Winemaker Notes
The 10th vintage of this bottling is a favorite at Relic and shows the strength of the marvelous vintage. 2018 is going to be a showstopper. Everything came together perfectly to provide maximum enjoyment, complexity and transparency in this Pinot Noir. The wine shows ultra-fresh aromatics of pomegranate, Rainier cherry, strawberry rhubarb pie, forest floor and root beer spice. In the mouth, the wine cuts a wide swath but is light on its feet, as all great Fort Ross wines are. The finesse inherent in the aromatics is carried through on the palate, with a lithe texture and a layered profile, but above all - elegance and balance. The whole cluster notes emerge to add power and then length on the beautiful, savory finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir Kashaya explodes from the glass with floral and savory notes—red roses, wild thyme, Darjeeling tea and wild mushrooms—over a core of pomegranate, cranberries and rhubarb scents. The palate is medium-bodied and very finely constructed with soft, elegant tannins and a refreshing line, finishing on a lingering earthy note.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Pretty wild strawberry, dried flowers, rose, and subtle stemmy notes emerge from the 2018 Pinot Noir Kashaya, which comes from a site just north of Hirsch Vineyard, in the Fort Ross-Seaview region of Sonoma. It’s medium-bodied, elegant, and seamless on the palate, with an already approachable style.
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Wine Spectator
Refined and fruit-forward, with a minerally essence to the dried red currant and cherry flavors, backed by crunchy acidity. The juicy finish is marked by spicy richness, with accents of slate and white pepper. Drink now through 2026.
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.