Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Dark in color, this bold, full-bodied wine is succulent and rich in blackberry and black cherry, with a dusting of cranberry and grilled mushroom. There's a balance of acid and tannin that provides substance and structure, with length on the finish.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2013 MacPhail Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir plays a delicate balancing act—staying in a safe place where red fruits and herbs combine nicely. The wine's medium-bodied and wild, earth-like flavors pair it perfectly with rotisserie chicken accented with savory herbs. Drinks well now. (Tasted: September 23, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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.