2016 Sojourn Fog and Wind Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750 ml

Since 2004, Sojourn Cellars has produced some of Sonoma’s most seductive and voluptuous Pinot Noirs. Robert Parker has called them “outstanding wines that merit attention,” while his Wine Advocate publication has lavished 20 incredible 93-95 point scores on the releases in the last decade alone. Vinous’s Antonio Galloni has singled the wines out for their “ripe, forward style.” When Sojourn co-founders Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley decided to do a limited-release run of a new cuvée, “Fog & Wind”—a full-bodied, cool-climate blend from some of the region’s top vineyards like Rodgers Creek and Sangiacomo—they came to Wine Access. Full-bodied and fragrant with a luscious red fruit core, $50 at the winery, just $29.99 today at Wine Access—a savings of 40%. As good as Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ever gets for under-$30.

Craig Haserot and Erich Bradley met playing doubles tennis at the Maxwell Farms Regional Park in Sonoma County. Haserot was a veteran of software sales and marketing with a near-obsessive interest in Pinot Noir. Bradley was a star winemaker who had been mentored by David Ramey and Richard Arrowood, well-versed in the terroir and microclimates of Sonoma’s finest sites. Striking up a friendship, the two decided to begin releasing wines under the Sojourn Cellars name. In 2004, their first 210 cases of Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir pulled down a 92 point score from Wine Spectator and 95 points from Pinot Report right out of the gate.

Over the years they became producers of some of Sonoma’s most coveted Pinots, Burgundian in their minerality and earthiness yet showing the ripe, full concentration of the sunny California coast. In 2016, their 2014 Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir made an appearance at #35 on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List. They’ve especially gained fame for single-vineyards releases that invariably earn top scores from the critics. But in the past few years, they became interested in producing a blend of fruit from elite Pinot sites in Sonoma that would offer the same quality as the vineyard-designate wines but at a lower price point. The Fog & Wind cuvée was born, and in 2016, it made for a doozy of a release.

This bottle draws on fruit from three main sources: Sangiacomo, Gap's Crown and Rodgers Creek. Robert Parker has called Sangiacomo an “iconic” site for Pinot Noir, a place where well-draining clay-loam soils, clonal diversity (115, 777, Swan, and Pommard), and a daily infusion of fog makes for grapes of extraordinary balance and lively acidity. Gap’s Crown contributes lush New World opulence and power, derived from the vineyard’s rocky soils, elevation, and long hangtime into October. Rodgers Creek Vineyard—a favorite of Ramey—lends savory depth and rich earthiness, a product of the site’s western exposure, volcanic soils, and constant wind and fog sweeping in through the Petaluma Gap.

All in all, it makes for one of the most expressive, complex under-$30 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs of the year.