Our Wines

Library / Prior Releases

2011 January Release Newsletter (pdf 1.5mb)

2010 Spring Release Newsletter (pdf 1.6mb)

2009 Fall Release Newsletter (pdf 2.2mb)

2009 Spring Release Newsletter (pdf 8.7mb)

2009 Triptiko - Three Year Vertical of Sonatera Vineyard

2008 Soliste Pinot Noir L'Espérance Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

Continuing our search for the "Pinot Noir Grail," the Exceptional 2008 vintage is the result of a maturing vineyard in the expert hands of our amazing team, bringing to focus our desire to craft a pinot noir of great depth, complexity, finesse and balance. This is our best and purest representation of this magical cépage.

L’Espérance comes primarily from a small vineyard in the cool Sonoma Coast. The site has a northwestern exposure and a gentle slope with excellent drainage for the Goldridge sandy loam soil. Approximately 13 miles from the Pacific Ocean, nightly fog is the trademark of this meticulously tended and sustainably farmed vineyard.

Lower than average rainfall initiated earlier budbreak resulting in open clusters of small berries of un-usual complexity. We harvested at midnight to keep the grapes cold for crush. 15% whole clusters were reserved and the balance was gently destemmed. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels with 28% new for 11 months and bottled in late August 2009.

Tasting Notes:
Le Regard / The Look
Vibrant Ruby purity of crushed griottine (wild cherries) with a deep scarlet raspberry clarity and luminosity.

Le Nez / The Nose
Stunning aromatics of mushrooms, sous-bois (forest floor), lively scents of raspberries, griottes (wild cherries) and tea leaves interlaced with earthy and chamomille undertones. As the wine evolves, the aromatics become more voluptuous, with strawberry rhubarb tumbling out of the glass, superbly pure and complex adding vanilla and sandalwood.

Degustation / The Taste
Piercingly pure red fruit, with an intensity that almost defies description. Elegant, wild cherry compote, crystalline, with great purity of raspberry, wild strawberry, yet there is again this incredible finesse and lightness to the wine, making it ethereal. A fine layer of mushroom, bacon and herbal aromatics are inter-laced with the finest tannins and fresh acidity, all adding to some absolutely beautiful structure. Finish has incredible length of tart cherries, raspberries and exotic spice, tea must, and cedar, winding down in a rather rich and powerful tail, albeit still commanding great elegance and complexity.

Soliste L’Espérance in 2008 is a wine of finesse and complexity. It is a brilliant hedonistic Pinot Noir.

Complete Release Notes (pdf)

2008 Soliste Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

Continuing our search for the "Pinot Noir Grail," the Exceptional 2008 vintage is the result of a maturing vineyard in the expert hands of our amazing team, bringing to focus our desire to craft a pinot noir of great depth, complexity, finesse and balance. This is our best and purest representation of this magical cépage.

Sonatera is an artisan Pinot Noir vineyard near Sebastopol. On a ridgeline with slopes facing north, south and west the Goldridge Sandy Loam soil with low fertility and high acidity supports Dijon 777 and 115 clones. Each afternoon, brisk marine winds blow over the vines during the growing season. This chilled air reduces the vines’ vigor and extends the ripening period of the grapes without developing extreme sugar, enabling exceptionally complex and nuanced flavors.

The warm growing season resulted in a crop of small berries with unusual concentration. We harvested at midnight to keep the grapes cold for crush. 25% whole clusters were reserved and the balance was gently destemmed. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels with 35% new for 11 months and bottled in late August 2009.

Tasting Notes:
Le Regard / The Look
Intense luminosity of ruby gem with crushed raspberry robe (color) and deep boysenberry clarity. A classic.

Le Nez / The Nose
Focused aromatics of griottes (wild cherries), boysenberries and raspberries, interlaced with sous-bois (dead foliage), herbal undertones, violets, and mushrooms. As the wine evolves in the glass or decanter, the aromatics become more voluptuous, superbly pure and complex adding vanilla and cedar – incredibly exotic.

