Winemaker Notes
The 2021 wines have concentration that is quite impressive, aromatics that are beautifully pronounced and the balance of the wines is bright and engaging. This is an incredibly complex vintage that can be truly enjoyed now or have the potential to age well.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A blend from six estate vineyards, the medium ruby 2021 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is floral with ripe raspberry, violets, and forest floor. Medium-bodied, it brings forward ripe and fleshy fruit throughout, with meaty cherry, mushroom, and turned earth. It lends a supple and juicy texture, with fine tannins, a bit of tea leaf astringency on the finish, and cinnamon spice. Drink it over the next several years.
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.