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.