Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming from steep, rocky soils on the Sonoma Coast, the 2014 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard was brought up in 25% new French oak, 16% concrete and the rest in old barrels. All of the Pinot Noirs here go into barrel dry and see malolactic fermentation in barrel. This fabulous beauty gives up notes of black cherries, spring flowers, violets and spice in a medium-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless and elegant package that will benefit from short term cellaring and then cruise for a decade on its impeccable balance.
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.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.