Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Pinot Noir is rich with a juicy texture. Aromas of root beer and candied marasca cherries lead to subtle notes of cinnamon, vanilla bean and custard. The mouthfeel is concentrated and expansive mid-palate. A youthful acidity brightens the palate, then finishes velvety smooth.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This has a perfumed nose of violets, cherries, blueberries, cloves and dried orange. It’s medium-bodied with silky, refined tannins. Sleek and concentrated with seamless layers of bright fruit, spice and flowers. Some herb notes, too, on a long, elegant finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Pure and minerally, with dried red fruit and berry flavors backed by rich acidity and firm tannins. Delivers an expressive finish accented by delicate rose petal notes.
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.