Tasting Sonoma Wines: Bolder and Brighter, With a Unique Coastal Kick

It's sometimes hard to make sense of California’s Sonoma County. The vast and varied region extends from the Pacific Coast to the Mayacamas Mountains, with 60,000 vineyard acres and over 400 wineries throughout its 18 AVAs. It is twice the size of Napa, making it the biggest wine-producing region in Northern California. Its geological and climactic diversity is striking and enables outstanding winemakers, across a wide span of approaches, to craft stunning wines in distinct styles from multiple varieties.

At the center of this story as always are pinot noir and chardonnay – far and away the varieties showing the greatest quality. Since our last report in 2019, we have seen the number of high-performing producers rise, and our scores and rigorous tasting numbers reflect that. In 2021, we upped our numbers and tasted 506 wines from Sonoma County.

The winemaking trend for many is minimalist – spontaneous fermentation, no filtration, biodynamic practices – and comes with a determination to make wines that convey a sense of place. As Ted Lemon, owner of one of the region’s best wineries, Littorai, put it, “If the dirt’s right, you’re 90 percent there.” Many producers are letting the grapes lead the way and think of the vinification process as an extension of that, with very little intervention.

The unique microclimates within Sonoma County, and particularly near the coast, allow for grapes to grow in conditions as cool, or even cooler, than most of modern-day Burgundy. Conversely, there are plenty of sites that have the steady heat and sun exposure that California is famous for. Producers are using these microclimatic differences to their stylistic advantages and producing wines that speak to personal vision and terroir, with vivid clarity.

"We're in such a golden age of wine because we're seeing diversification,” said Neil Bernardi, the vice president and general manager of Kosta Browne, Canvasback and Goldeneye. “There is so much diversity in wine, so much that's available to the broader world. There has never been a better time as a consumer to enjoy wine."

In this report we mainly focus on the 2018 and 2019 vintages, which are both fantastic years but for different reasons. 2018 was a riper year that gave more depth and concentration to the wines. 2019 was generally cooler, resulting in more elegant and restrained wines with real charm. We also began to taste wines from 2020, which was affected by widespread fires and smoke. But the early signs are positive from the wines we reviewed. Every producer we spoke to rigorously tested their wines for smoke taint and said they only bottled wines with no signs of fault.

Sonoma County has been producing high-quality pinot noir for decades now, but it’s not an overstatement to say the region has never shown better. RAEN’s Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Fort Ross-Seaview Sea Field Vineyard 2019 and Littorai’s Pinot Noir Sonoma County Sonoma Coast The Haven Vineyard 2019 were the best pinot noirs we tasted from Sonoma this year, with both taking the 2019 vintage to another level.

We adored the RAEN pinot noir’s vibrancy and tannin structure, which kept the palate running for minutes. With Littorai, the balance and precision of the wine was extraordinary, with an elegant floral character that grabbed our attention. Both had all the subtlety and finesse that the vintage naturally bestowed, amplifying them to create dynamic, long-lasting wines that have stayed on our minds since we tasted them.

READ MORE: TOP 100 WINES OF THE USA 2021

We were also able to taste the stunning Peter Michael Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma County Fort Ross-Seaview Ma Danseuse 2019. Vivid red fruit is carried by tight tannins, accented by orange peel and mushroom – a superb pinot noir that only adds to our excitement about Sonoma’s 2019 vintage.

Digging deeper on the 2019 growing season, Peter Michael’s winemaker, Robert Fiore, said: “It was a mild summer and not much in the way of heat spikes. So it helped preserve that freshness and finesse. Plus, it has a little more fruit [character] than other years. That’s why 2019 was a great year.” In other words, a real gift in increasingly unpredictable climatic times,  allowing for steady growth and a clean harvest.

Williams Selyem continues to be a benchmark for the Russian River Valley, with wines like their Pinot Noir Sonoma County Russian River Valley Allen Vineyard 2019 packing an incredible punch. The minerality and pure exuberance bursting from the bottle was thrilling. It’s also an affordable bottle at around $65, but it’s only available through allocation, with a long waiting list.

Jeff Mangahas, the vice president and director of winemaking at Williams Selyem, said conditions were right in 2019 for a great vintage. “There was lots of rain [60 percent above average] and daytime highs in the 70s to mid-80s that were optimal for flowering,” he said. “Yields were lower, with great color and concentration. August was warmer than usual with less fog, but there were few heat spikes, so that let us reach good maturity."

SONOMA EXCEPTION

Etude is another touchstone producer that crafts wines from one of the most interesting AVAs in the region: the Carneros AVA. The AVA itself stands as a bit of an exception in the Sonoma landscape because it’s the only one that is shared between Sonoma and Napa, at the foot of the Mayacamas Mountains. The climate is generally cool and the soils are typically clay, but top producers like Etude work on land with a rocky volcanic variation, leading to layered wines with great density and structure. The Etude Pinot Noir Carneros Grace Benoist Ranch Temblor 2019 was a particular favorite, with refined, red fruit wrapped tannins and energy though the long finish.

Other pinot producers that we adored include Aubert, Paul Hobbs, Hirsh, Kosta Browne, Peay, Marine Layer, Senses and Small Vines. Each of these producers is at the top of their game, and we are seeing gains in their abilities and status.

