Winemaker Notes
Very intense raspberry and kirsch flavors with earthy notes (graphite), rich, round and seamless with a very fruity lingering finish. Will age gracefully for a decade.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the Nobles Ranch Vineyard in the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA (northern Sonoma Coast), the 2018 Pinot Noir Coteaux Nobles has a ripe, opulent bouquet of black raspberries, orange blossom, baking spices, white chocolate, and candied violets. Gorgeous on the palate as well, this full-bodied Pinot Noir has a rounded, opulent texture that carries bright acidity, ripe tannins, and a distinct salty minerality and subtle marine-like influence. It's already drinking spectacularly well yet will cruise for a decade in cold cellars. It's the finest vintage of this cuvée I've tasted.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Coteaux Nobles Pinot Noir comes from 27-year-old vines planted at the Nobles Ranch vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2018 Pinot Noir Coteaux Nobles pops with lifted floral notes of roses and lavender over a core of Morello cherries, ripe raspberries and fresh mulberries, plus wafts of wild thyme and tilled loam. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with red berries and herbal accents, supported by soft, silky tannins and racy freshness, finishing long and fragrant.
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.