TOURING Gion’S Major Wine Grapes Be the Travel Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel—And 45 CHARDONNAY Y Guide

ou won’t need a GPS when you come We’ve selected top Sonoma wineries in 44 PINOT NOIR to Sonoma County if you let the re- four categories—Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, TOURING gion’s major wine grapes be the travel Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel—and 45 CHARDONNAY Y guide. Your passion for a specific va- put together an agenda that crisscrosses 46 CABERNET SAUVIGNON rietal is the best map to follow. Sonoma is a the wine roads of the county. We’ve sug- ZINFANDEL diverse destination, with a varied climate and gested wineries that are open to the public 46 a landscape that ranges from pastures of graz- and have recommended where to stay once 48 MAPPING SONOMA ing sheep to mountain ranges to the foggy your day is through. And of course we haven’t 50 WINERIES TO VISIT Pacific Coast. With more than 400 wineries overlooked food. We offer advice on satisfy- and 60,000 acres of vines spread through ing options from casual dining to the area’s 58 WHERE TO STAY 17 distinctive American Viticultural Areas, premier kitchens. Have fun exploring, and 61 WHERE TO EAT SONOMA Sonoma produces myriad styles of wine. enjoy the wine. GRAPE by GRAPE EXPLORE THIS DIVERSE REGION [ USING WINE AS YOUR COMPASS ] BY TIM FISH PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALANNA HALE Tucked away in northeastern Sonoma County, the Alexander Valley appellation comprises more than 15,000 acres of vineyards, including Cabernet Sauvignon and old-vine Zinfandel. 42 WINE SPECTATOR • JUNE 15, 2016 JUNE 15, 2016 • WINE SPECTATOR 43 SONOMA | VAR I E TALS PINOT NOIR CHARDONNAY onoma has become a hot destination for Pinot Noir, with TOP SONOMA PINOT NOIRS TO TRY NOW alifornia Chardonnay the county boasting many of California’s leading wineries RELEASE barely survived Prohibi- for the grape. Spread over three regions, they draw upon WINERY WINE SCORE PRICE tion. The thin-skinned a range of terroirs and bottle Pinots in a variety of styles. ARISTA Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 94 $78 grape was too fragile to The area is home to Pinot stars Marcassin and Kosta Browne, Harper’s Rest 2013 ship to home winemakers on S Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 93 $64 C standard-bearers such as Dehlinger and Rochioli, and many more UV. Lucky Well Vineyard 2013 the East Coast, and ultimately standouts, including Arista, Auteur, Donum, Merry Edwards, Patz most vines were uprooted. In AUTEUR Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2012 93 $50 & Hall and Siduri. 1960, there were only about Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2012 92 $42 Pinot thrives in Russian River Valley, Carneros and Sonoma 150 acres of Chardonnay in the Coast. Known for its lush redwood trees and foggy weather, DEHLINGER Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Altamont 2013 95 $60 entire state. It wasn’t until the Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 93 $65 Russian River generally produces plump, rich and fruit-forward Champ de Mars 2013 late 1970s, after the Chateau Pinots. Trees are rare along the windswept rolling hills of Carne- Montelena 1973 Chardonnay DONUM Pinot Noir Carneros 93 $72 ros, where the wines are generally sleek, crisp and elegant. Single Vineyard 2013 won the Judgment of Paris, that Sonoma Coast bridges those two regions and is the largest and Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 92 $72 consumers starting taking real hardest AVA to define, a sprawling patchwork of microclimates Single Vineyard 2013 notice. What many people and soil types. The terrain ranges from gentle slopes to isolated KOSTA Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 94 $90 don’t know is that Montelena’s mountaintops, with the best vineyards at the highest elevations BROWNE Kanzler Vineyard 2013 now-historic Chardonnay bot- producing Pinots with an appealing earthiness and a dense core Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2013 93 $64 tling was made with mostly So- of tannins and acidity. MARCASSIN Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 96 $75 noma County grapes. Many producers focus on specific regions. Helen Turley and Three Sisters Vineyard 2010 While Chardonnay is grown Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 94 $150 Peter Michael winemaker Nicolas Morlet (center) and his team sort Chardonnay grapes. John Wetlaufer of Marcassin harvest exclusively from their estate Marcassin Vineyard 2010 throughout most of California, vineyards planted high in the Sonoma Coast, while winemaker Sonoma counts more than MERRY Pinot Noir Russian River Meredith Estate 92 $57 James Hall makes Pinot from vineyards throughout the county EDWARDS Methode à l’Ancienne 2012 15,600 acres, and the county is and beyond. And while Pinot is planted through much of Cali- Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Georganne 2013 90 $60 now the dominant source of the state’s top versions. There are TOP SONOMA CHARDONNAYS TO TRY NOW fornia, Sonoma has the most vines by far, nearly 12,500 acres. veteran producers such as Kistler, Rochioli and Williams