Whisper Wines - Our Wines

We currently produce Vinas 3 Pinot Noir, 4 different AVA designated Pinot Noirs under our Row Eleven brand, The Riddler Red Blend, and Wm Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of the wines is crafted to showcase the varietals and the respective terroir of our source vineyards. The wines have received multiple prestigious awards over the years and reflect well on Richard’s winemaking skills.

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Our Pinot Noirs

‍Depending on the vintage, we produce 5 different Pinot Noirs. With each of these expressions, the winemaker showcases how very different pinot noir can be depending on the clonal variety and the terroir. The US wine industry is very young compared to our European counterparts. US Vineyards are primarily planted to specific clones of Pinot Noir. A clone is a cultivar from one “mother plant” that is propagated over and over because of specific desirable attributes. There are hundreds of different Pinot Noir clones. Different clones develop differently in the vineyard depending on rootstock and terroir. Said another way, not all clones work well everywhere. In Burgundy, where Pinot Noir is king and has been cultivated for thousands of years, the growers have relied on a process called massal selection. New vines are planted from cuttings from several of the best vines in the vineyard(s) rather than propagating a single vine. To learn more, check out these two great articles, one published by Winesearcher and another published by WineFolly. Pinot mutates very easily in the vineyard and different clonal types of the grape do not yield the same wine profile. That’s one reason why red Burgundy wines (exclusively Pinot Noir) range in price from $10-$12 for Bourgogne labeled wine to over $20,000 for Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

Vinas 3 Pinot Noir 2021

‍We continue to focus on blending multiple clones of Pinot Noir from several California coastal AVA's to produce a jammy California style of Pinot Noir. Each clone from these different vineyards adds unique characteristics to the finished wine.
We cold soak all our grapes for maximum extraction of color and flavor. Fruit from each vineyard source is fermented separately and barrel aged separately then carefully blended and rested before bottling.

Garnet red in color with a fruity & earthy nose. Flavors of jammy fruit led by bright cherry and raspberries with touches of mocha, vanilla and toasty oak on the finish; soft tannins and long finish.
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pH: 3.62
TA: .62
Alc: 13.4%
Brix at harvest: 24.5

Notes

Tasting

Row Eleven Vinas 3 Pinot Noir 2020

Notes

Tasting

$19.99

$14.99 flat rate shipping
Shipping included on 12 or more

Row Eleven Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2020

Lingering spring and summer fog and the cool coastal climate make Santa Barbara county the perfect place to grow Pinot Noir. Our 2018 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is a crafted from multiple Dijon clones. It exhibits earthy aromas and rich flavors of dark fruit and raspberries.

Deep red in color with a briary nose. Flavors of ripe red fruit led by dark cherry and cranberry with notes of bacon fat, mocha, hints of vanilla and toasty oak on the finish; soft tannins and long finish.

pH: 3.62
TA: .62
Alc: 14.5%
Brix at harvest: 24.5

Notes

Tasting

Row Eleven Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2020

When people hear Napa Valley Pinot Noir, the first thought is typically of the Carneros region that runs along the bottom of Sonoma County & the Napa Valley. The fruit for our Napa Valley expression comes off the top of Atlas Peak, where the 30 degree diurnal temperature change is great for the development of flavor and acid in the grapes.

Bright garnet in color and ripe cherry nose. Flavors of cherry syrup and grenadine are balanced by crisp acidity and dry soft tannin.
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pH: 3.5
TA: .63
Alc: 14.1%
Brix at harvest: 26

Notes

Tasting

$34.99

$14.99 flat rate shipping
Shipping included on 12 or more

Row Eleven Russian River Pinot Noir 2020

‍The Russian River Valley appellation is arguably California’s best known region for Burgundian varietals of Chardonnay & Pinot Noir. With the exception of some parts of the appellation, like Chalk Hill, it is primarily a cool climate growing region, perfect for Pinot Noir. The Green Valley sub-appellation and areas surrounding, where our grapes come from, are the coolest parts of Russian River. This wine was one of two Pinot Noirs that winemaker, Richard de los Reyes, released under the Row Eleven brand in 2004.

