DuMOL Estate Pinot Noir 2023
(Russian River Valley, California) - [JD 98+] [VM 98-100] [TWP 98] [WA 97] [WE 97] [JS 96]

About the Winery:
Founded in 1996, DuMOL is a vineyard focused producer of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from distinctive vineyards in the extreme southwestern part of the Russian River Valley. They also grow and craft small-lot Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Viognier from exceptional vineyard sites in Sonoma and Napa, expanding upon twenty-five years of winegrowing experience. DuMOL's 25 acre sustainably farmed Estate Vineyard is located on an undulating east-facing slope of one of the appellation's famous ridgelines. From this classic site and in tandem with some of the coastal area's finest growers, DuMOL crafts wines that fully capture the aromatics, flavors and textures that exemplify their vineyard sites and varietals character in the purest and most precise form.

Notes from the Winemaker:
At twenty years old, our Estate Pinot vines are at the height of their powers—and in a vintage as successful as 2023, it’s natural that they would produce their finest quality to date. These vines left nothing out in the field in 2023; they grew and produced at their highest potential, and through our finely honed craft, we were able to capture and preserve that quality during fermentation, aging, blending, and finally bottling. The wine has a densely packed, tightly coiled power that elevates it and sets it apart. While approachable now due to the suppleness of the 2023 vintage, it’s really tucked in for future development—all the building blocks of future grand scale complexity are present in abundance. Don’t miss this release: one of the finest wines we’ve ever produced. 

The wine is immediately dark, intense and pure with black fruits, hibiscus, dried herbs, cedar and Asian spices. Focused and linear, with air, the wine becomes expansive and layered. There's obvious, deep chewy fruit extract, the natural product of the grape skins themselves. The flavors drive towards a rising crescendo of black cherry and black currant fruit with melting tannins and prominent mineral acidity. Drink between late 2025 and 2038. A gentle decant will hasten the wine’s evolution in the glass. 

Vineyard: DuMol Estate

Clones: Calera & Swan

Vine Age: 20 years

Barrel Aging: 15 months in 37% new French oak barrels from Atelier Centre France & Tonnellerie Mercurey

Ratings and Reviews

98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"Coming from the vineyards above Bressay, the ruby-hued 2023 Pinot Noir Dumol Estate Vineyard is based on a blend of Calera and Swan clones. It reveals aromas of ripe red cherries, cinnamon, raspberries, orange peel, and wildflowers. The palate has tremendous tension and more wound-up nervous energy, with fantastic linear drive. It’s a spectacular wine that will only improve with another several years in bottle. Drink 2027-2050." - Audrey Frick (Jul 2025)

98-100 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2023 Pinot Noir DuMOL Estate Vineyard is positively stunning. A blend of Calera and Swan, the 2023 dazzles from start to finish. It embodies all the elements of the DuMOL house style. Vibrant and persistent, the 2023 offers tremendous textural intensity and fine, fine balance. Red/purplish fruit, blood orange, mint, cloves and lavender build into the long, sustained finish. Quite simply, this is one of the very best wines I have ever tasted at DuMOL. (Drink between 2026-2038)" - Antonio Galloni (Jan 2025)

98 Points - The Wine Palate:
Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2023 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard (Swan and Calera Clones) shoots from the glass with notes of raspberries, mulberries, and fresh blackberries, leading to suggestions of lavender, wild thyme, and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers wonderfully bright, energetic red and black fruit layers with a firm, grainy texture and amazing tension, finishing long and minerally.

97 Points - Wine Advocate:
"The 2023 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard comes from Calera and Swan vines planted in 2005. Grapes were harvested on September 14 and 22, and the wine was matured for 15 months in 37% new French oak. "For me, this is the wine of the vintage,” chief winemaker and proprietor Andy Smith says. “I first made this wine in 2007, and for me, this is unquestionably the best wine we’ve ever made from this vineyard.” The estate Pinot Noir is impressively pure and intense, with dramatically unfurling scents of pomegranate, blueberry, iron, juniper, charcuterie and violet. The medium-bodied palate offers expansive, kaleidoscopic flavors. It’s framed by refined, silky tannins and vibrant acidity and has a long, detailed finish. It should be long lived in the cellar." - Erin Brooks (Sep 2025)

97 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
Gorgeous aromas of concentrated black cherry, pomegranate, Darjeeling and floral potpourri highlight the nose of this Pinot. The palate delivers beautifully balanced tannin and energetic acidity, with flavors of cherry coulis, cocoa powder, sandalwood, sage and orange peel through a long and mouthwatering finish. Delicious now, this will age gracefully for at least a decade." - Tom Capo (Nov 2025)

96 Points - James Suckling:
“A generous, gorgeous, mouth-filling red that’s open and fruity in aromas and saturated with richness on the palate. Moderate tannins and good acidity buoy the raspberry, black cherry, clove, cedar and forest floor flavors. Made from very small berries from vines of the Calera and Swan clones. Drinkable now, but best from 2029.” (Jun 2025)