A trend we touched on in our Top 100 Wines of the USA report was our bullish outlook on the future of chardonnay in the U.S., and Sonoma County is a key component of this. The quality trajectory with chardonnay is nearly a straight line upward, and producers are finding their groove with balanced wines that showcase the region’s mineral and phenolic proclivity.

In our 2021 tastings, it became clear that Mark Aubert is the leading light in the American chardonnay story. He crafted our Top American Wine of the Year with his Napa Valley bottling, the Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard 2019, but he also showed incredibly strong wines from Sonoma as well. The Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Lauren Estate 2019 and Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Russian River Valley Eastside Vineyard 2019 were also among our top U.S. picks because they were simply jaw-dropping wines with superb concentration and fruit that stayed light through the endless finish.

READ MORE: OUR TOP 100 WINES OF 2021

Aubert stands toward one end of the Sonoma landscape, producing big and bold wines that remain supremely nuanced and elegant. Stylistically, they are as daring as it gets. As Aubert  himself said, “Our wines are ‘Undeniably Aubert’” They highlight the extent to which Sonoma is producing a vast variety of wines for every type of wine consumer, with incredible quality across the board.

Another standout chardonnays that caught our attention was the Kosta Browne Chardonnay Sonoma County El Diablo Vineyard 2018, which had delicious notes of jasmine and chamomile carried by racy minerality and careful balance. The folks at Kosta Browne have not rested on their laurels but continue to innovate and produce more and more great wine each year.

"I always want to make wines better ... so we're constantly fine-tuning, thinking about barrels, other fermentation vessels,” said Julien Howsepian, the winemaker at Kosta Browne. “At the same time, we want to return the loyalty of our clients; we have one of the lowest attrition rates, so we respect what they want."

It is this simultaneous push for something better while deeply caring for their steadfast consumer base that makes Kosta Browne such a powerhouse in Sonoma.

Wines like the Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Goldrock Estate Cuvée Louisa 2019 also caught our attention. Fresh acidity carries lemon citrus and dried flowers effortlessly while giving off gorgeous spicy complexity – excitement in a bottle. The attention to detail that Paul Hobbs can bring to the table each year always amazes us, and 2019 was no different.

Hobbs is optimistic about Sonoma’s future, despite looming challenges from climate change. “The weather here has tended to be so benign; it was easy for growers to become jaded,” he said. “The next 10 years will likely be hotter and drier. Weather will be more extreme.  We’ll learn to work better with growers. No question, we'll see some regional adjustments. There will be different challenges, but we'll mitigate each."

As the climate of California changes and U.S. consumers grow more open to different styles of wine, we have seen an increase in varietal experimentation in Sonoma. The cult producer Arnot-Roberts makes everything from trousseau to ribolla gialla with real success, but none of their wines is as great as their Syrah Sonoma Coast Que Syrah Vineyard 2019. Pinot noir and chardonnay are the pillars of region, but this wine portends a high-status future for Sonoma County syrah.

Chenin blanc is another variety evidencing real strides, led by Littorai’s impressive Chenin Blanc Sonoma County Sonoma Coast The Haven Vineyard 2018. Other producers like Pax are making chenin blanc with complexity and freshness that furthers our excitement about the varietal’s future in the region.

Expect to see more new varieties pop up from Sonoma, because almost every producer we spoke to alluded to experimenting with new grapes, even if they are doing it quietly, with the resulting wines not yet destined for the market. To us, this all reflects the precision and empirical judgment of professionals at the top of their game.

THE 'TRUE SONOMA COAST' 

A developing story we have been following for some time now is the addition of new American Viticultural Areas (AVA) to Sonoma County, with one in particular at the center of our interest: the West Sonoma Coast AVA, which is spearheaded by the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association (WVCA). The new appellation will encompass what many believe to be the “true Sonoma Coast,” with a vastly different profile from the larger Sonoma Coast AVA.

This new AVA will be an important designation that helps this community move forward with distinction and give the consumer a clearer guide to the style and verve we see on the coast, according to WCVA head Ted Lemon.

Lemon said the creation of the new AVA will help educate the greater wine world about the area’s unique terroir. "There is a big lack of awareness of what's happening here, despite spikes of interest by some sommeliers,” he said. “Wine made in some parts of Sonoma Coast is utterly different from that made in others. So the new West Sonoma Coast AVA is a reasonable step right now."

While the AVA’s focus is to showcase the unique character of the Sonoma Coast, it is also, in Lemon's view, about upholding the identity of the community that farms there. “It will be a huge benefit, creating a communal culture,” he said. “It's important because it preserves and protects the culture of the Western Coast – its identity and sense of difference.”

It’s by accentuating such differences, along with increasing the quality of wines and diversifying into different styles, that the narrative around Sonoma Coast wines may soon enter a new phase – one in which it is talked about and carefully dissected in much the same way that Napa Valley has been since the 1970s.

We’re looking forward to taste and follow this evolution in the future.

– Nathan Slone, Associate Editor

The list below is comprised of Sonoma wines tasted and rated over the past year by the tasters at JamesSuckling.com. You can sort the wines by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.