Deep red, translucent appearance; aromas of ripe black cherry, violets and briar; supple texture and flavors of cherry and red berries are capped by light vanilla and juicy acidity; long finish.

pH: 3.4
TA: .6
Alc: 14.7
Brix at harvest: 25.6

Notes

Tasting

Row Eleven Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2020

‍The Santa Maria Valley is located along California's Central Coast in the northern reaches of Santa Barbara County. The valley runs east west and acts like a funnel drawing in the cool coastal fog that forms over the Pacific nightly throughout the growing season. The fog settles over the vineyards and provides a cool blanket over the grapes. The cooling effects of the fog and Pacific slow the grape ripening process and promote flavor and acid development in the grapes.

Dark garnet color and aromas of dark cherry, ripe strawberries and earthy mushrooms. Flavors of cherry & rhubarb; full mouthfeel supported by long finish and soft tannins.
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pH: 3.4
TA: .6
Alc: 14.1%
Brix at harvest: 25.4

Notes

Tasting

More than a Pinot

Although we are passionate about our Row Eleven brand, we believe there is more to wine than just Pinot Noir. That said, we also produce three other red wines, The Riddler Red Blend, Hand Carved Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet and Wm Hall Napa Valley Cabernet. Our approach to these wines is quite different. The Riddler is a concept we started working on with winemaker, Richard de los Reyes, over twelve years ago. Over the years, we sampled many different California red blends that had great fruit forward profiles but lacked the depth of structure and balance to enjoy more than a glass. Our goal was to craft a fruit forward wine that was supported by integrated tannins and a soft ripe acidity. This is the essence of The Riddler.

Hand Carved is a very limited production wine we produce primarily for family and friends. It undergoes extended barrel and bottle aging before release and is rarely released for sale. Wm Hall Napa Valley Cabernet is a collaboration with Bill Hall and his team at Halls Chophouse. The fruit is sourced from Oakville and the winemaker has crafted a wine that we believe has the perfect combination of fruit, tannin and acid to pair with Halls legendary steaks.

The Riddler Red Blend Lot 12

Like many producers on California's North Coast, our growers have been affected by the fires that have beset the region in what now seems like annual fire events. We have expanded our fruit sourcing beyond Napa and now work with growers in 3 of the 5 counties that comprise California's North Coast appellation as well as a fantastic Lodi vineyard. This gives us greater capability to continue to produce the profile we've established over the last thirteen plus years. Those of you that have followed this wine over the years, know that we not only blend multiple grape varieties, but we also blend across different vintages to build depth in the finished wine. Hence, this has always been a lot release number not a vintage dated wine.

Dark purple in color and full bodied. Aromas of violets and plum and rich flavors of dark currants, boysenberry, pomegranate, closing with hints of vanilla and oak. Dry tea like tannins show up mid-palate and juicy acidity on the finish.
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TA: .5
Alc: 14.1%
Brix at harvest: 26

Notes

Tasting

Hand Carved Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

‍In 2017 we produced 20 barrels of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit was sourced from a special vineyard off Soda Canyon Road north of Chimney Rock Road. Winemaker Ricardo d’ selected 2 barrels to hold for extended aging. The wine spent 26 months in new French oak and 13 months in bottle before release.

We released all 48 cases of this reserve wine under our Hand Carved label in February. Most of the cases were snapped up by members of our friends and family email list. We are offering the remaining cases through the website. This wine is drinking great and will continue to improve in bottle for several years to come.

Deep purple in color with hints of garnet along the rim; the nose is full of lavender and currants and hints of oak that give way to ripe currant, black berry and cocoa on the pallet. Juicy acidity and drying tannins complete the long finish.

Notes

Tasting