A gorgeous deep ruby with purple hues, the 2019 CIX Pinot Noir captivates with wild red berries and black cherry compote interlaced with notions of sage, rosemary, and steeped Ceylon tea. A distinctly floral note completes the nose while the entry entices the palate with blood orange extract, spiced black fruits, and an intriguing mineral complexity.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2019 Pinot Noir CIX Estate sails out of the glass with Morello cherries, raspberry preserves and rhubarb notes leading to a very earthy undercurrent of mossy tree bark, forest floor and truffles plus an emerging hint of wild blueberries. Full-bodied, rich, plush and dangerously decadent in the mouth, the palate delivers loads of cerebral layers with a very long cinnamon and spice-laced finish.
- James Suckling: Ripe red cherries, ripe strawberries, tamarind, ground spice and Mediterranean herbs on the aromatic nose. Such a smooth texture with velvety tannins and full body. Full of fruit and succulent on the palate with baking and cooking spice. Bright minerality and articulate salinity accentuate the red and black fruit, really bringing them to life on the palate. Earthy ground spice. Oolong, too.
Producer Information
Aubert is a small Chardonnay and Pinot Noir estate that makes wine from single-vineyard sites in Napa Valley and Sonoma. It was founded by Mark and Teresa Aubert in 1999, and today, is considered to be one of California’s cult producers.
The first vintage of Aubert was in 2000 – a Chardonnay sourced from the Ritchie Vineyard in Russian River Valley. It quickly received acclaim for its full-blown, hedonistic style and was pivotal for company’s success. Although the vineyard is no longer within the company’s holdings, the Burgundian syle in which the Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay was produced, remains as the production style throughout the wine portfolio. The chardonnay wines are barrel-fermented and aged in French oak, a majority of which is new.
Aubert’s portfolio has since expanded to an array of single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, sourced from multiple vineyard sites in Russian River and Rutherford as well as Napa and Sonoma. Each wine in Aubert’s portfolio is named after the parcel of vineyard from which it is sourced and production is extremely limited. The Lauren vineyard is eight acres (3.2 hectares) of Chardonnnay, named after the founder’s daughter and was the first estate vineyard of Aubert. Today, the compnay counts over ten different vineyards within its holdings.