Selyem, PATZ & HALL Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2011 92 $45 RELEASE WINERY WINE SCORE PRICE In fact, the variety recently surpassed Cabernet Sauvignon as the Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Jenkins Ranch 2013 91 $60 plus a second generation of masters like Peter Michael, Marcas- county’s largest red grape crop. sin, Chasseur and Ramey, and relative newcomers including Arista, ARISTA Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 94 $46 ROCHIOLI Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2013 Although Sonoma may be a focal point of Pinot Noir’s new 91 $65 Ram’s Gate and Three Sticks. Chardonnay Russian River Valley 94 $60 Ritchie Vineyard 2013 popularity, the region’s history with the grape is somewhat spotty SIDURI Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 90 $50 Stylistically, Chardonnay continues to evolve in Sonoma. For Parsons’ Vineyard 2013 and dates back only a few decades. Of course, that’s true of Cali- one thing, the ideal location for planting vineyards is a moving CHASSEUR Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Durell 2013 92 $60 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 90 $50 Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 90 $40 fornia and Pinot in general. Pratt Vineyard-Sexton Road 2013 target. Early on, Russian River and Alexander valleys were con- As early as the 1930s, there were Sonoma bottlings labeled sidered ideal, but with new clones and rootstocks and increasingly KISTLER Chardonnay Carneros Hudson Vineyard 2013 94 $80 Pinot Noir, but the wines were more warm summers, growers have taken a wider view. Russian River Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 93 $80 Stone Flat Vineyard 2013 likely blends based on Zinfandel, Pe- remains a key player, but the floor of Alexander Valley is generally tite Sirah or other grapes, a trend that Pinot Noir grapes are punched down at Kosta Browne Winery. considered too warm, so vineyards increasingly are being planted MARCASSIN Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 94 $75 Three Sisters Vineyard 2010 continued into the 1970s with jug reds higher in the surrounding hills. In Sonoma Valley too, plantings Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 92 $150 labeled Burgundy or Chianti. In the have shifted farther south to Carneros, or west into the Petaluma Marcassin Vineyard 2010 early 1950s, J.D. Zellerbach planted Gap region of the Sonoma Coast. Once considered too cold to PETER Chardonnay Knights Valley Point Rouge 2012 97 $185 MICHAEL Pinot Noir at Hanzell Vineyards in So- ripen grapes, the “true” Sonoma Coast in the mountains above the Chardonnay Knights Valley Belle Côte 2013 93 $90 noma Valley, and by 1968, Pinot was Pacific is now highly favored. RAMEY Chardonnay Russian River Valley 94 $65 in place in Russian River Valley with Winemaking too has evolved and matured. The early Chardon- Ritchie Vineyard 2013 growers such as Joe Rochioli and Jo- nays were fresh and forward. But by the 1980s, a rich, full-bodied, Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2012 90 $40 seph Swan. oak-influenced style had emerged, the result of winemakers’ ex- RAM’S GATE Chardonnay Russian River Valley 92 $64 But Pinot Noir is a finicky grape, in periments with barrel fermentation, extended lees contact and Ulises Valdez Diablo Vineyard 2013 both vineyard and winery, so it wasn’t un- indigenous yeast. While some argue that such wines are heavy- Chardonnay Carneros 2014 90 $36 til the 1990s that winemakers really found handed, many consumers continue to snatch them up. In recent ROCHIOLI Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2013 93 $50 their footing. When the Pinot boom hit vintages, however, producers such as Kistler have modulated their 10 years ago, Sonoma was well-posi- house styles to create Chardonnays that are slightly less ripe and THREE Chardonnay Sonoma Valley Durell Vineyard 2013 92 $50 STICKS tioned. That means you’ll find Pinot which reflect a more restrained use of oak and other techniques, Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain One Sky 2014 90 $50 Noir made throughout the county, al- and the market has welcomed these as well. WILLIAMS Chardonnay Russian River Valley 92 $65 though the largest concentration of win- It’s the rare Sonoma County winery that doesn’t make at least a SELYEM Drake Estate Vineyard 2013 eries delivering top versions is in Russian token Chardonnay, but Russian River and Carneros are the two Chardonnay Russian River Valley 91 $58 Olivet Lane Vineyard 2013 River Valley. HOFFMAN TROYCE WICKHAM M.J. key regions for touring and tasting. 44 WINE SPECTATOR • JUNE 15, 2016 JUNE 15, 2016 • WINE SPECTATOR 45 SONOMA | VAR I E TALS CABERNET SAUVIGNON onoma County has a long history of growing Cabernet Sauvignon, although many consumers may be more fa- TOP SONOMA CABERNETS miliar with versions from Napa Valley, to the east. Cab- TO TRY NOW ernet was among the grapevines imported into California RELEASE WINERY WINE SCORE PRICE in 1862 by Agoston Haraszthy, founder of Buena Vista Winery S CHATEAU Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2012 91 $30 in Sonoma Valley.

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