Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Chateau Boswell and winemaker Phillipe Melka (who’s also assisted by Allison Nunnikhoven) have produced some brilliant wines in 2016, starting with the 2016 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard, which comes from the Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. This rich, powerful wine has obvious marine notes and salinity in its darker berry fruits, lavender, and forest floor aromas and flavors. Seeing just a touch of stems and 16 months in 65% new French oak, drink this medium to full-bodied, incredibly layered Pinot Noir any time over the coming decade or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged for 16 months in 70% new French oak, the medium to deep ruby-purple colored 2016 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard has a lifted nose of preserved cherries, black raspberries and pomegranate with touches of rhubarb, raspberry leaves and dried herbs plus a waft of mossy bark. The palate is medium to full-bodied and very structured, with a grainy frame and lively backbone supporting the generous fruit, finishing with a compelling herbal lift.
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.