Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lots of gamey red and black cherries, mulberries, stems, and underbrush notes emerge from the 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, a medium-bodied, ripe, textured, incredibly charming Pinot Noir.
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Wine Spectator
There's rich loaminess to the layers of spicy dark fruit and dark berry flavors that are filled with plush minerality. Ends with sanguine and cedar notes on the powerfully firm finish.
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James Suckling
Aromas of dark cherries, cassis, smoked meat and vanilla. It’s medium-to full-bodied with sleek tannins. Round and creamy in the mouth with juicy, ripe character. Spicy and flavorful 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.