We love Russian River Valley Pinot for the distinctive qualities it offers. Whether California pinot noir truly possesses terroir is an argument we will leave for the intellectuals to wax on endlessly. Regardless, our wines embody the unique qualities that only Russian River Valley can offer; Spice, sassafras, red fruits and beautiful balance are incontrovertibly present in every bottle of our pinot, and you can only find this where our grapes our grown.

Our Ketcham Estate wine is from our vineyard just off of Eastside road. The property has many microclimates within the small twelve acre lot, mostly due to changing soils and a small creek that lines the western border. This diversity as well as the many Dijon and Pommard clones provides the wine with a broad flavor profile and great depth. One of these days we are going to make wines specific to the small lots that possess their own climate and soil but for now, we are so pleased with how they blend into a complete wine, we can't move ourselves to touch the recipe.

2008 Ketcham Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Tasting Notes

Tasting Note:
Aromatics: Deep and profound with dark raspberry, strawberry and black cherry. There is the signature sassafras nuance with flint, nutmeg, and a touch of clean earth.

Palate: The palate is rich and medium/full-bodied. The layers of flavor are focused and pure. Dark red fruits including blackberries, ripe raspberries pair well with the higher toned pomegranate notes. 

This is the first year that 100% of the grapes for both of our pinots come from our estate vineyard. The distinction of the pinots are the clonal selections and age of the vines. The Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is primarily from vines we planted when we purchased the vineyard in 2001. The pinot is predominantly Dijon clones 828, 115, 667 and 777 with a little Pommard from the old block on the vineyard as well as 10 year-old Pommard 4. This blend crafts a wine that is brighter in fruit and more approachable in its youth.

This pinot always show firm acidity, and the palate has dark red fruit, some blackberry along with the traditional spice and cola representative in Russian River Valley pinot noir. The 2008 vintage is showing more elegant and aromatic than in years' past and this wine portrays that elegance with a profound mid-palate, which we think is an exciting combination. 529 cases produced.

2008 Ketcham Estate Ketcham Vineyard Pinot Noir

Tasting Note:
Aromatics: Very broad nose of red raspberry, cranberry and strawberry. The aromas of summer flowers, leaf herbs and mineral nuances blend nicely with the red fruits and earth characters that are typical with fully mature vines.

Palate: The palate leads with a firm acidic frame. The texture is creamy and medium-bodied. The mid-palate has that RRV edgy quality with a core of profound red fruits married with tones of earth, spice, mineral and forest floor.

In the 2008 vintage, we have produced 539 cases of our flagship Estate pinot noir, the most ever. A high percentage of the grapes for this wine comes from the 25 year-old block of Pommard on the east side of our property. The fact that the vines are some of the oldest in production from the Russian River valley makes this real treat as it is very rare to be able to enjoy a RRV pinot with this much vine age.

We have discovered this block truly represents the Russian River Valley and our site, so we isolate the grapes in barrel and craft a wine we feel has true expression of where it comes from. Combine that with the incredible aromatics of the 2008 vintage, and we believe we have found our finest wine to date; one that blends profound pinot with nuanced elegance. 539 cases produced.

2008 Ketcham Estate Russian River Valley Viognier

The wine is crafted exclusively from Marsha’s Vineyard just off Olivet Lane in Russian River Valley. The vineyard is a magnificent site, right in the heart of the RRV and touching some of the most storied vineyards in our cherished AVA. The grapes from the vineyard always mature slowly which allows us to pick well into October, thus allowing the aromatics to fully mature and develop.

This shows a crisp refreshing style with typical Viognier complexity and layers of flavors. Viognier is typically full-bodied with effusive aromas, and our Viognier carries the torch proudly. A terrific food wine, you can pair this with traditional favorites like pasta and seafood, but we have also tried it with spicy stir-fries and Thai food and found it a great pairing. We are happy to have produced a very unique California Viognier. 42 cases produced.

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