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THE WINE ENTHUSIAST "A lot of guys back then got fired from Sonoma-Cutrer
and others quit, so some of us bought this property (in Sebastopol),
with some investors, and began planting it to Pinot Noir,"
Jones recalls. They named the project Goldridge Pinot, after the
soil type found in parts o southern and western Sonoma County. Although the fledgling company produced a 2002 Pinot
wine for experimental purposes, it wasn't bottled. Instead, they
sold grapes to other wineries, including Scherrer, Dutton-Goldfield,
Gary Farrell, Phalmeyer, Rutz, and MacPhail. But Jones and his friends
had their hearts set on a new Pinot Noir brand, which they finally
launched this past April under the Emeritus label; the name refers
to the fact that "so many of our people came from Sonoma-Cutrer,"
says Jones. The winemaker, Don Blackburn, who'd done previous stints
at Bernardus and Byington, was pursued for years by Jones before
finally saying yes. "I had made a list of five winemakers who
made great Pinot," says Jones. "Don was at the top of
the list, and that's not blowing smoke up your tailpipe." Both inaugural Emeritus Pinots are from the celebrated
2005 vintage. (Blackburn produced a 2004 vintage, but the wines
were destroyed in a warehouse fire.) The regular Russian River Valley
(91 points, $32), made primarily from the 105-acre Sebastopol vineyard,
is a voluptuous, elegant Pinot, beautiful now and capable of moderate
aging. The William Wesley (94 points, $50), named after Jones' father,
is more Burgundian, an earthy, well-oaked wine of great power. Available
only through the winery's mailing list, it hails from two small
vineyards in Annapolis, on the remote Sonoma Coast. The two wines,
a regional bottling and a single-vineyard expression, follow the
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay model. Jones says that, after six years with no wine on
the market, "We've had a very gratifying reception for Emeritus."
Does he plan to repeat his success at Sonoma-Cutrer and make Chardonnay?
"Oh, God, no!" Jones laughs. "I can tell you this:
I'm glad I'm not out there trying to sell Chardonnay!" |
For
20 years, Brice Jones co-owned and ran Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards,
which was one of the top Chardonnay producers in California, and
helped solidify Sonoma's reputation for world-class, single-vineyard
Chardonnay. He left the winery in 2001 after selling it to the wine
and spirits giant, Brown-Forman.