Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Pinot Noir The Flyer is scented of crushed red cherries and raspberries with touches of wild thyme and black pepper plus a waft of rose hips. Medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with vibrant, youthful red berry flavors with a velvety texture and plenty of freshness, finishing long and fruity.
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Wine Enthusiast
A top-tier blend from several vineyards, this playful Pinot is full bodied and well built. It's robustly rich, ripe and firm in tannic structure. The oak supports flavors of juicy wild strawberry and raspberry as well as a persistent earthy note, while the finish offers lingering hints of vanilla and cola.
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.