Marnet Pinot Noir McDougall Ranch Sonoma Coast 2022

Pine trees, grape soda, cream! Tension, romance, aplomb! Treat yourself to this voluptuous Sonoma Coast Pinot while we still have some. 94 points, highly regarded vineyard… this is a big YES! 

Marnet’s McDougall Ranch bottling is checking all of our Sonoma Coast Pinot boxes and then some. The winemaker is Daniel Ricciato, a Thomas Rivers Brown protégé. The vineyard was planted in 1998 by legendary vineyardist Warren Dutton – and farmed for many years by the late, great Ulises Valdez, one of the few vineyard managers to have a public following in his own right. We’re in a misty, redwood-magicked pocket a couple miles from the crashing Pacific – a go-to zone for top producers like Marcassin, Flowers, and Hirsch. And, let’s not forget, 94 POINTS from Decanter! This very much punches above our price.

The vineyard sits high above the Gualala River, watched over by towering evergreen trees. Likewise, the wine has a fabulous fresh-forest note hovering over super-ripe black raspberry and sincere, percolating purple grape – truly speaking to where it grew. The level of cream here is unusual for a Pinot, incredibly luxurious, then a sprinkling of clove and black cherry tops the sundae. If you snagged the 2023 vintage and want a comparison, we’ll say they’re close in spirit but the 2022 has a little more floral and citrus. This is on the non-funky side as far as Pinot Noir goes – instead, it’s about focus, self-possession, richness, and massive fruit. Think of the expensive simplicity of the Stella boot from The Row. 

Daniel likes sharp, sensitive minimalism in the cellar, too: native yeast, some whole cluster in the fermentation, low sulfur, no additives. He sweetly named this project after his grandmother, Marnet. The modern, jazzy label is a refreshing and inviting visual on the coffee table… add a plate of prosciutto-wrapped melon and disappear into this forest. More than worth the price of admission, and ready to impress your Cabernet-committed friends, too.