Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Steve Campbell farms this vineyard in Annapolis, at the northwestern corner of the far Sonoma coast, where the vines grow under the direct influence of the Pacific. You can taste the cold coastal sun in the brisk tannins of this wine, a kind of baked tart-plum character with a spicy chill running through it. This wine is incipient in flavor development, youthfully green and red, with tension that needs a year or two to resolve in bottle before it begins to deliver on its promise for years after.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.