Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Rich, deeply fruited and wonderfully mannerly right from the first with a marked sense of sophistication to its layered, multi-faceted aromas, this carefully made Pinot exhibits exceptional balance and its involving flavors fully live up to the high promise of the nose. It is moderately full-bodied and persistently precise in focus with a very long, well-extracted finish. As accomplished and enticing as it is in its youth, it will only get better with time and those who elect to drink it too soon will missing out on an altogether exciting Pinot experience.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The wine has a deep ruby/plum color and is made from Dijon clones 777, 667, 115 and Pommard Selection. It shows excellent ripeness, dark Asian plum interwoven with red and blackcurrants, soil undertones and a good, rich, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel. This is a serious, well-endowed Pinot Noir.
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer's Annapolis vineyard, planted at 700 to 900 feet, this is a floral, spicy and high-toned wine. It shows pomegranate, plum and a noticeable streak of forest among its highlights, the tannins integrated and kept fresh and structured by the acidity.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
An excellent example of a true Sonoma Coast effort with this difficult Burgundian grape variety, the 2013 Wild Ridge Pinot Noir from the Annapolis Vineyard exhibits razor-sharp red fruit and mineral-like aromas and flavors. The wine's bright acidity and perky finish make it a great wine with game birds. (Tasted: May 4, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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.