2021 River Road Ranch

94 Points: Jim Gordon Wine Enthusiast - November 2023

“Soft, broad and spicy, this full-bodied wine is luxurious in cinnamon, cloves, dark plums and mulled black cherries, while velvety tannins shape the texture nicely. It’s smooth enough to drink with or without food, but there is no hurry. Best from 2025–2032.”

90 Points: James Molesworth Wine Spectator - December 2023

“Ripe and polished, with superfriendly black cherry and boysenberry puree flavors laced with a light black licorice note. Stays open and curvy through the toasty finish. A crowd-pleaser. Drink now through 2027.”

The 2021 vintage delivered a moderate and consistent growing season for most of Sonoma County, leading to a smooth, easily manageable harvest. While the continuation of drought conditions led to slightly reduced yields, the overall quality and concentration of the grapes was exceptional. We hand-harvested the grapes exactly when we wanted to in the cool evening hours of September 14 and 17, 2021.

River Road Ranch is in the cool heart of the Russian River Valley, where dense fog shrouds the vineyard. It is located on Slusser Road off of River Road. The soil is rich, sandy clay loam, where the plants can sink their roots in and grow healthy, balanced vines. This vineyard has been part of our portfolio for many years but this year, 2021, it showed a unique and precious style that we wanted to showcase as part of our Vineyard Partner Series. We source fruit from three blocks planted to three separate clones: 667, 777, and 828.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 15.2%
• cases made:

  1,068 Cases

• bottling date: 07/26/2022
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 31% new, 51% once-used

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs