Grape Escape: How Green Was My Valley at Hallberg Ranch

June 28, 2024 – Nothing beats visiting vineyards and meeting vineyard managers and winemakers on their home turf. It’s the very best way to have an authentic wine experience. Seeing a vineyard in the flesh, surveying its surroundings, kicking the dirt, feeling the wind and sun and observing the wildlife, gives you such a sense of what those vines deal with every day.  

Earlier this year, I had the great privilege to taste a set of Russian River Pinot Noirs from the Hallberg Ranch Vineyard at Emeritus Vineyards, just northeast of Sebastopol, right at the very eastern edge of the Green Valley AVA of Sonoma. It’s definitely on the warmer side of Green Valley. Although it does get some fog, it’s for sure not in the chill zone of the westernmost reaches that are closer to the ocean. The temperature swings at Hallberg Ranch can be up to 50 degrees, which tells you it can get mighty hot there, as it was the day we visited in May this year. No sweaters, jackets etc. needed. Hats were a good idea. 

Emeritus Vineyards was created by vintner Brice Cutrer Jones in 1999, after he sold his first brand, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, synonymous with great Chardonnay. This time, his quest was to make the New World’s finest Pinot Noir, and to that end he bought a former apple and peach orchard that had been planted in the 1920s during Prohibition, owned by Don and Marcia Hallberg.

Jones tapped renowned vineyard vanager Kirk Lokka, who had managed much of Sonoma-Cutrer’s 1,200 acres for over 23 years, to plant the nearly 150-acre vineyard. A former cotton farmer turned vineyardist, Lokka installed Hallberg Ranch vineyard with tight spacing modeled after the fashion of Burgundy. Brice and Lokka chose 11 clones, including two field selections from the Cote de Nuits and a selection from Aubert de Villaine. These are among the most prized clones on the property today. 

It’s All In the Dirt

The whitish gray well-draining sandy loamy Goldridge soil that the vines sink their toes into here is about 18 inches deep before it hits the orange-colored Sebastopol clay loam, which stores water nicely. We saw the dramatic difference in color courtesy of a soil pit that enabled us to trace the path of the vine roots, as they sought more water.  The vines have all been dry-farmed since 2011, and Lokka’s 20-plus person crew, now headed by his son Riggs, keep the place in ship-shape.  

To showcase the site, Emeritus president Mari Jones—daughter of founder Brice Cutrer Jones—invited a few journalists and winemakers out to see the vineyard, meet the vineyard managers and to explore the wines from this spot. It was really informative tasting all these different representations of Hallberg Ranch Vineyard, as each winemaker chose different parts to highlight, and of course, each chose their favorite clones. Most winemakers offered two vintages to demonstrate how time translates their particular expressions. Some are happy older: some happier older. 

Naturally, picking decisions are critical: some like riper, more generous fruit, like Raemy Paterson of Martin Ray Winery and Brent McKoy of Gary Farrell Winery, while some prefer more depth and earthiness, like Adrian Manspeaker of Joseph Jewell and Kenny Griess of Etude. Still others seek a spectrum of complexity, as did Ryan Kunde of DRNK Wines and Fred Scherrer of Scherrer Winery. The guy having the most fun each year is Keith Hammond, the winemaker at Emeritus, who gets his pick of the field. 

Tasting Hallberg Ranch Dirt as Translated Through Wine

Here are some of the wines from the tasting that caught my attention and would be worthy of further exploration, either by ordering them for delivery, or visiting in person.

Emeritus 2021 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Ranch – This wine is a great amalgam of the diversity of clones in this vineyard, including 115, 777, 37, 828, 667, Swan, Pommard and those three really intriguing ones, Cruz, Elite and Hyde. You knew winemaker Hammond would score some of those. He told me he ferments each one separately and has a great time enjoying their nuances. This blend is meant as a vineyard tone poem. The blood orange jumps out at you first, along with vibrant crushed cranberry, tangy blackberries, pomegranate and a wonderful waft of cedar incense. The acid is plentiful, as it spreads the fruit and a touch of cocoa butter around the palate like a jam knife. Give this one some air. 

DRNK 2021 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Ranch – Winemaker Ryan Kunde chose clones 828 and 777 for his efforts, which include native yeast fermentation and no whole cluster. He cave-ages all his wines underground, and this one got 19 months in 35% new French before being polished, blended and bottled in August, 2023. It’s dynamic and youthful, with alluring notes of cedar, dried lavender, tarragon and sage, and has a surprisingly sweet rush of raspberry, brown sugar and maraschino cherry, which, in the same sip, are balanced by butter sauteed mushrooms. A pleasant note of wood softens the wonderfully grippy tannins, leading to an elegant long finish.

