Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Focused on a rich core of dark berry, raspberry and savory dried herb notes, this gains depth and dimension midpalate on, ending with a potent mix of vivid flavors supported by fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2022.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing a fresh, perfumed and graceful style, the 2012 Pinot Noir Kanzler Vineyard possesses sweet berry fruits, damp underbrush, spring flowers and light spice in its delicate, sweetly fruited personality. It doesn't quite have the depth of the other wines here, but it has a lively, pure texture and excels on its balance and harmony. Already hard to resist, plan on drinking this over the coming 3-5 years
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.