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- 2009 Chardonnay – Hawk Hill Vineyard (Russian River Valley)
- 2009 Chardonnay – Parmelee-Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley)
- Sonoma Reds – Lot 5 (Sonoma County)
- 2009 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley)
- 2008 Zinfandel – Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma Valley)
- 2006 Syrah Reserve (Sonoma Valley)
- 2007 Syrah Reserve (Sonoma Valley)
- 2007 Syrah – Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma County)
- 2008 Syrah – Cuvée Ellen (Russian River Valley)
- 2008 Syrah – Parmelee-Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley)
- 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon – McGraw Vineyard (Sonoma Valley)
- 2009 Late Harvest Zinfandel (Sonoma County) 500ml
- 2009 Port (Sonoma Valley) 500ml
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS:
10% on 6 bottles, 15% on 12, 20% on 24 or more
WINE CLUB DISCOUNT:
20% on all wine purchases
*FALL 2011 RELEASE
*2009 CHARDONNAY – Hawk Hill Vineyard (Russian River Valley) $28
The Hawk Hill Vineyard is located in Freestone in an area that was considered too cold for grapes 25 years ago, but is now Chardonnay and Pinot central. This area gives wines of intensity and balance that also allow them to age gracefully. Last week I went to dinner with the Michalczyks who own Hawk Hill Vineyard, where we had a dozen selected Chardonnays from Williams Selyem, Deloach and Loxton from the ’07 vintage going back to the 1999. It was gratifying to see my ’01 and ’06 at or near the top (although I liked the ’06 Williams Selyem!). 2009 was a cool year and it wasn’t picked until October 12th and this has given the wine great flavors and clean acidity. To balance acidity, the wine was aged on yeast lees for almost 9 months in barrel. During this aging, the wine picks up a yeasty, almost corn-nut richness and complexity also found in champagnes that are similarly aged in bottle. An intense Chardonnay for rich dishes such as crab cakes and chicken with cream sauces. 265 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
2009 CHARDONNAY – Parmelee-Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley) $28
Parmelee-Hill Vineyard sits at the southern end of Sonoma Valley on the Carneros boundary. The cooler conditions of 2009 has produced a wine that shares more than a passing similarity to the '08 Hawk Hill wine from Russian River. The aromas leap from the glass with lemon-lime and yeasty notes (the latter from barrel aging with yeast lees to build palate richness and balance acidity). It has great richness with excellent balancing acidity and is perhaps my most intense Parmelee-Hill Chardonnay to date. For richer dishes requiring a bigger white wine. 168 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
SONOMA REDS – Lot 5 (Sonoma County) $16
The combination of a slower economy and early rains towards the end of the '09 harvest meant that I made very severe selections for my top wines from '09. This meant a higher case production of the new Sonoma Reds, a great wine for a summer BBQ. It's soft, round and harmonious, yet with enough tannin to last a few years. It shows the savory side of Syrah which is 75% of the blend (40% Rubaiyat Vineyard, 25% Archer Vineyard, 12% from two Russian River Valley vineyards). The balance is 17% Zinfandel for fruit and 6% Russian River Pinot noir. 501 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
*2009 PINOT NOIR (Russian River Valley) $30
Rated "EXCEPTIONAL" by Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences
As with many businesses, its important who you know. A very good friend and classmate at UC Davis, Greg Adams, is now a top vineyard consultant and in 2006 introduced me to the Archer Vineyard in Russian River Valley. Situated in the rolling hills in the center of Russian River, it grows multiple clones of both Syrah and Pinot noir. Greg helped me source 4 different sections of the vineyard with the Pommard clone giving power and black cherry notes, clone 777 having more forest floor and rose notes and the lesser quantity of clone 838 being light and delicate. Adding just a barrel of Pinot from the Barnes Road vineyard, also in Russian River, meant I lost the vineyard designation, but it added more intensity to the final wine. This is Russian River Pinot noir; elegant and complex with nice acidity and it really blossoms in a big glass when you allow the aromas that unfold. A great food wine. 210 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
*2008 ZINFANDEL – Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma Valley) $25
My Zinfandel wines have always been 100% Zinfandel (historically, most of the oldest vineyards are "field blends" of many varieties) and I blend wine from different vineyards to achieve greater complexity of flavors. The '08 Hillside blend is 56% from the Stonetree Vineyard at the top of the Mayacamas range, 40% from the Buck Hill Vineyard, also in the Mayacamas range and 4% from the Gopfrich Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. Hillside fruit is usually more concentrated and this wine has flavors of raspberry and dark fruits, a wonderful rich mouthfeel and good tannin structure. Probably best with something from the grill. Very much in my style of not too much alcohol or oak. 345 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
2006 SYRAH RESERVE (Sonoma Valley) $35
’06 was a particularly successful year for me with Syrah. My favorite was the vineyard block just next to the winery that I prune and look after. Was it truly the best or was I too emotionally involved with the vines? The wine also contains Syrah from the rockier soils towards the hillside and a little from the Parmelee-Hill and Archer vineyards for a total of 5 barrels. I’ve aged it 2 years in barrel and another 2 years in bottle. It is only my third reserve wine, bigger and richer than the other ’06 wines, I can’t say more than that you will just have to trust me!. 119cases produced.
