Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Pure and vibrant on the nose, showing notes of lavender, rose water and conifer. The weightless texture typical of this site is here in spades, with notes of ripe red cherries and cranberries on the palate. A woodsy, dried-mushroom note on the finish makes this a slightly more savoury iteration of the always-beautiful Emmaline Ann Vineyard. Drinking Window 2020 - 2032
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Emmaline Ann Vineyard is elegant and perfumed, with bright cranberry and red cherry fruits accented by forest floor and amaro. It's light-bodied and grainy with broody, earth and spiced-laced fruits enlivened by bright freshness on the long, nuanced finish.
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James Suckling
This has impressive detail and fragrant interest with roses, violets, blueberries and a dark-stone edge. The palate has a succulent and fresh core with very pure and fresh, blueberry flavor. Impressive focus here. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
Textured and earthy, with a firmness of tannin, this youthful wine is high toned and full of energy. Layers of crunchy pomegranate, rhubarb and black tea mingle and meld across the palate, seasoned in cardamom and white pepper.
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.