Medium ruby color; bing cherry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, nutmeg, black tea, wild mint, mushroom, baking spices, whisper of vanilla, hint of salinity, earth on the nose and palate.
Dry; mild, accommodating tannin, excellent balancing acidity (3.53 pH; 6.2 g/L). Medium body. Elegant, juicy mouthfeel. The 100% pinot noir grapes included 48% from estate vineyards (Confluence, Gowan Creek, and The Narrows). Small-lot, open-top fermentation with each lot separated by pick day, block, and clone to showcase vineyard character. Aged 16 months in French oak, 48% new, 52% neutral. Finished wines then blended and bottled. 14.2% ABV
Goldeneye Pinot Noir is part of the Duckhorn Portfolio. Dan and Margaret Duckhorn founded Duckhorn Vineyards in 1976. They focused on merlot from the beginning. Today, the seven estate vineyards are located in the Napa Valley and on the slopes of Howell Mountain and produce a number of varietals in addition to the merlot core.
The company is undergoing change. Dan and Margaret divorced in 2000. Dan was named Winemaker of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005. GI Partners, a private equity firm, purchased controlling interest in the Duckhorn Wine Company in 2007. In 2016, TSG Consumer Partners bought the brand and its wineries for a price in the range of $600 million according to published reports. Duckhorn’s portfolio includes Duckhorn Vineyards, Paraduxx, Goldeneye, Migration, Decoy, and Canvasback.
Margaret Duckhorn remained intimately involved in the business even after the winery sales until she died in 2022. Duckorn president and CEO: “Margaret was an icon who changed the face of American wine. She was kind, gracious, collaborative and charitable. Margaret always led by example, and instilled this remarkable sense of camaraderie, which made her a talented leader with a gift for empowering people and building consensus. She was deeply loved and universally respected.”
Founded in 1996, Goldeneye Pinot Noir is a flagship Anderson Valley pinot for Duckhorn. It offers the classic Anderson Valley duality—flashes of wildness balanced by cool-climate restraint, quality acidity, and California opulence. It straddles the taste profile between heavier, warmer-climate California pinots and the etherial, delicate joy of a Willamette Valley effort. Really tasty, delicious fruit.
Goldeneye Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley 2022 is juicy, fleshy, opulent, silky effort. Superb cooler climate California effort that is more refined and elegant than warmer weather efforts from California. Delicious fruit that improves with time in glass. Enchanting finish. Benchmark New World pinot noir. Pairings—roasted chicken, duck confit, herb-crusted quail. Grilled or blackened salmon, saku tuna cabbage rolls. Lamb tagine, porcini-dusted pork tenderloin. Wild mushroom risotto, hasselback beetroot with goat cheese. Cheese—aged gruyère, Point Reyes toma truffle, taleggio with fig jam, brie de meaux, mid-aged gouda; charcuterie board with taleggio, bay blue, aged gruyère, dried cherries, almonds, truffle-infused honey. $45-62
