Flowers Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

The 2023 Sonoma Coast growing season was a classic—a throwback to consistently cooler times marked by slow and steady flavor development, which balance an organic result. At the time of winter pruning, the amount of wood on the vines offered reserves of power, the promise of energy in thick canes. And moving into spring, the soils were saturated, spongy with generous rainfall. Moisture and cool temperatures delayed cover crops, and budbreak was out latest on record. Generally mild temperatures through summer kept growth consistent with the slow season, and after an equally late veraison, flavors developed with restraint. Harvest time offered a soft landing, with the luxury of hangtime—call it a beautiful exercise of patience—to achieve savory, high-acid wines at lower alcohol levels, with the natural stamp of time and place.