• Sokol Blosser Select Club Collection Fall 2023

2021 Kalita Crimson Clover Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir

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.

2019 Watershed Block Estate Pinot Noir

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

2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris

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)

2021 Blackberry Block Estate Pinot Noir

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.

2018 Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir

APPELLATION
100% Eola-Amity Hills

BLEND COMPOSITION
100% Pinot Noir

CLONES
Clones 777, 115, 114

AGE OF VINES
Planted in 1999-2001

BOTTLED
Tiraged April 2019, Disgorged February 2023

BRIX AT HARVEST
17.5º

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
11.5%

PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
~5 years

PRODUCTION
253 Cases

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 inSeptember 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 Pinot Noir grapes in our Sparkling Rosé were hand-harvested on September 8th and 14th, then whole cluster pressed with a light, long pressing to maintain a low pH, low phenolics, clean bright fruit character. The juice was fermented with a neutral sparkling style yeast in 15% stainless steel drums and 85% oak barrels. It was then aged for 6 months, with the majority of the wine aging in French oak (with 10% new,10% once used, and 80% neutral oak), and 15% of the wine aging in stainless steel drums. After aging the wine was blended into a single cuvée to rest for one month before going into tirage. The wine was put into tirage in April of 2019 where it aged entirage for 45 months with our winemaking team tasting periodically throughout that period to help determine the ideal time for disgorging. The final wine was disgorged in February of 2023 having developed the ideal notes of purity of fruit with complexities contributed from the yeast.

WINE PROFILE
Dive directly into notes of raspberry and strawberry on the nose while admiring the beautiful pink hue. On the palate, red fruit forward with just a hint of caramel. Dry,Tart, and crisp providing an elegant expression for any occasion of celebration and yes even if it’s just a Tuesday.

PAIRINGS
Triple chocolate cake, Kusshi oysters, or soft goat cheese with crackers for the perfect evening treat.

THE STORY
The Sokol Blosser family has selected a site comprised of volcanic soils and influenced by cooling marine winds located in the Eola-Amity Hills, called Blossom Ridge Vineyard. Starting in 2014 Sokol Blosser began the transition of Blossom Ridge to an organic vineyard site, carrying the farming values of “good to the earth” forward.

SCORES
New Release – not yet rated.

2021 Estate Riesling

APPELLATION
100% Dundee Hills AVA

BLEND COMPOSITION
100%Riesling| 100% Estate Grown

AGE OF VINES
Planted in 2006

BOTTLED
April 2022

BRIX AT HARVEST
21.6°

ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
12.7%

PROPER CELLAR LIFESPAN
3-5 Years

PRODUCTION
500 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/April/May that the Valley has seen through 128 years of record keeping! Bloom, or flowering, 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. July and August turned out to be exceedingly hot and dry, thankfully September started off mild with a couple of rain events that allowed us to fully ripen the grapes. We started bringing in our Estate Pinot Noir on Sunday, September 12th. The hot and dry summer made for fruit that was extremely clean, making 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 our Red House Block on October 4th, the last fruit to come in from the Estate and the ripest we have ever gotten our Estate Riesling. It was hand sorted to removed any flawed clusters before being pressed, whole cluster to limit the amount of skin contact. The juice was divided with 42% in a stainless steel tank, 30% fermented in the concrete egg and 28% in neutral oak puncheons.They were all inoculated with an aromatic, Rielsing-focused yeast.After fermentation the three lots were blended into a stainless steel tank and left to age for 5 months with weekly lees-stiring until the desired mouth-feel and aromas were attained. Our goal with this wine was to create a dry, well-balanced Riesling with a round mouthfeel and bright acid. The use of different fermentation vessels integrated layers of minerality, grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, and apricot to add nuance and beauty to this wine.

WINE PROFILE
On the nose, this wine is complex with asian pear, papaya and slate with hints of honey. On the palate, the honey and slate carry through, and are joined by lime zest and candied mango.

PAIRINGS
This wine will pair beautifully with a crispy Chicken schnitzel or fresh sushi and sashimi.

THE STORY
Riesling was one of the original varietals planted on the Estate in 1971, along with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. When phylloxera struck and we began the process of replanting vineyards we decided to move the Riesling vines from their original site in both the Twelve Row and Old Vineyard Blocks to a more suitable site. At the foot of our winemaker’s house sits scenic and aptly named Red House Block. We planted this block in 2006. There are two old world Riesling varietals planted here. One is a Geisenheim clone (Geisenheim 110) from the Rheingau region of Germany, considered Riesling’s historical and traditional home.The second clone (Neustadt 90) planted comes from the Pfalz region of Germany. These two clones allow us to make a non-typical, fruit forward, and relatively dry wine.

SCORES
New Release – not yet rated.

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