More about the 2024 RAEN ROYAL ST. ROBERT CUVEE SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR From the very first swirl of the glass, the Royal St. Robert announces its intent: a Pinot Noir born of the windswept, fog-kissed hills of the westerly Sonoma Coast, and sculpted by a team rooted in legacy yet dedicated to innovation. The Mondavi brothers’ venture into this frontier of California terroir transforms this wine into more than a simple varietal—it becomes a dialogue between Pacific air, rocky soils and vine, glimpsed in each translucent garnet drop. This bottling, dedicated to their grandfather Robert, stands as a tribute to both family and landscape, a wine that asks for attention and rewards patience. On the nose and palate, the wine unfolds like a story written in red velvet and coastal mist: rose petals lift above a core of wild strawberry and raspberry, while hints of black cherry and blood orange marmalade anchor the fruit in dimension. Underneath blooms an undercurrent of forest floor, coastal fern, sea moss and damp gravel – those mineral and herbal accents that whisper of the Pinot’s austere seaside ridge origins. Medium-bodied but intense, there is tension in the acid line, finesse in the tannins, and an altogether remarkable clarity of fruit that avoids heaviness while still delivering depth. The finish, long and shimmering, lingers with that wild-coast freshness: delicate spice box, sea-salt edge and a trace of thyme and rosemary as the last fruit fades. This is a wine that feels built not simply to be enjoyed now, but to evolve, to age with grace—and to remind the drinker that greatness in Pinot Noir is as much about place and patience as it is about power. In the Royal St. Robert you have California’s coastal Pinot articulated at a very high level: unmistakable, unforgettable, and one that earns your full attention.