About CIRQ Estate
CIRQ Estate takes its name from the French cirque — the circular theatrical performance space, or alternatively the glacial amphitheater carved by ancient ice, a bowl-shaped depression in the mountain landscape. The estate's Fort Ross-Seaview location on the extreme Sonoma Coast has that amphitheater character: surrounded by forested ridges, overlooking the Pacific, a natural cirque in the western Sonoma mountains where Pinot Noir grows in conditions unlike any other California wine region.
The Fort Ross-Seaview AVA is among California's coolest and most dramatically maritime wine zones — the Pacific Ocean is visible from the vineyard, and the daily marine fog and wind create growing conditions that challenge Pinot Noir to produce its most structurally tense expression. CIRQ's wines from this extreme site have attracted critical attention for their tension, minerality, and aging potential.
Wine Advocate has scored CIRQ's Fort Ross-Seaview Pinot Noir at 92–96 points, recognizing the exceptional quality achievable from the Sonoma Coast's most dramatically positioned vineyard sites.