Winemaker Notes
With a brilliant pale ruby color, this delicate Pinot Noir awakens the nose with layered aromas of raspberries, black cherry, red licorice, and vanilla complemented by smooth milk chocolate and a variety of spices. The palate is balanced as dark fruit flavors of plum interlaced with allspice effortlessly glide across. The finish is to be savored as it lingers slowly, eventually spreading throughout the entire mouth.
Pair this lighter-style Pinot Noir with creamy cheeses such as Brie or Camembert. This wine also pairs exceptionally well with a wood-fired pepperoni pizza or smoky barbecue pork ribs.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Graceful, with a trail of raspberry and wild cherry that leads to savory sensations of bramble and sweet tobacco. A pinch of black pepper seasons pomegranate as notes of chocolate soothe the palate. The finish of espresso and tilled soil weaves its way through bright acidity.
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.