Thomas 2018

Always a great day when this shows up in the mail!

Never had them. Can you elaborate on them?

Haven’t gotten mine yet.

Elegant, age worthy pinot noir from estate fruit planted in 1984. The vineyard is in the northwest portion of the Dundee Hills, but unlike most of the AVA, it sits on relatively shallow Willakenzie soil. John Thomas is a one-man show, decidedly old-school, and a really nice guy.

Got mine today

FWIW, I had a chance to visit with John many years ago.
He was remarkably humble, reticent, told me about how he searched for land for years before he bought his place and tasted thru most of his stuff in elevage with me. It was a visit I won’t forget - just he and I for maybe two hours.
I have given up buying here (which I regret from time to time) but, if I had a bit more income, this would be first on the list.
I also visited with several neighbors who grew grapes and made wine and, to a person, they said John would do anything for his grapes - no matter the time or difficulty.
The vintages that I had are gone but I recall that magnums at 12 were young and balanced with lots of life left in them. And the ‘94 in 750 at 20 was utterly charming.
Thanks for the post - it takes me back . . .
Best, jim

Since you’ve probably already put on a few pounds this year, the last thing I want to do is tempt you with an appetite enhancer. As luck would have it, the 2018 vintage begs for a bit of cellaring. Just think, three years from now you’ll be able to lure dinner guests with the promise of a glass in order to gift them with a jar of your pandemic pickles. Such foresight! Your better half will be impressed.

This being a small berry vintage, the wine is unusually dark and well-structured. It sports a brooding nose, pronounced mid-palate and bright, clean finish. In short, it’s that rare vintage featuring both high natural acidity and optimal ripeness. Following a growing season that showcased the nicest spring I’ve witnessed in fifteen years, the fruit was harvested on October 13th. Four acres yielded 492 cases that were bottled by gravity following 23 months in barrel.

To your continued good health

Pardon the dumb question, but is this the wine with the mailing / waiting list where you have to be given the secret phone number and call that number to get on?

Order in. It was your rec Jim back in the day that got me “hooked.” I do have some '05 mags that I must retrieve from the offsite locker…

Cheers,
JP

As it was at 25.

I believe so. I was lucky enough to find the 16 at retail.

What’s the tariff this year?

Full case - $820
Full Monty (8 bottles + 2 mags) - $840
Half Case - $420
Joe 5Pak (4 bottles + 1 mag) - $430
2 Magnums - $320

Does anyone have any insight on the winemaking? Stems? Cap management?

Had a 2011 last night and it was in great shape. Reminded me a little of Pommard.

I know his 4 acres is dry farmed and had to be replanted in the mid to late ‘90’s because of virus. He did that a little at a time.
When I visited he talked about not doing too much and letting the wine be what it will be but never spoke of technique.
Based on tasting only, I’d say there is some stem inclusion. No idea about cap management, temps, etc.
Best, Jim

It is always a vintage driven decision. To give you and idea: Below is a message I received from John when I asked him about what I was tasting in the 2014 vintage wine.

"Michael,
Well, you’re noticing a couple of different things. For starters, the vintage was the warmest we’ve ever had (2015 & 2016 have continued that pattern) so the fruit was opulent to begin with.
Secondly, I took advantage of that ripeness by including a high percentage of whole cluster fruit in the fermentation. One can’t do this every year 2016 was equally warm but the stems remained
unusually bright green & bitter so the vintage was destemmed 100% but it provides a nice counterpoint to the ripeness. Glad to hear that you enjoyed a bottle already. It should be interesting to
see how the wine evolves over the next seven to ten years.

Happy Holidays,
-John"

Thank you, Michael and Jim!

JT does not own a press, so it’s all free run juice. He has two large vats that he made from a milk storage tank. I may be misremembering, but I’m pretty sure he uses them for both fermenting and assembling barrels prior to bottling. Everything lives in the small winery he built into the hillside next to the vineyard.

I’ve been traveling and can’t wait to return Tue to confirm my offer has arrived. I wrote him last year and have no idea how I got so lucky to be added (perhaps it was the naked begging!), but I ordered the full monty and plan on doing the same this year.

Oh boy, got home early and no offer in the mail. I’m hoping maybe tomorrow? Does he send them out in a tiered system?