Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Failla Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is an outstanding and true-to-type wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is persistent and beautifully balanced. Its pure aromas and flavors of red berries and savory spices would pair superbly with lightly-seasoned, grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: February 3, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast opens with some sulfury, tarry tones that slowly dissipate to reveal bright red berry fruits. The palate is grainy, fresh and delicately styled, finishing on an uplifted floral note. It's pretty, but it will need to be decanted. 6,000 cases produced.
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.