Sojourn fall release-Tasting Notes

WINE TALK
1

I was out in the Sonoma area for work a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to taste thru the fall releases with Mr. Haserot.

2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Tight. Tight dark fruit and some herbal notes on the nose. Moving to cherry. Pretty dark color in the glass. Very young but opening up with some air. More dark cherry, pepper, and cola flavors as it starts to open up. Nice structure and a full mouthfeel. Long finish. The mouthfeel and finish are very typical of Sojourn’s wines. It’s getting more expressive with more air time. Came back to it after about half an hour and it has opened up. I think this may be the best AVA wine they’ve put out there and certainly the best RRV. Really beautiful pinot fruit profile with cherry dominant and a touch of cola. It is just a lovely wine. 93 pts if you must.

2011 Wohler Vyd Pinot Noir You can tell the AVA RRV wine has a lot of Wohler fruit in it since the fruit signature gives it away. Similar color and nose. Darker and more intense cherry fruit in the mouth. Somewhat less acid and structure to my palate. More intense fruit but prettier in that it is more delicate on the middle and back palate than the RRV. That is not necessarily a complement, probably depends on what you like. I think I like the structure of the RRV a bit more, but a lot of people will prefer this one because it’s easier to like. 92.

2011 Campbell Ranch Pinot Noir A new vineyard for the other Craigs. Completely different than the RRV and Wohler that I tasted before it. Much more spicy and pointy as opposed to the round richness of the RRV wines. More complex. Earthiness and forest floor on the nose and on the palate. Young pinot/sour cherry fruit profile. You know how complex Pinot smells like a primieval forest after a rain storm? This has that after opening up for a while. A bit of a short finish, but I think that is only because it is young. I’d hold this one for two years and I think it will be fantastic. Sort of like the Rodgers Creek to me. 94 pts.

2011 Silver Eagle Vineyard Pinot Noir Very approachable immediately. Delicate and somewhat sweet fruit profile. Very aromatic. Some cola and subtle chocolate notes. Spice components. Very long finish from the sweet fruit and chocolate. This will be a favorite with the people who want to drink them young. Nice mouthfeel. 91 pts.

2011 Ridgetop Vineyard Pinot Noir Much earthier, mushroomy, and darker than the previous wines. Darker color and more intense aromatics. This will need some time to develop, but it has all the typical Sojourn characteristics with fruit purity, long finish, and the round mouthfeel. Still very young. This may need some time to come around. I probably won’t let it last that long though. 94 pts.

Tired of typing now. Will post the cab notes tomorrow.

2

I bet they wish your name was RP, they would probably be thrilled with scores like that. I say this with complete ignorance to this wine and after all we all have different palates. I’ll have to keep an eye out and give the RRV a try.

3

Great notes. The ridgetop is always a favorite.

4

I believe the release is next Tuesday, the 10th.

5

Cab notes-sorry for the delay.

2010 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Very dark color in the glass. Blueberry jumps out on the nose. On the palate, blueberry, blueberry and some chocolate. It also has this telltale Spring Mountain character that I can’t describe-it’s a bit of a roughness adn dlintiness on the middle and back palates that makes the wine interesting and typical of the AVA. Creamy mouthfeel. I like the 2010 version of the wine better than the last couple of years, I think. It would be interesting to do a vertical to note the differences. People who like big cabs will really like this one. I’d give it at least a couple of years to pull itself together. 90 pts cause I like Spring Mountain and it’s really well made, just a bit big for me given where my palate is at these days.

2010 Napa Valley Proprietary Cuvee Cabernet Lighter color in the glass than the Spring Mountain. Much more lithe and soft on the nose and palate. Mostly Beckstoffer George III fruit with some Wurtele Spring Mountain added to give it some heft. The front palate is all valley floor with cherry, cassis, and some mocha. The Wurtele rounds out the mid and back palate with some blue fruits and graphite. Typical long Sojourn finish and round mouthfeel. Still very young. This will improve with some bottle time, as you’d expect given it’s a Napa Cab. 92 pts. I’d go a little higher, but it’s not exactly a qPR at $95. Still it’s where the market is. I prefer their George III if I’m going to drop a c-note on a bottle.

