Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This has the delicate strength that pinot noir takes on in the most aristocratic settings. Blended from (CK JG: lots of places, most notably, perhaps, the Drake vineyard, but that seems like a thin premise to back up the first sentence), the fruit yields floral scents of strawberry while the tannins seem imperceptible but strong. The flavors are as sunny and lacy as breaks in the coastal fog. If you like far coast pinot, don't miss this 2005.
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Wine Enthusiast
Similar to the winery’s ’05 Russian River bottling in the ripeness of the fruit and tannins, but somehow fresher, although it’s still a big, full-bodied Pinot Noir. Maybe it’s the acidity that makes the framboise and cherry flavors come alive. Deeper notes of Portobello mushrooms and balsamic suggest moderate aging possibilities. Drink now through 2009.
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.