Spring Release Joy Road Vineyard Pinot Noir
2018

Winemaker’s Notes

Joy Road Vineyard, situated just four miles from the ocean high above Occidental, really excels in the coolest vintages, which means this new release is near perfect. I love how the wine encompasses the entire red to black fruit spectrum. Vibrant and crunchy in its expression, it’s unmistakably Sonoma Coast in nature and brighter than our Russian River bottlings. It leads with the aromas and flavors of its immediate environment: the redwood forest, the neighboring Gravenstein orchard, the intense coastal sunlight and the cool night air.

The vines set a huge crop in early summer 2018, which led us to make three successive thinning passes to ensure concentration and acidity. There’s great clarity and poise in the wine and a long echo of lingering flavor on its deeply resonant finish. I can’t think of another vintage for this vineyard where the wine “pops” to this degree. The vineyard produced 26 barrels for the vintage, and we selected the 17 finest for this bottling.

The coastal aromatics are pure and complex: Bing cherry, black raspberry, cranberry and blood orange; thyme, pine needle and sage lend savory interest. The entry, bright, focused and energetic unfolds to a beautiful balance of power and delicacy, the supple mid-palate and deep texture bolstered by dynamic, vibrant acidity. A drawn-out arc of red and black cherry compote flavor leads to a ginger, bergamot and apple skin complexity on the finish.

Drink between late 2020 and 2025.

Andy Smith