Tasting Notes

W&S94

Bill and Joan Smith, of La Jota on Howell Mountain, got involved with Sonoma Coast pinot noir in the early 1990s, when they purchased a parcel of land in Cazadero and began planting their Maritime Ridge Vineyard. This Maritime Pinot Noir comes from a vineyard further south, between Freestone and Occidental, where they purchase fruit from Marimar Torres; it's a blend of the Pommard clone and Dijon clones. The wine's power is tied to its bosky fruit, the tart cherry flavor bound to mineral tannins, both generous and a little sanguine or sauvage. All of it is suppressed by new oak at the moment, but there is plenty of wine to back up that oak and outlast it in the cellar.

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