2016 Keller "El Coro Vineyard" Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir
SKU #1489436
91 points
Wine Spectator
A vibrant red, with fresh acidity supporting the crisp red fruit and spice flavors, showing some forest floor notes in the mix. The juicy finish reveals a creamy texture. (KM)
(9/2019)
90 points
Wine Enthusiast
From a 20-acre block of the producer's property, and at its highest elevation, this wine offers ash, stemmy bark and forest notes up front. Cherry, orange and blackberry round out a midpalate of smooth, approachable richness with lingering oak. (VB)
(8/2019)
K&L Notes
Wondering where's the Petaluma Gap? Or just, what's a gap? Most American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in California seem to be named after a valley, (you've heard of Napa, Sonoma, Santa Maria, no doubt) or even a coast — like the Sonoma Coast. The Gap in question, established as an AVA in 2018, is named after a topographical feature — a gap in the moderately high hills of the Sonoma Coast before the elevations rise again to the south, culminating in Mt. Tamalpais, which provides a bird's eye view above San Francisco Bay. The hills are just high enough to block a shallow marine layer in the summer, but into the valley through the Gap rushes cool wind and fog — ideal ingredients for raising cool-climate Pinot Noir and other varietals, in California conditions. The region bumps up against the cooler, southern reach of the Russian River Valley, and the western edge of Los Carneros, which can be milder than the Petaluma Gap. Keller Estate has been making intense Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah in the hills above the Petaluma River since the 1990s.