94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
94 Points - International Wine Report
92 Points - Wine Spectator
Very excited to share this. We have just a small quantity.
Vineyards
The Sojourn Durell Vineyard Chardonnay is a made from 100% Old Wente clone from two blocks of the famous Durell Vineyard. The Hill block was planted in the 90s and gives very low yields of small clusters. These small bunches provide extraordinary flavors, complexity, and texture. The Barn block's younger vines were planted in 2009 and they are still only producing small amounts of fruit with concentrated, lively, and exotic characteristics.
Vintage
The 2020 Durell Vineyard grapes were harvested on two separate nights in late August and fermented separately in a combination of new and used French oak barrels. Yields were tiny. The lower block offered minerality and focus, with nice acidity while the hill block added expressive fruit flavors and full body. The resulting wine has robust flavors, rich texture on the palate with fresh acidity on the finish.
Analysis
Vineyard: Durell Vineyard
Appellation: Sonoma Coast
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Fermentation: French Oak barrels 85% Malolactic Fermentation, Native Yeast
Aging: 40% New French Oak
pH: 3.37 TA: 6.0 g/L
Bottled Unfined August 2021
Cases Produced: 400
Alcohol: 14.3%
Gold Medal
Generously packed with black cherry, cola, cassis, and plum that all intermingle together in a creamy, velvety texture with great layering, finishing with delightful notes of oak and spice. Persistent, well-defined structure, wonderfully balanced.
96 Point Vintage
Entices with aromas of Bing cherry, raspberry, and cedar spice. Indicative of the cool vintage, the wine carries a freshness throughout. The palate offers a harmonious balance between bright red fruit, spice, and nicely woven tannins.
94 Points
Deep garnet-purple colored, it leaps from the glass with vibrant notes of fresh black currants, kirsch, and mulberries... Full-bodied, the palate delivers a firm line of grainy tannins with bold freshness to frame the muscular black fruit, finishing long and cedary.
Gold Medal
Light pink in color with aromas of watermelon, cranberry, orange rind, and fresh spring flowers that leap from the glass. The palate offers more peach, strawberry, and melon, with an intriguing note of rose and hibiscus. It's crisp with just the perfect hint of red fruit, and delicate whisper of strawberry that gives goosebumps.
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