Three Sticks’ 2023 Gap’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir is a Sonoma Coast bottling from the estate’s founding site, Gap’s Crown, a large vineyard property that Three Sticks describes as the “birthplace” of the winery. The vineyard climbs from roughly 300 to 900 feet and is known for Goulding cobbly clay loam and related soil types, factors that often translate into perfume and tension in Pinot Noir.

This vintage has drawn notably strong critical praise, led by an excellent 96-point review from *Wine Enthusiast*. Tom R. Capo highlights a “lifted” aromatic profile of “fresh berries, Bing cherries, pithy orange peel, and black tea,” then calls out how the wine holds its shape: “neatly balanced tannin and acid,” with “savory spice melange ebbing and flowing through the finale.”

*Vinous* also rates it at an excellent 95 points, with Antonio Galloni calling it “nearly seamless in the glass” and “one of the most elegant wines in this range from Three Sticks.” He emphasizes “silky, nuanced tannins,” “lifted aromatics,” and a finish driven by “brisk, salivating acids,” with flavors moving through “blood orange, mint, cinnamon and rose petal.”

At 94 points, Jeb Dunnuck notes it can show “a touch reductive” on opening, but says it “benefits from a bit of air” and rewards with “expressive notes of ripe cherries, peppery lift, fresh flowers, sweet herbs, [and] orange peel.” He adds a key winemaking detail: it includes “about 25% whole clusters,” and he sees a long runway, recommending it “over the coming 15 years” (2026–2041).

*Wine Spectator* (93 points) frames it as “succulent, fresh, charming,” layering “red tea, rose hip, cherry and raspberry” with “a light sandalwood accent,” and reports “565 cases made,” with a drink window through 2031. James Suckling (93 points) underscores its brightness and structure, citing “crushed raspberries, chalk… pink peppercorns and orange zest,” plus “a long finish and seamless tannins.”