6

I’ve been traveling to Northern California more often the past few years with the youngest son in college at Cal, and Craig arranged a tasting of Sojourn’s latest release last week. I hadn’t gotten around to writing down any notes from the trip, but this post got me off my ass.

In general, despite many pundits claiming the 2011 vintage to be stubborn or not up to par, I have found that good winemakers make good wine even in difficult vintages. To me, the 2011 vintage –at least for Pinot – has been among the most approachable of vintages at an early age. I found these maxims to be true with most of the recent batch of Sojourns which all were stars right out of the gate. It may be that another six months of bottle age mattered, but these are all approachable now even if one or two, as noted, might be even better with some more time.

Pinot Noirs:

2011 Russian River Valley: This had a darker color than I recall previous Sojourn RRV vintages to have. My first taste was lush with deep dark fruit and a bit of acid. After a few minutes, the flavors developed more fully, with deep cherry and spice characters and a nice mouthfeel of the fruit, still with a touch of acid . I would rate all of these wines above 90, with the RRV getting at least 94 points.

2011 Wohler (RRV): As I indicated with the Campbell Ranch bottling, I tasted this out of order, and was very pleased to see I could still tell the difference between RRV and Sonoma Coast wines without being told what I am tasting. This one had some of the acid and the dark fruit profile of the Wohler vineyard, with a deep dark cherry color. It was more pronounced than with the RRV blend, with much more brightness in the fruit. This one was great right out of the gate (maybe sitting in the glass 10 minutes before I tog to it). This wine is a Star. 96 Points.

2011 Campbell Ranch: I am told this is a new one for Sojourn. It had the classic Sonoma Coast profile, with much more spice and earthiness in both taste and aroma. I tasted this out of order, which highlighted the difference from it and the Wohler and RRV blend (which has a lot of Wohler in it). This wine did take a few minutes to develop in the glass with a more muted cherry (perhaps blackberry) profile. The finish was nice but not as pronounced as with some of the others. I agree with Craig that this one may change a bit with age. I am a fan of the earthy pinot profile and will look to see how this changes in the next year or so. 91 points.

2011 Silver Eagle: I was excited to see Sojourn get these grapes as I am a fan of RM’s Silver Eagle. This one was softer and much more complex than the first three I tasted, tough I hesitate to say it was more Burgundian. It has a beautiful mouthfeel with some cherry, cola and spice notes on the finish. This is WOW now. Don’t know what the future would change, but I like it. 94 Points.

2011 Ridgetop: My first taste was a deep, dark mouthful of wonderful fruit. Very dark, almost plum-like, in the glass. As I swirled the glass, I detected some earthiness and the spice developed, but even though this one seemed to be “bigger” in fruit profile, this wine seemed to more subdued than the Campbell Ranch or Silver Eagle . I really liked the oomph of the fruit. The finish seemed to go on for a long time. 93 Points.

Cabernet Sauvignon:

2010 Spring Mountain: This had the pronounced mountain fruit profiles I get from Spring Mountain , with some plum, blackberry and maybe a bit of cassis on the palate. Dark in color and rich in flavor, with some notes of cocoa and graphite. The richness of the fruit did seem to battle a little with the alcohol on the finish, but that would probably change with some air or time in the cellar (which is to be expected when one is given a young Cabernet that had little time to breath). 91 Points.


2010 Napa Valley Proprietary Cuvee: I have always been a huge fan of the Proprietary Cuvee, as well as the GIII bottling. The GIII fruit is notable in this wine, with the classic Rutherford dust profile, muted blackberry, cocoa or mocha and spiced notes in a very long finish that I come to expect from this blend. The oak was present, but not pronounced. 95 Points.

Across the board, the 2011 Sojourn Pinots delivered.

7

Tasted the line-up this AM. Despite harvest craziness, Craig kindly took time to stop in and we had a great time catching up. Will post better notes when I have a chance (and a better keyboard). But will say this is one of the most solid Sojourn line-ups across the board.

