There and Back Again: The Far Reaches of the West Sonoma Coast
Last month we finally pulled off a staff trip that had been six years in the making! I had long wanted to take our sales team up to the far West Sonoma Coast and Fort Ross-Seaview AVAs. This beautiful part of the state produces some of the very best and most distinctive Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world. However, the wineries and vineyards are extremely remote and getting to them requires long miles on very tiny roads full of switchbacks, precipitous drop offs, and centurion Coastal Redwoods. Putting together my dream itinerary for this trip was no small feat. Winemakers’ schedules had to align. I had to get 15 staff members on a bus to navigate these roads, and rely on the willingness of our fearless designated driver, Jorge Valencia, to traverse these coastal mountains, often on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere! But we finally did it!
The first visit of the day (after a 7am departure from Redwood City, with a stop in SF) was 9:30 am at Ross Cobb’s incredible Coastlands Vineyard high above the town of Bodega Bay. The only other time I had been to Coastlands Vineyard was an extremely foggy morning a few years back when you could barely see 50 yards in front of your face. However, this time as the bus wound its way through the ancient grove of old-growth Redwoods and entered the vineyard, we were treated to the most incredible view out over the vines to the Pacific Ocean sparkling in the crisp morning light.
With a splash of Chardonnay in our glasses we were off to walk the vines with owner/winemaker Ross Cobb. His family planted the first vines here (Old Firs Block) in the late 1980s. They have since expanded a few additional blocks and purchased the neighboring property called Doc’s Ranch. The Pinot Noirs (and tiny amount of Chardonnay) that Ross produces from this bucolic setting in the hills are right up there with the finest wines made in the country. In my opinion they also rival the great wines of Burgundy for finesse, complexity, aging potential, and pure magic that is hard to put into words. After an informative tour of the vineyard we returned to the peak of the property to taste through a masterful lineup of wines that impressed from first to last.
2022 Cobb "H. Klopp Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Chardonnay $59.95 A juicy but racy Chardonnay from a small vineyard in the Sebastopol Hills. Wente, Robert Young, Mt Eden and Clone 4 selections growing in fine, powdery Goldridge soils inform the flavors of this beautiful, intense, focused, crystalline Chardonnay.
2021 Cobb Doc’s Ranch Vineyard - Joann’s Block” Sonoma Coast Chardonnay $79.95 96DC 96WA 95WE From a tiny, less than one acre, block of Clone 5 Chardonnay planted at Doc’s Ranch. Situated just 3 miles from the ocean, this site produces a laser-like, focused Chardonnay with saline minerality from the marine sedimentary soils and fog-soaked air.
2022 Cobb Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $69.95 Just the second release of this Sonoma Coast appellated wine from Cobb that gives you a chance to taste Ross’ mastery of the grape at a more affordable price point than the single vineyard wines. Sourced entirely from top caliber sites including Coastlands, Doc’s, Abigail, Mes Filles etc. Approachable but true to style and pedigree.
2021 Cobb "Wendling Vineyard" Anderson Valley Pinot Noir $79.95 97RP 97VN From a little further afield, this bottling comes from the renowned Wendling Vineyard in Anderson Valley. A heavily coastal influenced site in the far western or “deep end” of Anderson Valley. An outstanding wine with a slightly darker, more brambly core than the Sonoma Coast wines.
2021 Cobb "Coastlands Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $89.95 96RP 96VN Largely coming from a steep, west facing slope planted in the late 1990s, with small portions of Old Firs Block in the mix, too. This heart of the vineyard expression really showcases the very shallow, rocky, marine sedimentary soils.
2021 Cobb "Doc's Ranch Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $89.95 97DC 96JD Right next door to Coastlands but facing in the opposite direction (east rather than west) this vineyard’s cooler, less sunny aspect is balanced by the fact that the vines are a little more sheltered from the coastal breezes and drifting fog. Very nuanced and elegant.
2021 Cobb "Rice-Spivak Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $89.95 96VN 95DC Perhaps the most effusive of Cobb’s 2021s, the Rice-Spivak is a real charmer right out of the gate. A silky, almost Vosne-Romanée like quality shines in this wine. Located in the Sebastopol Hills, planted in a mix of Goldridge and volcanic ash soils, this wine is singular and stunning.
