Sonoma Coast: 2021 vintage report and 2022 preview

The 2021 vintage was a welcome reprieve after the difficulty that Sonoma, California and the rest of the planet experienced in 2020. Decanter's North American Editor, Clive Pursehouse spent two days in the western coastal hills of Sonoma County tasting with members of the West Sonoma Vintners. He presents a look at the 2021 vintage, and a preview of the 2022 wines.

By Clive Pursehouse

last updated 7 June 2024

in News

Sonoma Coast 2021 — A foggy morning at Littorai.

(Image credit: Ana Carolina Quintela)

‘The 2021 vintage was a beauty for the Sonoma Coast winegrowers. These are wines with great freshness and intensity. The benchmark producers, who are making some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world have found briliant conditions and are crafting collectible bottles from 2021. ’

The 2021 vintage is one filled with gratitude for winemakers on the ‘true’ Sonoma Coast. An incredible rebound from the disastrous and deadly 2020 marked by wildfires and a global pandemic.

It was a mystery that a third consecutive drought year could result in such healthy yields. Still, winemakers were willing to accept it. Ted Lemon of Littorai called it a ‘head-scratcher’ one that, in the end, has produced brilliant, beautiful wines from the Sonoma Coast.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Sonoma Coast 2021 red and white wines

Sonoma Coast 2021: Top red wines of the vintage

Peay Vineyards, Scallop Shelf Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast

Littorai, BA Theriot Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Occidental, Running Fence Vineyard, Cuvée Catherine Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Cobb, Emmaline Ann Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Hirsch Vineyards, Raschen Ridge Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Ernest Vineyards, Clearly Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Sonoma Coast 2021: Top white wines of the vintage

Cobb, H Klopp Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Littorai, BA Theriot Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Peay Vineyards, Estate Chardonnay, West Sonoma Coast

Hirsch Vineyards, Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Wayfarer, Chardonnay, Fort Ross-Seaview

The moody skies at Occidental. Credit: Ana Carolina Quintela

Mellow and moderate

The 2021 vintage in Sonoma was mostly unremarkable in terms of weather events. It was an almost textbook growing season, and after the tragic wildfires of 2020, the fairly ordinary was an extraordinary relief.

The year 2021 began arid and parched, though quite cold on the Sonoma Coast. The vines ended their dormancy by budding out in mid-March, following a more typical pattern.

A warm beginning to May got the ball rolling quickly, with a few days climbing into the lower 80s (26°C). Those temperatures quickly settled down into the typical 60-70 degrees of a Sonoma summer, setting the tone for what would be a consistent and moderate growing season. While much of the American West Coast was locked in the grips of the June ‘heat dome,’ Seattle saw 107°F, but temperatures barely reached into the 90s (32°C) in Sonoma’s coastal areas over those few days.

While it was a moderate-to-cool summer on the Sonoma Coast, it was extremely dry. Windy weather during bloom, along with the ongoing drought, might have combined to reduce fruit set and the eventual yields from vintage 2021, however, for most growers it didn’t turn out that way.

Thick skins and small berries have led to some delicious, concentrated wines. Vigour was kept under control by the drought conditions, and things ripened evenly and consistently across the Sonoma Coast appellation.

The misty forests at Freeman Vineyard & Winery.

A vexing appellation

While many of the wines of the Sonoma Coast are ethereal bottlings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, known for their tremendous clarity and transparency, the AVA itself is really anything but.

The Sonoma Coast AVA can be confusing to understand geographically. Reaching from the far western edge of the West Sonoma Coast to Mendocino County the appellation wraps around, and all the way inland, to Chalk Hill. In the south, it extends to Los Carneros and San Pablo Bay. It fully encompasses all of Fort Ross-Seaview and Green Valley of Russian River Valley. It also contains nearly all of the broader Russian River Valley and more than half of the Petaluma Gap and Chalk Hills AVA.

It is so large and varied in weather and geology as to be almost meaningless for any generalisations.

‘The general Sonoma Coast appellation is larger than Texas,’ winemaker Ross Cobb jokes. ‘A few of us (initially Carroll Kemp of Alma Fria, Cobb and John Raytek of Ceritas) agreed that we should do something to differentiate the true coastal part of Sonoma from the “so-called” Sonoma Coast AVA. So we wanted to break off from that and explain those cooler, coastal elements, the unique weather, soils and history that the West Sonoma Coast shares. To be honest, all of the naming is still a little confusing because of all the overlapping AVAs.’

A group of winery owners, including Andy Peay, Ken Freeman, Ted Lemon, and Jasmine Hirsch, formed an early iteration of the current West Sonoma Coast Vintners board. The AVA application was stalled during COVID-19 and finally became official in May 2023.

