Joseph Swan, Pinot Noir Trenton Estate, Russian River Valley

I don’t drink a lot of California Pinot noir anymore but this seemed quite representative of its Russian River origin and vintage. There are some secondary notes adjacent to classic cherry and cinnamon notes. High alcohol shows through and I doubt that this will improve. In fact it may have been better a couple years ago. But it’s rich, long, and memorable.

2012 vintage

Part of the Reserve Tasting at Bin 415. Fruity and juicy on the palate. Notes of raspberry, ripe cherry, maybe even some even maraschino cherry. Easy-drinking pinot that's developed some age in the bottle. 90 points.

2015 vintage

This is my third or fourth time with this vintage. It's never been my favorite for Trenton Estate. Not bad, by any means, but just not as good as the 16 or 13 or 09 or any of the other vintages I've had recently. I think Rod's tasting notes for the 15 were kind of similar in tone - the 15 was just a little different than the others. Maybe a little more fruity. But, this bottle was closer to …

2015 vintage

In a lovely place - soft leathery red fruits, lots of savouriness and whiffs of incense. There is a slight pastille quality at first, but then a chalky minerality and forest duff ease their way in. Very fine grained tannins, but the structure is there. Should hold for some time.

2012 vintage

This is the best pinot I have had in a very long time. It is amazingly aromatic. I could enjoy the scent for hours. Dark fruit, earth, almost cedar. I saw one review described clove- I couldn't place it at the time but that makes sense now. A little strawberry on the nose as well. Fruit was still so fresh even after 6 years in my cellar. Great balance and length. I usually don't like Cali pinots but if I …

2015 vintage

Corked. 🫤

2015 vintage

Notes of cloves and blackberries. Still tannic, but they've had time to mellow out. Very nice wine. Part of a Reserve Tasting at Bin 415.

2015 vintage

It’s been awhile since I’ve had their estate wine “Trenton”. This is seriously good stuff

2015 vintage

Have not had a Joseph Swan wine in ages. 12.7%abv, though drinks a bit bigger than the abv suggests. Definitely has a Burgundian sensibility, but with new world fruit. Quite good. I’m having a “why don’t I drink more of this” moment.

2015 vintage

This is good. Medium but heavier. Brooding but lively. This is a different combination than normal for me. Wish I had more to explore with.

2015 vintage

Tasting great.

2006 vintage

double decanted for two hours - much better than my last bottle 9 months ago - this was nice

2012 vintage

By god this is delicious. Absolutely the marriage of Russian River fruit and Burgundian style. The nose has some of the purest and most etheral cherry concentrate with hints of damp chalk, sous bois, and Christmas spice. So much tension here between the density of fruit, delicate layering, and almost floating nature of everything coming together. Somehow both light and intense. Tannins creep out of the glass with time, but the finish is extremely fine. A fine boned Pinot wearing …

2015 vintage

PNP with a ginger-honey-lemon pork loin cooked sous vide. Tawny color. Aromas of cranberry, dried strawberry, mushroom, leather, pepper and a hint of truffle. Medium-bodied, silky texture, rounded tannins. Elegant and harmonious, in an absolute perfect drinking window. Dried red fruit and a smoky sweet finish.

2012 vintage

enjoyable, but lacks any real distinction considering the price, label and age - bit disappointing

2012 vintage

Ditto earlier note. Still holding up nice but probably at the back end of its ideal drinking window.

2012 vintage

Bright fruit and long finish. High quality, well made. Tannins were a bit too much for me.

2012 vintage

tasting room pour. dark violet color. Nose a bit closed, light red fruits. Palate silky red fruits with nice tart acidity, hint of chalk on the finish. Perhaps needs some more time but shows nice potential. 90 pts with upside

2015 vintage

Medium body; Less distinct than Solas or Great Oak

2015 vintage

Middle of the road well made new world Pinot. Can probably age for at least another five years

2012 vintage

Joseph Swan Winery tasting visit. Appearance is clear, pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of stony minerality and red cherries. Developing. On the palat, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (12.7%), fine medium tannins, medium body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet ripe red cherries, cranberries, red plum. Long finish. Very good quality. Tight and embryonic at the moment. Bright future. Give another 3+ years at least.