Degustation / The Taste
Complex, exotic, and silky; wild cherries, ripe raspberries and cranberries are layered with herbal under-tones of sage and mint, mushroom and sous-bois (dead foliage). The wine is very focused and the harmonious tannins create a finesse and elegance rarely seen. The red fruit acidity completes the balance to magnify the length into a long finish of soft roast coffee, vanilla and cedar.

Soliste Sonatera in 2008 possesses great depth and power, yet amazing elegance, silk and grace.
Complete Release Notes (pdf)

2007 Soliste Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

As we search for the “Pinot Noir Grail,” mother nature, a maturing vineyard and our amazing team combined to reward us with a benchmark vintage. This is a wine of great depth and complexity that will age well and deliver many great memories.

Sonatera is an artisan Pinot Noir vineyard near Sebastopol. On a ridgeline with slopes facing north, south and west the Goldridge Sandy Loam soil with low fertility and high acidity supports Dijon 777 and 115 clones. Each afternoon, brisk marine winds blow over the vines during the growing season. This chilled air reduces the vines’ vigor and extends the ripening period of the grapes without developing extreme sugar, enabling exceptionally complex and nuanced flavors.

Concluding a near perfect growing season, we harvested at midnight to keep the grapes cold for crush. We reserved 15% whole clusters and the balance was gently destemmed. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels with 33% new for 10 months and bottled in late August 2008.

Tasting Notes:
Le Regard / The Look
Vibrant boysenberry and crushed wild cherries robe (color)with a deep cassis clarity and luminosity.

Le Nez / The Nose
Intense aromatics of black fruits, griottes (wild cherries) and quetches (wild dark plums), interlaced with earthy and herbal undertones, violets, exotic Balinese black pepper and mushrooms. As the wine evolves in the glass or decanter, the aromatics become more voluptuous, superbly pure and complex adding vanilla and sandalwood -- what purists wait for in a Pinot Noir.

Degustation / The Taste
Powerful and chewy, dark cherries, black fruits and dark plums are layered with herbal undertones (eucalyptus and mint), mushroom and sous-bois (dead foliage). The wine is very focused and the tannins create fine structure and density. The elegant acidity defines an amazing length and one can hardly speak of finish as the wine keeps going and going with nuances of coffee, chocolate and caramelized plums.

Soliste Sonatera in 2007 possesses great depth and power, yet amazing elegance, silk and grace.
Complete Release Notes (pdf)

2007 Soliste Pinot Noir L’Espérance, Sonoma Coast

Silk and Lace

L'Espérance comes primarily from a small vineyard in the cool Sonoma Coast. The site has a northwestern exposure and a gentle slope with excellent drainage for the Goldridge clay loam soil. Approximately 13 miles from the Pacific Ocean, nightly fog is the trademark of this meticulously tended and sustainably farmed vineyard.

Concluding a near perfect growing season, we harvested at midnight to keep the grapes cold for crush. We reserved 5% whole clusters and the balance was gently destemmed. Following fermentation, the wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels with 25% new for 10 months and bottled in late August 2008.

Tasting Notes:
Le Regard / The Look
L'Espérance is vibrant with bright ruby robe (color) with the clarity of fresh red berries.

Le Nez / The Nose
Ripe raspberry and nuances of groseilles (red currants) with a touch of violet, vanilla and strawberry rhubarb.

Degustation / The Taste
Razor sharp elegance with feminine expression of raspberries, wild strawberries and red currants interlaced with soft sandalwood, elegant tannins, spice and herbal aromas. The long finish is layered with tart red cherries, firm acid and subtle delicate flavors.

Soliste L'Espérance in 2007 is “Silk and Lace” – exceptionally balanced, a wine of great beauty.  Complete Release Notes (pdf)

2009 Soleil Rouge Rosé de Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

Soleil Rouge is “Le Vin des Amis” – fresh, lively, served chilled to warm your heart and fill you with joy and conviviality. Enjoy with charcuterie, oysters, or our favorite, fire pit paella. Just a few cases are available – this year we will work even harder to drink them all first!

