Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
By Pahlmeyer. Managing the difficult task of being fresh, ripe and lively at one and the same time, this carefully constructed youngster scores big points for its combination of varietal texture, exemplary balance and fruity vibrancy, and it has all the right pieces in place to age famously. It is, in all truth, an exciting Pinot Noir, but it should definitely not be poured in haste, and drinking it before three or four years have passed would be drinking it far too soon.
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Tasting Panel
Smooth and meaty with juicy style and crisp acidity; black cherry and savory notes; pleasant, earthy and balanced; long and charming.
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.