Since I started this blog, now over thirteen years ago, I have mentioned how fortunate I have been. I have travelled quite a bit, met some fantastic people, and been privileged to taste (tens of?) thousands of wines, many of them excellent, and some of them truly magnificent.

Such was the case this week. Even though I am still mired in the most demanding basketball season of my life (OK, that is likely an exaggeration, as many of my seasons as a player were exhausting, but I am no longer a young man), I have tried to keep up with this blog and with sampling the wines that are sent to me on a semi-regular basis.

The season has taken its toll, however, as I am just now getting to the wines that I received in July of 2024. There among the stack were these four wines from Donum Estate in Sonoma County. I paused for a bit as I opened the Chardonnay since I was not quite sure how I acquired these wines. As noted below, they are a bit pricey and all have a relatively small production, but I know this was my first time with samples from this producer.

(My ability to play basketball may have badly eroded, but I like to think my mind is still fairly sharp. Wait, what was I saying?)

After a bit of searching, I discovered that I was involved in an online tasting with Donum’s winemaker, Dan Fishman. Coincidentally, I was able to meet up with Dan a few days after the online even as we were both attending the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) in McMinnville, Oregon.

Dan is a great guy and his wines are fabulous and after a bit more digging, Donum is at the top of the list of “new” wineries for me to visit the next time I am out in Sonoma. Not only to try the wines again, but, according to the estate’s website, “[t]he Donum Collection is one of the world’s largest accessible private sculpture collections.”

Huh?

How is it possible I did not know this?

(There are obviously a slew of responses to that query, but we need not explore them here.)

Just perusing the website for five minutes could easily convince just about anyone that the estate is not only worthy of a visit, it comes close to mandatory. Here are just a few of the over 50 works of outdoor sculpture on the estate’s 200 acres.

I am not a big Instagrammer (is that a word?) but it seems like the estate offers a couple of months worth of posts before you even think about trying some of the incredible wines.

Oh yeah, the wines.

2022 Donum Chardonnay, Carneros, CA: Retail $75. Heavy Bottle (698g; 24.6oz). Under cork. 16 months on French oak (53% new). Yellow to slightly golden in color with Fuji apple, a hint of citrus, and beeswax on the nose. The palate is rich, but short of being unctuous with plenty of yellow delicious apple, a pronounced salinity, and a nutty finish. Weighty but lithe, full yet focused, round but also tart. This wine is full of contrasts, but they all work. I drink a fair amount of California Chardonnay and while I would stop short of calling myself an “expert” I do know my way around the block. And this is outstanding, maybe more. Outstanding. 94 Points.

2022 Donum Pinot Noir, Carneros, CA: Retail $95. Heavy Bottle (693g; 24.4oz). Under cork. This was the first of the three Pinots that I opened and I am not going to lie: there was just not that much there. Sure, there was a hint of fruit, some nice acidity, and a touch of earth, but for a hundred bucks? Meh. I put the cork back in and moved on. Well, after a bit of time, I tried it again; holy mother of you-know-who, this is amazing. All elements had awakened as now the fairly dark elixir was exuberant on the nose with velvety rich dark fruit, a smattering of spice, and a frosting of forrest floor. Whoa. The palate was equally enticing with a luxurious richness, really rather weighty without being anywhere close to fruit-bomb-y. Black and blue fruit abound but the acidity is quite impressive (but not at all aggressive). Then there is the lengthy finish. After a rather lackluster start right out of the bottle, this wine rebounded incredibly. Whoa. Outstanding. 95 Points.

2022 Donum Pinot Noir Three Hills, Carneros, CA: Retail $95. Heavy Bottle (697g; 24.5oz). 16 months in 58% New French Oak. This is my second Pinot that I have tried from Donum and, like the first, this was rather “dumb” upon opening (no, that is not an assessment of the wines relative intelligence but rather an observation that there were not many flavor characteristics evident initially). So, like the bottle of Estate Carneros, I let this sit a bit. And like the Carneros, this opened considerably with the additional time. Not as muscular as the Estate, this is certainly a more delicate expression. Still quite dark in the glass, with some subtle black fruit and a flinty earth component on the nose, this really shows its mettle on the palate, which is remarkably balanced. First, there is the fruit, albeit subtle, then the earth, a bit of spice, and then the acidity (and even some silky tannins on the backend) all harmonious, balanced, wonderful. But. It’s the finish where this wine really shines as the fruit and acidity pas-à-deux reaches its zenith and last for minutes. Whoa. Outstanding. 93 Points.