I have done the same, to a point. Their pinots, despite the high scores, never really did much for me. Always too fruit, often hot and overextracted. On the other hand, I started opening their cabernets and have been very, very happy with each one so far. Going forward I’ll probably just buy their cabs and occasionally their chardonnay for when we want a slutty, CA bottle.
I kept clicking the card I got in the mail and nothing happened. Then I looked for the asterisk and couldn’t find it.
I am dialing back, but not due to a lack of enjoyment - it’s more of a budget issue. I will probably go for the Silver Eagle and the RRV, but have to pass on others.
Beau, thanks you for using “slutty” as a positive. I’m with you.
we LOVE the Sonoma Coast PN but the others are a bit much for our palates.
My pleasure! I think it fits the bill, from my perspective, yet it isn’t undrinkable for us.
We had a chance to taste through the upcoming Fall Release of wines. Fans of Sojourn wines will be very happy with them.
2012 RRV- med ruby in color. Dark red fruit with some forest floor pine notes on the nose. Slightly rich but zippy dark red fruit. Rich silky texture with good acidity and structure to balance everything out. Good to very good.
2012 Wohler- to me the Wohler is like the RRV with a touch more richness and depth. Nose was a bit shy but picking up dark fruit and a bit more pine/earth. A touch richer and deeper on the palate and a bit closed at this point. This is usually one of my favorites of the fall release. This needs a bit more time or decant if you drink now. Very good.
2012 Silver Eagle- Med ruby in color, zesty red fruit and spice on the nose. Deep red cherry and berry that has some zip from nice acidity that balances out the richness and provides structure. A bit tight and would give this some time to unwind. Very good.
2012 Campbell Ranch- whoa, perhaps the most expressive nose of all. Zippy red fruit, spice and a distinctive herb note that leads to an expressive well-structured wine. Dark red fruit with a slight tropical note with nice acidity. Seems to cover the entire palate and the finish is long and slightly chewy. Give this some cellar time or decant. Wonderful Sonoma Coast pinot. Excellent !
2012 Ridgetop- bright complex nose of cherry and spice. A touch lush on an expansive palate of deep red fruit that has a slight richness and is deep and complex. A deft touch of oak provides a touch of vanilla on a long finish. Can use time or decant. Flip a coin for me between this and the Campbell as the top pinots for this release. Excellent !
The mouth feel on the SC wines are a bit more zippy then the traditional silky feel of the past. A very nice set of pinot’s. Cab notes to follow later.
Disclaimer- We know the Sojourn folks very well as we host the Tampa Spring Release party each year.
Cheers,
Fred
How do the 2011s compare to the 2012s? I have only tried a few of the 2011s and really liked them but wonder if the 2012s will be too big for my tastes.
Brian- i went back and looked at my 2011 notes to compare. Those wines all had a little less structure and were pretty open for business. They all drank well early. I think these wines are a notch above but most could use a little time. I didn’t get any heat on any of the wines nor did they come off as riper to prior vintages. I think the 07’s and the 09’s might have been the biggest for my tastes.
Generally, I prefer Sojourn Pinots within a year or 2 of release and think these will be very good.
Thanks Fred.
What’s the pricing like on these?
I think the release letter goes out tomorrow (Tues). I got to taste most of them, I think. Let me find my notes, and I’ll post.
Most are $59/btl, Wohler is $48, RRV is $42, Oakville Cab. is $69.
This is an interesting delivery approach . . . thoughts? I’ve never encountered this dual-mode shipping. Seems to take a while too.
We are planning to ship your wine on Thursday September 18, 2014.
We are taking advantage of a service from our fulfillment house whereby the wine is shipped across the country in one of their own, temperature-controlled trucks.
Here is the schedule:
Truck departs Thursday, September 18, 2014 and will arrive at the gateway approximately Thursday September 25, 2014.
Orders are put into the UPS system on Friday, September 26, 2014 Tracking information is generated and sent to you via email.
Orders are sent out for delivery via UPS starting approximately, Monday September 29th or Tuesday September 30th , 2014.
Andrew, thanks for your support for Sojourn. As wine collectors ourselves, we take wine shipping very seriously. We understand that our customers expect us to look out for the wines they purchase from us and we review temperatures across the country twice each week, not just in Sonoma or the delivery locations, but also in route.
Temperature-controlled trucks, or the “dual-mode” shipping approach, allows wineries to delivery wines to locations where the temperatures are moderate but the normal trucking route takes the wine through hot states such as Utah and Colorado that could compromise the wines in route. This service is priced only slightly above standard Ground Shipping, so we can still offer shipping included on orders of 6 bottles or more.
It has been a good solution that many of our customers appreciate and it gets wine into our customers hands quicker. One issue is that we can not provide a UPS tracking number the day the wine leaves our warehouse. We also offer upgraded shipping by air on request. We would welcome feedback on the various shipping options we offer, so if anyone would like to discuss their experiences, please email me directly at chaserot@sojourncellars.com.
I’ll say this without being rude, I for one appreciate the care in making sure wine is handled with care en-route. I consider this my first serious year investing in wine for enjoyment and cellaring. Personally, I’m impressed by Sojourn and others who seem to give a damn about shipping wine with care to make sure it arrives sound. I’d rather get my wine late and fresh than fast and vinegary. I also appreciate the heads up. This release marks my second order and I so appreciate the care. Much better than some others who seem to be intentionally vague about how and when I’ll receive my wine (cough cough and those 100 acres)
additional ratings can be found in WS. Majority in the 88 range. All rated by James Laube depending if you like his style
Craig - Thanks for response. My original post may have come off as a bit unhappy, which wasn’t my intent. (The length of time, while long, still means the wine arrives more quickly than waiting until assuredly cooler weather). Having never been exposed to such a delivery mechanism I was more curious about others’ experiences than anything.
I appreciate the time you took to explain it more fully, not to mention the thinking behind it (including balancing shipping costs, times, and safety).
I look forward to drinking a bottle soon (although not too soon!)
With the weather cooling, a bit of a temporary timeout in harvest to catch up on this thread and answer a few questions/comments from above.
Andrew, all good.
Joe, the Oakville Cabernet is in a really good space, fruit from Oakville Ranch. Lots of fancy folks taking fruit from here including Harlan, Andy Erickson, etc.
Mike, we have raised prices on two of our nine Pinot’s in the past 10 years, Sangiacomo and Gap’s Crown. I was reviewing fruit pricing, and since we started making these wines, the Sangiacomo fruit price per ton has gone up 80%, Gap’s Crown up 76.5%. Just saying. That said, we make a really nice Sonoma Coast Pinot noir which is still priced at $39.
Brian, the Fall Pinot noir wines with the most detail and precision are 2012 Russian River Valley and 2012 Silver Eagle Vineyard - these seem like they might be the most appropriate for your palate.
Beau, I don’t think we have met, but if you are in Sonoma I would be happy to sit and taste through our Sojourn wines with you. Maybe you could bring a bottle of your Gamay with you for me to taste.
Hope this helps.
I’m about to make Craigs phone ring. 
Just purchased the Silver Eagle and Ridgetop.
I think I am going to buy one bottle at a time - one bottle a day - then send an email saying, “Hey can you put all 12 of those in one box?” “Oh! And did you apply the case savings/discount?”