For me, Campbell is the standout Pinot, at least as they’re drinking now. RRV and Wohler come in very quick succession right behind it. Silver Eagle next, I found it fairly mellow and easy drinking. Ridgetop next. It’s been my favorite in some past years. Quite good again this year, but I found the others showing a bit better.

The cabs were both stellar. Agree with above note that the 2010 may be the best Spring Mountain vintage I’ve had. And of course the cuvée was a stunner. I liked the two nearly equally, but my two companions thought the cuvée stood out.

The Sonoma Coast we started with was a great version with just a hint of oak and a nice roundness. But overall seemed more Burgundian, which is a positive for me.

Very happy about this release.

8

Thank you for the excellent notes, Craig & Bruce. Had a chance to taste the Silver Eagle and Campbell Ranch a couple weeks ago and thought both were stellar, with agreement that the SE in particular is good now. Waiting to put the Sojourn CR side by side with a Papapietro to taste the differences.

9

I agree with Chad. Was there last week and the Campbell Ranch was the winner for me.

10

Just got my offer via email.

11

Great notes. Craig makes some killer wines at Sojourn. I’ve never had the Cuvee but I like that it combines fruit from a few places, including Spring Mountain’s Wurtle vineyard. The Terra Valentine Wurtle Cab is one of my favorites.

12

Chad, good to see you earlier this week - thanks to the rest of the folks for the nice notes on our Fall wines.

The theme of this harvest is “compression”, lots of fruit getting ripe in a Very short timeframe. That said, gotta go!

13

Had a chance to taste the new releases with some friends. Craig and crew did a real nice job with the 2011 pinots…

2011 RRV- Med ruby in color. Expressive nose of cherry and spice. Nice bright red cherry on the palate with a little spice and a touch of pine that build into a nice zippy finish. Showing real well right now. A little lighter than previous RRV but has the silky Sojourn mouth feel and has very nice balance. It’s drinking real well right now. Would be happy to sip this or serve with food. Very good and my favorite RRV vintage.

2011 Campbell- A touch deeper in color with a shy nose of cherry and cranberry. Zippy entry of cherry and cranberry. Nice balance but holding back. Develops in the glass. Good right now and would expect this to pick up a bit of complexity and weight with some time in bottle. Excited by this new vineyard. Good with potential.

2011 Silver Eagle- oh boy, nice red and dark fruit with Chinese spice. It build through the mid palate into a juicy finish. Showing very well now. Might give these a little time but drinking very well. Very good.

2011 Wohler- similar to last year. Very good . spicy red fruit with silky fine grain tannins. Silky mouthfeel. Just delish right now. A favorite for our group.

2011 ridgetop- The biggest of the lineup. Big nose of darker fruit. Lush with weight but not heavy. Similar to last year. Holding back a bit. Will be very good especially if you like more weight and body with your pinot.

2010 spring mtn- wow is this good right now. Very expressive nose that leads to dark red fruit, bitter chocolate with a touch of cedar. Fine tannins that provide nice structure. Really balanced with everything in place. Very good right now but will give a few years . very good !

2010 PC-Big lush a touch rich showing well right now but should develop a bit more with time. Very good .

A real nice line up of wines.

14

My wife and I had the chance to taste these recently. A few notes.

2011 Ridgetop (SC) Pinot
Upon opening, had a bit more of the barnyard and earthy notes. Had the most aromatics of the SCs. The earthy notes carried through to the tasting. Of the Pinots in this lineup, this was the most Sonoma Coast to me. Had that SC spiciness and mushroom. This wine seemed to also have the most fruit flavors, particularly dried cherry flavors and plum. I would also say it is the most ready of the SC Pinots.

2011 Silver Eagle (SC) Pinot
The Silver Eagle had more of the sweet fruit flavors. Lots of cherry going on here. Was softer than the Ridgetop, which was more bold. This was my wife’s favorite.

