Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Sultry aromas of rose and lavender carry the nose of this earthy, coastal wine. Flavors of wild raspberry, strawberry, blood orange and rhubarb weave around crisp, seamless acidity. Light in style, it is complex and beautiful.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant, with lively acidity backing the concentrated currant, cherry and raspberry flavors. Reveals chiseled minerality midpalate. The powerful finish is pure and focused. Drink now through 2025.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
A little less forceful and not as obvious in its ripeness as some, this bright and brilliantly fruity Pinot is an exceptionally lithe and agile rendition that belies any notion that varietal success depends somehow on swagger and heft. It is medium-full-bodied with just the right amount of lifting, mouthwatering acidity to keep it lively and wonderfully well-sustained at the finish, and it is both rich and nuanced in manner that, while entirely fascinating right now, makes for very easy predictions of a long and increasingly complex life ahead.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the Sonoma Coast, the ruby-hued 2017 Pinot Noir Terre De Promissio Vineyard offers a spice-filled bouquet of ripe cherries, cranberries, flowery incense, smoke, and forest floor. It's a rounded, nicely textured 2017 that has sweet tannins, plenty of upfront fruit, and a great finish. It's another beautifully complete wine that's going to evolve gracefully. Rating: 92+
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.