Tasting Notes:
The pinot noir heritage is unmistakable: Luscious aroma of rose petals and groseilles (red currants); followed by the taste of sun-dried Fraise des Bois (wild strawberries) and griottes (tart wild cherries), rhubarb, and raspberry, then finally lingering into bright citrus acidity and spice. Once again we ask, why oh why did we make so little of it?

2008 Soleil Rouge Rosé de Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

In 2007 we created a very small amount of Rosé from our best Pinot Noir vineyards as a fun experiment and because we just love Rosé. It tasted so amazing that we simply had to repeat in 2008 and share with you to celebrate summer. Soleil Rouge is a crisp, vivacious refreshing Rosé with complexity and balanced acidity that, we will promise you, will not last long in our cellars. The only thing better than a chilled glass of Rosé, is another glass of Rosé, followed by a glass of Soliste Pinot Noir.

Soleil Rouge is “Le Vin des Amis” – fresh, lively, served chilled to warm your heart and fill you with joy and conviviality. Enjoy with charcuterie, oysters, or our favorite, fire pit paella. Just a few cases are available – if we don’t drink them all first!

Tasting Notes:
The pinot noir heritage is unmistakable: Luscious aroma of rose petals and groseilles (red currants); followed by the taste of sun-dried Fraise des Bois (wild strawberries) and griottes (tart wild cherries), rhubarb, and raspberry, then finally lingering into bright citrus acidity and spice. Why oh why did we make so little of it???

2006 Soliste Pinot Noir Sonatera Vineyard, Sonoma Coast

Sonatera is an artisan Pinot Noir vineyard near Sebastopol. On a ridgeline with slopes facing north, south and west the Goldridge Sandy Loam soil with low fertility and high acidity supports Dijon 777 and 115 clones. Each afternoon, brisk marine winds blow over the vines during the growing season. This chilled air reduces the vines’ vigor and extends the ripening period of the grapes without developing extreme sugar, resulting in exceptionally complex and nuanced flavors.

Following an early morning harvest and crush, we fermented in small open top bins with ritual manual punch downs. Using 100% French oak barrels with 33% new, we aged for 9 months and bottled in August 2007. Sonatera is our flagship Pinot Noir and represents the dark fruit of Sonoma Coast.

Tasting Notes:
Visually, the wine has vibrant Cassis robe (color) with great clarity and purity. The concentrated fruit nose of dark spiced plums is finessed with violets, sandalwood, and mushrooms. The palate echoes the nose of soft black fruit, which is velvety and exotic with herbal and spice notes. The wood tannins have been nicely integrated to reflect layers of sous bois (dead foliage), mushrooms and spices giving Sonatera its elegant balance, structure and elusive silkiness. The finish is ripe but soft, with blackberries and cassis fruit complimented by more subtle acidity sweeping through the end.  Complete Release Notes (pdf)

2006 Soliste Pinot Noir L’Espérance, Russian River Valley

L’Espérance comes from a small vineyard in the Green Valley sub-appellation in the Russian River Valley. The site has a northeastern exposure and a gentle slope with excellent drainage. The Goldridge clay loam soil is planted with Dijon clones 115 and 777. Nightly fog is the trademark of this beautiful vineyard, one of the coolest sites in the region. This chilled air reduces the vines vigor and extends the ripening period of the fruit, resulting in elegant and nuanced flavors.

Hand picked and field sorted, following crush, we fermented in small open top bins with regular manual punch downs. 100% French oak barrels with 25% new, we aged for 9 months and bottled in August 2007. L’Esperance is a beautifully feminine Pinot Noir and represents the bright fruit of the Russian River Valley.

Tasting Notes:
Visually, L’ Espérance is vibrant with bright red robe (color) and the clarity of fresh red fruit. The nose displays tart raspberry and groseilles (red currants) nuances, a touch of cinnamon, vanilla and strawberry rhubarb. L’ Espérance is a charmer, with exuberant tight expression of red fruit, raspberries, wild strawberries and red currants that are interlaced with soft sandalwood, spice, and floral aromas. The finish is layered with tart black cherries and rhubarb, firm acid and subtle delicate flavors.  Complete Release Notes (pdf)