The goal behind our reserve bottling of Pinot Noir “Sapience” (formerly “Nils”) is to showcase the powerful expression of Pinot Noir on our site. Sapience is an old French word meaning “good taste, intelligence or wisdom”. This label highlights old oak trees on our property that evoke a kind of great wisdom and power over the property as it supports our farming endeavors.
The objective of our flagship Pinot Noir is to create a bottling that is a direct translation of the growing season and the most accurate representation of Johan Vineyards’ true terroir. We carefully select parcels of fruit from every rootstock/scion combination, aspect, vine age, and soil profile, creating a collage of the diverse expressions of our vineyard through the lens of Pinot Noir.
Murmuration refers to the phenomenon that results when hundreds, sometimes thousands, of starlings fly in swooping, intricately coordinated patterns through the sky. When we witness this magnificent event in the vineyard, it reminds us that a great blend is a collective reflection of the sum of all parts, as opposed to any one part on it’s own.
While the Zweigelt grape may sound like an exotic variety, it is the most widely planted red grape in the country of Austria. Wines produced from this grape are often bright, playful, and quaffable. The 2022 vintage is a collision of red raspberries, cherry blossoms, and black pepper–and is the perfect wine to chill on a hot summer afternoon and accompany your favorite wood-fired pizza!
The Jazzy Juice philosophy came from a desire to make a juicy and bright, lighter-bodied red wine. To do this, we flip the skin-to-juice ratio of the fermentations, by direct pressing the majority of the grapes and floating some clusters and berries in the juice during fermentation to bring a touch of color and tannin to the wine. The Jazzy Juice label is always an ode to our harvest team each vintage, including everyone who came together to make it all happen!
The estate Blaufränkisch shows a likeness to the sanguine and iron minerality that defines our Pinot Noir but with more nervy acidity and a darker, deeper fruit profile. Blaufränkisch also has a wonderful transparency and is highly sensitive to its environment. The goal is to find consistency in expression of the Johan terroir over multiple grape varieties from our site.
