Bill Canihan’s Canihan 2012 Sonoma County Pinot Noir is one of the best wines that we’ve tasted from this Wine Spies Operative favorite winery.

We first featured Bill’s wines back in 2010. We fell in love with Bill’s handcrafted style of winemaking back then, we’re over the moon today to bring you his flagship Pinot Noir!

A blaze of fresh berries is the first to hit the nose. Blackberry, black cherry, raspberry and wild strawberry are the followed by sweet spice, candied cherry, milk chocolate, summer forest, kola, black tea and subtlest spice.

Rich and lush, opening with a cascade of black cherry, blackberry compote, smoky blueberry, dried earth, black tea leaf, dried violets, spice, twigs and baker’s chocolate.

Bill Canihan’s wines are handcrafted from the winery’s own organic estate vineyards in the heart of the Sonoma Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). The geography of the Sonoma Valley makes it an ideal environment for Pinot Noir, which the area is perhaps best known for.

At the western fringe of this AVA, the Sonoma Mountain shields the area from the cooling, wet influences of the close by Pacific Ocean. The area does benefit from the vital cooling air that comes up from the San Pablo Bay, whipping through the Los Carneros region, creating the ideal diurnal conditions for the sensitive Pinot Noir grapes that we have all come to love so much.

Bill’s lovely Pinot Noir is a truly delightful wine that will impress and delight. Enjoy this tasty treat with a wide variety of pairing selections, or all by itself, for a delightful afternoon wind-down before a luxurious meal.

Enjoy!

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Here’s what the wine press has to say:

92 points - Gold Medal - Exceptional - Beverage Testing Institute - “Ruby color. Aromas of dried cherries, chocolate, and creme brulee with a satiny, vibrant, fruity medium-to-full body and a complex, long berry pie, delicate spice, beet, and nutskin finish with crunchy tannins and light oak. A bold zesty, spice and fruit forward pinot.”

Remember, we offer FREE Temperature-Controlled shipping during the hot summer months. Add optional ice packs if your local area is hot, and your wine will arrive in great condition!