2021 Cobb "Old Firs Block - Coastlands Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $99.95 98JD 97VN From the original, 1989, own-rooted planting of Pinot Noir at Coastlands. Owing its name to some huge Douglas Fir trees in the vineyard once used as lighthouses for passing ships off the coast. A powerful, muscular expression of the site. These vines sit in slightly deeper soils at the top of the vineyard.
2021 Cobb "Diane Cobb - Coastlands Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $134.95 97VN 97RP This special bottling, dedicated to Ross’ Mom, comes from the original nursery block on the estate. A small collection of vines, with great clonal diversity, all planted on their own roots. The most complex, layered expression of this world-class vineyard.
Sadly, we couldn’t stand around sipping these world-class wines all day, we had other iconic, benchmark wineries to visit, so we loaded back up into the bus for a scenic drive up Highway 1 through the tiny coastal towns of Jenner and Fort Ross, to our next visit at Flowers’ Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard.
The story of Flowers is well known to many. Walt and Joan Flowers established one of the earliest plantings of grapes in what was to become known as the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA on the west Sonoma coast. The vines sit at 1,150 to 1,450 feet, positioning the vineyard above the coastal fog layer. This site has produced some of the most revered wines of the region and the Flowers wines in general helped define this place and entire subset of coastal-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Since 2012 the Flowers wines have been made by a close personal friend of mine, Chantal Forthun. Chantal and I first met in 2008 when she was the Oenologist at Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz. I was running the tasting room and restaurant for Randall Grahm at the time, and Chantal and I became fast friends. We had an epic wine tasting group (that still meets up to this day…though a lot more infrequently) and have kept in touch throughout our wine business journey that has spanned both hemispheres and several decades!
Visiting Chantal at Flowers was the cornerstone of this entire trip, and it most definitely didn’t disappoint. First of all, the property is absolutely stunning. Various parcels of vines draped over ridgelines and hillsides are all surrounded by pristine coastal forest. The property is farmed organically and using biodynamic practices, and feels positively alive. The energy of the place is not something taken for granted by Chantal, who surprised the team in the middle of our vineyard walk with an impromptu meditation. The few minutes sitting (or laying) amongst the vines was illuminating, taking in the warmth of the sun, the sounds of the forest, the smell of the vineyard. It was really meaningful to take a moment to connect with the place and something that will stick with me and the team for many years to come. Now feeling rather relaxed and in Zen, we headed back to the beautiful house that overlooks the property for lunch and another tasting of exquisite wines. The vitality and brightness of the wines was notable across the range. Wonderful purity of fruit and vibrancy define the Flowers wines. I’m always very impressed with how brilliantly Chantal curates the entire line up. With each and every wine, from the tiny, single block bottlings for the winery mailing list, to the more broadly available, but incredibly consistent and delicious Sonoma Coast wines, the quality is outstanding. The long legacy of these wines is clearly in good hands, and we all left the visit singing the praises of the wines and wonderful hospitality of our hosts.
2024 Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir Rosé $29.95 Every year I look forward to the new release of Flowers rosé as it’s always one of my favorites. The fruit is selected and picked specifically for rosé from their own estate-grown vines at Seaview Ridge and from neighboring growers. This wine is crunchy, fresh and mouth wateringly delicious.
2023 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay $44.95 94JS 94WE 93DC Beautifully crafted with precision and intent. This bottling combines estate-grown fruit, with grapes from long standing grower partners that Flowers have worked with for decades. The quality here is impeccable. A bright, fresh style with modest oak, supple texture and lovely lingering mineral tones.
2023 Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $49.95 93JS 93WE 93DC Always a benchmark for the region, I greatly admire how this wine is accessible, and pure fruited, but also elegant and nuanced. The 2023 has a lovely spice and floral lift. Giving but graceful at the same time.
2023 Flowers "Camp Meeting Ridge" Sonoma Coast Chardonnay $99.95 97JS It was really amazing to sip on this wine as we walked amongst the vines that produced the fruit. The very rocky soils and tiny yields translate into a wine of amazing flavor concentration and struck flint minerality. A very complex and thought provoking Chardonnay with “Grand Cru” character.
