Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Pinot Noir Aston Estate is gorgeous. Sweet red berries, hard candy, crushed flowers, spices and tobacco are some of the many notes that are woven into this attractive, floral Pinot. The 2011 offers an attractive combination of minerality and that distinctive expression of fruit that is so typical of the Sonoma coast. This is a gorgeous effort. In 2011, yields came in at just one ton per acre and the harvest finished on October 2, exceedingly late for Pinot.
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Wine Spectator
Sleek, ripe and juicy, with vivid red berry, plum and cherry flavors, a silky smooth texture, and a long, persistent finish that echoes the berry themes. Drink now through 2022.
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.