Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
There was a substantial reduction in yield as a result of the challenging 2011 vintage - only 75 cases were produced. The wine has a high-toned nose of bay laurel, wintergreen and spearmint, followed by cranberries and orange zest on the palate, then rose petals on the finish. The supple texture here is impressive; one could imagine the delicate Cobb style becoming thin or shrill in this vintage, but I'm happy to say that is not the case. Drinking Window 2019 - 2025
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Pinot Noir Diane Cobb Coastlands Vineyard is a lovely, mature Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. It has a very pale garnet color and scents of saline, mushroom powder, rooibos tea, iron and desiccated flowers. It’s light-bodied, soft and juicy with sweet berry fruits and an uplifted, delicate 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.