Winemaker Notes
Doc's Ranch Vineyard makes up the second estate vineyard in the Cobb Wines portfolio. Located on the same ridgeline as Coastlands, Doc's faces south-east and is somewhat protected from the harsh winds coming off the Pacific. Similar in soil and elevation to Coastlands, Doc's is planted with more modern, tighter spacing and showcases Pommard, 114, Swan and Calera clones of Pinot. Planted in 2011, this is the second vintage from Doc's Ranch. Ross decided to split the property into two wines, allowing the heritage clones from California to be bottled together in this wine. While the fruit from Doc's Ranch shares the iconic Sonoma Coast flair of Coastlands, the resulting wines have a ton of electricity on the palate, along with a core of structure and minerality.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Doc's Ranch Swan & Calera Selection has a medium ruby color and deep aromas of pomegranate, blood orange, iron, wilted roses and decaying leaves, gaining more aromatic nuance with each return to the glass. The medium-bodied palate offers surprising fruit intensity for its delicate frame, and it finishes with tremendous length and layer after layer of spicy fruit.
-
Wine Spectator
Shows maturity already, with a distinct sous-bois thread running from start to finish alongside a core of mulled red and black cherry fruit, infused liberally with tea and singed blood orange peel accents. A light stemmy echo at the very end adds a finishing touch. Drink now through 2027. 177 cases 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.