Winemaker Notes
For a young Pinot Noir, the CIX shows incredible sophistication. Irresistible aromas of rose petal, sweet dark cherries, blood orange and Asian spices. This aristocratic wine moves across the palate with authority and ease showing perfect acid integration and polished tannin. There is an inner perfume that along with a sense of crushed mineral gives the CIX a great sense of place. The 2015 should follow a slow intriguing evolution.
Suggested drinking window is 2018 through 2030.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Close to perfection is the 2015 Pinot Noir Cix Estate, which is reminiscent of a great grand cru Burgundy from Northern Côte de Nuit. Forest floor, porcini mushrooms, underbrush and loamy soil notes intermixed with hints of black raspberry, cherry and blueberry are followed by a full-bodied wine with 15% natural alcohol and great intensity, making for a prodigious Pinot Noir that should age gracefully for 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
Lots of blueberry and blackberry aromas with hints of dried flowers. Full body, firm and silky tannins and a juicy finish. Bright fruit aftertaste. Spice. Smoky. Drink now.
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.