Scherrer Winery 2019 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Ranch – Both vintages (2015 and 2019) that winemaker Fred Scherrer poured were exceptional, showing depth and ageworthiness on the order of a Calera wine from Mt Harlan in stature and thrill. Each sip reveals something different, including plum, roasted pork, raspberry coulis, grenadine, leather and basil. These wines, made from the Elite clone, are hard to pin down. I find them fascinating. Scherrer started his wine brand while working at Dehlinger in 1991, using Zinfandel from vines his grandfather planted in 1912. He says that Zinfandel is a lot like Pinot Noir when not picked overripe, and I thoroughly concur.

En Route 2022 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Ranch – Winemaker Michael Accurso of En Route and Far Niente’s Post & Beam, presented this wine, his inaugural vintage from Hallberg. I was immediately taken by its very friendly and inviting nose, which spoke of a summer berry pie. From his previous experience at Goldeneye in Anderson Valley, he has a preference for making soft, approachable Pinot Noir with lots of red fruit, in this case pomegranate, ollalieberry and boysenberry. Nobody else got those flavors in their Hallberg, although some did have a smidge of blood orange, which is pretty attractive in this wine. Accurso is very excited about 2023: so are we. 

Joseph Jewell 2021 Pinot Noir, Hallberg Ranch – Winemaker Adrian Manspeaker chose Pinot Noir clone 777 and Pommard 5 from Hallberg Ranch for his program from this vineyard. The wine reflects the structure and weight of the Pommard to balance the dark red and black fruit of the clone 777. The fruit was 100% destemmed, meaning no whole cluster, and aged in 25% new Tonnellerie Rousseau French oak for 11 months. The aromas are powerful and engaging, with Bing cherries, cedar and sandalwood, underlain by forest floor, subtle baking spice and earthy mushrooms. A wonderful meld of cherries and dried cranberries, along with blueberries make this a serious wine with the kind of acid to fruit ratio that will make it a long-term ager.

More Gems from Jewell

I’m such a fan of this producer that I thought I’d share these other wines of his that I recently tasted, all of which are highly recommended. The rose and two whites are $30 each, or $25 on the Summer Subscriptionprogram, which offers you 3, 6, or 12 bottles each summer month, with 50% off express shipping. The Joseph Jewell tasting room is in Forestville, about 10 minutes up the road from Hallberg Ranch.  

Joseph Jewell 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley – By far the most luscious of all the Pinot Noir rosés that I’ve tried yet this season, I’d have to say that it has absolutely everything you want, from the perfect color — early dawn’s pale pink — and aromas of orchard blossoms, to the oozing summer flavors of ruby red grapefruit, white peach, tangerine and Blenheim apricot. Although it is quite fruit-kissed, the minerality and salinity keep it incredibly clean, and delightfully crisp. Just a delight. 

Joseph Jewell 2023 Vermentino, Raymond Burr Vineyards, Sonoma – Winemaker Adrian Jewell Manspeaker grew up in Humboldt County, where he still sources fruit from several vineyards for outstanding Pinot Noirs, but he has many good fruit sources in the Sonoma area, including the Raymond Burr Vineyard, where this Vermentino is grown. A delicate nose of lemongrass, beeswax and honeydew, leads to more forceful flood of cantaloupe, lime, Meyer lemon and nectarine. The vein of minerality is wonderful. 

Joseph Jewell 2020 Martini Clone Old Girls Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley – The famous 70-acre Starscape Vineyard, which was planted in 1971, is the third oldest Pinot Noir vineyard in the Russian River Valley. A section of the vineyard, containing own-rooted Martini clone Pinot Noir, still survives. It’s affectionately called the “Old Girls” block. Although he’s sourced fruit from Starscape since 2007, it wasn’t until 2014 that Manspeaker was able to obtain. Pinot Noir from this block. The 2020 is a vibrant ruby red, emanating warm blood orange tea and baking spice, with flavors comprised of bright Bing cherry and red currant, with a silky and energetic palate, swept along by snappy acidity. 

Joseph Jewell 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Starscape Vineyard – I didn’t even know the Starscape Vineyard had Sauvignon Blanc planted, so this came as a very pleasant surprise. First of all, this is absolutely not Napa, Lake County or Arroyo Seco. Nay, nay. It is its own lithe lady in gossamer white, serving no preconceived notions. It’s almost Loire-ish in its clean, yet soft, tropical aromatics and flavors, lifted further by pleasing Meyer lemon and a bit of white currant. Absent is the wild grassiness, and the New Zealand dosage of eucalyptus/cat pee. Instead, it’s delicate and wafts along the palate like a tiny sailboat slithering across a smooth lake. It’s polite, more like a Thursday afternoon tea than a Friday night smackdown.