Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Not surprisingly, the finest wine of this trio is the 2010 Pinot Noir Marcassin Estate. Deep plum/ruby/purple-colored to the edge, it offers notes of boysenberries, mulberries and a hint of raspberries. The site’s minerality is well-positioned in the full-bodied flavors which continue the blue fruit invasion, so to speak, but with more forest floor and composty notes, and a complex, northern Cote de Nuits Vosne-Romanee or Morey-St.-Denis personality expressed in the gorgeous fruit. The sweetness of the tannin, the finish of 40+ seconds, and the great intensity this wine exhibits make it another compelling Pinot Noir from these two reclusive geniuses. Drink it over the next decade or more.
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Wine Spectator
A mature Pinot, moderately rich and fleshy in texture, highlighted by blueberry, raspberry and blackberry flavors that gain depth and remain expansive. Ends with a splash of anise, fresh earth and dried herb. Finishes long and elegant.
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.