Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Juicy in fresh cherry, strawberry and rhubarb, this delightful wine sourced from two of owner and winemaker Katy Wilson's single-vineyard designates (Rice-Spivak and Thorn Ridge) intrigues in unexpected nuances of nutmeg and white pepper. Fresh, lively and earthy, it is incredibly good.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is a blend of fruit from the Rice-Spivak and Thorn Ridge vineyards aged in about 25% new oak. Medium ruby-purple colored, it has a classic nose of red and black berries, cranberry sauce, rhubarb, woodsmoke and black tea leaves with notes of dried flowers and underbrush. The palate is medium-bodied, rounded and with concentrated earthy fruits, soft tannins to frame and juicy acidity to carry the very long, layered finish. 180 cases were made.
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.