Sea Slopes Pinot Noir is inspired by the majestic Sonoma Coast and the steep rugged ridges perched at the golden edge of the continent. Here, the cool maritime climate produces fruit of exceptional quality and allows us to craft wines of great elegance and purity.
94 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Opening in a burst of berry with tannic energy, this wine shows impressive length, grace, and complexity. Forest, black tea and clove accent a core of raspberry, pomegranate and cranberry, with a pretty rose petal accent throughout. October 2021.
91 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
A gem, well-priced, classic, textbook Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. Light ruby and translucently hued, with a great nose of ripe red fruits, wildflowers, spice, and just hints of forest and earth, this beauty hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, no hard edges, and a clean, lengthy finish. It certainly brings beautiful fruit and classic Pinot Noir typicity for a good price. Drink bottles over the coming 2-3 years.
91 Points - Anthony Dias Blue
Baked cherry nose, lush, smooth and ripe, balanced, toasted and long.
★★★★ Restaurant Wine, Ronn Wiegand MS/MW
Excellent: supple, ripe, and balanced, this Pinot has some richness, good flavor (cherry, raspberry, cranberry, rose petal, oak), and a smooth, long finish. Fine value. Better in 2023.
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
An expressive garnet, this lively Pinot Noir has alluring layers
of raspberry, red plums and hibiscus aromas. Vibrant flavors of perfumed Bing cherry,
tangy plum and dried cranberries seamlessly intertwine with hints of cassis framed
by fine tannins. The mouthwatering acidity and structured, elegant layers of pure
Pinot Noir fruit lingers through the energetic finish. Sea Slopes is a true expression
of a coastal Pinot Noir.
Vineyard Notes
The weather in 2019 was a rather unusual. Early in the season Fort Ross Vineyard received a very rare light sprinkling of snow, followed by a touch of frost - which is most surprising at this high altitude [1,200ft – 1,700ft]; and location, less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean. We waited to see what kind of crop would develop and were pleased to see many buds, in fact we even dropped some fruit. Later in the season there was a brief heat wave, which helped with ripening. As we pick at night, we still had cool grapes to start winemaking. Just as harvest was ending, there were howling 60 mile an hour winds that blew open locked doors. The 2019 modest crop on the Sonoma Coast has produced wines with a luscious mouth-feel, bright acid profile and beautiful balance.
Winemaker Notes
A radiant garnet, this lively Pinot Noir has bright notes of raspberry, ripe cranberry and rose petal aromas. Vibrant flavors of luscious Ranier cherry, crushed strawberry and red currant seamlessly intertwine with hints of hibiscus framed by firm tannins. The bright acidity and structured, elegant layers of pure Pinot Noir fruit lingers through the energetic finish. Sea Slopes is a true expression of a coastal Pinot Noir.
Other Notes
Winemaker: Jeff Pisoni
