RAEN Winery was founded in 2013 by brothers Carlo and Dante Mondavi, grandsons of Napa legend Robert Mondavi and sons of Continuum’s Tim Mondavi. Having spent years searching for the ideal terroir along California’s far western Sonoma Coast, the brothers settled on a collection of wind-battered, fog-shrouded coastal sites between the villages of Bodega and Freestone-Occidental. The Royal St. Robert Cuvée is the estate’s most accessible and most generously produced Pinot Noir, named in honour of their grandfather Robert and drawing primarily from the estate’s Bodega Vineyard on 15.8 acres of Gold Ridge soil.

The Sonoma Coast, and particularly the extreme westerly stretch where RAEN farms, is subject to daily maritime fog and persistent Pacific winds that compress the growing season and produce Pinot Noir of dramatically lower alcohol than the inland valleys, typically between 12.5% and 13.5%. The 2023 vintage on the Sonoma Coast was described by winemaker Melanie McIntyre as the finest since the project’s inception in 2013, with a month’s additional hang time in the Bodega Vineyard compared to 2022 and ideal cool conditions throughout the growing season. The wine uses 100% whole-cluster fermentation and is vinified without fining.

The 2023 Royal St. Robert Cuvée was named Wine of the Year by James Suckling, who awarded it 99 points with a note praising its “amazingly complex, dynamic” character of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers and black cherries. The Wine Advocate (Erin Brooks) awarded 93 points. James Suckling’s recognition of the 2022 vintage as Wine of the Year in the prior cycle, followed by his 99-point assessment of 2023, has established the Royal St. Robert as one of the most critically lauded Pinot Noirs anywhere on the California Sonoma Coast.

Spellbinding on the nose with aromas of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers, black cherries, black tea and pomegranate, with a characteristic coastal salinity. Medium-bodied and beautifully articulated on the palate with fine-grained tannins, mouthwatering precision and a finish of exceptional length. Already drinking well but best from 2026 through 2038.

An amazingly complex, dynamic wine that demands your attention from the first sniff to the lingering finish. Aromas of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers and black cherries, then black tea, pomegranate, dark cherry, dried raspberry and wild mushroom flavours. Fine-grained moderate tannins and crunchy acidity give it such a firm backbone. — James Suckling