welcome to Dutton-Goldfield
Well, truth be told, I didn’t know a thing about Dutton-Goldfield before we went for a wine-tasting visit the other day. I simply wanted to go because I liked the name of the place. Is that so wrong?
Located in the Russian River Valley in Sebastopol, they’ve a smart tasting room in front of their winery. Dan Goldfield is wine maker. Steve Dutton, the first part of Dutton-Goldfield, is one of the two sons of the late Warren Dutton, who with wife Gail purchased numerous plots throughout the region and developed them into vineyards. Both Dutton heirs, Steve and Joe, have their own wineries. It is a bit hard to pull it all together but it sounds like all the grapes for Dutton-Goldfield are sourced from Dutton Ranch. So blah, blah, blah…
pondering the wine list at Dutton-Goldfield
winebarrels in the sun
Dutton-Goldfield Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
The enduring question, of course, is how’s the wine?
Well, I thought it very good.
We were alone at Dutton-Goldfield about 30 minutes before closing on a Friday evening. I liked that a lot, since we got the undivided attention of the helpful staff. D-G produces a wide selection of wines, though Veronica and I were especially interested in the single vineyard designate pinot noirs. So we tried only reds.
2009 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: This was an opaque red to purple with aromas of stone fruits, leading to the classic RRV sour cherry with cranberry notes at the end. Full bodied, we detected some pepper. This was a nice wine.
2009 Freestone Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: This, too, was an opaque purple red color with a lovely nose of herbs, particularly thyme, cinnamon and clove. More lush than the first, it was full bodied with some pepper notes on the long finish. Really good.
2009 Fox Den Vineyard Pinot Noir, Green Valley of RRV: This was a red purple color and more fruit forward with good depth, a long finish filled with jammy plum and caramel notes.
2008 Cherry Ridge Vineyard Syrah, Green Valley of RRV: An opaque purple black, this cool-climate syrah exhibited rich fruit, some sour cherry and sandalwood notes with a medium to full body.
2009 Stoetz Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley: This cool-climate zin was a cloudy red to purple with a fruity aroma with hints of rising bread. Grenache like in taste, it was supple with medium body, and red fruit. This was not the powerful over-the-top zinfandel one typically finds.
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I’d forgotten how much I enjoy wine tastings until I went to one in Italy this fall. 🙂 I’m so glad you got to try this one and that you enjoyed the wine! I hear good things about Australian wines and am looking forward to trying them soon. 🙂
I like the way you began this post. Although you clearly know your way around a glass of red wine, you connected with readers (like me) who know little about wine. A wine’s label, the name, the associations, even the artwork will inspire me. You’ve inspired me to visit a winery the next time I have the opportunity.
Loved the photos that accompanied this post!
Alaiyo
I think it’s perfectly fine to pick a wine just because you liked the name. My other favorite method in that manner is picking wine by label design. I figure that if one’s tastes align aesthetically i.e. I find the label design appealing, then it’s more likely that palates are aligned as well. I’ve been proven wrong a few times (when I didn’t care much for the bottle’s looks but the contents were fantastic) but generally my method works. As always, so jealous of your ready access to all that delicious sounding wine!
This is a winery that I have not had the pleasure as of yet. I am liking the sound of the Syrah…
It’s great that you got some undivided attention during your tour and tasting. I am thinking I need to do more with wine 🙂