2015 vintage

14.3% alcohol. An extraordinary showing for this wine. Indeed, this is easily the best bottle of the 2003 Estate I’ve ever had. Occasionally, this wine shows too much VA or comes across as overly ripe, the plague of the vintage. This bottle? Perfection. Strong red cherry color, lightening at the rim of the glass. The nose was exquisite, vivacious and packed with dusty cherry fruit, baking spice, flowers, and that hallmark Trenton Estate life and verve. On the palate, you …

2003 vintage

Light color but excellent nose. Good mouth feel. Slight bricking color on edges. Earthy nose. Cherry spice palette. Nice.

2012 vintage

Excellent balance however, lacks distinctive flavor elements even though retaining the Trenton "cola" signature. Drunk over 2 nights. Average finish. This has been rated higher than the 2013 in the press but in comparisons since issue, I've always liked the 2013 much better. Score is based on NOW, has shown more potential in past bottles. Enjoyable, not notable.

2012 vintage

Read my note of 10/2/15. Not a lot has changed ... still wonderful Trenton nose. Medium body, color, excellent acidity. Right now ... somewhat of a short finish relative to other vintages (surprising because 2012 is my favorite recent vintage in CA pinot ... it isn't a 2005 burgundy type vintage but it is very good). I'm going to leave the score alone, particularly since I'm drinking over 2 nights, did not decant tonight. This is still the lesser of …

2012 vintage

Stood up for 1 wk. Decanted. Took a long time to open up. Mostly, more mature pinot flavors with some sous bois but with ripe blueberry fruit. Definitely disjointed and felt more like an adolescent. Now 2h later. A: Sous bois, ripe blue/black fruit, hint of earth, and green leaves. P: Fresh. Dried blue/black fruits dominate. Good acids. But really about fruit. Not a whole lot else going on.F: Nice moderately long finish. Disappointing as I was hoping for more …

2003 vintage

My notes of 8/7/16 still Apply. This is up in the 96-97 range now. For me, the ultimate praise for a wine is if you'd buy more. I just did!

2012 vintage

Brimming fruitiness with cherries, blackberries and raspberries but also some intense blue floral notes. On the palate there is a slight marzipan sweetness as well as some herbal notes. It will be very interesting to see how this wine develops with time. This is a wine with a very strong personality.

2012 vintage

To me this was more of an Old School Pinot with modern day sensibilities. It has a woody, spicey essence that is complemented beautifully by bright red fruit. That is an interesting and compelling combination. It's complex, with medium weight and an elegant, light-on-its-feet, mouthfeel that pushes this into the realm of dee-lish! As noted earlier, a decant helps this open up...1-2 hours I'd say. My first experience with Joseph Swan Pinot and very enjoyable.

2012 vintage

Very Burgundian - lighter body, light cherry fruit, earthy, noticeable tannins. Well balanced, long cherry cola finish. Gorgeous.

2012 vintage

Drinking beautifully with pomegranate, rhubarb, tart cherry notes mixed with a touch of herbaceous funkiness. Tannins resolved but still good amount of acidity.

2003 vintage

Served with fillet steak for an anniversary meal. Decanted for 2hrs. Just stunning wine. I thought the Cuvee du Trois was good but this is just exceptional. Will buy more

2012 vintage

Outstanding Pinot. Full of flavor. A little spice and blackberry. Highly recommend.

2012 vintage

red fruit, stone fruit, minerality, medium acidity, smokey oak, supple tannins well balanced. A(94-95)

2012 vintage

Light weight. Lovely flowers, dark fruit, bit of tobacco, pepper, orange. Good acid, cinnamon. Really good.

