Winemaker Notes
The aromas show focused and intense raspberry and dark berry fruit accented by lavender and lilacs. Pleasing hints of flint and stone help accentuate the abundance of briary fruit. On the palate, there is a generous amount of blackberry, boysenberry and blue fruit. The intense berry flavor expands side-to-side and saturates the palate. As the intensity wanes, the fruit character and soft tones of spice and minerality join forces to deliver a lengthy and pleasing finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Ripe, rich, plump, concentrated and full-bodied, with a tight mix of mineral, raspberry and spice flavors. Gains a plum and berry pie edge while remaining firm and structured, dense and concentrated.
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.