Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Rice Spivak displays aromas of red cherries, birch, and dried cardamom. The texture is racy and succulent at first and expands greatly on the palate after some time in the glass. The finish shows notes of pomegranate purée, green peppercorns, and potpourri. A pretty and lifted iteration of the Rice-Spivak site.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, the nose of the 2017 Pinot Noir Rice Spivak Vineyard offers delicate raspberry and strawberry fruits, deeper tones of cranberry and rhubarb, plus top notes of floral perfume. The medium-bodied palate is gorgeous, fleshing out to pure, sweet fruits, finely grained and seamlessly fresh with a long, flavor-packed finish. Rating: 95+
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Cobb Rice-Spivak Vineyard Pinot Noir offers outstanding persistence and complexity. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits alluring aromas and flavors of wild and racy red and black fruit, as well as a hint of savory spices and dried leaves. Serve it with rosemary, garlic-accented roast leg of lamb. (Tasted: June 22, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.