Winemaker Notes
A classic wine from the West Sonoma Coast, Doc's Ranch sits on the eastern ridge down the road from Coastlands.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The Doc's Ranch, as Ross explains, sits just on the other side of a ridgeline from the Coastlands Vineyard, it benefits from the southeastern exposure, and the coastal winds are buffetted by the ridgeline. A stunning wine. Aromatic elegance with notes of candied strawberries, and wintergreen. The palate is lithe and packed with verve. Bright red fruits mix with savoury notes, fine earthen minerality and lively acid.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2019 Pinot Noir Doc's Ranch opens with pomegranate, rhubarb and raspberry preserves accented by tones of cinnamon, blood orange, dried sage, potpourri and bitters, offering more nuance with each return to the glass. The palate surprises with its sheer intensity of fruit, supported by ubiquitous, sandy tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long and spicy.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and fresh, offering a lovely mix of mulberry, mulled red currant and damson plum notes that stretches out lengthily, this red is dotted with dried anise, potpourri and black tea accents, plus a pretty, lingering mineral hint. Drink now through 2031. 530 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.