Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
From a high-density planting six miles from the sea, this vintage of Mas Cavalls blends a California heritage clone (it's 56 percent Pommard, which creates some of the most transparent and compelling pinots in the right far-coast conditions) with a Dijon clone (115, which contributes to the deep well of dark cherry fruit). The fruits is sweet but the wine is not sweet, layered in licorice scents, Christmas spice, redwood frond and fern - a vinous evocation of the coast that has the power to improve your modd the way ocean air might. (It improved my mood just to smell this wine, particularly a day or two after it was first opened.) It develops beautifully - remarkably tight in its mineral-inflected tannin - an ethereal memory of the Anderson Woods.
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Wine Enthusiast
Stunningly delicious. A real dazzler in the mouth, offering complex tiers of cherries, raspberries, sweet vanilla, rose petals, cinnamon and clove and smoky sandalwood. This richness is perfectly balanced by crisp, coastal acidity and a hint of tannin astringency. Hard to keep from drinking now, but it should develop over the next six years.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.