Sommras Napa Valley. Proprietor, Geetesh Goyal produced his first vintage bottled under Sommras in 2018. His interest in wine comes through heritage. He is half Indian and half Italian; some of his fondest memories are walking with his grandfather through vineyards in Italy. He studied at UC Davis (dental school) with the intent to graduate and become a dentist. However, life’s paths brought him in different directions. He founded the staff recruiting firm Human Bees and also co-founded PulsedIn, a professional networking mobile app geared towards the nursing profession.
He began purchasing grapes from a vineyard on Atlas Peak in 2018, at the time owned by Marcie and Tom Dinkel, the proprietors of a small wine brand called Dos Lagos. The Dinkel’s purchased this property in 2006 and eventually decided to sell; it was on the market for several years before Goyal purchased it in early 2023. He renamed the vineyard to Sommras, an homage to the juice (Somras) that Indian gods would drink with the hopes of it bringing them everlasting life. The image of Sommras is simple and elegant – an outline of a wine glass with a silver trident depicted on the inside.
Goyal met winemaker Kent Jarman through John Schwartz, proprietor of the nearby Au Sommet Winery. Both Goyal and Jarman discovered they were students at UC Davis in the early 1990s. Goyal was deeply impressed by Kent’s passion for wine and asked him to become his winemaker. And Kent was already extremely familiar with the property as he had been making the Dos Lagos wines for the previous owners, the Dinkel’s. Kent has crafted the Sommras wines since the inaugural vintage.
This property is 25 acres of which 5 acres are planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon (clones 15 and 337). The vines date back to the mid 1990s. Two separate vineyards, each about the same size are located across from each other. This vineyard location is about 1650 feet above sea level and is above the fog line on most days. This part of Atlas Peak is on a ridge; their vineyard is located in a saddle and fog sometimes creeps up right to the edges of their property.
At this elevation there are dramatic differences in climate versus on the valley floor. During the winter months they are often 7-10 degrees cooler than the valley floor during the day and temperatures can certainly reach freezing at nights. In the summer however, its usually much warmer during the morning than the lower elevations and while the sun is out here and its 85 degrees, one can drive to the valley floor and can be 15-20 degrees cooler. Shorts and t-shirts are the norm at the vineyard whereas a jacket is needed merely 15 minutes at the lower elevations away where the landscape is still socked in fog.
One moderating influence are the breezes that come up from the San Pablo Bay in the afternoon, often times this keeps the temperatures lower here than the valley floor in the afternoons.
Their are also two ponds, or “lakes” if you will on the property. The Dinkel’s named the property Dos Lagos because of these two small lakes. When deciding on a name for their wine the initial thought was to use the French words for “two lakes” (Marcie is fluent in French) but during pronunciation tests on family, non French speakers often mis-pronounced the words. Ultimately they chose “dos lagos” which means two lakes in Spanish. Goyal now calls each of the lakes Humana and Ape, which in Italian means human and bees.
Despite such a small vineyard there is a diversity of micro climates, variability of water penetration and depth of soils. Atlas Peak is known for its tufa rock – a hardened volcanic ash and its no different here. The top soil in much of their vineyard is measured in inches rather than feet and a white hardened tufa “cap” shows through to the surface in select areas. Its rocky here and the vines struggle; this is the perfect recipe for low yields and grapes which produce concentrated flavors.
Atlas Peak experienced terrible fires in 2017 and then additional fires in 2020, even burning some of the same ground that burned three years prior. There was numerous damage to both homes and winery properties within the appellation. Remarkably the main home did not burn despite very nearby neighbors losing both homes and sustaining vineyard damage. The interior has been completely remodeled since Goyal’s purchase.
Select Wines
Whites
The 2019 Sommras Blanc de Blanc Sonoma Coast is medium gold in color; this wine smells alive with aromas of honey crisp apple, a minerality nuance and light citrus blossom. The palate loosely mirrors the bouquet with flavors of green apple, lime, blood orange, pomelo and lingers with an herbal note similar to a citrus zest. There is also a nuance similar to the yellow grapefruits we purchase every winter at the Regusci Winery farm stand in Napa Valley. The finish is clean and bright. Pair with oysters.
