Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Ripe but precise in 2015, this classic Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir displays notes of pomegranates and silky cherries which carry through the palate. Creme brûlée and root beer appear alongside the powdery tannin structure often found in Cobb's wines. Pink grapefruit, potpourri and liquorice notes wrap up the finish. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby, the 2015 Pinot Noir Rice Spivak Vineyard is scented of dried cranberries, aniseed, orange peel, oolong tea leaves and hints of violet perfume. Medium-bodied, the palate explodes with intense, concentrated dried fruit flavors cut through with floral perfume and top notes of citrus peel. The structure is very firm and very fresh, and it finishes long and dense. It's drinking wonderfully now but will continue to improve in bottle over the next 3-5 years.
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.