2002 pinot bonanza from Marcassin

Helen Turley is one of the most renowned winemakers. During her career, she's been making wines for numerous of high end wineries, such as Peter Michael Winery, Pahlmeyer, Bryant Family Vineyards, Colgin Cellars, Blankiet and Martinelli Vineyards.

   Her own Marcassin Vineyard was planted in 1991. At that time Helen Turley and her husband John Wetlaufer planted 3.45 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at the property with undeveloped land they had bought out close to Jenner out in the true Sonoma Coast in 1985.   

   The first wines under the Marcassin Vineyard label was made in 1990, but at that time they they only used grapes purchased from vineyards owned by the Martinelli family and by Jess Jackson, and since the Marcassin Vineyard selection was added, that vineyard has been planted with more vines several times, and now covers almost 16 hectares.

   Their own vineyard is located on at around 340-400 meters on a slope close to the clusters of vineyards owned by Flowers Vineyards, Pahlmeyer, Peter Michael Winery and not too far away from Hirsch Vineyard. It shares a combination of cool breezes from the Pacific and the warmer temperatures at the higher elevation.

   Helen Turley says that it's not important for a wine to be able to keep well in the cellars, and to her ageing does not always make a wine better of more complex. However, I have often noticed that I'm not too impressed by her wines when young, since I find them to be a bit closed, earthy and tannic, even with a little too much influence of the oak. Compared to others pinots of the same reputation (e.g. those from Williams Selyem, Hirsch Vineyard, Rochioli), they lack perfumes and floral notes. The Marcassin wines are quite different, they offer deeper and in one way more complex flavors, they seems to be more rustic and well structured in a Vosne-Romanée-like way.

   This tasting with almost ten year old wines, showed a quite different experience than I have had from tasting her younger wines over the years. Now, when the wines has come to age, the tannic structure is softer, the acidity is still fresh, and hand in hand with the more seductive secondary aromas that has developed, there's still a beautiful fruitiness in them. I must say I was totally impressed by some of these wines, and the verdict based on this tasting is that the pinots from good vintages should be kept at least 8-10 years. None of these wines were fully matured, and they all developed well in the glasses during the hour we had them there!

2002 Pinot Noir Three Sisters Vineyard / 91-92 p

Color is pale cherry red with some yellowish nuances of maturity. Of the four this is the most elegant, also the lightest although it still offers a good depth, but not as open as the others. At almost ten years of age, there's still a lot of primary red fruit aromas, and really no signs of maturation, and it's quite complex.
   On the palate it's almost medium bodied, very elegant and fresh with a fine and almost silky tannic structure, still it's a bit closed as the finish, which is totally dry and fresh, is not as long and open as in the others. The alcohol is a bit warm, unfortunately, and that's the main reason for not mistaking this wine from coming from Burgundy.
   I would serve this at around 15 degrees Celsius, normally in a Burgundy shapes glass, but if you feel the alcohol warmth, you may well pour it in a Bordeaux shaped glass, that would help a bit.  
Drink it 2012-2016

2002 Pinot Noir Bondi Home Ranch / 94 p

Color in this wine, as in all four, is identical to that of the Three Sisters Vineyard. It offers a deeper and a bit more intense strawberry fruit aromas, quite similar to what can be found in great wines from Gevrey-Chambertin, as well as some earthy and complex note. Compared to the Three Sister Vineyard bottling, it's just a bit more open.
   On the palate, it's medium bodied, quite rich and elegant with the same burgundian red fruit qualities, a lively acidity and some mineral notes, as well as a bit more firm tannic structure than in the previous wine. Again, there's bit earthiness and, which I really like, that sweet touch of raspberries and strawberries so often found in the best premier crus and even grand crus of Gevrey-Chambertin. Serve it at 15 degrees Celsius in a Burgundy glass. As for the others, I prefer to aerate it at least 30 minutes in a decanter prior to serving it.
Drink it 2012-2018

2002 Pinot Noir Blue Slide Ridge / 94 p

I really like the perfumes of this wine, it's more vibrant, intense, sweetish and at the same time with a lovely note of sour cherries, and it also offers some floral qualities that add complexity. Overall, the impression is that this site is cooler than the others, and the overall balance it just beautiful.
   On the palate it's more silky the previous two wines, most likely because it higher density, which also gives the impression there's more concentration and richer fruit here. I find the tannins be more or less at the same level as in the others, which gives a dry taste rather than a firm structure, as in the others, the acidity is lively and fresh. Again, the alcohol is a bit warm in the finish, but I don't really find it to be too negative. Overall, the balance is just fine and with food, which is the right way to serve these wines, the warm sensation of the alcohol will be totally incorporated. Serve it in the same way as the others.   
Drink it 2012-2018

