2023 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir Sweetwater Vineyard

The bright ruby 2023 Pinot Noir Sweetwater has very pretty spice, fresh compact wildflowers, wild raspberries, and fresh sweet herbs. The palate is focused and linear, with a stony texture, and it has a clean feel with hints of purple flowers as well as a lovely and lasting finish with notes of framboise. Drink 2025-2040. Tom Rochioli is leading his historic family winery and vineyards along with his wife Theresa and their children, Rachael (General Manager) and Ryan (Assistant Winemaker). The focus is on estate-grown expressions of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and old vine Sauvignon Blanc. Tom’s grandparents immigrated from Italy in 1911 and came to the Russian River Valley in 1938, moving to the 125-acre Fenton Acres property where the winery is today. In the 1970s and 1980s, Tom’s father Joe began selling their grapes to winemakers Davis Bynum and Williams Selyem, who produced some of the best wines in the region. It wasn’t until 1983 that Rochioli decided to produce their own wines and changed the name of the property from Fenton Acres to Rochioli Vineyards.

The 2023 Pinot Noir Sweetwater Estate is a complex, dynamic wine. Blood orange, cedar, pomegranate, red plum, new leather, iron, dried herbs and mocha are all dialed up to the maximum. Broad and ample, the Sweetwater is quite the powerhouse. There's just a touch of stems in this wine (5%), but really, it is the small, loose clusters that speak loudest in terms of the wine's textural presence.