Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Utterly profound, the 2004 Pinot Noir Marcassin Estate has a deep plum/ruby/purple-tinged color and a sweet nose of black raspberries, roasted meats, forest aromas, soy, and fresh mushrooms. Layered and multi-dimensional, with sweet but noticeable tannin, and broad, intense flavors, this is a stunning wine that should drink nicely for a decade or more.
Rating: 98+ -
Wine Spectator
This complex Pinot shows a mix of forest floor, porcini mushroom, dried currant and berry, with touches of smoke, anise and new oak. Pure, focused and concentrated, this is still very tightly wound, ending with a supple texture and a scent of rose petal.
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.