Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
For the 2012 Pinot Noir The Coast, the winemaking team went for muscle, structure and density with the Calera, Mt. Eden and Swan clones. It exhibits a dense ruby/purple-tinged color as well as a sweet bouquet of raspberries, black cherries, earth and spring flowers. Juicy and succulent with a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and terrific acids buttressing and giving delineation to this complex Pinot, it will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age, will hit its peak in 5-10 years, and last for 12-15. This is a heck-of-a debut offering from Carol and Fred Schrader.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and vibrant, with deep, vivid, youthful blackberry and wild berry fruit that's tightly wound and supported by firm, spicy tannins. The impressive finish reverberates. Best from 2015 through 2027.
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.