Vineyard: Fort Ross

Articles mentioning wines produced from this vineyard

Recommended Chardonnays (9.5 4/4/2012)
WOPN: 7th Heaven for Pinot Geeks (6.18 3/5/2007)
Gary Farrell Wines Continues a Consistent Record of Excellence (11.30 9/14/2018)
Recently Tasted Sonoma County Wines (11.46 6/17/2019)
Sensations (6.61 7/7/2008)
Scherrer Pinot Noir Rocks (7.9 1/1/2009)
Mining for Good Pinot Noir in the Value-Priced Bin (9.5 4/4/2012)
Small Sips of Pinot (6.58 5/7/2008)
Part IV: Tasting Pinot Noir from the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA (9.28 8/14/2013)
Fort Ross: Growing Pinot On the Edge (6.47 12/3/2007)

Wineries sourcing from this vineyard

Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery
Scherrer Winery

Reviewed wines produced from this vineyard

2016 Gary Farrell Fort Ross Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Pinot Noir

13.2% alc., pH 3.45, TA 0.72, 565 cases, $75. Release October 2018. Vineyard is located on a cool coastal ridge at 1200-1700 feet elevation and is one of the closest vineyards to the California coastline. Dijon clone 777 and Calera selection. 777 grapes de-stemmed, while the Calera grapes were delivered to tank with 50% whole cluster. 5-day cold soak, 13-day post fermentation extended maceration, and aging for 15 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Reaching aromas of dark red · Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Reaching aromas of dark red cherry and berry, forest floor and tobacco. Strikingly flavorful on entry, featuring middleweight black cherry, black raspberry and spice flavors with a subtle savory earthy note. This wine flows across the palate like greased lightning, ending on a long cherry high note. Spirited, but ingratiating acidity adds freshness and vitality. Ready for prime time now. Score: 95. Reviewed September 14, 2018 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2016 Fort Ross Stagecoach Road Fort Ross Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

13.8% alc., 140 cases, $80. 100% Calera selection. 100% de-stemmed, several day cold soak and fermented in 5 and 10-ton stainless steel tanks. Aged 10 months in French oak barrels, 50% new and 50% neutral. Bottled August 2015 unfined and unfiltered. · Moderately light garnet color in the glass. A very savory nose offers aromas of fertile earthy and herbs. Earth-kissed cherry fruit is framed by sinewy tannins that add textural interest. Oak plies the background and surfaces on the finish that has some length. Score: 90. Reviewed June 19, 2019 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2016 Fort Ross The Terraces Fort Ross Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

13.8% alc., 142 cases, $80. 100% Calera selection planted on a terraced block carved out of the rugged hillside that faces the cool Pacific. With its steep southwestern aspect, this may be one of the most extreme plantings on the Sonoma Coast. 100% de-stemmed, several day cold soak, native fermentation in 5 and 10-ton stainless steel tanks. Aged 10 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. Bottled August 2017 unfined and unfiltered. · Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Deep aromas of cherry, earth and sweet pipe smoke arrive over time in the glass. A mid weight style, with racy fruit flavors of black cherry and ripe strawberry. The noble tannins produce a slight bit of astringency on the dry, lengthy finish. Silky in the mouth, with inviting juicy acidity. Score: 91. Reviewed June 19, 2019 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2016 Fort Ross Top of the Land Fort Ross Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

13.9% alc., 107 cases, $80. Calera and Swan selections. 100% de-stemmed, several day cold soak, aged 10 months in French oak barrels, 35% new and 65% neutral. Bottled August 2015 unfined and unfiltered. · Moderate garnet color in the glass. Shy, but pleasant aromas of red and black cherry and graham. A hint of bruised apple (VA) shows up. Mid weight plus in concentration and rustic in style, with voluptuous blackberry and black raspberry fruits, finishing with slight astringency. Score: 89. Reviewed June 19, 2019 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2014 Fort Ross FRV Fort Ross Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

13.5% alc., 715 cases, $52. Calera, Pommard and Swan clones. Aged 10 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. Bottled August 2015 unfined and unfiltered. · Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Really nice aromas of red cherry, sandalwood and sous-bois. Good drive on the palate, with flavors of cherry and spice. Some tannins and oak show up over time in the glass. Gracious in texture and juicy with some finishing purpose. Score: 91. Reviewed June 19, 2019 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2011 Fort Ross Vineyard “Sea Slopes” Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

13.0% alc., pH 3.71, TA 0.59. 1250 to 1750 feet elevation, southwest aspect, 5-30% slope, Calera, Pommard, Swan, 115 and 777 clones on 101.14, 3309, 110R and 420A rootstocks, various clay and sandy clay loam soils. Average Brix 22º, 5% whole cluster, aged 10 months in 20% new French oak. · Moderately light reddish-purple color in the glass. Shy aromas of red fruits. Crisp and lean, featuring flavors of red cherries, pomegranate and cranberries with a touch of spice. Soft tannins make for easy drinking. Could pick up intensity over time in bottle. Reviewed August 14, 2013 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2009 Fort Ross Fort Ross Vineyard Sea Slopes Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.1% alc., $26.99. · Darkly colored in the glass. A varied array of aromas including very ripe, roasted dark berries, black currants, oak and bell pepper. Very ripe fruited with flavors of black raspberries, boysenberries and plums with a vegetal undertone. Rich, sultry and earthy with some length on the finish. Considerable better the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle. Good. Reviewed April 4, 2012 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2009 Fort Ross Fort Ross Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

