Wine By Nine

Red Wine by Hartford Court from Sonoma County, California. Vibrant black cherry, mineral, coffee and Asian spice aromas and flavors complement the fine grained, silky tannins that reflect the cool, coastal ridge terroir. 2005 is the inaugural vintage of Far Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir. Our Far Coast Vineyard is a cool site surrounded by redwood forests, almost two hours north of the Russian River on a Sonoma Coast mountain ridge. It is an area that some call the ?True Sonoma Coast'. Others would simply describe the distant vineyard site as ?the middle of nowhere'. Far Coast Vineyard sits just south of the Peay Vineyard at an elevation of about 900 to 1200 feet above sea level. The soils at this mountain site are well drained and import minerality and a strength of focus to the wine.

Red Wine by Hartford Court from Sonoma County, California. Complex aromas of ripe cherries, violets and cedar are followed by flavors of perfectly ripe, firm black cherries and mixed red and black berries. Allspice and coffee notes complement a long, multi-faceted finish in this True Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

Red Wine by Gundlach Bundschu from Sonoma County, California. Aromas of black cherry, dried rose petal and black spice lead to broad, juicy dark fruit flavors with complex minerality and classic Burgundian character. This medium-weight Pinot Noir gets its supple mouthfeel from 35-year-old Heritage clone fruit and its concentration and weight from the younger Pommard and Dijon clone blocks, resulting in complexly layered flavors, elegant texture and a long, smooth finish. The 2005 Pinot Noir will benefit from cellaring 3-7 years from the vintage date.

Red Wine by Landmark from Sonoma County, California. Sonoma County is one of California's best regions for the production of Pinot Noir. In fact, the county's planted acres of this varietal are approximately 40% of the state's total of nearly 24,000 acres. While the traditional plantings of Pinot tended to be concentrated in the Carneros and Russian River, today's focus has been in the cooler Sonoma Coast appellation, where newer clonal material and denser spacing has led to a renaissance for this varietal in Sonoma County. The 2006 Grand Detour Pinot Noir is a blend of five Sonoma Coast vineyards: Kanzler, Keller Estate, Flocchini, Gap's Crown and Armagh. There is also some fruit from the Solomon Hills Vineyard in Santa Barbara. The result is a wine that exhibits great typicity and elegant balance. The cool growing season in 2006 and the extremely late harvest produced a wine with strong notes of raspberry and strawberry. It was aged in 33% new oak for ten months. This is an elegant, classic Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This wine will pair well with game, duck and salmon as well as mushroom accented dishes.

Red Wine by David Bruce from Sonoma County, California. This vintage is a selection of superb Pinot Noir grapes from the Sonoma Coast. The region combines cool ocean climate and sufficient rainfall to promote natural sugar development and flavorful grape acidity. Nose: This wine has an expression of red cherry, cranberry and plum coupled with lingering notes of nutmeg, cinnamon and a subtle hint of clove. Palate: Red cherry, plum, vanilla, citrus, toasted pine nuts with a mineral aspect. Fine tannin structure and a long finish.

Red Wine by Benziger from Sonoma County, California. An intensely fragrant, elegant expression of the varietal, with powerful, classic Carneros aromas of blackberry and spice offset by notes of toast and vanilla, full on the palate, with superb balance of lushness and acidity set in a structure marked by supple tannins and a silky texture.

Red Wine by Francis Coppola from Sonoma County, California. Grown in the Sonoma Coast region, the methods we use for crafting Pinot Noir include early morning crush and a cold soak period to stabilize color. Open-top fermentation helps us achieve a plush, silky texture, which accentuates the tantalizing flavors of crushed cranberries, cherry, strawberry, allspice, clove and vanilla.

Red Wine by La Crema from Sonoma County, California. Like the Burgundy wine region of France, the vineyards of Sonoma Coast offer an unusually long, cool and even growing season. Lingering fog and wind from the nearby Pacific Ocean (or, in Los Carneros' case, the San Pablo Bay) moderate temperatures throughout the growing season and slow the ripening process. With an extended hang time on the vines, the results at harvest are small berries with firm acidity and highly concentrated varietal aromas and flavors. The 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir opens with engaging aromas of ripe, round cherry, floral notes, spicy clove and licorice. Cherry continues in the mouth, melding with rich plum, orange peel and tea leaves over a mouth-watering jamminess. Balanced acidity and firm tannins round out a long, lingering finish. -Melissa Stackhouse, Winemaker

Red Wine by Sebastiani from Sonoma County, California. This wine has a jammy cherry aroma infused with a slight toast. The flavor is full of bright cherries and is very soft in texture. It is an up-front, forward-style of Pinot Noir that is deliciously drinkable with only the slightest amount of oak seasoning to accent its luscious, deeply cherry-fruited characteristics. Very dense up front, with delectable aromas of plum cake, black cherry and vanilla. The palate is not enormous, but it's big enough to satisfy any lover of modern-style Pinot Noir. If there's a fault here, it's a buttery note to the finish. -Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wine Values of 2002