crushed wild strawberry accented by notes of mocha and mushroom. Seamless and round with medium tannins, this is a superbly elegant rendering of Pinot, with spice shadings the pure wild berry fruit that resounds into the extended close.
 PinotFile
2006 Black Kite "Kite's Rest" Pinot Noir
This wine draws you in with terrific black cherry, dark chocolate and spicy oak scents. Richly layered with dark fruits including plum with a nice side-car of oak. Velvety in texture, clean, and beautifully composed. This one cap- tures both the power and finesse of Pinot Noir. Everything you could want and some things you didnšt know to ask for. Flat out terrific."
2005 VINTAGE REVIEWS:
91pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
A beautiful Pinot Noir, deep ruby/purple with notes of blueberry, raspberry, and sweet cherry, the fruit dominates in a relatively complex style. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, with good fresh acidity, a cool-climate mouthfeel, but beautiful precision, elegance, and purity. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.
Wine Advocate # 174, Dec 2007 - Robert Parker
93 pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Redwoods' Edge" Pinot Noir
"Smooth, rich and polished with a pretty array of loamy blackberry, plum and wildberry flavors"
91 pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
"Richly flavored, with pure plum, blackberry and wild berry flavors"
94 pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Stony Terrace" Pinot Noir
"Big, deep and balanced, this Pinot needs time but the ripe and rich flavors really come through right now."
92 pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars Anderson Valley
"Big and deep with tremendously complex flavors"
92 pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Redwoods' Edge"
"Rich, deep and complex with a great broad core of cherry fruit"
91pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Redwoods' Edge" Pinot Noir
"Tastes beautifully ripe and supple, with complex fruit, spice and oak flavors that are supported by an intricate acid tannin structure. A terrific wine."
91pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Stony Terrace" Pinot Noir
"The biggest of the winery's three '05's... in its voluptuousness and rich mouthfeel.
"The style is deep and complex with a great core of fruit"
Black Kite Cellars is truly a family venture-three generations of the Green family are involved in the winery's day to day operations. Donald and Maureen Green moved to Sonoma County in 1987. Donald had founded three telecommunications companies in the North Bay and was an avid ornithologist; Maureen a dedicated animal lover. They wanted to be a part of the agricultural lifestyle of the area. They purchased the 40-acre parcel in the Anderson Valley that would become the Black Kite Vineyard in 1995. The land is in the "Deep End" area of the valley along the Navarro River near the town of Philo and had an old Gewurztraminer vineyard in the lower blocks down by the river. In 1999, The Greens replanted the vineyard to Pinot Noir and added two additional blocks up the hill from the river. The three blocks are Redwoods' Edge at the top of the property, Stony Terrace in the middle and River Turn along the river. Donald and Maureen's two daughters, Rebecca Green Birdsall and Victoria Green Comfort, and grandson Michael Green are also involved in Black Kite. Rebecca oversees all winery operations including working with winemaker Jeff Gaffner (his family's label is Saxon Brown). Pinot bottlings include an Anderson Valley blend and two block specific bottlings-Redwoods' Edge and Stony Terrace. The style is deep and complex with a great core of fruit. Oh, and the name-Black Kite Cellars-comes from one of birder Donald Green's favorite birds now known as the White Tailed Kite. This mostly white falcon-shaped raptor used to be known as the Black Shouldered Kite. The Greens got creative, shortened the name and changed the bird on the label to all black and a brand was born.
Black Kite Cellars: The Vineyards Speak...and the Pinot Noir Sings
"The three blocks ripen with such individual character that (winemaker) Gaffner made four wines from the 2006 vintage: one each from the three blocks and one blend of all three. Production volumes are small, but these are wines worth seeking out".
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Stony Terrace" Pinot Noir
"The plum and cherry flavors in this wine are just beautiful, like the Mona Lisa is beautiful - you don't want to tear yourself away from the sensation"
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"I love the Pommard clone of Pinot Noir, and in my experience it loves cool places in California such as Green Valley and Anderson Valley. This particular wine comes from a four-acre block of Pommard planted in 1999 on the brow of a hill overlooking the Navarro River. I was in some disbelief about the wine when I saw the color (inky black), because Pommard doesn't usually get that dark. Then I started sniffing and sipping and I didn't care about the color anymore. It could have been orange for all I cared."
