Radio Coteau Sonoma Coast La Neblina Pinot Noir 2020

In the 20 years since its foundation, Radio-Coteau has developed a cult-like following among the cognoscenti of The New California. Eric Sussman, winegrower and proprietor at Radio-Coteau, lives by the tenet, “the best fertiliser is the farmer’s shadow”. With his small team he makes some of California’s most exciting, nuanced and fresh cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from a range of coastal-influenced vineyards in Western Sonoma County and the Anderson Valley.

Sussman has led a storied career spanning four decades and two continents. A New York native, he studied Viticulture and Agricultural Science at Cornell University, focusing on organic viticulture. Two formative years in France followed, apprenticing at Comte Armand and Jacques Prieur in Burgundy and Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux. Sussman credits these seasons in France with solidifying his interest in crafting wines that speak of place, and the use of organic and biodynamic farming and low-intervention winemaking. He returned to the States in 1997, working at Bonny Doon and Dehlinger before starting Radio-Coteau in 2002, with a name that loosely translates to ‘broadcasting from the hillsides’, or more colloquially as ‘word of mouth’, a phrase that stuck with Sussman since his time in France.

La Neblina means ‘the fog’ in Spanish, and this Pinot is drawn from two vineyards that thrive in the Pacific Ocean’s foggy summer mornings and the afternoon sunshine that follows. The Alberigi Vineyard lies in the heart of the Russian River Valley, and its unique Goldridge loams—so particular to this area—are farmed organically. The balance comes from The Radio-Coteau estate vineyard, which is only 12 kilometres from the coast. Across the two sites, there’s a patchwork of clones (777, 115, Mt. Eden and Calera), contributing complexity to the blend. Handpicked and fermented with 25% whole bunches, only the free-run juice was sent to neutral, tight-grained barriques and puncheons for a 16-month élevage. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. 

Capturing the misty forest floor and wild berry fruit of the cool Sonoma Coast, the result is a beautiful and vibrant Pinot Noir with flavours of crushed red fruit, subtle spice and dried flowers. Refined, sculpted tannin and snappy freshness work in seesaw harmony; there’s lovely, perfumed length too. Eric Sussman explains that 2020 was picked slightly earlier than usual, gifting a more delicate style than usual for this wine. 

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Pinot Noir
Country - USA
Region - Sonoma Coast, California
Vintage - 2020
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13.2%