Aston Estate Pinot Noir 2017, Sonoma Coast, California

2017 vintage: In the glass, this wine exhibits a deep ruby color. Complex aromas of bramble fruit, baking spices and purple lilac swell from the glass. The palate expresses a harmonious set of flavors suggesting kirsch, spearmint oil, vanilla bean, and loam. Handcrafted from grapes grown on theirr prime site in the heart of California’s ‘True’ Sonoma Coast., Focusing on the always-elegant Dijon clones, this Pinot Noir is fruit-driven with a soft smokiness and sweet smell of night-bloom jasmine. The creamy texture and refreshing acidity create an incredibly pleasurable mouth feel that leads to a long and satisfying finish. Spectacularly approachable at such a young age the 2016 Aston Estate will continue to develop in the coming years. Aston Estate was launched in 2001 by three partners including winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, Frederick and Carol Schrader of Schrader Cellars and Chuck Sweeney of Vine Cliff. The Aston Estate style is different than the Rivers-Marie Pinot Noirs and is largely dictated by Frederick Schrader’s palate. The grapes are picked riper, the wines are fruit-driven and are less acid-driven, and they exhibit a blacker fruit profile. Thomas describes it as ‘an old Central Coast style ‘