Cobb Pinot Noir Wendling Vineyard Anderson Valley 2021

Cobb Wines has made a name for itself in Sonoma County, and beyond, for making some of the greatest coastal pinot noir to come from the area. This immaculate, double-97-point 2021 bottling comes from Anderson Valley – and, as Antonio Galloni said in his Vinous review, “What a wine". We’re absolutely thrilled to have a small allocation of this dark, brooding, and herbal pinot – though, we have a feeling it won’t last long.

As David and Diane Cobb neared retirement, they dreamed of living on a property close to both the redwoods and the Pacific Ocean...and somewhere they could plant pinot noir. Searching from Santa Cruz to the Oregon border, they ended up landing among the western edges of Sonoma County, quickly building a redwood-framed home and hand-planting their Coastlands vineyard in 1989. Every hole, wire, and end-post was dug by a family member or friend, and the Cobbs’ son, Ross, recalls, “Digging was brutal, the soil was so wet we put down pieces of cardboard to stand on so that we wouldn’t twist our ankles when moving about.”

Aiming to simply grow and sell exquisite fruit, the Cobbs sold some of their first usable bounties to Williams Selyem in 1992. Ross Cobb went on to become the viticulturist and enologist for Williams Selyem in 1999, pushing him to learn and explore what it would be like to make wines from his own family’s plantings. The first vintage of Cobb Wines’ Coastlands Vineyard pinot noir was harvested in 2001, vinified in a little hand-dug cellar beneath the family home’s front deck. The next decade showed the family’s steadfast work paying off, as David and Ross hustled to expand their portfolio and get their wines in front of the top sommeliers and restaurants in San Francisco – ultimately placing their wares in 120 restaurants in the Bay without the help of a distributor. Most of their remaining allocation went directly to their mailing list, keeping the operation small, intimate, and incredibly hard to come by unless you had an in.

Ross has continued making wines for both his family, as well as a number of other top Sonoma Coast brands, leveraging relationships to be able to source from some of the best vineyards in Northern California to expand the Cobb Wines portfolio. A significant attentiveness to terroir and climate drives the winemaking philosophy here, allowing nature to make the biggest impact on the final wines produced. The Wendling Vineyard from which this 2021 bottling was sourced is set along the westernmost edge of Anderson Valley, near enough to the Pacific to experience its cooling influence and giving it a similar climate to the rest of the family’s Sonoma Coast vineyards. The long, warm days and chillier evenings allow the fruit to become bold, rich, and mature, planted atop loam over sandstone and shale. The fruit is a blend of clones Selection Massale, 667, 943, and 828, sitting at 250 to 300 feet elevation and 50% whole cluster fermented.

Just 200 cases of this rare beauty were created, though the acclaim it’s received is bountiful – two 97 and one 95-point reviews, with more praise sure to come. The intense 2021 opens with layered aromas of blueberry, blackberry, red cherry, and floral accents of lavender, rose petals, violet, and juniper – further complemented by more bramble berry sensations, fresh leather, white pepper, black licorice, and a few drops of blood orange on the palate. A vivacious acidity and dusty tannins wrap this up with a seamless, long, and spiced finish that is demonstrably divine. We can’t get enough of this tremendous showing from an incredible family grower-producer – a pristine and limited pinot noir for any and all fans of the variety!

PAIRING IDEAS: Cook up a big pan of paella – the rich saffron, crunchy bomba rice, and seafood/sausage medley will be the perfect accent to this bold and spicy pinot noir!