On Wednesday, November 13, 2024, we had a chance to interview Jesse Fox. Jesse is the winemaker for Sequoia Grove winery. We covered seven of his new-release wines: A Sauvignon Blanc from the 2023 vintage, a Chardonnay from the 2022 vintage, two 2019 single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons, three 2021 Cabernet Sauvignons, and, finally, a library selection Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2016 vintage. It was an incredible tasting! Check out what we learned from and about Jesse in this post.
Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits Jesse shared.
- Jesse went to Cornell to study hospitality and business administration.
- After graduating in 2002, Jesse was the lucky recipient of the Kopf Family Foundation Scholarship. This scholarship offered Jesse a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour world-class wineries around the globe for five weeks.
- His passion for cooking eventually led him to working for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in Yountville.
- He eventually migrated into the winemaking scene with stints at Harlan as an intern, in NZ at Jackson Estate and working the 2010 vintage at Promontory.
- In 2011 he became the Assistant Winemaker at Ram’s Gate and helped build the new winery. He worked with Jeff Gaffner on this project.
- I met Jesse about 8 years ago in Florida when I was visiting for a lacrosse tournament with my kids. Jesse was the associate winemaker at Amici at the time and he was showing off his wines at a Total Wine. While at Amici, Jesse worked closely with Tony Biagi.
- Jesse started at Sequoia Grove in February of 2022, so he has 3 harvests under his belt there. He also blended the 2021 vintage.
- The Kopf Family owns Sequoia Grove and Kobrand.
- They also own St. Francis, Louis Jadot, Resonance (In Oregon) and formed a joint venture with Taittinger called Domaine Carneros.
- Tonella Vineyard is on a long-term lease. They have an in-house farming team that farms their Estate vineyards, the Tonella vineyard and the St. Francis vineyards.
- In 2016 they replanted 80% of their Estate vineyards.
- They bought the State Lane Vineyard in 2021 from Clos du Val.
- Half of the Napa Chardonnay comes from the Haire Vineyard in Carneros.
- Their Morisoli Vineyard grapes come from the 45-year-old Zieglar Block.
- Their next new project is they purchased the top of a vineyard on Mt. Veeder from the Hess Vineyard. Their first wine from this vineyard with be a wine from the 2023 vintage.
- Cambium is their flagship wine. It means the layers of a tree.
- The first vintage of Cambium was 2007.
- The idea behind the Cambium wine is to create the best reflection of the vintage. They are also looking to achieve power and elegance.
- Vineyards used in 2021 Cambium are the Healy Vineyard, their Estate Vineyard and Stagecoach Vineyard.
- If you want to hear a lot more about Jesse and his journey to Sequoia Grove, check out this interview on the Inside Winemaking podcast. It inspired me to reach out to Jesse for our tasting and interview.
Below is a summary of the Sequoia Grove wines that we covered with Jesse. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find the two distributed wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase the other higher end wines on the Sequoia Grove website.
- Sequoia Grove 2023 Estate Sauvignon Blanc “State Lane Estate Vineyard” $40 (KWGTP 92)
- Sequoia Grove 2022 Chardonnay “Haire Vineyard” (Carneros) $55 (KWGTP 93)
- Sequoia Grove 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Rutherford Bench Reserve” $90 (KWGTP 93)
- Sequoia Grove 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon “Lamoreaux Vineyard” (Oak Knoll) $120 (KWGTP 94.5)
- Sequoia Grove 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon “Morisoli Vineyard” (Rutherford) $120 (KWGTP 94)
- Sequoia Grove 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Tonella Vineyard” (Rutherford) $130 (KWGTP 94)
- Sequoia Grove 2021 “Cambium” (Napa Valley) $175 (KWGTP 96)
- Sequoia Grove 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon “Tonella Vineyard” (Oak Knoll) $95 (KWGTP 93.5)
Widely Distributed Sequoia Grove Wines Covered Separately
- Sequoia Grove 2022 Chardonnay “Napa Valley” $38 (KWGTP 91)
- Sequoia Grove 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Napa Valley” $58 (KWGTP 92.5)
You can find reviews of past and future Sequoia Grove wines that we cover on the KWG Sequoia Grove winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken