Saintsbury ‘Pratt Vineyard’ Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2021

Sour cherry, boysenberry, kola nut and fresh herbs on the nose. Rhubarb and ripe cherry on the palate are met with a bright and lengthy finish.

In the mid-90s, Jim Pratt, a vineyard manager to some of the most respected wineries in the Sonoma Coast and Russian River, went looking for a property to call his own. Jim explored Sebastopol, where apple farms were being converted to vineyard. Here, he found an ideal site south of Graton and west of Sebastopol: a 10 acre hillside location sitting on Goldridge soils with the perfect mix of cool weather fog and wind and early afternoon sunshine to produce vibrant high acid fruit. In 2000, Jim acquired the neighboring propriety and planted an additional seven acres.

50% Dijon 828, 25% Pommard, 25% Clone 23.

Saintsbury Winery was founded by Richard Ward and David Graves in 1981. Incidentally they both met during their graduate studies in Enology at UC Davis while taking a brewing class together and is where they made their first non commercial wine (a Santa Barbara grown barrel fermented Riesling). Fate sometimes works its magic David had a biology degree from UC Santa Cruz and Richard had an engineering degree and both were pursuing careers in the wine industry.