2008 Cobb, Pinot Noir “Rice-Spivak Vineyard” Sonoma Coast.
Ross Cobb is a star, the now head winemaker at Hirsch Vineyards has made great wines for Flowers and Keller Estate as well, but I have been a huge fan of his own label Cobb Wines for some years now. He makes an amazing array of Pinot Noirs from super cool climate sites in the Sonoma Coast and all his wines are traditional and all natural with native yeasts and extended aging prior to public release and he uses a low percentage of new oak, plus he works on keeping low alcohol levels and keeping balancing acidity. The results have been remarkable, and I’ve tried most vintages to date, all of which have been highly successful wines in my book. I must say, I have shied away from promoting the 2008 vintage from Sonoma Coast and certain other problem areas as there were some wild swings in quality and in some cases majorly flawed wines, but I was completely blown away with these late releases by Cobb, I knew they would be good, but I was not expecting the level of greatness they are showing, especially this 2008 Cobb Rice-Spivak, a glorious Grand Cru like wine with sublime details and purity. This is the real deal, and a stunning Pinot Noir starting with a bouquet of violets, roses, earth, spice, strawberry and wet pebbles leading to a mineral laced palate of black cherry, plum, red nectarine and truffle with loamy earth, tea spices and a soft kiss of smoke, vanilla and anise. This is an elegant and beautiful wine of silky layers and vivid flavors that still has intensity and vibrant character, it just might be the 2008 Pinot of the vintage for me.
($70 Est.) 94+ Points, grapelive

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