Winemaker Notes
Dark ruby in color, the Campbell Pinot is a total charmer - lusciously smooth and pliant. The nose showcases exotic aromas of intense cherry, raspberry, blood orange and warm soil. After time open, the wine fans out on the palate in flavors mirroring the nose. For all its immediate pleasure, an open bottle after 4 hours uncoils and shows incredible depth and focus. The Campbell mouthfeel goes on and on, with flavors and aromas turning more ethereal and perfumed gliding on the palate with a character specific to this site in the northern Sonoma Coast/Annapolis AVA.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The recently bottled 2022 Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch opens with some savory reduction, and it takes plenty of air to reveal red berries and blood orange aromas. The light-bodied palate is bright and citrusy with chalky tannins and a touch of planky oak, although it grows in expression with time in the glass. Rating: 91+
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.