Winemaker Notes
This medium-garnet Pinot Noir greets the nose with lively aromas of blackberry, black cherry, white pepper, and fennel, with a
sweet note of cola. On the palate, distinctive flavors of dark fruits are interlaced with hints of roasted walnuts and balanced with
a good acidity. A long, smooth finish with lingering spicy notes. Pair this food-friendly wine with pungent washed-rind cheeses, lamb tagine, moussaka, braised ribs with mushrooms and tomatoes, or dark chocolate with salted caramel for a sweet pairing.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Aged nine months in French oak, this beauty displays aromas of tilled soil, wild raspberry, red licorice, and cola. Flavors of toasted walnut, ripe boysenberry, coffee bean, and black tea mingle within a fine acid structure.
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.