"The plum and cherry flavors in this wine are just beautiful, like the Mona Lisa is beautiful - you don't want to tear yourself away from the sensation. There are also harmonious layers of light chocolate, nougat and nutmeg, which pick up the sweeter cherry highlights in fascinating ways. The entry is voluptuous (again, I'm not used to writing things like this about 100% Pommard Pinot), and the tannins are about as good as winemaking can get them: abundant, well-mannered and ageable. All in all, a complete wine that stays true to Pommard's spicy red sweetness long, long into the aftertaste."
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Redwood's Edge" Pinot Noir
"The wine has beautiful body and good weight.When I close my eyes, I can almost smell the evergreens. Or perhaps that's just the cool dark sweetness of the wine activating my memories of the site itself."
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"The upper block ("Redwoods' Edge") of the Black Kite Vineyard in Anderson Valley is all Dijon clones (114 and 115), which helps the grapes get ripe despite being tucked up against a dense, shadow-casting grove of redwood and evergreen trees on two sides. The vines run downhill due north, so they're getting as much western sun as the site allows, and vineyard manager Paul Ardzrooni is letting them come along slowly since they were planted in 1999. Normally vines this young express more of their clonal personality than their site, but there's already plenty of Anderson Valley and Black Kite Vineyard in this wine."
"By that I mean dry earth and chanterelle mushrooms laced into intense raspberry, strawberry and black cherry flavors. The wine has beautiful body and good weight, which you would expect from Dijon clones; these qualities are complemented by bright acid and balancing grape tannins - Anderson Valley hallmarks - and there's impressive length. When I close my eyes, I can almost smell the evergreens. Or perhaps that's just the cool dark sweetness of the wine activating my memories of the site itself."
2005 Black Kite Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
"This wine goes beyond interplay to find intense harmony. Winemaker Jeff Gaffner also polished the tannins well, giving this powerful young red some finesse to go along with its cool, dense core of sweetness that runs deep into the finish."
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"The label says "Anderson Valley" but this is a true single-vineyard wine, from the 12-acre Black Kite Vineyard sloping up the hill on the southwestern side of the Navarro river. The vines are still under ten years old, but they are farmed cleanly and not over cropped. They're also defying conventional wisdom by occupying a north-facing slope. (Perhaps they get inspired by looking across the river at the estate vineyards of Husch, Londer, and Roederer.) In terms of plant material, the wine is mostly Pommard with some Dijon clones (114 and 115)."
"Aromatically, you get exactly what you might expect from that combination: spicy red plumminess over intense jammy blackberry and black cherries. What you don't always get from a mix of older and new clones is sinuous interplay between the two clonal personalities; this wine goes beyond interplay to find intense harmony. Winemaker Jeff Gaffner also polished the tannins well, giving this powerful young red some finesse to go along with its cool, dense core of sweetness that runs deep into the finish."
93pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars "Redwood's Edge" Pinot Noir
91pts
2005 Black Kite Cellars Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
IN THE NEWS:
Robert Whitley, On Wine
Black Kite is a dream come true
Read the full story
Tasting your way through Anderson Valley's unique treasures (Marin Magazine Nov., 2007)
"The future of the valley can be seen in wines like Black Kite Cellars."
More...
"Located along the deep end section of the Navarro River, this boutique winery is known for sustainably made Pinot Noirs that continually sell out. Named for the endangered black-shouldered kite, a native of the valley, the wine is produced by three generations of the Green family. With the vines in Anderson Valley, the wine made in Healdsburg and business operations in Sonoma and San Francisco, the vino has become a fixture across the entire North Bay."
Virginie Boone, WINEABOUT
I had the lucky occasion yesterday to taste through the 2005 Pinot Noirs from Black Kite Cellars... Read the full story
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