2009 Cobb, Pinot Noir "Rice-Spivak Vineyard" Sonoma Coast. "The 2009 Pinot Noir Rice-Spivak Vineyard emerges from the glass with dark red cherries, flowers, mint, licorice and minerals. This is a tightly wound, more focused Pinot than the Emmaline Ann. Firm yet well-integrated tannins and bright acidity give the wine its focus and drive. Ross Cobb used 20-25% whole clusters here. This is a very, very beautiful wine. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. Ross Cobb spent time cutting his teeth at Ferrari-Carano, Williams Selyem and Flowers before taking the plunge and deciding to focus on making wine from his family’s Coastlands Vineyard. The sweet spot for picking Pinot is around 22.5-23 Brix, which is on the lower end of the spectrum within the context of Sonoma Pinot. The wines are made with natural primary and secondary fermentations and racked once before being bottled, which is done without fining or filtration. Unfortunately I was only able to taste two wines from Cobb but this is definitely an estate on the rise, and one I look forward to following over the coming years and hopefully decades. The 2009s were bottled on June 30, 2011." -Antonio Galloni (93+)