14.5% alc., 800 cases, $26.99. From a 50-acre vineyard at 1200 to 1700 feet elevation, one mile from the coast above the coastal fog. Winemaker is Jeff Pisoni. · Light golden straw color and slightly cloudy in the glass. Aromas of golden apple, lemon curd and seasoned oak. Tasty core of baked apple, oak spice, and nutty flavors. Polished and well-crafted. Very good. Reviewed April 4, 2012 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2005 Ft. Ross Vineyard & Winery Ft. Ross Vineyard Reserve Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.0% alc., 531 cases, $49. Well-known winemaker Ed Kurtzman (Freeman, August West) crafts superb Pinot Noirs from this vineyard, one of the closest (less than one mile) to the Pacific Ocean in the Sonoma Coast appellation. This bottling is from the most distinctive barrels, many of which are very shy-yielding old clone blocks. Aged 11 months in 40% new French oak. · Still a youngster and will need a good year or two to come in to its own, but it is showing huge promise at this time. Silky entry, richly layered dark fruits, and mouth-coating fine-grain tannins. Immensely satisfying. Reviewed July 7, 2008 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2005 Fort Ross Vineyard Reserve Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.0% alc., 500 cases, $60. A barrel selection of the property’s finest wine. Not released on winery’s website for sale but obtained thru a retail source. · This is a spirited wine showing black cherry fruit with a touch of Asian spice and oak. The aromatics are unyielding and the wine needs time to shed its tannins. This is a debutante waiting in the wings to come out. A few years in the cellar will highly reward the patient drinker. Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2004 Fort Ross Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.5% alc., 917 cases, $39. A year with light berry set. Some blocks only produced a half ton per acre. Harvest was mid to late September. Aged 11 months in 45% new French oak. Pommard, Swan, Dijon 115, 777 clones. · A nondescript perfume with a hint of strawberry and peppermint. Understated with light-weight fruit. Soft, elegant and nicely balanced. Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2004 Fort Ross Vineyard Reserve Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.5% alc., 370 cases, $49. Calera and Dijon 115 clones. Aged 11 months in 50% new French oak. · This wine’s aromatics are a little more expressive with darker fruits, cola and sawdust. The blue and black Pinot fruits are nicely spiced. Soft and pillowy, the balance is right on. This beauty is deserving of the Reserve designation and among the wines tasted, showing the most leg at this time. Queen of the Hop. Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2004 Fort Ross Sea Slopes Signature Reserve Fort Ross Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.0% alc., 73 cases, $50. A limited release reserve wine sold by retailer, Bounty Hunter, in Napa. · The nose is rich with black cherry fruit. Lovely, hi-tone cherry and raspberry flavors accompanied by a meatiness and some sauvage with notable drying tannins. The berry fruit on the finish persists for many seconds. The mouth feel is silky. Classical Pommard in character, this wine was drinking beautifully the next day from a re-corked bottle. A keeper. Reviewed May 7, 2008 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2003 Fort Ross Symposium Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

($28) · An easier drinking version of the estate Pinot Noir with some Pinotage added. Reviewed March 5, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2003 Fort Ross Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinotage

14.7% alc., 400 cases, $32. Pinotage is vinified in a similar fashion as Pinot Noir. After a cold soak and fermentation in open-top fermenters, the wine is pressed and aged in primarily one-year-old French oak for 15 months. It is estate grown from proprietary Pinotage clones and is bottled unfined and unfiltered. · A very complex nose featuring cherry, cranberry, iodine, spearmint, wax and even fresh paint. Luscious hi-tone black raspberry fruit with a hint of spice. Velvety in texture with ripe, suave tannins. Excellent! Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2003 Fort Ross Vineyard Symposium Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.7% alc., 688 cases, $32. 96% Pinot Noir and 4% Pinotage. Aged 16 months in 50% new French oak. · An earth-based nose with moodier and darker fruits. A little pepper and farmyard adds interest. Delicious flavors of cherry pie, nutmeg, strawberries and cookie dough. Nicely balanced with an appropriate acid backbone. Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2002 Scherrer Winery Ft. Ross Vineyard ‘High Slopes’ Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.5% alc., 210 cases, $38. From some of the highest elevations in this coastal vineyard where the vines struggle. The wine tends to be tightly structured demanding the use of a high percentage of new barrels. An assemblage of the most harmonious barrels. Unfined, unfiltered. · Fabulous nose of black cherries and black currants with a touch of allspice. Still a big wine with earth-kissed berry and cassis flavors and noticeable dry tannins. I would recommend drinking this with hearty food. Reviewed January 1, 2009 WINERY » ARTICLE »

2001 Fort Ross Vineyard Reserve Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.5% alc., 112 cases. Individual blocks were harvested on multiple occasions based upon flavor profile and ripeness of each vine. Yields were low. The clones and different vineyard blocks were kept separate during winemaking. The final blend was chosen from barrels which had distinctive fruit concentration, complexity and balance. Aged 18 months in 60% new French oak. · Lightest in color of the wines tasted with a slight auburn cast to rim. Initially the nose was subtle but seductive with cherries and fresh-sawed oak. Over time, the aromas came alive with savory cherry and spice enhanced by old wood and leather charm. Red cherry flavors were soft and light. The fruit has faded a bit, but I liked this wine for its finesse. Drink up. Reviewed December 3, 2007 WINERY » ARTICLE »