2023 Flowers "Sea View Ridge - Estate" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $109.95 From Camp Meeting Ridge you can look south and see the steep terraced blocks of Sea View Ridge just a few miles away. The vineyard sits just south of the original Camp Meeting Ridge estate on an ever higher elevation parcel rising to over 1,800 ft and just 2 miles from the ocean. The wine is fermented entirely with native yeast and aged in a modest 25% new oak in a combination of large and small formats from 225L barrels to 1000L casks. The wine perfectly captures its environment with pristine red fruits, mountain chaparral, dried flowers and exotic spice notes.
We now had to set off for our third and final visit of the day at Hirsch Vineyard. Despite being easily visible from Flowers, and barely a mile as the crow flies, the drive to get there takes you plummeting down into a deep, thickly forested ravine before climbing back up the other side onto another coastal ridge. The thin, single track road quickly turned to dirt and our sense of adventure really kicked in! This is not a visit for the faint of heart.
After 30 minutes or so we arrived at Hirsch to be greeted with a perfectly refreshing glass of chilled rosé. David Hirsch is very much considered a pioneer of this region. In 1978 he purchased a remote sheep ranch in the coastal mountains and planted the first grapes in the area in 1980. The grapes grown here quickly gained a reputation for excellence and made their way into prized bottlings from the likes of Littorai, Williams Selyem, Kistler, and Failla. The vineyard consists of dozens of individual blocks planted across an array of soil types and numerous clones and selections. The vineyard owes its diverse soils to the nearby San Andreas Fault that has jumbled hundreds of millions of years of geology into a hodgepodge of marine sediments, sandstones, clays, limestone, volcanic elements, metamorphic shales…pretty much you name it, Hirsch has it!
Farmed organically and biodynamically since 2011, the estate is largely self-sufficient producing many of their own preparations and compost. We were hosted by Kelly Kellum who lives on site at Hirsch with her husband Joel who is the farm manager. The entire labor force also lives on site at Hirsch (just about a necessity due to the remote location) and the sense of community and belonging to the place is palpable when walking the vines. Our team was especially lucky not only to taste an incredible lineup of wines, but also to be able to explore some soil pits that had recently been dug in the vineyard for a visiting geologist. It’s a magical experience to see the underlying soils, the roots, the vine, the growing canopy, forming flowers, to feel the wind and sun on your skin, to smell the mountain chaparral and taste the wines all in the same instance. It really makes it worth all those miles to really experience the terroir first hand. On picnic tables atop of Raschen Ridge we sampled the entire lineup of wines, a real treat!
2023 Hirsch "Estate" Sonoma Coast Chardonnay $79.95 95JS There is only a tiny amount of Chardonnay at Hirsch. It was planted at the suggestion of Burt Williams of Williams-Selyem in 1994. The cuttings came from the famed Rochioli Vineyard in Russian River. The vines are planted on a steep sandstone hillside. For many years the fruit went to Williams-Selyem, then Kistler, until in 2006 Hirsch decided to bottle their own estate grown wine. Racy, mineral, intense but focused. Will age very well.
2023 Hirsch "Bohan-Dillon" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $49.95 95JS What Hirsch considers their “Village” wine. The Bohan-Dillon is an equal parts blend of Hirsch, Hellenthal, and Heintz vineyards. Hellenthal shares a fence line with Hirsch itself. The legendary Heintz Vineyard is about 20 miles due south of Hirsch near the town of Occidental. At 13.2% ABV, this is a bright, fresh, characterful Pinot Noir with alpine strawberry, pomegranate, rosehip, and baking spice.
2021 Hirsch "San Andreas Fault" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $74.95 96JS 95DC The wine that most faithfully represents the complexity of the site at Hirsch. It combines 30+ distinct blocks each with their own geological diversity and varied aspects. Also, it contains dozens of clone and rootstock selections, and vine ages from 40-20 years of age. Masterful blending and decades of experience mean the result is a wonderfully authentic expression of place and season.
And so when we finally got back on the bus and the GPS said 3.5 hours back to Redwood City we knew we would have plenty of time to ponder the experiences of the day - the wines tasted, the stories told. For the team it was a great opportunity and time to explore amazing terroirs with the people who farm them and craft stunning wines. My thanks and gratitude to everyone who hosted the team and shared their wines with us.