Roadhouse Winery: Pleasing Pinot Noir in Healdsburg
The name is intriguing, the labels are cool, the Pinots please the palate, and the tagline, “Two Guys, a Pool
Table, Some Barrels and Love for Pinot Noir” was inviting, so I decided to investigate further. Principal owner
and co-founder Eric Hall spent twenty years in the pre dot-com and dot-com world working in the San Francisco
Bay area for Apple, Oracle, KPMG and others. Flush with Nasdaq gains after his last dot-com employer went
public in 1999, he attempted to retire in Cazadero on the Sonoma Coast where he bought a former B&B. After
the stock market went south in 2001, he sold the B&B and bought a small resort hotel in Guerneville in the
Russian River Valley. He eventually teamed with his friends and family to create Roadhouse Winery in 2010, located in downtown Healdsburg.
Eric spent a year working at Papapietro-Perry Winery in Healdsburg (Eric on the right with Bruce Perry is
pictured below) and in late 2006, became a partner in an ill-fated venture formerly known as Russian River
Vineyards in Forestville. He extricated himself from that business after a year or so, landing on his feet with the
founding of Roadhouse Winery.
Roadhouse winemaker Eric Hall produces just over 2,000 cases of Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Yorkville Highlands grape sources, including notable vineyards like Weir, Nunes, Sangiacomo, Leras and Silver Pines.
The tagline mentioned in the title of this article comes from
the original start up when the first item they bought for the winery was a pool table which they still have. They
also have essentially a full-on disco installed in their barrel room which thumps during their events.
As a holdover from Eric’s tech days, he practices slot ranking but applies it to vineyards, rotating out the lower
ranking 20% to 30% of vineyard sources each year, and trying new ones in the same areas, hoping to find
ones that will perform better. This is why the color-coded labels do not mention the vineyard sources. Once a
certain level of quality is displayed by a vineyard, and ongoing agreements on farming practices are secured,
some of the wines and their colored labels will be vineyard-designated. The vineyard sources are top notch as you can
see by the wines reviewed below which are the first releases from the 2012 vintage. Upcoming 2012 releases
include Pinot Noir from Sangiacoma Roberts Road, Weir, and Tina Marie vineyards.
The four wines reviewed here are all well-crafted, and along with their diversity of clonal mixes, they all show
individuality.
The winery’s website is www.roadhousewinery.com, and the Facebook page is www.facebook.com/
RoadHouseWinery.
2012 Roadhouse Winery Yellow Label Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.6% alc., pH 3.74, TA 0.69, 325
cases, $46. Released fall 2013. Sourced from multiple River Road vineyards west of Highway 101 within two
miles of the Russian River. Sandy-clay loam soils. Harvest Brix 25.5º. Clones 115, 2A. 100% de-stemmed,
5-day cold soak, inoculated fermentations, aged 12 months in 20% new, 60% 1 and 2-year-old, and 20% 3-
year-old French tight grain or very tight grain French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.
·
Moderately light
reddish purple color with slight haze in the glass. Nicely perfumed with bright aromas of cherry, backing spice
and red roses. Vibrant and juicy on the palate with a delicious core of Bing cherry fruit accented by cola, spice
and pomegranate flavors. Very refreshing with well-integrated suede tannins and a pleasing and lingering
finish.
Score: 90
2012 Roadhouse Winery Orange-Red Label Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.7% alc., pH 3.70, TA
0.598, 375 cases, $49. Released fall 2013. From vineyards along Eastside Road in Windsor. Clones are
Pommard, 115, 667, 777 and “828.” Harvest Brix 24º. 100% de-stemmed, 5-day cold soak, inoculated yeast
fermentations, aged 12 months in 40% new, 60% 1 and 2-year-old medium toast, tight grain or very tight grain
French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.
·
Moderately light reddish-purple color with slight haze in the glass.
Aromatically alive with scents of wild berries, blueberries, pomegranate and balsam. Mid to full-bodied core of
dark red and blue fruits with a hint of black raspberry. More body than the Yellow Label with a touch more
structural tannins and a more intensely fruity finish. Highly enjoyable.
Score: 91
2012 Roadhouse Winery Dark Yellow Label Middle Reach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.8% alc.,
pH 3.61, TA 0.67, 325 cases, $49. Release second quarter 2014. Wohler Road and Bacigalupi vineyards.
harvest Brix 25.5º. Clones 2A, Pommard, Wente, “828,” and 667. 100% de-stemmed, 5-day cold soak,
inoculated yeast fermentations, aged 12 months in 20% new, 60% 1 and 2-year-old, and 20% 3-year-old tight
grain or very tight grain French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.
·
Moderately light reddish-purple with slight
haze in the glass. Shy aromas of red cherries and berries, underbrush, dried herbs and incense. The most
savory wine of the four tasted here, also armed with a tasty essence of ripe cherry and red raspberry. The dry
tannins are well-mannered, and the intense finish holds on.
Score: 90
2012 Roadhouse Winery Dark Purple Label Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir
14.8% alc., pH 3.65, TA 0.625, 275 cases, $49. Release
first quarter 2014. Sourced from Silver Pine Vineyard located at the
western edge of the Sonoma Mountain at 980 feet above sea
level.Harvest Brix 26.5º. 100% de-stemmed, 5-day cold soak,
inoculated fermentations, aged 12 months in 20% new, 60% 1 and 2-
year-old, and 20% 3-year-old tight grain or very tight grain French oak
barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.
·
Medium reddish-purple color and slight haze in
the glass. This wine’s nose is the clear standout with effusive aromas of black
cherry, blackberry, spice and earthy flora. The ripest and darkest-fruited wine of
the four tasted today. This wine really stands out from the pack with mouth-filling flavors of black cherry pie,
black raspberry jam and spice. Medium to full-bodied, and creamy in the texture, with a spectacular finish that
explodes with fireworks in the mouth. The wine picks up allure over time in the glass. I have had some
exceptional wines from this vineyard and this beauty follows suite.
Score: 94
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