Some insights into the new Sojourn Pinot releases.

I have become a big fan of the whole Sojourn lineup. Crazy enough, I was brought to that discovery by the entry level Sonoma Coast bottling a few years back, Since then I am gaining a tremendous appreciation for all of the vineyard designated bottlings and there have been some I never sampled. Tonight I was made whole. Craig graciously sent me these seeking my insight so I figured with four new Pinots in my lap, it’s time for a duck party!!
Five of us in my Peking Pinot group were set for Thursday night at the temple of duck, Peking Duck House. Josh brought a 2012 Ceritas that was simply wonderful.

Here is what we found…(but only after that tremendous Ceritas Chardonnay)

  • 2012 Ceritas Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (8/29/2015)
    This is a beautiful wine. Bright and fresh with slight notes of lemon peel, lemon grass and honeydew. Mouthfeel is deeply textured, I love the glycerin this exhibits. Perfectly balanced with acidity just carrying it all across the tongue. This is pure and graceful. Love it. So did the gang. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2013 Sojourn Pinot Noir Campbell Ranch Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (8/29/2015)
    Nose of bright bing cherries, palate shows a super elegant styled Pinot with notes of sarsaparilla and cherries; Pure and beautifully textured, this is bold and powerful with some darker fruits emerging along the way The acidity is a wee-bit high on this but detraction is small and yes, it’s young. Finish remains pure and is long. Food did not play as well with this as I thought it would. A very nice bottle on my number two on the night. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2013 Sojourn Pinot Noir Ridgetop Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (8/29/2015)
    Darker on the eyes. Nose of red raspberries and blackberries. Palate shows some spiciness that brings interest. The dark fruit profile is well controlled by the acidity. As it sits in the glass it begins to show a mid-palate shrillness that could be distracting. It started and remained the groups least favorite of the lineup. Time in the bottle will be key to this one. One to watch. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2013 Sojourn Pinot Noir Wohler Vineyard Russian River Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (8/29/2015)
    Stop the presses! This is amazing in 2013! Dark berry fruits on the nose and palate, this shows amazing elegance and structure. I love the blackberry smoothie feel to this. The real showstopper is the gracefulness it exhibits for the full ride. It’s pure, deeply layered and perfectly balanced and it’s near-mesmerizing effect on three of the five senses is incredible. The intensity never lets up. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

  • 2013 Sojourn Pinot Noir Silver Eagle Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (8/29/2015)
    I was most interesting in peeking into this one. The nose had some nice red strawberries and red-raspberries. Palate showed a wonderful brightness, this had the verve I love. Slight notes of cardamom and cedar. This is certainly distinct in the lineup tonight. As it sat it gained some exotic spices and a bit of rhubarb. Balance was nice. A bigger bolder style that’s color deifies. An interesting delightful wine that should prove a home-run within 3-4 years. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

The wines showed beautifully. The duck was extra good on this night.
The Wohler had 5 out of 5 first place votes. We were all in agreement, it’s spectacular.
The Campbell had 2 second place votes until the retaste, where if got all 5 votes as number 2. Never seen that happen before.
The Silver Eagle started as the number 2 wine but finished clearly on the number 3 spot. At retaste it lost 3 to the Campbell. wow, 5 for 5 third place.
The Ridgetop had 5 4th place votes.

After hosting approximately 70 dinners and being a guest at 20 or so more, I have never seen such a shift in consensus as I did this evening. I owe it to a few things: wonderful wines and highly opinionated and not afraid to say it experienced tasters. My son Michael, the ‘fifth man’ in the group was the first to change his votes. After 45 minutes of not saying much of anything, he had a lot to say as the evening was drawing to a close. I guess I did something right.

If ‘good night’ was ever to be considered an understatement, this was the night.
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The Wohler and the Campbell Ranch were standouts when we tasted them earlier this month in Sonoma.

Thank you for posting.