Winemaker Notes
This ridge-top vineyard looks to the coast in one direction and the Russian River Valley in the other. The Vineyard sits on layers of sandstone, granular sediments and some petrified wood and has been the source of the Kistler Vineyard Pinot Noir since 2006. A concentrated wine, with impressive energy to its red and black fruit flavors and subtle earth tones.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This decade-old wine is at a lovely place of evolution right now, fresh yet with tactile presence that unspools with citrus oils, mountain berries, slate, earth and woodsy spice. Long, tensile and elegant.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From sandy loam soils and all Calera clone, the 2016 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard is terrific but is going to reward short-term cellaring. Bing cherry, black raspberry, cassis, and smoked earth/charcoal notes all emerge from this medium-bodied, fresh, tight, backward 2016 that has beautiful concentration and depth. Hide bottles for 3-4 years at a minimum.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A new addition to the Kistler portfolio since the 2015 vintage, this wine is only available in magnums. Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard opens a little shy and broody, giving way to decadent black raspberry, wild blueberries and mulberries scents with wafts of forest floor, fungi and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied and firmly framed by ripe, velvety tannins and tons of freshness, it has concentrated black and blue berry layers and a long, earthy finish. 94+
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Wine Spectator
Fleshy, with exuberant spicy and forest floor notes to the macerated dark cherry, plum tart and pomegranate flavors. Cola, smoke and clove details show on the layered finish. Drink now through 2023.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.