Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Blanc de Noirs Heintz Vineyard has a singular perfume of citrus blossom, tangerine peel and full peachy fruit with streaks of stony mineral character. It develops beautifully in the glass, gaining nuance and intensity, and the medium-bodied palate is powerful. Dry with surprisingly energetic mousse and freshness, it has concentrated, mineral-driven fruit, fine floral accents and a long, layered finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The pale straw-colored 2014 Blanc De Noirs offers roasted aromas of incense, petrichor, lychee, and blackberry and is medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a pillowy mousse and notes of ripe red cherry, orange zest, and soft stone. Long and persistent, with refreshing energy although certainly ripe, it takes a more linear approach compared to the 2013.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.