We’ve reviewed the wines from Seamus several times over the past few years. They’re made by Jim Foley Jr. in the Sonoma Valley. Using relationships Jim Jr. has developed over years, he sources grapes from premier vineyards and produces small batch wines of high quality. A comprehensive review from several years ago is here, and he made our #1 Wine of the Year in 2016, which you can read about here. In between then and now there have been some challenges to overcome, and that resulted in production halting for a couple of seasons. The really great news is that those challenges have been overcome. The almost as great news is that Jim is once again making wine, and he sourced grapes for some small batch runs from the 2022 vintage. One of those grape sources is Atwood Ranch, where the grapes for his reserve Cabernet Sauvignon grow. This is an excellent wine, and we’ll talk about a few vintages of it below, along with some others.
Cozy Inside Areas
If you are in the Sonoma area you can stop by the Seamus tasting lounge, right on the Sonoma Highway, and try some of these wines for yourself. It’s not everywhere you can order a 10 year old, award winning Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon by the glass, but you can here. You can get a range of other Seamus offerings as well, from a Rosé and a Pinot Grigio, to several vintages of his Pinot Noir and outstanding Cabernets. The facility is large for a
Cozy outside areas
tasting room, with cozy areas inside and a large outdoor courtyard. Board games are available if you have some time to kill. We stopped in late in the day, sat at the bar, and used the time to catch up with Jim.
A glass of the 2011 Atwood Ranch Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was a nice way to unwind at the end of the day. It was the 2012 version we rated as our top wine of the year in 2016. While there we also tasted the 2015 version of Atwood Ranch, and in the notes you’ll see some very constant themes. Jim’s wines have a DNA to them, and are recognizably his from vintage to vintage. The same trend is obvious in the Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, and there are three vintages by the glass available of that. It’s fun to compare and contrast. Below are our notes on the reds we tried during this visit.
2011 Atwood Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – not far from the Seamus tasting lounge is Atwood
Ranch, owned by Tom Atwood. This is 20 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and horses, and the source of fruit for Jim Foley’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. To see what we thought of the 2012 vintage you can read the article here. We made it our #1 Wine of the Year in 2016.
This version, a year older, has the same aroma and flavor profile. It still looks like a young wine, with a nose of dark fruits, some oak and just a touch of funk. On the palate it is rich, full bodied and very long. It is clearly a brother of the 2012, and is a premier Sonoma Cabernet. You can get this by the glass ($25) at the tasting room and try something pretty special. Also available by the bottle at $125.
2015 Atwood Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – Jim pulled this out from behind the tasting bar. A
slightly more recent vintage, this wine also carries the same characteristics which are obviously part of vineyard and the winemaking year to year. Some subtleties are different, with this wine having more herbal notes, along with leather, The rich fruit is the same. Still a baby in its evolution,
2016 Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – Jim sources the grapes for this wine from the Doctor’s Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. It is a light, rosy red color and the nose is dominated by cherry, but there is some other berry fruit as well. It is very long with a rich mid-palate. Extremely well made and satisfying juice. My favorite of the two vintages we tasted. $65
2017 Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – this wine was made with 25% whole clusters. It is
delicate, with a light cherry color and red fruit. There’s a little earth which gives it a Burgundian feel. More restrained overall than the 2016, it never the less has many similarities. Another excellent Pinot Noir. $65
There’s also a 2014 Doctor’s Vineyard available if you want to take the comparison a bit further.
We were thrilled to hear Jim is ramping up production again. We’ll be keeping an eye, and some taste buds, on his new efforts. We’ll also be adding more of the Atwood Ranch Reserve Cabernet to our cellar. The only question is what vintage? It’s so hard to choose.
When in Sonoma visit the Seamus Tasting Lounge at 8910 Sonoma Highway in Kenwood, CA. They’re open everyday. Wine club options are also available and members can get up to 25% off. You can see more details on their website at https://seamustastinglounge.com/.
You can read about the previous winery visit from our trip to Sonoma and Napa by clicking here. The next stop is available here.
A votre santé!
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