Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rather expressive nose with notes of hibiscus, blueberry, strawberry and wet stone. Medium-bodied with soft, fine tannins. Wet-mineral notes mix with the slightly blue-tinged fruit notes. Moss, too. Lovely mouth-feel.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The light ruby 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast has moderate amounts of light cherry and wild strawberry fruits as well as leafy herbs, spice, and just a kiss of forest floor. It’s easygoing, medium-bodied, up-front, and beautifully balanced.
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.