Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of cherries and strawberries with notes of orange peel, mushrooms and crushed raspberries. Full-bodied with tight, tannic power in the center-palate. Long and fresh. Vivid. Spicy at the end. This has fantastic energy.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Pinot Noir Ma Danseuse is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Coming from the Fort Ross-Seaview appellation, its translucent ruby hue is followed by a medium to full-bodied Pinot Noir that's loaded with gorgeous strawberry and black cherry fruits as well as ripe, polished tannins, a layered, deep, concentrated mid-palate, loads of spice and dried flower nuances, and an opulent yet also pure and precise style that's a joy to drink. It will keep for a solid decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming from the estate vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, this barrel sample of the 2019 Pinot Noir Ma Danseuse is due to be bottled in just a few days. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, it hits the ground running with an impactful nose of Black Forest cake, raspberry coulis and wild blueberries, giving way to an earthy undercurrent of truffles, dusty soil and forest floor plus a touch of stewed rhubarb. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers lovely freshness and soft, rounded tannins supporting the generous earth-tinged berry flavors, finishing with great persistence. Range: 95-96
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Wine Spectator
Sleek, powerful and savory, with fresh acidity to the dried dark currant, black olive and berry flavors that show light toastiness. Forest floor accents midpalate linger on the finish with focused tannins and minerality.
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.