05 Nov Jewell Box: November 2018 – Gem Series Wines
Jewell Box: November 2018
Gem Series Wines
Joseph Jewell produces several award-winning pinot noirs from both Sonoma and Humboldt County and among our many offerings is our prized Gem Series. The Gem Series features three of our special barrel-selected pinot noirs: Rubies, Emerald, and Martini Clone -Old Girls. These wines are made for aging and will be prized additions to any wine collection.
Anyone familiar with our wines knows that we adorn our Gem Series bottles with striking white labels, giving these special offerings a look all their own. We also forego the standard foil enclosures in favor of the traditional wax seals—a special touch which signifies the uniqueness of these wines.
The Gem Series began with our Rubies, which is our finest expression of pinot noir from the Russian River Valley each year. We select the three best barrels from each year and age the wine for 18 months in French Oak barrels before bottling without fining or filtration. Our goal is to capture the purity and precision of each vintage from our home here in the Russian River, so we combine fruit from our Hallberg, Starscape and Bucher sites to craft this gorgeous pinot noir that our fans have long coveted.
Our next addition to the Gem Series was our aptly-named Emerald. This is our tip of the cap to Adrian’s beloved Humboldt County, as we choose our three finest barrels of pinot noir from up north and again extend the aging in French Oak barrels to a generous 18 months before bottling without fining or filtration. The 2014 is our first installment of the Emerald and will surely not disappoint those fond of our Humboldt County wines. With grapes assembled from our Alderpoint, Elk Prairie and Ryan Vineyard sites, the Emerald is our perfect snapshot of pinot noir in all of its Humboldt County splendor.
The last wine in our November Jewell Box happens to be our oldest…in terms of vine age. The 2015 Martini Clone – Old Girls comes from a very unique block of the Starscape Vineyard in the Russian River Valley. The vines here are among the very first pinot noir vines planted in the Russian River, with these “old girls” first taking root in these prized soils back in 1971. This is not just a single-vineyard wine. It is not just a single block wine. It is also a single clone wine, with the fruit fueling this rare bottling all coming from the prized Martini clone, of which Adrian is particularly fond. The clusters are often smaller, denser, slower to ripen, and maintain a higher acidity than many of the other clones that are in current favor, making this a very special wine in its rarity and “old school” ways.