Rodney Strong Vineyards/Three Reserve Wines/Greg Morthole

We have decided to open three wines from Rodney Strong Vineyards,and We would love it if you could join us.We will start with Pinot Noir Reserve,go onto Malbec Reserve,and end our tasting with The Port from this fabled winery.Let's start with the tasting notes and history,and then sit down and relax as we enjoy our audio feature. Our story begins over 55 years ago, when a celebrated American dancer named Rod Strong settled in Sonoma County to pursue a second lifelong creative passion: winemaking. Rodney Strong Vineyards was the 13th winery bonded in the newly discovered Sonoma County wine industry. A trio of winemaking paths crossed when Rick Sayre joined the team as Winemaker in 1979, and again when the Klein Family, 4th generation California farmers, purchased the winery in 1989 and initiated a renewed commitment of modern artisan winemaking. Through the years, Rodney Strong Vineyards has earned the reputation for critically acclaimed Single Vineyard and Reserve wines, stand out Estate releases and best-in-class Sonoma County varietal wines. The 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir has wonderful aromas of dark cherry, plum and dark raspberry accompanied by clove and cinnamon baking spice notes on the palate. The wine is lush and rich, with a silky textured mouthfeel and well-balanced acidity. Storms in late winter filled the soil with water that the vines would need in a few months. Warm days in late winter and early spring induced the Pinot Noir buds to swell during the third week of Feb, earlier than normal. The weather alternated between cool periods and warm through the summer, with a few heat spikes making the sugars climb at an accelerated pace. Harvest would yield a smaller crop than normal, averaging just over 2 tons per acre. This would be the first Reserve Pinot to come entirely off our Jane's Vineyard since the 2008 vintage, concentrating heavily on our oft favored Crinella block. Our 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir was aged in less new French oak barrels than past vintages, but also for a few months longer, in order to showcase the terroir to a higher degree, but still keep the richness that barrel aging imparts. We now will open the Reserve Malbec! A perfect wine for our next dish. Rich, lush and structured, the 2014 vintage displays intense aromas and flavors of blackberry, plum, and crushed violet. It is velvety with a smooth, lingering finish of toasty baking spices, vanilla and cocoa. Visitors to the winery often ask what “Reserve” means to us. It’s simple. Reserve means the winemaker’s careful blend of individual Malbec lots made from time tested, meticulously farmed sections of some of the very best, hillside vineyards in Sonoma County. Malbec has proven to be particularly well suited to the unique climate and soil combinations of the Sonoma County regions. Over the last four years, we have added 60 acres of Malbec to our estate vineyard portfolio throughout Alexander Valley and Northern Sonoma County. Select areas within each vineyard are hand harvested individually, fermented separately and aged in the finest French oak barrels. After about six months, each lot is tasted and graded and only the Malbec lots that display depth, richness, intensity, and age worthiness are considered for Reserve Malbec. The blend is then assembled, and the wine is returned to barrels to facilitate flavor integration. The wine is aged an additional 18 to 24 months, depending on the vintage, before bottling. The exceptional 2014 vintage started with buds pushing a little early after a very dry winter. The rain came in earnest in late February and March, filling the root zone with much needed water for growth, but the rest of the spring season continued to be warm and dry, conditions favorable for optimum fruit set. Summer brought more warmth as the grapes acclimated to the sunshine, and we picked the Dry Creek Malbec block fully ripe on Sept 17. A heat wave in early October pushed the last blocks in Knight's Valley and southern Alexander Valley to full maturity several weeks later. We now will open the port,just for you! This dark ruby color Port wine is amazing!. It opens with a mild black raspberry bouquet with a hint of raisin and faint rum. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, smooth and does a nice job controlling its 18.5% alcohol. The flavor profile is a tasty black cherry and cocoa blend with notes rum and raisin cake. The finish is dry and it is nicely prolonged. I would serve this very good port with cherry pie. now it's time to pour a glass of each wine and listen to our audio feature with Greg Morthole !!Cheers! Click here and join us as we enjoy the wines of Rodney Strong Vineyards .