APPELLATION
100%Yamhill-Carlton
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir
CLONES
Pommard & 114
AGE OF VINES
Planted in 1999-2001
BOTTLED
February 2023
BRIX AT HARVEST
~24.5º
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
14%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
348 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2021 was the 2nd warmest growing season we have ever seen since 2015.We also got to add a new term to the dictionary: “Heat Dome”. Three straight days of triple digit temperatures in late June breaking heat records for the Willamette Valley! Bud break started like usual in the middle ofApril. We had the driest March through May that the Willamette Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom also appeared on time in early/mid June. While late June brought the “Heat Dome”, our grapes made it through thanks to bloom being finished at all our sites and there still being soil moisture, so they grew like crazy over those three days of hellish temperatures. While July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, September arrived with little rain which that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The fruit was hand harvested from Kalita Vineyard on September 24th and brought back to our Estate winery were 80% was de-stemmed and the rest left whole-cluster. Over a 12-day period the wine went through an ambient fermentation in 3 ton stainless steel tanks with punch-downs for cap management on the de-stemmed fruit and pump overs on the whole cluster. The wine was aged for 16months in French oak barrels with 20% new oak. We selected the final barrels from a few different blocks Kalita vineyard that we thought stood out and really punctuated the style of wine Kalita is known for. For this cuvée we selected barrels in August of 2022, blended them all together in tank then returned the blend back to barrel to age another 5 months as the blend.
THE STORY
Kalita Estate Vineyard is located in the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA in the Willamette Valley. This stunning, bowl-shaped vineyard was planted in 2000 by Arthur and Sherry Kalita; it is currently LIVE certified and we are transitioning the vineyard to organic certification.
WINE PROFILE
An abundance of black fruit right off the nose with fresh raspberry, black cherry, and with notes of blossom and floral influence. On the palate, blackberry, black currants, black cherry with fresh blossom. A big, rich Pinot Noir with perfect balance between fruit and tannins.
PAIRINGS
Roasted Chicken, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad, and a seared rack of lamb with morels.
SCORES
New Release – not yet rated.
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Chardonnay
BOTTLED
December 2021
BRIX AT HARVEST
21-21.5°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
12.5%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~8-10 Years
PRODUCTION
724 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2020 will always be remembered as a year of epic challenges. For the grapes, a cold wet spring hindered fruit development during bloom and thus gave us the smallest crop since 1998. An exceptionally light crop level historically leads to exceptionally good quality. Loose clusters with big and small berries “hens and chicks,” as we call them, often leads to dark color and richer and more intense flavors. We began harvest on September 3rd and had a good week of bringing inmost of our grapes for sparkling wine and all our Pinot Noir for our Rosé program. Then, the winds changed and the fires started. For around seven days a thick fog of smoke hung over Sokol Blosser and the Willamette Valley. During that time the sun was covered, all photosynthesis stopped and the grapes’ development stalled. The smoke event ended in an amazing fury of lightening, thunder, and 1” of rain on the night of September 17th. We then waited for the grapes’ development to progress, taking samples and doing micro-ferments to test for smoke effect. Proceeding slowly and carefully once full maturation had been achieved, we harvested the remainder of our Estate fruit feeling incredibly lucky and optimistic.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were handpicked from Durant, Anderson Family, and Two Barns vineyards over the course of four weeks, starting on September 9th and ending on October 3rd. They were pressed as whole clusters to reduce skin contact and then fermented 25% in our concrete egg and the rest in French oak, with 35% new oak. The entire batch went through malolactic fermentation in neutral or once used oak barrels. After fermentation, the wine was aged for 10 months in neutral oak barrels, then moved to a stainless steel tank for three months to harmonize prior to bottling.
WINE PROFILE
On the nose, our 2020 Estate Chardonnay is warm with vanilla bean, lemon curd and golden apple, accented with honeysuckle. The lemon curd and vanilla bean are joined on the palate by baked yellow apple.
PAIRINGS
This wine will pair beautifully with baked halibut, Dungeness crab cakes with afresh, lemon aioli, or a classic crispy pork schnitzel.
SCORES
90 points – Wine Spectator
91 points & Editor’s Choice – Wine Enthusiast
92 points – Wine & Spirits
APPELATION
American
COMPOSITION
Syrah, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Montepulciano, and a touch of Evolution White.
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13.5%
PRODUCTION
6,586 Cases
WINE
Whether you’re a foodie, grill master, or a weekend take-out connoisseur: this is the red wine for you! The red blend that was made for food; bigger and bolder, with a bright, juicy flavor profile that is nothing short of exquisite! Evolution Red Blend is perfect for serving with dinner, but drinkable enough to enjoy while you’re making dinner. Share it with your favorite foods and your favorite people!
