 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
- 2010 Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)
- 2012 Rose (Sonoma Valley)
- 2009 Zinfandel – Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma Valley)
- 2006 Syrah Reserve (Sonoma Valley)
- 2007 Syrah – Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma County)
- 2009 Syrah – Parmelee-Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley)
- 2009 Syrah – Cuvée Ellen (Sonoma County)
- 2012 Late Harvest Viognier - Salomon Vineyard (Sonoma Valley)
- 2011 Port (Sonoma Valley)
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS:
10% on 6 bottles, 15% on 12, 20% on 24 or more
WINE CLUB DISCOUNT:
20% on all wine purchases
*SPRING 2013 RELEASE
2010 CHARDONNAY (Sonoma Coast) $24
As the summer progressed in 2010 and the weather stayed cold, I hedged my bets and decided to let the Parmelee Hill vineyard Chardonnay grapes ripen a little past where I would normally pick, so that I would have blending opportunities should the very cold Hawk Hill vineyard struggle to ripen. Following the harvest I found the Parmelee Hill wine was really big, ripe and fleshy, while that from Hawk Hill was very crisp and steely. The wines blended together fabulously and I like it more than any Chardonnay I’ve made since ’07. Pale straw in color, with citrus and yeasty aromas that lead to a crisp, mineral driven palate with notes of citrus and pineapple. A great food wine. 241 cases produced and bottled with a screwcap
*2012 ROSÉ (Sonoma Valley) $18
This rosé is the first wine to be released from the vineyard here at the winery since I’ve taken over the management. I farm the rosé section the same way I do for the Reserve Syrah and it shows: an intense dry rosé that still retains delicacy, making it a lovely summer wine! The rosés have been remarkably consistent in the last 4 years. 125 cases produced, bottled with a screwcap.
2009 ZINFANDEL – Sonoma Hillside Vineyards (Sonoma Valley) $25
The 2009 Zinfandel wines I’ve tasted seem like wines that are for the longer haul, not so flashy in their youth, but able to continue to improve over the next few years. It was a cooler year and flavors developed while keeping really good acid and tannins. The wine is 100% Zinfandel and is blended from three vineyard sources: Stonetree Vineyard (43%) gives tannin and some spicy notes, the steepest part of the Buck Hill Vineyard (37%) gives bright red fruits so typical of Zinfandel and 20% comes from the Rossi ranch which gave richness and some cherry notes. I use a minimum of new oak in Zinfandel so as to showcase the bright fruit. Another excellent wine for the BBQ, I like it even more after decanting. 345 cases were bottled using a screwcap finish.
2006 SYRAH RESERVE (Sonoma Valley) $40
Library Release!
’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 – 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.
2009 SYRAH – Parmelee-Hill Vineyard (Sonoma Valley) $30
Steve Hill is a pleasure to work with and his vineyard is at the southern end of Sonoma Valley. He operates what is basically an “a la carte” style of farming, where I have input of how the vines are farmed and total control of when the vines are picked. Wines from my block on the old river bottom with its well drained river rocks and soil always give me a juicy sweet cherry flavored middle palate. The ’09 version also has spicy and meaty notes, with smoky notes derived from barrels. Soft, round and easy to like, it is a very well balanced food wine. 148 cases produced and bottled with a screwcap.
2009 SYRAH – Cuvée Ellen (Sonoma County) $30
The Ellen blend, named for my grandmother, has evolved into something a little like my “reserve” wine. Following a very strict selection of my Syrah wines with the lighter wines going into the Sonoma Reds Lot 5, I was left with just the wines that would be my vineyard designated selections. From these, I chose the best blend to make as the Cuvee Ellen wine. It is 100% Syrah blended from Russian River’s Archer vineyard (60%), Sonoma Valley's Parmelee-Hill vineyard (26%), then Sonoma Coast’s Griffin’s Lair (7%) and Sonoma County’s Kick Ranch (7%). A wine with lots of black fruit, showing excellent richness and concentration and wonderful texture yet still retaining some elegance. Quite soft already, but isn’t that a requisite for a grandmother? 282 cases produced and bottled with a screwcap.
*2012 LATE HARVEST VIOGNIER - Salomon Vineyard (Sonoma Valley) 375ml $28
This version (I made one other in 2007) is from friend of the winery, Bob Salomon’s vineyard in Kenwood. Picked several weeks later than for a white wine so that sugars were very high and flavors very peachy, then fermentation stopped at 11% alcohol and 12.8% sugar to make a dessert wine. It is a wine to enjoy with summer fruit desserts or by itself after dinner. It shows lots of peach and lemon flavors and has good acidity to balance the sweetness. It's my version of an ice wine (think crème brûlée!). Bottled in 375 mL bottles using a cork.
*2011 PORT (Sonoma Valley) 500ml $28
The 2011 version follows in the same pattern as my previous ports, being 100% Syrah from the vineyard around the winery and using pure grape alcohol to stop the fermentation. I’ve always thought that the key to good port is to have enough acid and tannin from the grapes to balance the sweetness. It's a great after dinner wine that keeps for several weeks after opening. 252 cases produced bottled with a cork in 500 mL bottles.
QUANTITY DISCOUNTS:
10% on 6 bottles, 15% on case, 20% on 2 or more cases
WINE CLUB DISCOUNT:
20% on all wine purchases
