Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Pale lemon color with aromas of stone fruits and blossom and spice, fruit from the Martinelli Charles Ranch, two miles in from the Pacific, aged for 12 months in 25% new oak. On the palate flavors of apple and pear with a touch of zesty lemon, crisp, with nitty vanilla notes. Nice mouthfeel, vivid acidity, medium+ finish ending with fruit, vanilla and citrus mineral character. Nice! — 4 months ago

Mitali P

9.3

Excellent Pinot! Creamy but dry, dark fruit. Lovely finish — 2 years ago

Bridget Meagher

9.0

Winebow made on west side of Hwy 1 cool night hot days closer to Pacific so ripe wine 39.99-36.67 — 3 years ago

Joe Monaghan

9.5

A really great taste and good balance of acidity and taste. — 5 years ago

Freddy R. Troya

8.9

Cambria Estate Winery — Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 — Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County, California. United States 🇺🇸

Overview:
An estate-grown Pinot Noir crafted entirely from estate fruit at Cambria’s Julia’s Vineyard, delivering a fresh, approachable expression of cool-climate California Pinot with bright fruit purity and everyday elegance.

Aromas & Flavors:
Red plum, strawberry, cranberry, cherry compote, hints of sage, lavender, rose petal, and light leather.

Mouthfeel:
Medium-bodied with smooth tannins, lively acidity, and gentle spice through the finish. Bright red fruit keeps the palate energetic and easy-drinking while maintaining enough structure to feel polished.

Food Pairings:
Roast chicken, salmon, mushroom pasta, grilled vegetables, pizza with prosciutto or mushrooms, soft cheeses.

Personal Pick:
This is my kind of reliable weeknight Pinot — easy to love, versatile at the table, and always satisfying without demanding too much attention. A bottle I happily keep in regular rotation.

Verdict:
A charming, estate-driven Pinot Noir offering freshness, balance, and excellent everyday value. Perfect for casual dinners and relaxed enjoyment.

🍷 Did You Know?:
Santa Maria Valley’s east–west orientation funnels cool Pacific winds deep into the valley, extending hang time and preserving natural acidity — a key reason the region excels with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. — a year ago

Scott E. Becker

9.2

[Tasted on November 3, 2023 at Home]

The Kite’s Rest estate vineyard is located in Anderson Valley, 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Cherry and dried red currant, with licorice, smoke, stony minerality and spice. — 3 years ago

Anna Sangiacomo

9.4

Two Miles from the Pacific Ocean with an elevation of 1500 feet. This is one of the most elegant wines of the three different sites.  Rose petals, crushed raspberry, wild strawberry.  — 4 years ago

Vanessa

9.3

“La Côte” of Domaine de la Côte is a DREAMY Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills AVA of California’s Central Coast region.

Here pacific coastal breezes stretch inland and cool the sun-soaked vineyards. Domaine de la Côte has a collection of 6 vineyards on the western edge of Santa Rita Hills. On the back label you see a map of several of their vineyard blocks, including “La Côte” which is organically-farmed and nestled on a steep southeast-facing slope, where it absorbs the radiant sun during the growing season.

The grapes that went into this wine were harvested by hand, cluster-by-cluster, affording a gentler handling of the fruit with reduced risk of oxidation and microbial spoilage.

This wine was then fermented in a concrete vessel using 100% whole clusters (stems and all) thanks to the process of wild, ambient yeasts in the vineyard, winery, and on the skin of the berries…

The result is a positively perfumed and pristine berry-fruited profile with concentrated notes of black cherry, strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry, hibiscus, rosewater, cherry blossom, and anise balanced by a firm backbone of acidity and reserved alcoholic profile (13.1% ABV).

Following fermentation, this wine matured for 10 months in oak (30% new oak), lending delicate secondary notes of vanilla, clove, and cardamom.

The Domaine de la Côte “Bloom’s Field” was among the wines featured in the Somm 3 movie; it was blind tasted next to other French and California wines in a 2018 retake of the 1976 Judgement of Paris that culminated in a tasting of wines by a panel of luminaries of the wine world: Fred Dame, Jancis Robinson, and the late, great Steven Spurrier, who organized the Judgment of Paris back in 1976.

It is a captivating wine and has the structure to age, though we are loving it in its current state. It’s a delicious pairing with the herb-crusted salmon, roasted asparagus, and crème fraiche / chive mashed potatoes.

Cheers!

— 2 years ago

with Deked1

Al Shikoh

9.3

dark ruby purple; raspberry, rhubarb, sarsaparilla, mushrooms, pine needles, lavender, cedar: full bodied, surprisingly structured, good acidity despite ripeness, 14.6% ABV; made from 100% Pinot Noir by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, sourced from estate vineyard just a few miles from Pacific Ocean, aged in 33% new French oak from multiple coopers; $75 — 3 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Situated at top of Kings Ridge Road along Sonoma Coast, overlooks Pacific at 2000 feet elevation. Ruby with aromas of tangy red fruit aromas, floral and toasty oak spice notes. On the palate a rich full flavor of strawberry and black cherry with exotic spice, earthy oak and firm chalky tannins. Lively acidity gives the wine good balance and carries through the finish with fruit and earthy mineral character ending with subtle notes of cacao. Very Nice! — 5 years ago