Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Sun Chase Pinot Noir is a massive, complex, nuanced wine of black cherry, orange peel, pine needle, black plum, slate, black tea. The incredibly silky entry opens to a seamless palate with tremendous length, with flavors of plum, clove, forest floor, morello cherry, tangerine oil, and
rose oil, which persist for over a minute following the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard, which saw 30% stems, offering a La Tâche-like sexiness in its black raspberry and framboise fruit as well as notes of spice and flowers. It’s medium to full-bodied and has a flawlessly balanced, layered texture as well as silky tannins. It’s going to put a smile on any Pinot lover’s face over the coming 7-8 years at a minimum.
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James Suckling
Lovely sweetness and suppleness to this with flowers and orange peel, together with dried fruit and aromatic notes. Full-bodied with supple, juicy fruit. Beautiful length and yumminess.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard leaps from the glass with vivacious scents of black cherries, black raspberries and tilled earth plus hints of baking spices, red roses and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is chock-full of juicy black berry layers, framed by plush tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fruity. 200 cases were made.
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.