2002 Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard / 95 p

If the other wines are the premier crus of Marcassin, this offers the concentration and depths worthy a classification of grand cru. It's not only more powerful and rich, it's also a bit more refined and elegant. It offers layers of sweet raspberries and strawberries as well as dark red roses and just a touch of earthiness and I have to say this is delicious.
   This is not the most concentrated of the quartet, but it is for sure the most structured wine. Tannins are still evident and keeps the intense fruit in a second position, although you for sure will notice the intensity of it. Dark cherries, ripe raspberries and strawberries are to be found here, but there's also a earthy and quite spicy quality that adds a certain complexity. The finish is quite long, but marked by the tannins and also a slight bitterness, which I guess will soften with another year or so in the bottle. One thing that strikes me with this wine, and the quartet in general, is that their flavors are more intense than their taste. To me, that's a positive thing. Far too many pinots are overly sweet and lush. Compared to what's found in Burgundy, if one even should make a comparison, is that most of the best wines in Burgundy are built on aromas and structure, and less on taste and sweetness. So I guess one could use the term "burgundy like here". But it took several years for this particular wine to reach that stage!
Drink it 2012-2020

Chardonnays from Marcassin

There’s several cult cabernets in California, also some cult syrah wines (notably those from Sine-Qua-Non - I'll get back to those!), and a few of Pinot Noir. When it comes to whites, there’s still only one producer with some kind of cult stature – Marcassin. Helen Turley, the woman behind the winery, came to California in 1977 and started her career in the laboratory of Mondavi Winery. Later, she made wines at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill, at B R Cohn and then at Peter Michael Winery. She became a superstar winemaker of Sonoma and then Napa Valley with many highly acclaimed wineries in her consultant business. She was loved, she was feared, and her wines was awarded with top Parker scores.

In 1991, she planted a 3.45 hectare vineyard in the cool true Sonoma Coast, Marcassin Vineyard, and begun to make great chardonnays, and pinots. Today, the wines are extremely hard to get, sold only through the mailing list. You'll also find them on the second hand market, but there they are very expensive.
The chardonnays are all made in the same way, whole bunch pressed, very slowly fermented with the indigenous yeast in 100 percent new French oak barrels, and always with full malolactic fermentation. The wine style is somewhat extreme, especially when taste young. Helen Turley says the wines need some years of bottle age, sometimes even 10 years – and although I normally don’t think California whites are able to age very well, I do agree with here on these wines. Give them 5-7 years from vintage, and don’t serve them to cold, 12-14 degrees is great. Like the wines from Kistler, these wines benefit from decanting.

2004 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch / 88-93?
The Zio Tony Ranch in Sonoma Coast is owned by the Martinelli family. This wine was a bit strange. At first, it was very shy and closed, with a quite oaky note and something that felt a bit unclean. Under that, there were notes of yellow plums, lemon zest and vanilla. With air, the musty notes became stronger, and stayed there for almost one hour. The cork wasn’t very good, but there was no trace of TCA, neither of oxidation. It was more like reduction – so I waited. For two hours! Then it turned into something very enjoyable, still young actually (Helen is right, her wines needs air, and bottle age) and the roasted notes of oak became more and more balanced and there is lovely notes of honey and both white and yellow flowers. On the palate, the wine is full and rich, at first with an intensity that you almost would describe as sweet, but the taste is completely dry. Alcohol is 14.9 percent, but to be honest, I don’t really feel that. The notes of honey is there, combined with lemon zest and a kind of clove like spiciness from the oak. The aftertaste lingers for a minute, or two, and suddenly I really like the wine. Still I’m a bit confused. Is the wine too young? Was it a bad bottle? Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

2004 Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard / 96-97
This is always the greatest selection of Marcassin wines. Made entirely from the estate grapes of the Marcassin Vineyard, and produced in the same way as the other wines. Unfiltered and slightly hazy, it doesn’t look too good (well, I know it's good, so I don't care), but just put your nose in the glass, and you’ll smile. This is almost as complex as California chardonnays gets, great and intense at the same time as there is finesse and cool but rich and ripe yellow stone fruits. The one hundred percent new French expensive oak is extremely well integrated, as in the finest grand crus of Burgundy, a proof of the intensity and quality of the site and the grapes … and the winemaker. If you focus, you’ll notice the high alcohol (14.8 percent), but most likely you’ll move on to enjoy the floral notes, the lemon zest, the cool Pacific influenced fresh acidity and the fantastic balance of this great wine. If there is something I miss that would bring higher score to this wine, is would be a bit more intensity and liveliness in the aftertaste. But as long as it is so damn good, I will not complain too much. After all, it is a truly great bottle of wine! Don’t serve it too cold, and don’t pour it directly from the bottle – it needs decanting! Drink it now thru 2014.

2001 Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard / 93-94
I had this wine at French Laundry, and therefore it was tasted open. The sommelier decanted the wine, as expected, and it stayed in the decanter for 20 minutes before I really tasted it. I can just image how much it opened up during that short period of time. As always, I find the wines of Marcassin to be a bit oaky at first and when young, but when they open up with some air, they show much more of their rich body, their depth, their intensity. With this wine, although it was almost 8 years old the time and the honey notes were more present, the oak was still there. Marcassin is always a very rich wine, and you almost always expect to find notes of pineapple and sweet lemon here, but still the acidity is so fresh so you’ll never feel any sweetness. This is one of the great things about this wine. Let’s go for the silky and quite charming body, but there is nothing easy about these wines. The acidity is always marked, this is the sign of the true Sonoma Coast, and even if there is sweetness from concentration and alcohol, you will describe the wine as completely dry. This is for sure a very good wine, but knowing it was a Marcassin, I actually expected a litte bit more. Was the wine fading away? Was it too old? Or was it still closed? To be honest, I don’t know.