West Sonoma Coast at a glance

Established: Announced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) on May 22, 2023, the 19th AVA in California

Elevation: 400-1800 feet (~120-550 metres)

Climate: The West Sonoma Coast is marked by heavy coastal fog and the significant influence of the Pacific Ocean. On average, it is about 10 degrees cooler than the broader Sonoma Coast AVA. The proximity to the coastline means that daytime temperatures are cooler, and the nights are warmer.

Boundaries: The boundary extends to the Pacific Coast on the west and inland between five and seven miles on the eastern edge. The southern boundary is the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap AVA, and the northern boundary is the Mendocino County line.

Key Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and some Syrah

Nested AVAs: Fort Ross-Seaview AVA is completely contained within the West Sonoma Coast

See the Sonoma Coast 2021 score table

Sonoma Coast vintage ratings

2021 5/5

The 2020 vintage was a disaster in pretty much all of Northern California, and the Sonoma Coast was no exception. This made the 2021 vintage feel as though it were heaven-sent. Both growers and winemakers were rewarded with a vintage of outstanding quality and healthy yields. The wines tend to have great concentration and smaller berries, yet sufficient yields. They offer freshness, brilliant fruit, characteristic salinity and a noble, savoury character. The 2021 vintage also awarded the wines an abundance of structure, granting them superb ageability.

2020 1/5

A picture-perfect vintage was all but destroyed by wildfire smoke from the high-pressure and wind events that saw the LNU Complex Fires and the Glass Fire start in September and into October. The fires were highly destructive, destroying homes, forest land, and the wines that were growing there. Most Sonoma Coast wineries did not produce red wines in 2020; those that did saw varied impacts from smoke taint. Some Chardonnays presented a lone bright spot for most producers.

2019 5/5

The 2019 was a high watermark vintage for the wines of the Sonoma Coast. Low to moderate yields drove concentration in the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit, resulting in wines of intensity that balance the finesse of the coastal sites in the appellation. There is an undeniable elegance that marks this cooler year in its cooler reaches of the Sonoma Coast.

Tasting the 2022s with the RAEN team: winemaker Melanie McIntyre, founder and co-owner Carlo Mondavi, and Michelle Schromm, director of marketing.

A 2022 vintage preview

In addition to tasting the 2021 wines on the Sonoma Coast, I visited some producers who had bottled and were soon to release their 2022s. Ted Lemon at Littorai tasted me through barrel samples of all of his 2022 wines.

‘2022 was another drought vintage, and it was developing similarly to 2021,’ says Rob Fischer, winemaker at Marine Layer. Yields were pretty moderate, certainly below average.’ There was a tremendous heat dome event in Northern California in early September, and the Sonoma Coast was no exception. 2022 tells two tales: the stuff that was picked before Labor Day and everything afterwards.

‘We were calling our growers saying “Water, water, water!” with the big, imminent heat coming,’ Fischer continues. ‘It’s cooler out here on the coast, but it was 110°(Fahrenheit) at our winery in Healdsburg.’

The vintage is one to buy, showing brilliance and resilience in spite of the late-season heat dome that divided winemaking decisions. While the heat spike certainly had significant impacts inland, those on the ‘true’ Sonoma Coast seem to have come through it with vivid wines of place.

Sonoma Coast 2022 preview: Top 10 wines

RAEN, Royal St Robert Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Littorai, Richardson Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Peay Vineyards, Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast

Small Vines, TBH Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Wayfarer, Mother Rock Pinot Noir, Fort Ross-Seaview

Ernest Vineyards, Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

RAEN, Lady Marjorie Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Peay Vineyards, Maritima Estate Chardonnay, West Sonoma Coast

Hirsch, Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Faila, Platt Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

See the Sonoma Coast 2022 score table

Sonoma Coast 2021: The top-scoring wines

The following wines scored 95 points or above and are listed white then red in score order.

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Clive was Decanter's North America editor from September 2022 to March 2026. On relocating to the US West Coast over 20 years ago, Clive Pursehouse developed a deep appreciation for the wines of the Pacific Northwest, and has been writing about these Oregon and Washington State producers and their wines since 2007. Pursehouse was also the culture editor for Peloton Magazine, where he covered cycling, travel, wine and cuisine.

‘The 2021 vintage was a beauty for the Sonoma Coast winegrowers. These are wines with great freshness and intensity. The benchmark producers, who are making some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world have found briliant conditions and are crafting collectible bottles from 2021. ’

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the top Sonoma Coast 2021 red and white wines

Sonoma Coast 2021: Top red wines of the vintage

Sonoma Coast 2021: Top white wines of the vintage

Mellow and moderate

A vexing appellation

West Sonoma Coast at a glance

See the Sonoma Coast 2021 score table

Sonoma Coast vintage ratings

2021 5/5

2020 1/5

2019 5/5

A 2022 vintage preview

Sonoma Coast 2022 preview: Top 10 wines

See the Sonoma Coast 2022 score table

Sonoma Coast 2021: The top-scoring wines

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