Pfendler’s varietal Pinot Noir is grown on the estate’s vineyards on Sonoma Mountain, which lie between 1,000 and 2,200 feet of elevation. Some of the sites sit above the fog line and some below, giving the winemaker, Greg Bjornstad, a palette of flavors to work with, from ripe to sharp.
This wine is effusively aromatic, a heady elixir of hibiscus, plums, potpourri, and pine air. But this fragrance is more ethereal than the body, which feels grounded in savory red fruits, as if cherries and raspberries had steeped in a shot of espresso. The texture is initially silken, but then the wine deepens and expands across the palate. A wisp of baking spice ornaments the mid-section, acting as a seasoning (not flavoring), and a parting catch of astringency brings everything into sharp focus.
Ripe, complex, and beautifully crafted. Serve it with delicate meats like pork or beef tenderloin, duck or dark poultry, or with creamy but complicated cheeses like Époisses or the spruce-wrapped Mont d’Or or Harbison.
2015 Pfendler Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
14.3% abv | $45 (sample) 250 cases made
Sonoma Mountain or Sonoma Coast? The AVAs do not cross, do they?
Pfendler is actually in the new AVA of Petaluma Gap, but this already-bottled vintage is labeled Sonoma Coast.
You’re correct: Sonoma Mountain is not in the Sonoma Coast. It’s mostly surrounded by the Sonoma Valley AVA with a small portion adjacent to Bennett Valley.