2023 Paul Hobbs - Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast CrossBarn (750ml)

CrossBarn is the Sebastopol winery Paul Hobbs started in 2000, nearly a decade after he founded his own Paul Hobbs Winery. Hobbs grew up on his family’s farm in upstate New York with ten siblings. The CrossBarn name comes from the barn on that farm where the children used to gather. After studying at UC Davis, he worked at Robert Mondavi, on the Opus One team, and at Simi. He created CrossBarn to make balanced wines that show where they come from at a friendlier price, and the wines are made in a former apple processing facility.

The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes from cool-climate vineyards across the appellation, mostly on its western edge near the Pacific, and includes fruit from Feeney Ranch, which Hobbs bought in 2014. The grapes are picked by hand at night. They spend 14 days macerating in open tanks with some whole clusters, and ferment with native yeasts. The wine then ages about nine months on its lees in barrels, very few of them new, and is bottled unfined. It is certified sustainable and vegan.

This dark ruby Pinot Noir offers red cherry, pomegranate and red apple skin, along with cinnamon, purple flowers and savory hints of forest floor and cigar box. The texture is plush, the acidity juicy, and damp earth lingers on the long finish. Pour it with roast chicken, salmon, mushrooms or a weeknight burger.