WINEMAKING
This is a big red blend using a couple of traditional Italian varietals and one traditional French varietal. Also, like the French Rhônes’ we add a splash of white wine, just a small percentage of our Evolution Lucky No.9 White, to bring in another layer of complexity that lifts the aromatics, color and flavor.
VINTAGE
2022 had a late start but made up for it by being our 2nd hottest summer on record! Grapes were chilling on the vine so long into October we thought we were going to have to make them Halloween costumes! But the weather stayed nice and dry till the end and we had gorgeous, gorgeous fruit to make gorgeous, gorgeous wines!
NOTES
Rich flavors of cherry and plum pie filling, black cherry and red currants abound, with the daintiest hints of savory notes throughout.
PAIRINGS
Anything grilled! Burgers, smoked pork ribs, bbq chicken, Korean bbq, Italian red sauce dishes pizza, even ratatouille.
SCORES
90 points & Best Buy Wine Enthusiast – 9th, 6th, 5th, and 4th editions
91 points – James Suckling (2020)
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills
AVA BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
777 & 667
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2000
BOTTLED
February 2023
BRIX AT HARVEST
23.8-24°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
14%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
597 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2021 was the 2nd warmest growing season we have ever seen since 2015. We also got to add a new term to the dictionary: “Heat Dome”. Three straight days of triple digit temperatures in late June breaking heat records for the Willamette Valley! Bud break started like usual in the middle of April. We had the driest March through May that the Willamette Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom also appeared on time in early/mid June. While late June brought the “Heat Dome”, our grapes made it through thanks to bloom being finished at all our sites and there still being soil moisture, so they grew like crazy over those three days of hellish temperatures. While July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, September arrived with little rain which that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were carefully hand harvested from the Orchard Block (on our Estate vineyard) on September 25th. The fruit was hand sorted to remove any flawed bunches and de-stemmed, half went directly into 3-ton stainless steel fermenters and the other half went in to oak upright fermenters. Fermentation took place over 10-14 days using ambient yeast, and cap management was punchdowns. After the long, cool fermentation, the wine was pressed off at dryness and then barrel aged for 16 months in 100% French oak barrels with 17% new oak.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2021 Orchard Block Pinot Noir has bright notes of red cherry, red currant, and a touch of nutmeg on the nose. On the palate, the fruit continues with red cherry, raspberry, and red currants followed by a subtle hint of clove. This is a delicate Pinot Noir with bright acidity with a medium finish.
PAIRINGS
Orchard Block Pinot Noir pairs with a classic roasted turkey, creamy cacio e pepe, and the Oregon favorite, wild mushroom risotto.
SCORES
93 points – James Suckling (2018)
92 points – Wine Spectator (2018)
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
Wädenswil 2A & Pommard UCD4
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2006 & 2009
BOTTLED
April 2021
BRIX AT HARVEST
22.5°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
345 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
It was clear something was different with the 2019 harvest when fruit flies were spotted at Thistle Vineyard over Labor Day Weekend. The second sign was the dramatic shift in the weather forecast. At the end of August, we believed we would have a “warmer and drier” than average September/October. Sounds good huh?!?!? Then, at the end of September we got 2.7” of rain… which is double the average, and we had one of the coolest Septembers on record. We remembered and applied the key learnings from prior similar vintages in our approach to the 2019 harvest – get the grapes as ripe as possible with as little fruit degradation as possible. Even with a longer hang time this year the grapes had less sugar, high pHs and high acids. Consequently, we based our picking decision more on the taste of the juice and looking at the weather. We had 5 distinct rain events from when we started harvest on September 3 to when we ended picking on October 10th, and these individual rain events sometimes lasted multiple days. In the end, we got as much ripeness as possible and are very happy about what we put into
barrel.
WINEMAKING
The fruit for this wine was farmed organically on our estate, and was hand harvested at peak ripeness on September 26th and 28th. The picked fruit was de-stemmed and sent straight to fermentation with a combination of commercial yeast and our house native yeast cultivated from our vineyards. During it’s ~21 day fermentation, cap management was performed with strictly punch downs of the 3 ton fermenters, it was a cool vintage resulting in long, cool fermentations. Once the fermentation process was finished, the wine was pressed of the skins at dryness and barreled down in 100% French oak barrels with 24% new oak, and left to age for 16 months before bottling.
WINE PROFILE
On the nose, this wine expresses wet forest floor and mushrooms, complemented by prune, dried cherry and cinnamon. On the palate, the nose largely carries through, though it is joined by nutmeg and tobacco.
PAIRINGS
This wine will pair beautifully with boeuf bourguignon or lamb tagine.
THE STORY
The Watershed Block Pinot Noir comes from fruit harvested off of a section of the vineyard planted by founders Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser in the early 70s. Although replanted in 2006/2009 on rootstock, cuttings from fruiting vines were taken from the original plantings and grafted onto rootstock for the replant. The original section of the Estate vineyard has a diversity of clones present.
