Blue Oasis Wines
“The ocean has always been my place to go to relax and clear my mind,” says Winemaker, Kate Jones. Her boutique winery’s name is a fitting nod to both that connection and her love of Pinot Noir from California’s cooler coastal appellations.
Her success with winemaking is built on the discipline developed while growing up on a horse, cattle, and hay farm. “The very nature of agriculture is hard work...when rearing and raising farm animals or crops, an almost inhuman amount of caring and patience is necessary. The same is true of bringing Pinot Noir from pruning to bottle. To suffer through all the hardships and risks that winemaking and agriculture entail, one must have a deep sense of respect and passion for the craft and art."
The California Wine Club first welcomed Blue Oasis to our wine club member family in 2018 and we have made many-a-wine-club-member happy by featuring this winery.
The fabulous wines we featured:
2014 Docker Hill Vineyard Mendocino County Pinot Noir
- 94 Points, Editor's Choice, Wine Enthusiast
- 93 Points, Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, August 2017
- Double Gold Medal, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Tasting Notes: The slightly richer and deeper of the Blue Oasis pair, this satisfying effort combines solid, black cherry fruit with a nice dollop of creamy oak and gets a boost in complexity from its subtle touches of dusty earth spice. It is moderately full and has the fine, supple feel that we look for in good Pinot, yet it is carefully balanced with a welcome bit of finishing grip. It is easy to access right now but promises to get even better with age, and it will both expand and find increased polish for another three to five years.
2014 Costa Vineyard Mendocino County Pinot Noir
- 92 Points, Wine Enthusiast
- 91 Points, Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine
- 100% Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes: This keenly focused, very precise offering reminds that fine Pinot Noir need not be potent and powerful to be rich, and it sports plenty of pure, cherry-like fruit set against a quiet background of cocoa and sweet oak. It is supple on entry and slowly firms as it goes with a touch of astringency hanging on in its lengthy finish, and, while there is little about it that dissuades drinking now, it has the fruity stamina and balance to gain added grace over the next four or five years.
Winemaker's Notes
Costa Vineyard in Mendocino benefits from a rare combination of sun and marine influences. This five-acre vineyard was planted in 1998 to 65% Pommard clone and 35% Dijon #115 clone.
Docker Hill Vineyard, located in the Mendocino mountain town of Comptche; eight miles southeast of the village of Mendocino at an elevation of 1,000 feet benefits from morning fog which allows the ripening process to begin several hours prior to the vines on the valley floor. A small, five-acre vineyard planted in 2010 to Pommard, Dijon #777, #828, #115 and Swan clones. Aged 100% in Radoux and Nadalié French oak; 40% new oak barrels and 60% neutral barrels.
With Blue Oasis, “I’m trying to remain true to the varietal character of Pinot Noir and how it expresses the region in which it is grown,” Kate explains. Although she also produces a Pinot Noir from both Costa Vineyard and Docker Hill Vineyard in Mendocino, she does not blend the fruit from these vineyards, “because I really wanted to show how different Pinot Noir can be within just miles from each other. Most importantly, however, texture and balance are key to my winemaking.”
Napa Valley
Kate Jones
Kate Jones