2019 Ram's Gate Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750 ml

Joe Nielsen knows a thing or two about making top-tier wines. A true wunderkind, he was named winemaker for Donelan wines before his 30th birthday—and proceeded to earn a 99- and 98-point score from the Wine Advocate in his very first vintage in charge.

At Donelan, Joe made $100+ wines aimed squarely at the most discerning California collectors, until Ram’s Gate lured him away in 2018. Now he’s both winemaker and general manager, setting the course for this hidden gem.

What he's doing at Ram’s Gate has made industry insiders sit up and take notice. He’s pushed the estate vineyards to holistic farming, improving the microbiome of the soil to allow vines to better uptake nutrients. He’s implemented the use of “pressure bombs”—aka Scholander chambers—to precisely measure the hydric stress level of the vines. The results are certainly coming through in the wines, as Jeb Dunnuck called recent releases “exceptional” and “brilliant.”

For the 2019 Ram's Gate Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, Joe tapped three different sites to build this blend. 50% is from Sonoma Coast proper, 28% from Russian River Valley, and 22% is from a site in the Petaluma Gap. All fall within the Sonoma Coast AVA and can be labeled that way, at the winemaker’s discretion. Wine Spectator rated the 2019 vintage 95 points, calling it “A benchmark vintage for California Pinot, with wines showing power, finesse and the structure for cellaring.”

This wine is sold through the winery’s tasting room and through top restaurants across California. At the discount that we’ve been able to negotiate, it deserves to be the house-pour for anyone who loves high-quality Sonoma County Pinot Noir but not a $50+ price tag.