SCORES
92 points – Wine Spectator
94 points – Wine Advocate
92 points – James Suckling
92 points – Decanter
APPELLATION
100%Willamette Valley
AVA BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Gris
AGE OF VINES
Planted in 1997
BOTTLED
March 2023
BRIX AT HARVEST
21.5°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~5 – 7 Years
PRODUCTION
~6,300 Cases
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
What started as a dry winter turned into a deluge of rain in the springtime. We had the wettest and coldest April/May/June in recorded (130 years) history. Freezing temperatures on the morning of April 14th and 15th knocked back the fragile new growth, in fact, until crop estimates were done in late August, we thought our crop yields would be down across the board by 50-60%. The lesson learned is don’t second guess a grapevine. In over 51 years of growing grapes here in the Dundee Hills we have never seen a freezing event during the growing season, so we had no idea what was going to happen. The primary buds froze and died, but the secondary buds came on, produced fewer but larger clusters, and the vines made a miraculous comeback. The coldest and wettest spring turned into the 2nd warmest and driest summer on record, and then we got to October. Everything depended on good ripening conditions (dry and warm) in the month of October since bloom was much later. Fortunately we got the warmest October in Oregon history, we were able to let the grapes hang, and the rains stayed put until all our Estate fruit was in on Thursday, October 27th. The fruit got nice and ripe, and we are thrilled with the wine produced from this vintage!
WINEMAKING
The fruit for this wine was hand picked over a period of days between September 30th and October 21st. A portion of the Pinot Gris was picked with an acid focus and the other portion with a focus on higher brix and therefore more fruit weight. All the fruit was machine picked, being destemmed in the process, and went quickly to the press to avoid prolonged skin contact. The juice had long, cool fermentations in stainless steel tanks ranging from 15-20 days, using a diversity of ester focused yeasts. The resulting wines were all blended in a stainless steel tank with light lees where it was aged for about three months with lees stirring weekly for two months. As a result of the dual picking there is a weight and dimension in this wine. Additionally, lees stirring allowed the body and mid palette to build during the aging of the wine. The final product is a clean Pinot Gris with weight, dimension, minerality and aromatics of stone fruit with hints of citrus apple and pear in the palette.
WINE PROFILE
Slight notes of honeysuckle, apple blossoms, nectarines, pear, and apricots. A very complex Pinot Gris that is dry, with high acidity, and a long finish. Spring and Summer we found your perfect pairing!
PAIRINGS
Pair our Pinot Gris with stone fruit salad, Chicken Tikki Masala (Medium Heat Preferred), or spinach quiche.
SCORES
91 points – James Suckling (2021)
92 points – Wine & Spirits (2021)
92 points – Wine Enthusiast (2021)
91 points – James Suckling (2019)
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
777 & 667
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2008
BOTTLED
February 2023
BRIX AT HARVEST
22.5°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
14%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
501 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
2021 was the 2nd warmest growing season we have ever seen since 2015. We also got to add a new term to the dictionary: “Heat Dome”. Three straight days of triple digit temperatures in late June breaking heat records for the Willamette Valley! Bud break started like usual in the middle of April. We had the driest March through May that theWillamette Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom also appeared on time in early/mid June. While late June brought the “Heat Dome”, our grapes made it through thanks to bloom being finished at all our sites and there still being soil moisture, so they grew like crazy over those three days of hellish temperatures. While July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, September arrived with little rain which that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, resulting in for excellent fermentations. All in all, mother nature gave us something to be grateful for on our 50th anniversary.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were carefully harvested from the east side of Blackberry Block over several days in the end of September and early October. They were sorted to remove any flawed bunches, then de-stemmed directly into several 3-ton stainless steel fermenters.The grapes were left to soak prior to ambient fermentation taking off, with regular punch-downs for cap management.This wine was aged for 16 months in 100% French oak barrels with 15%new oak, 15% once used oak, and 70% neutral oak.
WINE PROFILE
On the nose, the 2021 Blackberry Block wine shows notes of plum, black cherry, current, and hint of mocha. The palate is fruit forward with light tannins and a bright finish.
PAIRINGS
This wine will pair well with cedar plank salmon with a berry sauce or an Italian pasta such as mushroom ragu.
THE STORY
The Blackberry Block is the first piece of land purchased by Alison and Alex Sokol Blosser when they succeeded Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser in the family business. It was named for the 20+ years of untamed growth of blackberry bushes throughout the block. Despite all the hard work to prepare the land for planting in 2008, it now thrives as one of Sokol Blosser’s Cellar Club designated wines.
SCORES
New Release – not yet rated.