2012 vintage

Drank the 1st bottle 6/6/15 3 weeks after receiving the shipment from Swan. 4 months later this bottle is more open, not as tight. It bears much more similarity to the 2011 although to me it is much more linear, delivering juicy red fruit. The astringency I detected with the 1st bottle wasn't present. In my view the 2012 is a lesser wine to the 2011 although still an excellent bottle. As I drink the 2d half tonight, I'll update …

2012 vintage

14.3% alcohol. There have been some variability issues in the bottle for this wine over the years, but this one was showing very well. Medium red cherry color with some bricking at the edge of the glass. The nose is expansive and pretty, though initially showing off some brown sugar notes, which blew off and gave way to vibrant, pure cherry fruit, baking spice, and mushroom. In the mouth, very lively, with red and black cherry, bright acidity, good underlying …

2003 vintage

Tasted at Pinot Forum with a flight highlighting the unofficial subzone of Laguna Ridge in RRV. Dark cherry, strawberry, fresh herbs, power is there, savory and high quality.

2012 vintage

Tasted over 2 nights. This is the 2d bottle, first one 3 weeks after receipt of shipment months ago. The 2012 is an elegant, tight, racy wine. Of recent vintages it isn't the richest, but supplies acidity and balance for long aging if desired. It is a worthy sibling to the line, in my view closest to 2011 in flavor palate although not as soft and not as ripe in fruit - pale red fruit as opposed to deeper - …

2012 vintage

Decanted for an hour. Cherry cola, lime stone, elderberry, thyme and leather sofa. Such Russian River body of lithe qualities, with an almost syrupy long finish, then ending in a floating manner. An iconic winery producing a fine '12 specimen. The nuances are not holding back, and considering the fact that the wines typically need five years in bottle to truly strut, she is quite available. Drink now - 2023.

2012 vintage

K&L Domestic Tasting (K&L Hollywood) : Less earth on the nose than the Hirsch San Andreas Fault that preceded it. Soft nose with a nice mix of dark/red fruit, and darker than the San Andreas Fault. Again, solidly medium bodied with reasonable acidity. On the other hand, I didn't get any tannin on the finish, even with a swish. I've really enjoyed this wine before, and it showed pretty well here too.

2012 vintage

14.5% alcohol. Slightly off bottle here. Not flawed, just not as vibrant as prior bottles have been. Some bricking at the rim of the glass, otherwise red cherry in color. Explosive nose of black cherry, spice, and mushrooms. In the mouth, very lively, with a tart edge to the cherry fruit, loads of mushroom and earth notes, and a strong acidic spike. Somewhat clipped finish compared to other bottles. A-

2006 vintage

Dark color, mature raisin aromas. Rustic, spice, caramel, raisin flavors. Not your typical RRV Pinot. Drank fine with food but still a bit rough around the edges. Can't see this improving with any more age. 14.5% alc.

2006 vintage

Looks thin but has great pinot flavor!

2006 vintage

Showing beautifully. Youthful but soft. Bright fruit. Classic Trenton Estate profile. This is hitting that gorgeous, open, seductive plateau that these wines have. A

2006 vintage

Decanted 1 hour. Good stuff from an underated winery.

2006 vintage

Rare Wine Co. Joseph Swan Retrospective Dinner (Murray Circle Restaurant, Cavallo Point, Marin, California) : Medium dark cherry red color; lifted, floral, hibiscus, tart cherry nose; lighter bodied, hibiscus, tart cherry, tart red fruit, strawberry, mineral palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points

2006 vintage

Dinner in Sonoma (at Estate) : I liked this more than the crowd. The nose is cherries, dried cherries and a slight minty note. Its feminine and showing some age (far older than the 04). It has a nice acidity that works with food. Complex. It seemed to grow younger and more vibrant with some air.

2003 vintage

Unfortunately this bottle was past its best. There was plenty of sediment and brown tinge on the rim when the glass was held up to the light. Very light on the nose, some hints herbs and cherry fruit. The palate was the clearest sign that this bottle was on the turn. There was no evidence of fresh fruit, instead sour cherry and vanilla were prevalent combined with a hot and bitter finish. This wine gave me the impression that is …

2003 vintage

My system (nose mouth finish) ///, loads of sediment and a touch of VA drink now. Pleasurable but not as good as current vintages. Some bottle variation.

2003 vintage

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Joseph Swan, Pinot Noir Trenton Estate, Russian River Valley

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