Region:Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California

Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir

Tasting notes: Raen's 2018 Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert is a fabulous introduction to these wines. Airy, gracious and beautifully perfumed, the Royal St. Robert is especially lifted in this vintage. Aromas of red cherry, rose petals, violets, coastal forest floor, wet rock, and lifted red and black berries fill the bowl. Black tea, damp sun-kissed earth, savory herbs, forest berries, and floral notes persist and harken back to the site where the grapes were grown.

Producer: As winemakers and farmers, Carlo and Dante attribute a great deal of what they have learned to their grandfather Robert and father Tim, both whom influenced them from a young age. Carlo and Dante’s father Tim was a pioneer for California Pinot Noir in the early 1970s and has always had a tremendous regard for the great wines of Burgundy. To this day his Pinot Noirs from the 1970s are showing incredibly well. Carlo and Dante credit their father’s passion for Pinot Noir as the early inspiration that got them excited at a young age. Dante studied abroad in Switzerland at the Webster University in Genève as well at UC Davis in California. Carlo studied in France at the University of Aix-en-Provence and in Italy at the University of Milan. After their formal studies were complete Carlo and Dante continued their educational work with the winemaking team lead by their father Tim Mondavi at Robert Mondavi Winery and Opus One. When Robert Mondavi Winery was sold in 2004, the brothers joined their father Tim, Aunt-Marcia and grandfather Robert as they founded Continuum in 2005. In 2013 Carlo and Dante founded RAEN winery with the goal to produce world class Pinot Noir on the western hills of the Sonoma Coast. RAEN currently focuses on making three Pinot Noirs, from three unique sites on the Sonoma Coast.

Vineyard and Winemaking: The Royal St. Robert is special bottling dedicated to Carlo and Dante’s grandfather, Robert Mondavi. This cuvée is a selection of their finest barrels giving a window into the cool, rugged hills of the West Sonoma Coast. It is vilified using 100% whole clusters, native fermentation and is aged in neutral French oak barrels. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration.