Tasting Notes

Notes of black cherry, rhubarb, anise and toasted cacao nibs abound. Flavors are dark and brooding with blueberry pie and chokeberry jam being predominate features. The tannins are particularly lush and melting with seamless consistency throughout. A solid thread of acidity guarantees a lengthy finish.

Winery Details

Robert Goyette Winery represents five decades of Sonoma County winemaking.

Winemaker Robert “Bob” Goyette is nothing short of a living legend in the wine world – he’s notched nearly 40 vintages in Sonoma County, spanning over five decades. As millionaires who have barely stuck their heads inside a cellar slap their names on their newly-purchased wineries, Bob’s winemaking experience certainly earned him his own label and reputation.

The path leading to the creation of the Robert Goyette Winery took a few decades. First, at La Crema, the Sonoma County winery that Bob co-founded in 1979, where he introduced, developed, and mastered Burgundian-style winemaking – the foundation behind today’s Sonoma’s world class quality Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. At Benziger, he started the Imagery Series program (which today still puts out some of the state’s most sought-after, hard-to-find wines), where he honed his artisan winemaking, chef-esque skills. The winemaking tools are his spice rack, and the grape varieties and vineyards his ingredients. He got first dibs on Benziger’s top single vineyard fruit, which he used to craft countless small-lot bottlings through the 1980s and 1990s.

Bob started his eponymous wine brand in 2005 to showcase the Sonoma Coast’s top Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Sonoma County’s top Cabernet Sauvignon from his favorite sites – all crafted in his signature style developed over decades of winemaking. In the cellar, he employs modern winemaking technology to bring his fine-tuned, traditional winemaking practices to life.

His signature is extended aging in hand-picked French and American oak. The wines are released two years after harvest and show the same polished pedigree as his original, classic Sonoma County wines, considered benchmark wines today (and drink beautifully now, if you can find them).

Bob brings the same experience to his Stephen Vincent Wines, hand-crafted Sonoma County Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; and North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc. These youthful, fruit-forward wines are made to be enjoyed young, and often. Both the Robert Goyette and Stephen Vincent wines offer incredible value from a wine industry icon, who feels more pride to see his wines in a glass than on a shelf with a three figure price tag.

Wine Summary

Winery/Producer: Stephen Vincent - Robert Goyette

Grape(s): 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Zinfandel, 14% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot

Style: Red, dry

Origin: North Coast (87% Mendocino County, 13% Clarksburg), California, USA

Vinification: The grapes are harvested, macerated, and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks.

Aging: Aged in American oak barrels.