Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A pinot that delivers lots of strawberry character with hints of smoke and cedar. Medium to full body, medium round tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine astounds in big, juicy waves of jammy cherry, strawberry and forest floor, its fruit sourced from Gap's Crown, Dutton Ranch, Goldrock Ridge and Jenkins vineyards, among other sites. Textured and layered, with powerful force, it shows richness and concentration but also fresh acidity.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and flavorful, with earth-scented anise and red berry themes built on fine-grained tannins that impart structure, focus and persistence.
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.