94-Points by Jeb Dunnuck.
A youthfully ripe magenta color, the 2022 Cattleya Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast has a lovely floral and pure, fruity nose, offering notes of raspberry coulis, fresh violets, and wet stones. and fresh mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it has very fresh focus in this vintage as well as a lovely, silky feel and fantastic balance. 
 
Winemaker Notes: Truly a product of the rugged Sonoma Coast, this Pinot Noir’s brooding deep ruby profile offers up rich and complex aromas of spiced plum, sweetheart cherries, bright raspberries with fresh notes of sandalwood and hints of dried lavender as it swirls in the glass. Laser focused at first, the broad, expansive structure soon coats the palate with luscious flavors of brambly dark berries, baking spices, toasted vanilla, and a subtle note of blood orange before finishing with approachable tannins and coastal driven acidity.
 
The Appellation:
Beyond the unquestionable allure and beauty of Sonoma County lie an amazing number of microclimates, soil conditions, and distinct geographies conducive to growing and making wonderful wines. This incredible diversity has resulted in over sixteen sub regions in this county alone, one of which is the Sonoma Coast. This cuvée is born from coastal vineyards resting at over 1,000 feel of elevation—Sun Chase and Nightwing with an incredibly diverse selection of Pinot Noir clones: 115, 667, 777, Mt Eden & Swan.
 
In 2015, Bibiana was awarded “Winemaker of the Year” by the San Francisco Chronicle, just over a year after being named one of Wine Enthusiast’s “40 Under 40 America’s Tastemakers”.
 
THE STORY
“At the age of 14, Bibiana González Rave knew that she wanted to be a winemaker. Although she had little to no exposure to the wine world in her home country of Columbia, she knew that wine, considered by her family as a luxury, revealed an incredible amount of history and tradition. Bibiana was hooked. In Columbia, she studied chemical engineering and business after which she excelled in her studies of viticulture in Cognac, and oenology from the University of Bordeaux, graduating with honors. She worked with some of the most highly regarded wineries in France and learned that “what you give to the land and your day-to-day dedication will always be present in the wines you craft.” Driven by the tenacity which first took me to France, I pruned vines during ice-cold winters, trimmed shoots in sweltering summers, and tended to the vines that cling to the sheer slopes of Côte-Rôtie—first at Domaine Stéphane Ogier, then at Domaine Clusel-Roch. At the famed estates of Château Haut-Brion & La Mission Haut-Brion, I completed research for my thesis.
After an enlightening experience working at Château Haut-Brion, she moved to California in 2004, gaining winemaking expertise while working fourteen harvests at wineries that included La Crema, Peay Vineyards, Au Bon Climat and Qupé, before becoming the Director of Winegrowing and Winemaking at Lynmar Estate in 2009. Bibiana would leave Lynmar Estate in 2011 to become the winemaker for Pahlmeyer’s Sonoma Coast project, Wayfarer. At Wayfarer she crafted exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnays that won widespread praise from the wine press including All-American awards from the PinotFile. 
 In 2012, Bibiana started her own label, Cattleya Wines, as well as the Shared Notes joint venture with her husband Jeff Pisoni and became a Consulting Winemaker.
Alma de Cattleya, her latest endeavor, signifies the “soul of the land that gives life to her wines as well as her own soul put into each drop of wine that makes it to the bottle.” (Alma is the Spanish word for “soul.”)
Bibiana González Rave wants her wines to be accessible, affordable and, of utmost importance, to be shared and enjoyed with friends and family. With each sip, these wines embrace the soul of her California home with its vineyards, orchards and farms and the love for her homeland and those who are important to her there.