At the Estate, winter is slowly giving way to spring as we prepare for the 2025 growing season. As I write, the vineyard crew is working their way through pruning, setting up the vines for this season and beyond, while 800+ sheep are simultaneously grazing on our cover crop, returning nutrients to the soil and helping manage winter growth. One of the things that has struck me with our transition to regenerative organic farming is that, with conventional farming, there is really a clear demarcation from year to year, with a slow period of time from the end of harvest to the beginning of pruning. However, with regenerative organic farming, there is much more continuity as our focus shifts to the soil and the entire farm ecology, rather than just the grapes.
This means that, as soon as harvest concludes, our attention turns to our cover crop and supporting the soil’s microorganisms. While pruning remains a major focus, work on the soil continues—not only with the sheep but also collecting pruned plant material for composting to return nutrients to the soil.
In the winery, we have completed bottling the 2023 vintage and are thrilled with the results. It marks both the largest volume and the most diverge range of wines we have bottled to date. Yet, much more important than the quantity is the quality, which is truly exceptional. This vintage also includes our first releases from Savoy Vineyard, which is incredibly exciting. There will be much more to share about these wines upon their release, but for now, we will turn our focus to the 2022 vintage and our current wine offerings. This release mostly focuses on Carneros, featuring several of my personal favorites, with one Russian River Valley wine to round things out.
First up is the 2022 Three Hills Pinot Noir, the lightest of our “blended” Pinot Noirs, sourced from different parcels on the Estate. This wine primarily comes from the cooler east- and north-facing sections of our vineyard and is aged in slightly less new oak, resulting in a wine with great freshness and red fruit flavors. That said, it still features Donum’s hallmark concentration of flavor, beautifully demonstrating that a wine can be both elegant and rich in flavor.
Next is the 2022 Mikado Tree Pinot Noir, crafted from our lowest-yielding block of Swan clone Pinot. These natural low yields result in powerful concentration. Yet, the Swan clone, even with this level of power and concentration, leans towards the red fruit side of the spectrum, creating an intriguing contrast that is both compelling and unique.
The 2022 East Slope Pinot Noir is made from Calera clone, which delivers a completely different flavor profile, showcasing purple and blue fruit. This clone also delivers a lovely floral note, which I find makes this one of our most complex wines. With great natural acidity, it has excellent structure, class, and aging potential.
Finally, we have the 2022 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, which is always a crowd pleaser at events. Featuring classic black cherry and cola notes, this wine might initially seem like one of our boldest. However, it is also one of our highest-acid wines, thanks to the loamy soils in this vineyard. The result is a beautifully balanced wine that exemplifies Pinot Noir’s ability to deliver power and grace in the same glass.
Thank you once again for your continued support of Donum, and I hope you enjoy these wines.
Cheers!
Dan Fishman
Director of Winemaking & Vineyards
Winemaker