98+
The 2023 Pinot Noir Marine Layer Vineyard is a jeweled ruby color and absolutely killer. From six acres of Calera and Mt. Eden clone Calera from tiny clusters, it combines bright red and darker fruits with salty energy and incredible personality. Sweet sage, brambly earth, violets, sanguine lift, and glycerin texture all emerge without any alcohol heat at just 13.5%. This is by far one of the best wines of the vintage and one of the best wines I tasted on my trip to Sonoma. Drink 2026-2056.
Baron Ziegler and winemaker Rob Fischer founded Marine Layer in 2016 and set out to create the highest quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir possible from premiere vineyards exclusively on the Sonoma Coast. (Rob was previously making wine at Banshee but sold that winery to Foley Family Wines that same year.) They produced their first vintage in 2018. The wines tasted for this report included some of the top wines of the report.