Winemaker Notes
Red Car Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir offers notes of wild blackberry, pomegranate, and baking spice.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is really contrasty with hibiscus, lemon peel and al dente fruit. Peaches. It’s medium-bodied, racy and bright with fantastic length and tangy fruit. Vibrant. Better in a year but already such presence and freshness. Crunchy is the word. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir (West Sonoma Coast) is superb. Dark and enveloping, the appellation Pinot is lights out. Dark cherry, menthol, licorice, sage and chocolate fill out the layers in an expansive, deep Pinot. Drought and stress seem to have amplified the fruit in this decidedly heady, exotic Pinot from Red Car. The 2021 is a blend from the Heaven and Earth and the Estate vineyards, both of which are planted to Calera and Pommard clones. Readers who want to explore the Red Car wines will want to check this out. Superb.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The bright ruby 2021 Pinot Noir West Sonoma Coast saw the addition of 15% whole clusters at fermentation and was aged in 25% new French oak for about one year. Lifted with notes of forest pine needles, bright red berries, and spices, it’s medium-bodied, elegant, and charming on the palate, with fine tannins and clean, dusty earth as well as citrus on the finish.
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.