On my recent trip to Sonoma County, California for the Wine Bloggers Conference I had the opportunity to visit some of Rodney Strong’s vineyards in northern Alexander Valley.  The hike through the vineyard was led by Rodney Strong viticulturist Doug McIlroy and I was joined by some fabulous other wine bloggers like Lenn Thompsom from Lenndevours, Russ Beebe the Winehiker, Hardy Wallace from Dirty South Wine, Erika Strum from Strumerika, Doug Cook from AbleGrape and numerous others.  Thanks to Zephyr Wine Adventures for coordinating the walk.

Doug McIlroy explained to us that the Alexander Valley was created by faults pulling apart from each other, revealing soils composed of sandstones from the ocean floor millions of years ago.  The soils tend to be well drained.  Erosion carries deposits into the valley, creating a geology where the hillsides tend to have soils of lower fertility and high acidity while lower in the valley you find newer alluvium deposits.  The hillside soils are ideal for creating big, flavorful, high alcohol wines.

Our hike culminated with a somewhat strenuous hike up Rodney Strong’s Rockaway vineyard, where they are growing grapes for their highly acclaimed Rockaway wine.  The picture above is yours truly at Rockaway.  At the top of that vineyard we relaxed for a few minutes, tried some wines and enjoyed lunch.  One of the wines we tried was the Rockaway wine—which was excellent—but it is also expensive, and only available by allocation, which means you probably won’t be able to get it, and even if you could it is above the price range for most readers of this site.  But we also tried a couple other wines that are worth noting here, and so I shall.  Starting with…

Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sauvignon Blanc 2007

The core of the Charlotte’s Home vineyard is located in southern Alexander Valley.  Although they also used grapes from other areas in the Alexander Valley, including blocks near the Rockaway vineyard that I visited.

I should note that I tasted this wine in a picnic setting and not the typical environment in which I do most tasting and that may have some impact on results. Nonetheless, here are my thoughts.

The nose on this wine has outstanding intensity and a beautiful bouquet of peach, pear and a slightly nutty characteristic.  Based on the aromas, I could easily imagine enjoying this with pears, walnuts and bleu cheese.  The palate brings a very bright and refreshing acidity along with the flavors of slightly unripe peach, pear, mango and a hint of mineral.  The finish is very long and adds a subtle apple flavor to the mix.

All told, this is an excellent wine at a reasonable price.  I gave it a 90.

Wine: Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $15.00