Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California (3) Emeritus
Website: https://www.emeritusvineyards.com/
My first visit in Russian River Valley was a great one: Emeritus. This is a winery with two estate vineyards, established in 1999 by Brice Jones. Before this, he’d founded Sonoma Cutrer vineyards, initially as just a grape grower but then as a wine brand. He sold this and then began again with Emeritus the same year.
The main vineyard site is the Hallberg Ranch, just on the border of the Green Valley neighbourhood. This was previously an apple orchard, but pre-prohibition it had been a vineyard growing Italian varieties. The second is what they refer to as Pinot Hill, the MacDonald Ranch in the Sebastopol Hills. This is a really interesting property, and it’s where I went first, with proprietor Mari Jones, viticulturist Riggs Lokka, and winemaker Keith Hammond. This young team is effectively the second generation of Emeritus: Mari has taken over from her father, and Riggs has taken over from his father Kirk who worked closely with Bryce both at Sonoma Cutrer and later Emeritus.
One of the distinctive features of Emeritus is that the vineyards are dry grown, at both properties. Under the goldridge soils, which are a light loam that has quite a sandy texture, there is a thick layer of clay, and once the vines get their roots into this they are able to thrive without irrigation. The result is slightly smaller berries than you’d find with an amply watered vine, and the result is more concentration and structure.
Pinot Hill is a special terroir, with slopes falling east and west from the central ridge. Initially, all the plots, planted in 2008, were blended together. But then they noticed big differences between the eastern and western parts of the vineyard, so they began vinifying and bottling them separately. Then they noticed that the extreme parts of each side also made distinctive wines, and these had also been planted with clones of Pinot that had come from Richebourg (named ‘Cruz’) and Romanée Conti (named ‘Elite’), so these became separate wines too. Yields here are low at below 2 tons/acre. East is savoury and herbal, whereas west tends to bright fruit.
The Pinot Noirs are destemmed but not crushed, and then given a cold soak with one pumpover a day, before wild fermentation. They then do one punch down each day, rising to twice daily at peak. The wine is matured in French oak with one-third new, mainly lighter toast. ‘With Pinot Noir there is nothing to hide,’ says Keith.
Of their vineyards, they still sell quite a lot of grapes (65% of Hallberg fruit and 50% of Pinot Hill). Pinot Hill is foggy about 20 hours a day, whereas Hallberg has extended sunny afternoons, with nice breezes in the afternoons. Pinot Hill is a cooler site but has warmer evenings than Hallberg, and hence a lower diurnal range.
They are focused on just one grape: Pinot Noir, although they make white and pink versions too. ‘Being a Pinot Noir-only producer it’s critical that all our wines are different,’ says Keith. They are led by the vineyard. ‘We find a block that’s different and then make the wine,’ says Mari.
THE WINES
Emeritus Pinot Noir Pinot Hill Cruz 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
12.5% alcohol. This is the extreme east part of Pinot Hill. Highly aromatic with a fine smoky edge to the intense black fruits, with some spicy oak in the mix. The palate is fresh and juicy with nice tannins and some spicy intensity, with sweet black cherry fruit. Fresh, vivid, spicy and intense. 95/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Pinot Hill East 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
13.5% alcohol. Some spicy black fruits on the nose with subtle tar and roast coffee. The palate is fresh and vibrant with nice juiciness, showing cherries, plums and some spice. Lovely vibrancy here with nice acid and tannins, with a spicy finish. 94/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Pinot Hill 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
13.5% alcohol. A blend across the whole vineyard. This has a hint of spice and coffee on the nose with nice focus and good acidity. Firm tannins with lovely black cherries and blackberries. Juicy, vivid and intense with nice grip on the finish, as well as some silkiness. 94/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Pinot Hill West 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
Juicy, lively and bright with some raspberry and cherry fruit. Vibrant, juicy and bright with nice intensity and focus. Floral and juicy, but also has good structure and acidity. 95/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Pinot Hill Elite 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
This clone has a high level of malic acid, so after malolactic fermentation there’s a softer acid profile here. Vibrant and spicy with lots of acidity. Juicy and pure with good precision and focus, showing intense black cherry and raspberry fruit and lovely firmness on the finish. Such finesse and purity here. 96/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Hallberg Ranch 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
13.7% alcohol. This is a blend of most of the lots on Hallberg. Lively and intense with nice acidity and good structure. There’s some savoury spiciness here and nice grip. Lovely cherry and raspberry fruit with vibrancy and hints of coffee and tar. 93/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Don’s Block 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
13.5% alcohol. This is clone 115, and is named after founding winemaker Don Blackburn. It’s from the coldest, lowest part of the vineyard and reflects his philosophy that Pinot doesn’t have to be a blockbuster wine. Supple and bright with lovely spicy, slighty tarry notes under the vibrant, juicy cherry and raspberry fruit, as well as notes of bergamot. Has finesse and balance with real elegance and focus. 95/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Wesley’s Reserve 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
This is 667 plus 115, with 15% of stems added back to the ferment (previous vintages had an actual whole bunch component). Nice intensity to this fruit-driven wine with supple spicy cherry and raspberry fruit. There’s good structure under the direct fruit, with some floral notes and pleasant green hints. 94/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Wesley’s Reserve 2018 Russian River Valley, Sonoma (magnum)
This has 15% whole bunch. Wonderful aromatics of sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with fine spices and a hint of cocoa. The palate has lovely sweet forward fruit with nice cherry notes and some fine spicy structure. Such purity. 95/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Hallberg Ranch Elite 2020 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
Complex, lively, spicy and intense with fine cherry and raspberry fruit as well as good tannin. Compact, intense and spicy with floral notes to the fruit and even a hint of nectarine. Very fine. 96/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir Hallberg Ranch Elite 2018 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
Nice density with sweet raspberry and cherry fruit, showing focus and grip. Vibrant and intense with good structure. Still quite primary. 95/100
Emeritus Pinot Noir La Combette 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
Single block, clone 37, 1 cluster per shoot. Lively bright and vivid with pure floral cherry and raspberry fruit. Really vivid with good acidity and some fresh raspberry character, as well as a lush mid-palate, which adds some volume to the fruit. Has brightness and structure but also generosity. 95/100
Emeritus Hallberg Brut 2020 Russian River Valley, Sonoma
This spends 20 months on lees and is a traditional method Pinot Noir. 3 g/l dosage. Bright and lively with nice precision to the tart citrus fruit with a hint of cherry. Vibrant. 90/100
Emeritus Hallberg Blanc 2022 Russian River Valley, Sonoma (magnum)
This white Pinot Noir was first made in 2017. They pick their Pinot a bit earlier than others and some comes in with white wine chemistry. The juice from the sorting table is kept and then hyperoxidized, before fermenting as a white wine. This shows lovely pear and peach fruit with some mealy notes and a bit of lemony drive. Textural and intense with lovely vivid flavours. 93/100
