Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Aubert Pinot Noirs were bottled at the beginning of July 2019. Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2018 Pinot Noir CIX Estate is a little closed to begin, opening with fragrant red roses, raspberry leaves, black tea and damp soil notes over a core of kirsch, mulberries and redcurrant jelly plus a touch of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has an amazing finely grained texture with bold freshness and intensely perfumed red fruit carrying right on through the long finish.
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.