We rolled out of bed and hopped in the car to race over to Sonoma for our last day in the valleys. Sojourn, a relatively new Pinot Noir producer, was hosting us at their guest house. It was gorgeous - right in the middle of their "Home Ranch" vineyard (from which they have just begun bottling a new Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2007 vintage), as well as on the Sonoma Country Club golf course.
In continuing with our "laid back" MO, we found a cute little oyster bar just off the Sonoma Square called Meritage. We started with a delicious martini that used Hendricks, Lillet Blanc and cucumber. A dozen oysters and the party was started! For the Sage/Speck Mini-Pizza and Steak Sandwich, we moved over to the Italian Margarita which used a floater of Tuaca - very cool layer to the classic. The server informed us Happy Hour was from 3-6 and all the oysters were 1/2 off. We immediately began making plans to come back in a mere three hours.
We walked the Sonoma Square which is adorable and eventually made our way into Sojourn to taste the current lineup. Very good wines, in general with a couple of standouts. The Rodgers Creek Pinot 2008 (which Spectator slammed with a score of 78) was actually quite good, but very herbal. It might not be for everyone, but Kara and I selected it as our favorite of the Pinots, which also featured the Sonoma Coast blend and Russian River blend. Then, the three Cabernets which are new this year, of which our favorite was the Spring Mountain. The Howell Mountain was also good, but showed some rubber and tar. The Sonoma Cab was chalky and restrained, but also a good representation.
We returned to meet my folks at Meritage again, powering down a bottle of 2007 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc with four dozen oysters, two orders of mussels, fried calamari and truffle parmesan fries. I also tried their Dirty Cougar martini which used Citrus vodka, St. Germain, grapefruit and Lavendar Honey. It was fairly sweet, but very unique and a real crowd-pleaser.
We drug the folks back to the house where we had a half-bottle of the Dana Estates 'Lotus' 2007 which has the distinction of not being released yet and was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. We were all sort of let down by this wine, but with 100 points in tow and a $300 pricetag, there are a lot of expectations. It was fat and inky, very dominant in alcohol, and fairly one-dimensional. Fun to try, though, and with the score behind it, I'll likely try to make a few bucks on buying it.
Dinner was at Cafe La Haye where we drank a 2007 Seven Stones Cabernet against a 2000 Pichon Lalande. The Pichon was certainly more my speed, but still VERY young and primary. It has a ways to go, but the nose is just beautiful right now with plenty of mineral and youthful, ripe black fruits. The Seven Stones was good, but way overpriced at $175 retail. The food was really great! I highly recommend this cute little spot, but make ressies because it is tiny!
And so ended the trip! Whenever I leave wine country, I always think that I'm going to need a week off from drinking, but I know I'm going to want a glass of wine the night I get home because I'm going to miss the valleys. The best thing is that each glass of wine transports me back there, and that's one of the things I love about wine. It's like a mini-vacation in a glass!
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