Winemaker Notes
The Senses 2021 Day One Pinot Noir has a medium ruby-purple color. It waltzes out with flamboyant notes of raspberry pie, Bing cherries, and red roses, followed by wafts of lavender, cardamom, and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate bursts with vibrant red berry, floral, and savory layers, framed by exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and amazing tension, finishing with epic length and energy. So elegant and perfumed, this one could fool you into thinking it is a great Chambolle-Musigny.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Initially on opening, the 2021 Pinot Noir Day One is brooding, layered, and pure, with notes of gravelly earth, pepper spice, and black cherry, while later it opens to its more high-toned and lifted perfume. The palate is more compact and tightly wound, with fine tannins, driving fresh acidity, and notes of orange zest, incense, crunchy red berries, and rose perfume lingering on the finish. This will benefit from another couple years in bottle and drink well 2025-2037.
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James Suckling
Aromas of iodine with ripe strawberries, fresh peaches and orange peel. Red fruits and dark cherries. Orange peel. Full but not overpowering. Creamy and layered on the finish. Fine tannins. Fresh at the end. Chewy yet refined.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers a ripe, fresh and pure beam of mulberry and cherry puree laced with a thread of red licorice and backed by a savory dusting on the focused finish. Nicely done. Drink now through 2027. 320 cases made.
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.