The Last Wine Club Selection

2022 Holdredge Rochioli Vineyard Pinot Noir

THE PLACE

This wine comes from the Rochioli Vineyard, one of the most iconic North American Pinot Noir vineyards. The story of Russian River Pinot Noir literally began at Rochioli where, in 1968, Joe Rochioli Jr. was among the very first to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River. He did so at a site that is now synonymous with excellence in Pinot Noir, an undisputed Grand Cru location if we used that measure in America. The farming is meticulous but reflects deference to nature that is shown in the fruit.

The vineyard is about 140 acres, divided into five blocks; there are 22 separate sub-sections among the Pinot plantings. Our fruit is grown in a block off Sweetwater Springs Road (the “Sweetwater Block”), which is their highest elevation planting of Pinot Noir. Our grapes come from a section of Sweetwater called the “West Block Selection section”, as it is planted to 100% Rochioli West Block clone (until 2015, all our wines from there also had a small amount of Pommard clone, which was replanted to West Block clone). The vineyard sits on an east-northeastern facing slope, has Goldridge soils, and the rows run northeast-southwest.

We began making wine from the Rochioli Vineyard in 2012. Our experience has been that there is an amazing level of consistency year to year for the aspects we consider from a scientific viewpoint, like sugar, acid/pH, and tannin (the West Block clone typically shows great tannins), and more importantly from a flavor standpoint. But the most distinctive aspect of the vineyard is the certainty of the voice of the wines from here. There is a real heritage in the place, and the wines reflect that heritage in a quiet, confident way.

THE WINE

In a way, I’m overwhelmed by this wine. It easily stands out as the most powerful wine this vineyard ever made for us. I hadn’t tasted it since it was in tank right before we bottled it two years ago. When I opened the first bottle a couple weeks ago, it just rolled over me – in the glass and in the mouth. It felt like this was a voice I’d never heard from this vineyard, but maybe I just hadn’t listened well enough.

As always, there isn’t really any credit I can take for it. As I’ve said many times, my primary focus is staying out of the way and letting the wine find its own path and only interceding in a moment of crisis, which, like raising kids, has worked out pretty well for us. Like so many other wines we’ve “made”, this wine “made itself” and in my view did a really good job of it.

In the two years since I made it I haven’t gotten around to opening my harvest notes so I don’t recall a lot of fine winemaking details. What I do vividly remember is that Will and I spent a lot of time during harvest talking about this wine; how it was fermenting, how it was developing, how it was tasting, and a lot about what this place meant to me. It was just a special time, made more special knowing it was likely the last time we’d make it. And really, I’d rather think about time spent with my son than fermentation numbers or lab results. That said, it didn’t finish malolactic fermentation until June 2023, which some old-school vintners will tell you makes a better wine. All I know is it left me on edge.

It has a decidedly a darker fruit profile than any Rochioli we’ve ever made. Its real story though is its power, yet somehow it’s full-bodied without being brawny, and has an elegance that makes me think of it as being a “velvet fist in a velvet glove”. We paired it with a fabulous 24-hour dry-brined strip steak (reverse seared of course) and a potato-leek gratin with a black truffle infused Spanish sheep’s milk cheese. It had the weight to stand up to that meal, and a voice that keep saying “have another glass”. Which I willingly did.

If this is to be the swan song for us from this vineyard, it’s a pretty good way to go, and I’m grateful for everything this place gave to me. Thirteen months in bottle have left this absolutely ready to drink. But it has intangibles that leave me thinking that it will last a very long time. I hope to be around as long as I expect this to be drinking well. Only 125 cases made.

2022 Holdredge Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

THE PLACE

Because this wine is a blend of multiple vineyards throughout the Russian River Valley, to discuss the place would require more time than you’d care to spend reading. From higher elevation sites (outside Occidental) to warmer sites (Westside Road), to sites with very deep well-drained sandy soils (valley floor east side of the river, the wine is a composite of many different voices. Our approach to this wine is to try to find a blend that exemplifies what we feel about the Russian River Valley, and how we perceived the voice of each different vintage.

Carri and I love the Russian River Valley- it’s where our two lives became one, it’s where we began as winegrowers, it’s where we learned how to make wine, and where we raised our children (who are now adults). I can't imagine how our lives would have been were it not for the magic of Sonoma County, and the Russian River in particular. The place has a voice, that for us, speaks of the overarching power of nature, that has an undeniable sense of elegance, graciousness, and kindness. Such things may not be tangible, but the voice of this special place is very real, and we think in many ways it is the hallmark of wines that come from here, both our own and those that friends make.

THE WINE

As much as we love our single vineyard wines, we’ve always felt that wines blended from multiple vineyards offer a chance to reflect the broader “regional” voice of a vintage, and none have been a bigger part of our story than our Russian River Pinot Noir. While I’d like to think we spend a lot of time and care in assembling those blends every year, I’m pretty sure I spent more time on this blend than any we’ve ever made. I knew it was the last, and I approached it with that in mind.

Blending is about finding profiles that don’t just “work together” - but actually enhance each other. In some ways, the wines going into this blend were very consistent; for example, while I don’t really care about numbers, that pH levels of the finished wines (which are an expression of the strength of acid and shapes the “walls” of mouthfeel) were incredibly uniform, varying from 3.49 to 3.53 across the vineyards from which we made wine in 2022. Nothing I did, just good picking decisions and the cooperation of nature. On the other hand, the flavor and aromatic profiles covered a wonderful spectrum.

So while I spent a lot of time on the blend, it really wasn’t all that hard, and like a wine “making itself”, in many ways this blend made itself. There is more Rochioli fruit than years past (around 36%), and we had the “Petit Cadeaux” to work with (around 12%), but less Saralee’s Vineyard (only 25%), so it started with a much a darker profile. As I worked through the possibilities, the redder flavor profile of the 2022 Rolling Thunder (around 23%) contributed a balance to that darkness I was hoping for. What sealed it though, was a tiny addition of a small amount of The True (about 4%) that just elevated the vibrancy of the whole thing. Cranberry, cherry and floral notes lead to some pretty deep flavors- it’s just wonderful. Incidentally, except for Rochioli, those wines are all pretty much sold out, so this is a last chance to visit them.

I am thrilled with this wine. It hits all the notes I want from a Russian River Pinot; that juxtaposition of richness coupled with the brilliant acid you just don’t get anywhere else. For us, the litmus test has always been whether or not this paired well with food, and if we’ve ever made a so-called “food-friendly” wine, it is this one. Our first pairing was with a stripped-down version of cassoulet (no duck confit), basically some white beans, sausage, pork shoulder and herbs, and they were perfect with each other. Our next bottle was with some grilled King Salmon (so marbled it looked like the Wagyu of Salmon) and grilled veggies, and that too was a fabulous pairing. I think the possibilities are pretty much endless with this.

Will it age? Absolutely. How long? I don’t know – in some ways it reminds me a bit of our 2004, and that one is drinking beautifully at 20 years. I think this could go further, over 25 years, and I hope to be around to test my words. It’s likely the last Russian River Pinot Noir I’ll ever make, so if you’ve enjoyed this wine, you might want to stock up. Only 225 cases made