To be clear: There are a lot of very compelling wines in Sonoma proper now along with the 4 that I describe beneath.
These 4 do, nonetheless, take the heart beat of Sonoma’s present goings-on. They’re the wine equal of catching somebody’s eye from throughout a crowded room. And, as I wrote in Part One of this post, these wines symbolize Sonoma’s previous, current and future in distinctive and thrilling methods.
This quick checklist of 4 wines embrace an attractive mix of vintages from historic properties that symbolize the previous, particularly the 2018 Fort Ross Winery Pinot Noir from Gary Farrell and the particular fortieth anniversary mix of three vintages of cabernet sauvignon from Laurel Glen. The “current tense” is represented by the tank pattern of pinot noir from Rob Rubin Vineyard, which displays the pressing crush of this yr’s harvest. And I caught a glimpse of the long run in a cheeky and sudden grenache from Hamel Household Wines that factors towards uncharted and really compelling days and years forward.
Right here’s slightly extra context for these wines to explain why they “work.” I encourage you to trace them down and take the heart beat of Sonoma for your self.
2018 Fort Ross Winery Pinot Noir, Gary Farrell Vineyards & Vineyard
There’s one thing of a whisper about this wine’s quiet individualism. That is pinot pinot, so to talk: it’s pinot noir in what I contemplate the old-school model, earlier than at the moment’s larger alcohol ranges and the louder, cab/merlot profile of wine began complicated pinot’s profile within the eyes of customers. (That confusion is a subject I coated in an article just a few weeks in the past, about wine drinkers wanting pinot noir but without the pinot noir.) It isn’t simple to develop or make pinot, and definitely not within the Fort Ross space of Sonoma county. This winery is situated lower than a mile from the Pacific Ocean within the tiny Fort Ross-Seaview appellation, and it’s acknowledged as one of many closest vineyards of the California shoreline. Its origins are distant and rugged, and this wine from 2018 nonetheless maintains its identification and its composure as Sonoma pinot noir.
Laurel Glen Winery Property Cabernet Sauvignon, Particular Version
The primary “hit” of this wine is that it’s cabernet sauvignon from Sonoma Mountain. (In case you haven’t picked up on this but, I’m a type of sucker for off-the-beaten path vineyards, wines and other people.) The second “hit” of this wine is that it’s from Laurel Glen, which has been producing cab from organically farmed vineyards since 1968, and represents the tenth anniversary of recent possession underneath Bettina Sichel and her group. The third “hit” is that it’s a mix of three vintages (2007, 2011 and 2012) to commemorate the property’s fortieth anniversary. It sounds prefer it shouldn’t work or that mixing wine from three completely different years is one thing that shouldn’t be occurring. However it did. And we’re glad.
2019 Grenache from Hamel Household Wines
This wine caught me means off guard. I anticipated cabernet sauvignon from Hamel. I anticipated Bordeaux varietals, and even zinfandel. However grenache? It took me a minute to get my head across the concept and what meaning for this producer of their explicit space of Sonoma. I additionally realized throughout this tasting that Hamel has additionally been working with terroir knowledgeable Pedro Parra; I used to be out of the blue much less disoriented, and issues started to make sense. (Final yr I wrote a publish on this column referred to as “Who’s This Pedro Parra Guy Anyway? And Why Do Wine People Love Him?” That offers you a way of why the intrigue barometer went means up once I realized of his involvement.) I discovered this grenache to be very like Parra himself: oddly compelling in a enjoyable, tell-me-more type of means. It takes a minute to get used to. It didn’t take a minute, nonetheless, for me to know that I wished extra of the wine in my glass.
2021 Pinot Noir Tank Pattern from Ron Rubin Vineyard
I’m neither winemaker nor chemist, and I have no idea how this wine goes to style in six months or a yr from now. I’m an observer, nonetheless, and what I do know from observing winemaker Ed Morris on the crush pad and within the barrel room final week, is that these are pleased grapes and pleased juice. He’s a contented winemaker, with the angle of getting survived (there isn’t a different phrase for it) the ravages of latest vintages, and understanding the environmental benefience of 2021. Morris can be a fourth-generation craftsman by commerce, having shifted to winemaking from coopering, or barrel-making. He’s an agile “bridge” from previous to future, with this tank pattern’s very temporary pause within the current tense of Sonoma’s goings-on proper now.
