Winemaker Notes
Bing cherry and notes of dried cranberry pop in the glass, while underlying notes of wild herbs help balance the profile. Plums and spice round out the aromatics of this Sonoma Coast blend. Bright acidity, with a mandarin orange essence, give way to dark chocolate and a firm black tea finish that is accentuated by hints of toasted almond. With the early and long growing season of 2013, the coastal wines faired very well and benefited from excellent tannin development. As is typical of the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir blend, patience is required to achieve full integration.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Here, again, is an altogether splendid Pinot that belies any notion that only those wines sourced from a single vineyard can perform at the highest levels, and it features wonderfully keen and clear, ripe cherry fruit set against subtle notes of minerals and sweet spice. It is at once concentrated and neatly proportioned with a lengthy, properly firm finish, and, while impressing now with its measured richness, it will age famously and is guaranteed to last for a good many years.
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Wine Enthusiast
A full-bodied blend from different vineyard sites, this wine celebrates darker, denser aspects of black cherry and cranberry alongside a savory, herbal component that persists on the palate, finished up by a mouthwatering mix of orange and chocolate. Complex and robust in tannin, it needs time to breathe before being enjoyed.
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.