Winemaker Notes
This year's vintage has hints of cool mint and dark chocolate-covered blueberries, offering a rich, aromatic profile with an intriguing touch of umami. A bright yet creamy mid-palate gives it an appealing weight, while notes of black pepper and dark cherry add layers of complexity.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
From one of the latest harvests in the Sonoma Coast history, development of flavor had an advantage and this wine is proof. This wine is a blend of the estate’s six vineyards including the Heritage Vineyards of the Durell, Gap’s Crown, and Walala. The wine is delicate and feathery, with clear cut acid structure that illuminates cherries, pomegranate, and orange peel. Its dimension is notable, a down pillow of creamy blueberry, hibiscus, and mint chocolate chip with a dash of black pepper on the finish.
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James Suckling
Lifted, pretty aromas of red berries, potpourri, baking spices, apple skin, cinnamon bark and pine resin. The palate is precise and taut, with a luscious mouthfeel, fine-boned tannins and a mineral-edged finish. 25% whole-cluster fermentation adds an extra level of texture and earthiness.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Price Family Estates draws on all of Bill Price’s vineyards. Bright acids and beams of tannin immediately confer both freshness and energy. Crushed rose petal, chalk, mint, slate and dried herbs show all the delineation of a cool, late-ripening year. This is impeccably done, but also young. Give it a year or two in bottle.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of raspberry, mint leaves, orange zest and clove waft from the glass on the nose of this Pinot. The palate brings rich tannin and zesty acidity, with flavors of baked berry pie, fresh herb mélange and pie spice that rattle and hum through the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright ruby red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Price Family Estates is a blend of all six estate vineyards and is vibrant on the nose with pomegranate, cranberries, cinnamon, tangerine, violets, and a touch of reduction. Medium-bodied and refreshing, it has fine tannins and bright purity.
Three Sticks Wines is a boutique, family-owned winery recognized for pinot noir and chardonnay. Proprietor Bill Price III (nicknamed “Billy Three Sticks”) owns six Grand Cru level estate vineyards in Sonoma County, including three Heritage vineyards–Durell, Gap’s Crown, and Walala and three Monopole vineyards–One Sky, Alana, and William James. An intimate relationship with each property shines through in each of the Three Sticks wines, reflecting a keen understanding of how working with great vineyards, along with a meticulous winemaking style, produces inspiring results.
The Vallejo-Castenada Adobe (built in 1842) was built by Captain Salvador Vallejo, brother of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the Commandante Generale of the northern territory of Mexico (modern day Sonoma). The Prices purchased the property in 2012 and embarked on a two-year preservation project. The Three Sticks team worked with Sonoma historians and the Sonoma League for Historic Preservation to restore and protect the fabric of the property. They commissioned San Francisco-based designer Ken Fulk and his team to design the ambience of the Adobe, as it is known locally. The historic landmark in downtown Sonoma is now home to the hospitality of Three Sticks.
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.