Wine & Spirits Magazine: 93pts
Ana Keller makes this wine from a 20-acre parcel at the highest point of her family’s vineyard. The soil at El Coro is volcanic, the elevation making it the first parcel where the morning fog dissipates and the vines are exposed to the sun and winds of the Petaluma Gap. The thick-skinned grapes carry oceanic freshness along with red-fruit-skin flavors, like the blush of a red-skinned Bartlett pear. Those soprano notes deepen into the cool scents of a redwood forest and quiet, persistent red-raspberry notes. The wine sings after it’s been open for three days. It’s a fine coastal pinot to decant now for meaty roast fish, or to cellar and enjoy as it ages over the next five years. (154 cases)
James Suckling: 92pts
This has impressive clarity of ripe red cherries and strawberries, leading to a palate that offers an impressively flavorful and focused cherry finish. Hints of red licorice, too. Drink now.
Wine Advocate: 91pts
The 2015 Pinot Noir El Coro is pale ruby-purple colored with a nose of kirsch, crushed cranberries and raspberries with touches of mossy bark and damp soil. Medium-bodied with a firm foundation of chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, if finishes on an earthy note. 154 cases produced.