Winemaker Notes
Medium ruby in color. Aromas of cranberry, deep raspberry and Santa Rosa plum are woven with top-notes of anise and coastal redwood spice. The palate is perfectly balanced with flavors of cherry and peach pith, broad tannins and textures of stone fruit flesh, together complimenting the bright acidity that leads into a long, fresh finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is pale ruby-purple colored with a pronounced red currants and cranberries-scented nose with hints of rose hips, raspberry leaves and dried herbs plus a waft of fungi. Medium-bodied, delicately fruited and with beautifully pure cranberry and earth-inspired layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with an herbal lift.
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.