2011 Campbell Ranch (SC) Pinot
This was very much an SC Pinot as well. The spiciest of the SC vineyards. Had plenty of earth and forest floor. The fruit profile of this was much more to the tart (not quite sour) side, dried cherry and raspberry. Of the vineyards, this one needs the most bottle time. This was my favorite.

2011 Wohler (RRV) Pinot
Very much an RRV. Much more bright. A more subtle and delicate wine than the SCs. Lots of cherry. Great wine already out of the bottle.

2011 RRV Pinot
Was probably the most tight out of the bottle, but also the one that settled the most and the most quickly in the glass. Gave way to cherries and some spice. Nice, fun Pinot.

2010 Spring Mtn. District Cab (Napa Valley)
The Cabs were all good right out of the bottle. Just delicious and lush. Love the mix of cedar and leather, smoke and tobacco. Nice balance of tannins. Nice blueberry and blackberry fruit, some cherry. Some spice. Drinks well now.

2010 Proprietary Cuvee Cab (Napa Valley)
Similar to Spring Mtn, but more complex and deeper. Moves from lush to luscious. More cocoa, chocolate and dark cherry, and darker fruit. More earth and mineral. The other is very approachable now (and this is too), but one that would love more time in the bottle. Has much more structure. Both Cabs are just great, and this is a good one to put aside and let it get some more time. Terrific wine.

15

Thanks for such a great report.

Thanks

16

Some recent notes. Another solid performance!

The Cabs

Spring Mountain:

cassis, dark red fruits, spicy oak, with underbrush and herbs. nice balance. feminine and finesse. silky mouth feel. expands on the finish. a killer deal at $59.

Poprietary Blend:

a bit darker, more electric in color. more intensity and complexity than the spring mountain. dark red fruit profile, dark chocolate brownie, minerals, woody herbaciousness, full body. spice, herbs, and cassis on the lingering finish. i think i’d give this a slight leg up on the '10 GIII, and i really like the GIII. in an endless ocean of $100 wanna-be napa cabs, this shines.

The Pinots

Russian River Blend:

this is always a solid appellation blend, and this year is no different. cherries, earth, with that signature creamy mouth feel. a great midweek wine.

Wohler Pinot Noir:

the darkest of the svd pinots. nutmeg, spearmint, pine, underbrush. lots earth and pine on the palate. more heft and tannins than the rest of the line up. creamy but rounded out by good acid. long finish.

Cambell Ranch:

raspberries and cherries with spice and forrest floor. zesty red fruits in the mouth. silky mouthfeel. great balance. a terrific new addition and well worth a look.

Silver Eagle:

i love that rivers marie does with this site, so i’m stoked to try sojourn’s version.

crunchy red fruits. and a dash of five spice. silkier than the Wholer. the pedigree is obvious and the wine is full of class. the most feminine of the bunch. this is terrific. ends with red apple skins.

Ridgetop:

this is always one of the more interesting signatures, but also one of the more reserved at this stage. a little shy but some coaxing reveals cool red and blue fruits, earth, and mint. silky - just feels great in the mouth. i’ve come to associate this site with a tropical, pineapple element, yet i’m not finding it today. this one needs to be put away for a little while.

while it’s usually a toss up for me between the sangiacomo and the ridgetop, i have to say that silver eagle stole the show for me.

17

I agree with your notes. I thought this was Smooth and silky, with cherry and cola notes. Glad I have 2 bottles in my cellar. Popped at 5:00. Started drinking at 6:00. Dinner was broiled flounder. A perfect pairing.

18

that second note was for the silver eagle.

i bet any of these pinots would’ve gone well with the flounder :slight_smile:

19

Fall release is awesome. Ridge Top and Silver Eagle are the stars of the line up, but production just isn’t big enough :frowning:. Probably goes a long, long way in explaining the quality. Both have bright, bright futures, and show racy, clean, pure flavors now with excellent texture and structure. Campbell Ranch shows killer now. A bit bigger though, the first two are more my speed, much more Burgundian.

The Proprietary Cuvee rocks the the house too. Such a great wine every year.

20

Excited to see my shipment is on its way.