2014 Red Car Wine Pinot Noir Platt Vineyard Sonoma Coast 750 ml

The Platt Vineyard on the True Sonoma Coast attracts the top producers in Sonoma County:  Littorai, Ramey, Radio-Coteau, and Rivers-Marie all make Platt Vineyard bottlings, which command $60+ per bottle. 

We’re only able to offer this incredible price because the Platt Vineyard has caught the attention (read between the lines on that one) of a very established Northern California winemaking entity. Changes are afoot, which means that the winemakers who enjoy Platt fruit right now likely won’t be able to for much longer.

From the start, there was only a tiny amount of the 2014 Red Car Platt Vineyard Pinot. Winemaker Tanner Scheer (also of Dragonette, Liquid Farm, and Ampelos) crafted it carefully, giving the wine18 months in neutral French oak to develop spicy complexity alongside vivacious aromas of red cherry, cola nut, and violets, complemented by clove, cinnamon, and spicy, toasted oak. Medium-bodied, expressive, with satiny soft tannins balanced by raspberry fruit and hints of black truffles and earth, this is first-class Pinot from a Sonoma Coast site that is undeniably on the rise. 

When the famed acting teacher Stella Adler famously said “In your choices lies your talent,” she wasn’t talking about wine, but her words apply to Red Car. The winery was founded upon finding the most expressive vineyards on the True Sonoma Coast. Some of these sites they purchased for themselves. As for the others, they moved heaven and earth to secure fruit that the Sonoma County legends had pretty much elevated as must-have. 

Situated at 800 feet in elevation just five miles from the Pacific off Bodega Highway, Platt Vineyard is a world-class site for Pinot Noir, and fits perfectly with Red Car’s “nothing but the best” mentality. It sits on a south-facing slope, with perfect sun exposure, and manicured rows of vines that abut forests of pine and live oaks. Here, cooling breezes and fog funnel inland along the Petaluma Wind Gap, helping to keep temperatures relatively cool. 

Red Car’s vines are planted on prized Goldridge soils—uplifted from an ancient ocean floor—and often struggle to set fruit each vintage because of the chilly Pacific breezes. But a mix of clones in Scheer’s vineyard block is important for aromatic, flavor, and textural complexity and while low yields and tiny berries are the norm, they are packed with concentration and make for age-worthy wines.