Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Sonoma Coast growing season delivered ideal conditions for high-quality fruit. Low yields and small berries led to a concentrated, layered Pinot Noir. A blend of destemmed clones 115 and 667 with whole-cluster fermented clone 828, this fifteenth vintage from Gap’s Crown Vineyard offers elegant fruit and bold structure
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of sliced strawberry and hibiscus with some sea salt here, but not overpowering. The palate is firm and racy with sleek and energetic tannins that run the length of the wine. Fresh and crisp with a citrus undertone at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers a lovely, pure streak of pomegranate, damson plum and cherry fruit, gilded with light floral and savory notes and tinged with a mineral edge through the finish. Shows a nice racy feel from start to finish. Drink now through 2030. 1,025 cases made.
Based in the town of Sonoma, Sojourn Cellars is a highly acclaimed winery specializing in the production of artisan Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon wines.
We source fruit from celebrated vineyards in both Sonoma and Napa Counties, and we help direct farming operations to assure that our grapes are produced using world-class growing techniques. We consistently produce remarkable wines with a hands-off natural winemaking style that showcases the character and personality of the individual vineyards.
Sojourn feels passionate about creating high-quality wines and always being accessible to the people who buy and enjoy our wines. Sojourn offers seated tastings in a casual, yet sophisticated environment and prides itself on always putting the customer first.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.