Sonoma’s Stellar 2016s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | APRIL 20, 2018 

Two thousand sixteen is a fabulous vintage in Sonoma. On the heels of 2015, a year of freakishly low yields that resulted in abnormally intense wines, 2016 marks a return to a much more relaxed, growing season with ideal conditions for making wines endowed with energy, freshness and delineation that provide a striking foil to California’s natural radiance. Simply put, 2016 is one of the most consistently brilliant and alluring young vintages I have ever tasted in Sonoma.

The Kistler Vineyard on Moon Mountain. The Cuvee Cathleen Chardonnay emerges from the tenderloin of this hillside parcel

The 2016 Growing Season and Wines

At three times the size of Napa Valley, Sonoma is a very large, sprawling region encompassing a dizzying array of mountain, hillside and valley floor vineyards that run from the border with Napa all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, conditions can vary widely for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and the many varieties that are planted in Sonoma's vineyards. For those reasons, attempting to condense thoughts on a growing season into a few sentences or paragraphs is next to impossible. Readers will find more detailed information as it pertains to vintage conditions within the producer commentaries that accompany the tasting notes in this article. Broadly speaking, in 2016 cool weather towards the end of the summer extended the growing season and resulted in a relaxed, long harvest with none of the excesses or stress of 2015.

In Appreciation of Zinfandel & Field Blends 

The 2016 Zinfandels and field blend wines were among the many highlights of my tastings this year. Although much of the focus today is on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sonoma’s history is deeply rooted in Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and other grapes that early immigrants planted, often in field blends, beginning in the mid to late 1800s. Those farmers and winemakers understood the complementary nature of interplanted varieties, and the complexity that field blends naturally gave their wines. Today, the viability of these historic sites is threatened by the continued encroachment of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both much more fashionable and higher value crops. That is a shame for a number of reasons, some of them cultural, and others more directly linked to the pedigree of the wines themselves. I was absolutely thrilled with the 2016 Zinfandels and field blend wines I tasted for this article. The 2016s are fresh, vibrant reds that faithfully express the essence of site, perhaps the single most coveted attribute of wines that ascend into the realm of world class. The Russian River in particular seems to have experienced a tremendous vintage. Best of all, these wines remain largely ignored by the masses, which means prices are quite modest relative to quality.