Winemaker Notes
Bright aromas of wild raspberry and ripe strawberry mingle with hints of pomegranate, violets, and red plum. Flavors explode on the palate, and an elegant structure and mouthfeel give way to ripe, focused tannins in the finish.
The 2019 Knuttel Family Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is 100% varietally pure and produced entirely with traditional Burgundian techniques. After blending thousands of wines over nearly forty years, William Knuttel still marvels at how the components and characteristics of wines mesh together like the tracks in a rock and roll recording. Put every track together, and something sublime emerges-- and, especially with Pinot Noir, any of the “tracks” can hook you into the wine’s charms.
This Pinot Noir is blended from two vineyards, both of which are also bottled as vineyard designates for the William Knuttel label. Richard Rued’s mixed clone planting off Olivet Lane in the Russian River Valley offers a complex array of aromas and flavors, and Dijon 777 Pinot Noir from Windsor Oaks Vineyard in the Chalk Hill sub-appellation adds muscularity to the wine’s expansive structure. Hand-harvested clusters were gently de-stemmed, leaving whole berries intact. All lots were cold soaked for 4-5 days prior to fermentation at low inoculation rates. Extraction was gently carried out with pumpovers to maximize fruitiness, and occasional délestage enhanced the wine’s tannin profile. The new wines were drained when dry, then pressed to French oak for ten months of aging, with 35% new oak. The final blend was not fined.
The wine’s balance and fine acidity pairs with seafood and light dishes, and is hearty enough for roasted meats and more substantial fare.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
As to the 2019 Pinot Noir Bill's Hidden Track, it's also solid, with lots of earthy spice and foresty notes as well as sweet cherry and framboise fruits, medium-bodied richness, light tannins, and a good finish. It's impeccably made and well worth enjoying over the coming 4-5 years.
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.