2005 Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch
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Tasting notes
Medium red. Flamboyant dark berry aromas, with intense floral and blood orange accents given depth by a suggestion of cured tobacco. Plush mulberry and boysenberry flavors are deep, round and sweet, but there's ample acidity to give the wine energy and focus. Bright red berry tones come up on the finish, which boasts striking precision and length. This is awfully sexy right now.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Closed and dominated by allspice, clove, and herbaceous black cherry notes is the 2005 Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch (610 cases). This is a relatively bigger, more masculine style of Pinot Noir, with forest floor notes and loads of body and tannin. It will need time to round into shape. Kudos to the Martinelli family, one of the great old winemaking families of Northern California. (They also produce exquisite apples as well.) Previously recommended: 2004 Chardonnay Charles Ranch (91); 2004 Chardonnay Martinelli Road (94); 2004 Chardonnay Woolsey Road (92); 2004 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch (89?); 2004 Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge (92); 2004 Pinot Noir Bondi Home Ranch Water Trough Vineyard (89); 2004 Pinot Noir Moonshine Ranch (92); 2004 Pinot Noir Zio Tony Ranch (90); 2004 Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa (93); 2004 Jackass Vineyard (93); 2004 Jackass Hill Vineyard (95) Tel. (707) 525-0570; Fax (707) 525-9463
About the producer
Martinelli is a Sonoma benchmark for vineyard-designate bottlings—wines built to highlight how strongly a single site can shape Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Zinfandel. Across the range, the focus stays consistent: small-production bottlings that feel distinctly tied to where they’re grown.