Rodney Strong Wine Estates’ Newest Project Earns Three 100 Point Scores from The SOMM Journal
Healdsburg, Calif. – Oct. 24, 2024 – ROWEN Wine Company, the newest label from Sonoma County’s iconic Rodney Strong Wine Estates (RSWE), and a brand that specializes in ultra-luxury, high-elevation wines, has received three perfect 100-point scores with The SOMM Journal’s review of 2018 and 2019 vintages.
The ROWEN wines that achieved perfect scores are the 2018 “600R”, the 2019 “600R”, and 2019 “600L” as reviewed by Meridith May, and will appear in the December 2024/January 2025 issue of the magazine. All three high-elevation wines are hand-picked and meticulously crafted in the style of Bordeaux blends. “600” refers to the 600-liter French oak barrels the wines are both fermented and aged in. The “R” in the 600R wines refers to the Bordeaux region’s Right Bank Merlot and Cabernet Franc blends, while the “L” in the 600L wines refers to the Left Bank blends based primarily on Cabernet Sauvignon.
This milestone marks the first time a RSWE wine has received a 100-point score—notable considering the winery’s 65-year history. Current owner Tom Klein, a third-generation farmer and businessman, and his family purchased the winery 35 years ago.
Launched in 2019, ROWEN Wine Company is a study in terroir focused on 200 vineyard acres planted on The Cooley Ranch, a remote and historic property high in the mountains above Lake Sonoma in the very northern reaches of Sonoma County.
“The Cooley Ranch, with its red metamorphic soils and high elevation, sitting above the fog line, yields grapes with intense concentration of flavors and ripe tannins leading to extraordinary wines,” according to ROWEN winemaker Justin Seidenfeld.
In old Anglican farming parlance, a “rowen” is a second harvest in one season, or “an unexpected windfall.” For Seidenfeld, it is fitting that a brand with the same name has enjoyed such early success.
“The Cooley Ranch is unlike any other place in Sonoma County, and from the very beginning, our goal was to set up a legacy brand,” Seidenfeld said. “These scores are an indication that we are on our way to achieving this goal.”
Klein challenged Seidenfeld to make the best wines in the history of RSWE, and then he empowered him to do so beginning with repurposing an older storage building into a state-of-the-art winery specifically to ferment the Cooley Ranch grapes. The resulting facility, dubbed “The Boneyard,” features square-shaped fermenters that Seidenfeld co-designed with experts from Canada; the University of California, Davis; and the University of California, Berkeley.
This further inspired Seidenfeld to reimagine the top RSWE vineyards, including the historic Alexander’s Crown, Rockaway, Brothers, and River West Vineyards, and to undertake a multimillion-dollar replanting starting in 2018. This drastically increased quality and reduced water usage, thereby lifting the overall wine quality across the entire RSWE Portfolio.
“In the words of Pablo Picasso, ‘We learned the rules like a pro so we could break them like an artist,’” said Seidenfeld for whom 2024 was his 15th vintage at RSWE. “ROWEN is where I get to explore the things I fantasize about to surprise and delight our customers. In this case it resulted in some very special wines.”
ROWEN wines are all limited production—Seidenfeld made fewer than 800 bottles of each, and he hand-numbered each one. They were fermented in custom-made 600-liter barrels and aged 24 months in new French oak.
While the wines differ in specific flavor profiles, they share similar structure, density, balance, complexity, and purity of fruit. Seidenfeld refers to the 100-point wines from the high elevation of Cooley Ranch as “the pinnacle of our portfolio.”
Other ROWEN Wine Co. reviews by The SOMM Journal include:
- 2018 “2040” Cabernet Sauvignon – 99 points
- 2019 “2040” Cabernet Sauvignon – 99 Points
- 2018 Cooley Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon – 98 Points
- 2019 Cooley Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon – 98 Points
- ROWEN 2018 Red Blend – 95 Points
- ROWEN 2019 Red Blend – 96 Points
“Our goal on the winemaking side is to transcend wine into something greater so we craft memories that will never be forgotten,” states Seidenfeld. “When you are honored with a 100-point score, it’s a testament to everyone who worked on the wines and also customers who cherish them.”
About Rodney Strong Wine Estates
Rodney Strong Wine Estates is a family-owned wine company that includes Rodney Strong Vineyards, Davis Bynum Winery, and ROWEN Wine Company. Rodney Strong Wine Estates sustainably farms twelve estate vineyards and produces wines from Sonoma County’s finest appellations – Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, and the Sonoma Coast. Rodney Strong Vineyards was founded in 1959 by Sonoma County wine pioneer Rodney D. Strong as the 13th bonded winery in the county. The company aspires to conserve and protect the environment in all its operations through sustainable practices, solar power, and fish-friendly farming. The Klein family, a fourth generation California farming family, entered the wine business with the purchase of Rodney Strong Vineyards in 1989. Learn more at www.RodneyStrong.com
