Winemaker Notes
The 2019 vintage was similar to 2018 in that the mild season allowed for long and slow maturation. The lack of major heat waves and virtually no rain during harvest allowed them to pick every vineyard block at optimal ripeness. The 2019 vintage was slightly lower yielding, which resulted in greater concentration in the wines. Balanced structures and rich flavors are consistent throughout the 2019 vintage wines. The Mt. Eden clone was the star of the vintage, offering tremendous depth and deep berry flavors. The Swan clone added gamey notes and a touch of earth to round out the blend.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A small step up, the 2019 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard offers less overt stemmy nuances (I don’t know the whole percentages on any of these) but still has ample spice, underbrush, and redcurrant aromas and flavors. It’s medium to full-bodied, balanced, and elegant, with terrific tannins.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a site impacted by the cool winds of the Petaluma Gap, this red is gamy and feral in nature, with an enduring earthiness of forest and tea. Smooth in texture, it offers power and graceful intensity that linger on the palate in a length of spice.
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Wine Spectator
This dense red is filled with well-structured dark berry, dried blueberry and cherry flavors that show juicy and loamy richness, with hints of fresh-ground coffee bean. The sumptuous finish is long and focused, with Asian spice overtones.
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James Suckling
Aromas of strawberry, plum, smoke and incense. It’s medium-bodied with sleek tannins. Crunchy and fresh with subtle, herbal character.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard has a medium ruby color and aromas of watermelon, cranberries, rhubarb and autumn leaves. The palate is medium-bodied, soft, bright and very spicy with an uplifted, bitters-laced 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.