Winemaker Notes
Intense violet in color, this alluring and hedonistic wine has amazing extract and purity of fruit focus. Vibrant aromas of vine ripened boysenberry and raspberry soufflé harmonize with East-Indian spice and notes of forest floor. Heady aromas lead to equally vibrant flavors of dark plum, Queen Anne cherry and white pepper. On the palate, juicy red fruits compliment the velvet texture and spicy finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This comes from the producer’s coolest estate near the town of Freestone. White pepper jumps from the glass alongside accents of lavender, rose and spice. Compelling in every way, it offers juicy raspberry fruit that’s focused, pure and undeniably delicious.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
On the one hand full and fairly ripe but, on the other, an energetic wine that is enlivened by integral acidity that wards off any sense of heaviness, this deeply fruited effort is keyed on black cherries throughout with lightly caramelly oak lending a deft touch of sweetness. While slightly supple at entry and keeping tannins nicely in check, it tends to tighten as it crosses the palate and takes on an edge of youthful tartness in its bright and persistent finish that makes a most persuasive case for a few years of cellaring rather than hurried drinking.
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.