Winemaker Notes
An expressive bouquet of blueberry, cassis and brush. Hickory and earth are complemented by nuanced floral notes of violet and lilac. Velvet-textured entry leads to a palate drenched in raspberry with accents of sandalwood and black tea leaf. Sculpted by fresh, fruity acidity, the wine’s structure turns to slate minerality on the finish. A single vineyard Pinot Noir of aromatic complexity and an embodiment of terroir.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard Roberts Road is pale ruby-purple colored with a nose of ripe red cherries, fresh raspberries and wild strawberries with touches of baking spices and red roses. Medium-bodied, very finely crafted, refreshing and beautifully expressed, it features delicate red berries and a soft, silken texture, finishing long and perfumed. 264 cases produced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Roberts Road is terrific and comes from a site on the Sonoma Coast and is a mix of 777 and Swan clones aged ten months in 40% new French oak. It has a perfumed, complex bouquet of cherries, white flowers, and pine forest. Medium-bodied, fresh, focused, and elegant on the palate, I like its tension and purity, and it’s an outstanding Pinot Noir to enjoy over the coming decade. Rating: 91+
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Wine Enthusiast
Earthy notions of tree bark and forest floor mark this lovely wine, a light bright expression of the variety that's focused and tense in acidity. Baked orange and plum flavors add to the mix, contributing to the spicy, lengthy palate of flavor and understated intensity.
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.