Saw a reference today to a pinot/chardonnay winery in Sonoma called Marine Layer. Can’t seem to find too much about it via Google, and didn’t see any relevant search results here on the boards. Does anyone have any background about or experiences with their wines to share?
Cheers,
Rowen
They’re very good, classically styled, vineyard-specific Sonoma wines. It’s like a high-end project from the folks who started Banshee Wines. The vineyard sources are really exceptional in my opinion, with the majority being stuff out toward the coast.
I was gifted a bottle of the 2018 Gap’s Crown chardonnay from a buddy who sells small-production wines. I coravined a glass this week to see what it’s all about. For some reason I was expecting it to be a high-acid mineral driven wine, but as Jason L mentioned, it’s more classically styled. I thought there was some noticeable oak and butter elements, though not overdone, with lemon, some mineral and floral notes. Enjoyed the glass, expect that it will improve with time.
Last seen working the streets and in bars around Camp Pendleton.
Any contact info?
How do you mean “classically styled”? For a California chardonnay, that could be full-bodied with a lot of oak.
good question, i wrote that with the pinots in mind. the chardonnays I would consider more middle-ground. site-specific tastes without crazy extraction and judicious oak. not quintessential cali chard but the “restaurant-aimed” style that does it all without being lean.
Thanks for the clarification.
How would you compare them to Ramey, which is definitely Californian but. for my tastes, nicely balanced.
And while we’re at it, what’s classic for California pinot? Ripe Russian River Valley? Littorai? Rhys?
I’m a fan of Ramey as well. I’d say that Marine Layer shows less dynamics than Ramey. So the wine is balanced well but I’d say with less forward character and less oak/structure.
My marker for classic California pinot would be region-dependent, but for Sonoma Pinots I set my tastes prior to the rise of richer, polished wines. Farrell, Dehlinger, Fort Ross. Not as delicate as Littorai or Peay, not so bold as KB/Patz.
Hi John- for me it’s Soliste, Littorai and recently Occidental. I also love RM but they are a bit more modern but fantastic wines.
Ceritas and Kutch definitely fall into the classical camp as well just haven’t kept up with them. I do look to Oregon now more than Cali but that is a whole other thread.
Soliste really fits the bill if your looking for wines that will age well and are built for food. The vision of the 2 owners are tied to a heavy influence from Burgundy. Their business model was based heavily for on premise restaurant sales. Since so many of their clients were not open last they were releasing many of their library wines at wholesale pricing. If you do a search you’ll see a thread on it. I think I bought 4 cases from them last year. 13, 14 pinot, 13 Chard and some SB.
They still have a 14 pinot and their fantastic 13 chard on sale on the website. I believe free shipping with a 6 pack order. The current releases are also well worth their regular pricing based on the current market of SVD Cali pinot. I can’t recommend these wines enough. I’ve had the pleasure to taste and share a few meals with one of their owners Don P. Great folks and service as well so always an easy purchase for us.
Here is a link to their site and their note on the 13 chard Soliste Cellars - Wines
2013 Soliste Chardonnay L’Age D’Or Russian River Valley
The best surprises are when you expect them the least. A few weeks ago, when I opened a bottle of L’Age D’Or to see where it was, I also opened a bottle of Francois & Antoine Jobard, Meursault 1er cru Blagny. At Soliste, we have benchmarks to measure ourselves. L’Age D’Or had awakened, in a fashion that conjures all the finesse, minerality, elegance, and acidity that I was expecting from a white burgundy – but it also had this undeniable Russian River DNA, tart apple and quince with very faint vanilla fat in the middle palate. Whoaaaa…Never say never again.
Opened one of the 2018 Heintz Vineyard chardonnays last night. Noticeable alcohol at first, but it settled into a lush, but balanced Sonoma Chardonnay. Good citrus and minerals. 14.5% abv gets ya.