The 2021 Sommras Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County is from an elevated vineyard fairly close to the ocean in the west part of the county. This wine is medium gold in the glass; the open-knitted bouquet is more herbal and reflective of its varietal character rather than riper Sauvignon Blancs which tends to be more tropical. The bouquet offers aromas of honeycomb, citrus blossom, honeydew melon, not fully ripe pineapple and lemongrass. The palate is balanced with flavors of melon, an abundance of citrus overtones, passion fruit and a lively finish dominated by flavors of lemon. It is interesting to taste this vintage side by side with the 2022; the terroir differences in each site are clearly evident on both the bouquet and the palate. This wine was aged for 7 months in neutral French oak barrels with battonage occurring every 4 to 6 weeks.
The 2022 Sommras Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County is from a vineyard site in Sonoma Valley. This wine is medium gold in color; the bouquet is shyer than the 2021 vintage and shows less citrus influence. It offers scents of red apple, pineapple, melon and honeysuckle. The palate is bright but not bracing; still, this wine delivers plenty of vibrancy across the palate. It sports flavors of mandarin orange and assorted citrus notes. Lively and energetic. The finish is mouth watering and bright lingering with flavors of lemon and lime. This vintage offers a bit more texture than the 2021 with a rounded and velvety character. Like the 2021 vintage, this wine was aged for 7 months in neutral French oak barrels with battonage occurring every 4 to 6 weeks.
Reds
The 2018 Sommras Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is 90% estate Cabernet Sauvignon with 7% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot; both varieties are from Kenefick Ranch in Calistoga. It was aged 18 months in 60% new French oak barrels and 40% used barrels. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet reveals more primary aromas than secondary including dark raspberry, red plums, red cherry and a note of black olive. There is also a darker spice nuance at play here including a light woodsy character. The palate features more red fruits than darker including red cherry, currant and red plums. The tannins still show as taught, and are tightly woven but are not overly robust in their textural feel. The finish lingers with a light red pepper spice, white pepper and a subtle drying note. The finish is bright and energetic. At this age the tannins are running ahead of the fruit on the finish and continue to persist for quite some time. This wine displays a youthful freshness (we tasted 6 years post vintage); it has loads of life ahead of it with proper cellaring.
The 2019 Sommras Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is the exact same varietal blend as the 2018 including being from the same vineyard sources. It is deep ruby in color; our initial notes on the bouquet were of baking spices including cinnamon stick, cardamom and clove; these scents continue to persist as the wine opens. Interestingly, we did not notice them on the 2018 vintage. But the fruit is certainly there with aromas of berries including boysenberry, raspberry and red plum. Vivacious, the palate is juicy, mouth watering and dominated by red fruits, including of plum, cherry, currant and a lingering cranberry like tartness. The grainy and lightly pixelated tannins persist for some time accompanied by both fruit and a refreshing acidity. Their texture is already well integrated into the finish. A drying character lingers with a light woodsy spice. For reference, this wine had been opened the day before our tasting.
The 2021 Sommras Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal from the estate. This wine is dark ruby and nearly opaque; it offers layers of dark fruits including a bowl full of cherries, plum, blackberry and assorted other berries. The elegant bouquet offers both a purity of the variety and the site. The tannins are grainy, gravelly and pixelated. The palate is ripe and fruit forward; high octane. This wine lingers with a persistent drying character and notes of dried tobacco; in its youth the tannins far outpace the fruit on the finish. This is a robust and energetic youngster; this mountain Cabernet Sauvignon has lots of life ahead of it with the proper cellaring. Beautifully done.
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Total production each year is typically around 400 cases of all the wines. For more information or to purchase wines, visit: www.sommras.com
Dave,
Over the years I have been awed by your writing. I count on your eloquent evaluations of all wineries and vintners and wines.
Thank you so much.