Winemaker Notes
Deep, intense garnet in color, this wine displays powerful aromatics of wild berry, wet stone, ‘sauvage’, and hints of tobacco. Select heritage clones combine to bring intensity and layered flavor to the palate. Wild blueberry, 5-spice, crushed rock, and hints of truffle combine with firm, spicy oak structure to create a dynamic and focused palate. The finish is long and delicious.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was able to taste two Pinot Noirs from Walt for this report. Starting with the 2018 Pinot Noir Bob's Ranch, it was mostly destemmed (95%) and spent 10 months in 45% new French oak. It offers an outstanding bouquet of bright black cherry and mulberry fruit intermixed with Asian spices, violets, and pine/foresty notions. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, this terrific Pinot Noir has plenty of classic Sonoma Coast complexity and elegance and will keep for 5-7 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Bob's Ranch has slowly unfurling scents of blackberry jam and cranberry sauce with notions of forest floor, black tea leaves and cola. Medium-bodied and silky, it's mega spicy in the mouth with a great balance of bright fruit and earth character, and it finishes long and uplifted.
WALT is dedicated to the production of premier Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pacific Coast's most distinctive vineyard sites, spanning nearly 1000 miles and including Sta. Rita Hills, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, and the Willamette Valley. Their philosophy is that of precision, non-interventionist winemaking, thereby allowing the wines to naturally and honestly express the character of the site where the wines are grown. Under the artisanship of Director of Winemaking Steve Leveque and Winemaker Megan Gunderson, WALT Wines will continue to evolve and develop.
Located in the heart of Sonoma, just off the historic Sonoma Plaza, WALT Wines focuses on sourcing Pinot Noir fruit from premiere appellations stretching from Oregon's Willamette Valley to the Santa Rita Hills in California to craft the finest wines possible.
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.