Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
If you were to blindfold me and pass a glass of the 2011 Fort Ross Pinot Noir, Fort Ross Vineyard beneath my nose, I say this is 100% Pinot Noir from a cool site; this wine is exceptionally pure and pristine. Light to medium garnet color; alluring and tantalizing tart strawberry aroma, delicate and refined; medium bodied, zippy on the palate; dry, fine acidity, well balanced; bright red fruit flavors, wild strawberries come to mind; long finish, delicate yet persistent aftertaste. (Tasted: August 24, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Red raspberry is at the core of this crisp, fresh and medium-bodied estate wine, savory in cranberry and tea. Seamless and silky, it finishes tart, a complex example of a cool site and cool vintage crafted by an experienced winemaker, Jeff Pisoni.
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.