Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A thread of savory spice and deep-set ripe cherries and blueberries here. The palate has ample weight and width and delivers a smooth build of long, juicy and supple pinot fruit. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast was aged 10 months in 30% new oak. Pale to medium ruby in color, it has an elegant, restrained nose with aromas of crushed stone, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries and Bing cherries with nuances of dried citrus, florals and potpourri. The palate is light to medium-bodied with great intensity and energy, walking a tensile line between bright fruits and perfumed nuances, with juicy freshness and a long, elegant finish. Fruit for this comes from three vineyards: Amaral in Carneros and Federick and Roberts Road vineyards in Petaluma Gap.
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Wine Enthusiast
This combines grapes from Roberts Road, Amaral and Fedrick vineyards, the whole brought together by winemaker James MacPhail. Earthy forest, clove and black tea meet a fleshy, full-bodied midpalate of juicy blood orange, strawberry and mushroom that delight through a long 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.