Winemaker Notes
The wine opens with foraged fruits: raspberry, and blackberry with complements of cherry and earthy umami characters. Fermented in small open-top fermenters with varying small amounts of whole-cluster, the mouthfeel has a balanced palate of freshness, cradling tannin and well-placed weight. Red fruits on the palate play toward an uplifting, enjoyable finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast should be a smoking value and would be a great introduction for readers looking to understand the style of the Pinot Noir here as well as the quality. Black cherries, redcurrants, smoked earth, and peppery herbs all make an appearance, and it's balanced, medium-bodied, and just impeccably put together.
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Wine Enthusiast
Broadly expansive with well-integrated tannin, this coastal appellation wine offers a wealth of dark fruit, black tea and earthiness. The oak is toasted and adds baking spice and a hint of richness, with fresh acidity brightening the palate throughout.
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.