Jackass Hill

This rugged vineyard is referred to by the Martinelli family as “Jackass Hill”, because only a jackass would farm a hill that steep. Jackass Hill is the steepest non-terraced hillside vineyard in Sonoma County, boasting slopes of 65 degrees. Lee Sr. is the third generation Martinelli farmer to care-take the original family homestead land; farming the ancient vineyard much as his grandfather Giuseppe had in the 1880s, without irrigation, pesticides or trellising.

2021 was the driest year on record since they started keeping record 127 years ago. It was also the third year of drought conditions for Sonoma County. Contrary to these conditions, the summer was relatively cool and started two weeks later than the previous year. The drought conditions did bring ripeness to each of our varieties at just about the same time. By the end of the first week, we had 40% of the total tonnage in the winery. This included Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel from both Fort Ross-Seaview and Russian River Valley. Despite being a very compact harvest, small clusters and berry size have yielded exceptional quality which makes 2021 a standout vintage.

Concentrated and aromatic on the nose with aromas of wild raspberries, stone fruit, and cream.  An exquisite entry with a composed palate is filled with the flavors of ripe cherry, fleshy nectarine, and raspberry. The balanced, barrel-spiced flavors enhance the sustained finish.