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
Pommard UCD4
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 1998
BOTTLED
March 2020
BRIX AT HARVEST
23.3°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13.5%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10-15 Years
PRODUCTION
423 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
The spring of 2018 was warmer than the average over the previous 10 years, and fairly dry. Bud break happened in mid-April and Bloom in early June, which can be a treacherous undertaking as the spring weather can mess up a healthy flowering. A giant hail storm descended on the DundeeHills in early June, but luckily none of our Sokol Blosser Estate crop was ruined. The summer started like one giant furnace; July was a hot month and we had a lot of above 90 degree days. Just when it seemed like the hot weather would not stop, August came and more moderate weather with it. This helped slow the ripening down, and even cooler weather in September allowed us to let the grapes hang longer, resulting in riper fruit without additional sugar accumulation. The 2018vintage is our coolest growing season since 2012, and we believe it will be our best vintage since then.
WINEMAKING
The grapes from this block were carefully hand harvested on September 19th. The clusters were then sorted by hand to remove any flawed bunches and 100% de-stemmed directly into their fermentation vessels, 1/3 going in to an oak upright fermenter and the other 2/3 in 3 ton stainless steel fermenters. The wine was inoculated with our house native yeast and spent 24 days on the skins with cap management done by a combination of pump overs and punch downs. After being pressed at dryness the wine was aged entirely in French oak barrels for 18 months with with 17%new oak.2018 had such luscious fruit it was important that it really shined through, which is why we used less new oak. We use primarily one cooper of barrels to age this wine in and their highest end barrel. 18 barrels were hand selected for this blend.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2018 Goosepen Block Estate Pinot Noir exhibits fragrances of black cherry, licorice and leather, with more cherry and licorice on the palate followed by a dash of clove.
PAIRINGS
This wine pairs really well with anything off the grill, from rib eye cap to portobello mushrooms.
THE STORY
When Alex Sokol Blosser (our winemaker) was growing up, this block was not planted to pinot noir, but riesling. During this time Bill and Susan Sokol Blosser tried their infamous and failed experiment of fencing it in and releasing a flock of geese to consume the grass. Since then, the Sokol Blosser’s have always called it “Goosepen.” When we had to re-plant the block due to Phylloxera, it was decided that the highest and best use of that site was for pinot noir and not for riesling. This was not a failed experiment. To this day, Goosepen is Alex’s favorite of our single vineyard blocks.It does not have the rich tannins of its northern neighbor, Big Tree, nor the finesse of the OrchardBlock. It has fruit. A lot of rich fruit that can be heavy some years (2014) and complex in other years(2012 and 2015). Drinking a glass of Goosepen always reminds Alex that experimenting is a two edge sword; sometimes you get the goose, and sometimes the goose gets you.
SCORES
94 points – James Suckling
APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA
BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir | 100% Estate Grown
CLONES
777 & 667
AGE OF VINES
Replanted in 2000
BOTTLED
March 2020
BRIX AT HARVEST
23-25°
ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
13.5%
PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
10 -15 Years
PRODUCTION
601 Cases
CERTIFICATIONS
Made with 100% certified organic grapes
VINTAGE HIGHLIGHTS
The spring of 2018 was warmer than the average over the previous 10 years, and fairly dry. Bud break happened in mid-April and Bloom in early June, which can be a treacherous undertaking as the spring weather can mess up a healthy flowering. A giant hail storm descended on the Dundee Hills in early June, but luckily none of our Sokol Blosser Estate crop was ruined. The summer started like one giant furnace; July was a hot month and we had a lot of above 90 degree days. Just when it seemed like the hot weather would not stop, August came and more moderate weather with it. This helped slow the ripening down, and even cooler weather in September allowed us to let the grapes hang longer, resulting in riper fruit without additional sugar accumulation. The 2018 vintage is our coolest growing season since 2012, and we believe it will be our best vintage since then.
WINEMAKING
The grapes were carefully hand harvested on September 23rd. They were then sorted by hand on the crush pad to remove any flawed bunches and 100% de-stemmed directly into several 3-ton stainless steel fermenters. Fermentation took place with a combination of ambient yeast, cultivated house yeast, and commercial yeasts. Cap management was done via gentle punch downs up to 2 times per day. The wine from this block was drained and pressed off the skins immediately following primary fermentation with 20 days of skin contact time. This wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels for 18 months, with 25% new oak.
WINE PROFILE
Our 2018 Orchard Block Pinot Noir has notes of tobacco, pomegranate, raspberry and black cherry on the nose, as well as a subtle hint of chantrelle and nutmeg. On the palate, pomegranate and raspberry shine through with red cherries and a subtle dash of clove. A delicate Pinot Noir, the 2018 Orchard Block has lower tannins and brighter acidity.
PAIRINGS
This wine pairs with creamy dishes such as Cacio e Pepe and mushroom dishes like wild mushroom risotto or roasted cauliflower with truffles.
SCORES
93 points – James Suckling
92 points – Wine Spectator