2007 SYRAH RESERVE (Sonoma Valley) $35
The '07 follows in a similar mold to the '06 Reserve; once again based on the Syrah block that I prune and look after at the side of the winery. Walking this block almost every day allows me to manicure the vines and watch for optimum ripeness. Just 6 barrels were produced and it's 100% Syrah. The wine isn't as big as the '06, preferring some elegance and length of finish over the power of the '06. Opaque in color, expressive of Syrah in aroma, this wine has a "seamless" quality that justifies the reserve designation. It should age particularly well in the cellar. 148 cases produced.
2007 SYRAH – Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma County) $25
Gold Medal – Sonoma County Harvest Fair
In 2007 I kept back 12 barrels of the Archer Syrah to bottle as a potential vineyard designated wine. It was blended using fruit from three different Syrah clones grown in the steepest slopes of Gary Archer’s Russian River Valley vineyard. Prior to bottling, I found that an 8% addition of the softer and less acidic Parmelee-Hill Syrah really brought out more black fruit characters and filled out the middle palate. I made the decision to drop the Archer designation and just call it Sonoma Hillside Vineyards Syrah. The wine has great palate feel with excellent structure and tannin and has that peppery note that we get with cool climate Syrah. A wine for richer dishes and an excellent choice for the cellar. 331 cases produced.
*2008 SYRAH – Cuvée Ellen (Sonoma County) $28
As some of you may know, the Cuvée Ellen is a tribute to my grandmother Ellen. With the slow economy, I decided that when assembling the 2008 Syrah wines I would minimize the quantity of vineyard designated wines and increase the quantity of the Cuvee Ellen. Based primarily on the Archer Vineyard in Russian River (54%) (Greg helped me get both Australian and French clone blocks), then 20% from the Kick Ranch near Santa Rosa, 16% from the Parmelee Hill Vineyard in Sonoma Valley and finally 10% from the vineyard right next to the winery. This is what Syrah smells like, both red and black fruits, pepper and bacon and then lots of black fruit in the mouth, with a rich sweet middle palate and long, lingering tannins with a touch of oak on the finish. It shows even better on the second night. An elegant Syrah that works with many foods and should age quite gracefully in the bottle. 316 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
*2008 SYRAH – Parmelee Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley) $30
The Parmelee-Hill vineyard lies on an old river bottom next to Sonoma Cutrer’s Les Pierres vineyard in Sonoma. When I worked at Sonoma Cutrer they had a poster of a pit dug in that vineyard. It was all river stones, joined together with a bit of soil. It happens that this leads to great drainage, giving the vines an early start in Spring and giving great control of vine growth with judicious irrigation. This makes it ideal for Syrah, a variety which has high vigor that is often best suited to hillsides to slow it down (in France I was told by Gerard Jaboulet that Syrah must “see the water”, which I think means up on the hills and not on the wetter flat clay soils). Steve Hill has been growing Syrah at this vineyard for 30+ years and the experience shows, even if it is helped by what his vineyard foreman says is “good dirt”. Like previous versions, it shows the smoky and cherry/kirsch side of Syrah with lovely sweetness and soft tannins. I used to have a recipe for duck with a cherry sauce and maybe I need to dig that out. 148 cases produced and bottled with a screwcap.
*2008 CABERNET SAUVIGNON – McGraw Vineyard (Sonoma Valley) $30
Gold Medal – Sonoma County Harvest Fair
There is an interesting debate that comes up on occasion about the importance of “terroir”, which really means the soil, the climate and the farming of a particular site. The McGraw Vineyard Cabernet would help convince the skeptics. It’s a south facing hillside vineyard west of the winery (Cabernet needs the extra heat that a south facing hillside gets) and there is a continuity about the wines each year that is the essence of the site. Layering on top of this is the variation we get with the vintage. The ’08 wine has evolved into a softer more elegant style with sweeter fruit than ’07 and will pair beautifully with a steak. As if to illustrate the French concept, it gives a nod to French Bordeaux, showing the balance and elegance those wines show at their best, while still keeping its CA heritage. 219 cases made.
2009 LATE HARVEST ZINFANDEL (Sonoma County) 500ml $25
The 2009 Late Harvest Zinfandel comes from 4 vineyards in Sonoma County, the historic Rossi Ranch in Glen Ellen (47%), the EnglandCrest Vineyard here at the winery (33%) and smaller lots from Stonetree (12%) and Buck Hill (8%). A little lighter than the '08, it has aromas and flavors of dried apricots and cherries. At 16% alcohol and 8% residual sugar, it is a lighter wine than Port and is wonderful after dinner with chocolate or fresh cherries. 283 cases produced.
*2009 PORT (Sonoma Valley) 500ml $28
My Port wine has always been made using Syrah. In the cooler year of 2009 the Syrah is from the vineyard here around the winery but I’ve shifted more to the earlier ripening vineyard blocks with better drainage towards the hillside. I think the wine has benefited from the change and shows great sweetness and richness yet with a tannin backbone that keeps it from becoming too sweet. Perhaps my most intense port, it has blossomed from when it won a silver medal last year a few days after bottling. 305 cases produced.
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS:
10% on 6 bottles, 15% on case, 20% on 2 or more cases
WINE CLUB DISCOUNT:
20% on all wine purchases
