A brilliant trio from Lioco

IPOB, In Pursuit Of Balance, is a manifest to look for and celebrate totally balanced wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, crated in 2011 by master sommelier Rajat Parr of Michael Mina and RN74, and Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards in Sonoma Coast.

One of the members is the 10 000 cases young wine company Lioco, founded in 2005 by sommelier Kevin O’Connor (Spago, in Beverly Hills) and wine merchant Matt Licklider (North Berkley Import). Longing for other types of wines than the fruit driven, full bodied and oaky wines that came in fashion during the 1990s, they started out to craft elegant wines with low alcohol, high natural acidity, and a good expression of their terroir.
   They hired John Raytek as their winemaker, purchased Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from cool vineyard sites in Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Chalone and Anderson Valley, and old vine dry farmed Carignane from Redwood Valley in the northern Mendocino, and begun to make a series of fine tuned wines with a true expression of the variety and its birthplace.

The wines are all “hands off made” with early harvested grapes, normally at 21-23 Brix, which end up in wines with alcohol levels at around 12.0 to 13.5 percent. The Chardonnays are slowly whole cluster pressed and then fermented with their natural yeast in either stainless steel tanks or smaller steel drums. There is no oak at all! Due to the high levels of malic acid, all wines are full malolactic, but there’s enough of acidity to make them taste super fresh. They are all bottled after six months on their lees, with just some bâtonnage.
   Chardonnay would be their mayor production, but they also make a series of very fine and elegant Pinot Noirs that shouldn’t been overseen, and a superb old vine Carignane called Indica.
The very good news is that these wines are not expensive, they range from 20-50 dollars!  

This is one of the most thrilling producers of the new age of California winemaking. Don’t miss them!

2010 Russian River Valley Chardonnay / 90 p

This is not a second wine, it’s a wine crafted from two vineyards, one in the central part of Russian River Valley, and one much cooler at Bodega Highway in the southwestern corner of Green Valley. Since the grapes are very slowly whole cluster pressed, the juice is in contact with the skins for almost eight hours, which add a good structure and a touch of golden color. The funny thing is that it reminds me of a more classic wine from Meursault, due to its slightly diacetyl flavor and creamy texture. As in the other wines, there’s a steely touch to it, but there’s so much more complexity than in most of the steel fermented Californian Chardonnays. There are no traces at all of alcohol, and yes, it’s just 12.3 percent. That’s the beauty, and the persuit of balance! This is the first vintage of this 400 case bottling.
Drink it 2012-2016

2010 Chardonnay Demuth Vineyard / 92 p
The Demuth Vineyard is located at 520 meters of altitude in the high end av very cool part of Anderson Valley, north of Roederer Estate. It was planted 40 years ago with the Old Wente clone, and although the vines were planted on their own roots, there are just small signs of phylloxera and the yields are less than 20 hectoliter per hectare. Of all Chardonnays in the line up from Lioco, this is the most astringent and mineral driven one, the most Chablis like if one should compare to the French wines (which normally if a quite stupid and meaningless idea, yet common).
   This is an absolute pure expression of Chardonnay, more marked by its birthplace, the cool climate, which results in a cooler and crisp fruit (lemon, green apples) and high acidity and, the poor slate soil, which add a load of minerality and structure to the wine. Although note the same chalky minerality of Chablis wines, it offers a lovely energy that lingers for a minute, and it’s really delicious. Serve it at 12 degrees Celsius, and with some air in the glass (or decanted 20-30 minutes), it will be even more complex.
Drink it 2012-2020

2010 Chardonnay Hanzell Vineyard / 91 p
The famous Hanzell Vineyard was planted to Chardonnay over 50 years ago, and they have never sold grapes to anyone in the past. Of pure interest to find out how a wine from their grapes in the hands of Lioco, with their minimalistic philosophy, would taste like, they decided to sell some grapes to them in 2010. This wine is made from the clones Old Wente, Robert Young and the Hanzell Selection, harvested at 22.7 Brix. Of the trio, this is the most powerful wine and in that sense it is the “grand cru” of them. It offers a rich and slightly nutty, almost toasty nose with a flinty minerality, its medium bodied and very intensive with a rich and creamy texture, but lively acidity and a tickling minerality. With its 13.4 percent alcohol, it’s quite Burgundian in its structure. It’s a very good wine, that opens up just lovely with decanting, just lika the wines from Burgundy.
Drink it 2012-2016

2006 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay from Aubert Wines

Mark Aubert has for a long time been one of the most celebrated consultant winemakers of Napa Valley. Today his consultant days seems to be over, although he still is part of the blending sessions at Futo Wines, a relatively new and highly interesting winery next to Harlan Estate and Bond Wines in Oakville.
Earlier this year, he moved the production from the custom crush facility at Laird Family Vineyards to his own winery in Calistoga. Most winemakers I have talked to, says that working in their own wineries give them a chance to focus more on every small details in the production, therefore make better wines. If that’s what’s going to happen for Mark and Teresa Aubert, then I really look forward to the 2011 vintage from them. Their chardonnays, which to me are their best wines, are already among the finest in the category of rich chardonnays in California.

2006 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay / 93 p

Grapes to this wine are sourced from the well known Ritchie Vineyard in the cooler part of Russian River that normally, as in this case, is bottled with the Sonoma Coast appellation. This is one of the oldest vineyards of Chardonnay in Sonoma, and it’s planted with the clones Old Wente, Robert Young and Chardonnay Musqué. Color is golden straw, quite deep and slightly cloudy since the wine is bottled unfiltered. At first, when poured directly from the bottle, the nose was very intense and showed an almost sweetish fruitiness with notes of pineapple and sweet lemon, but there’s also a spicy oak note reminiscent of all spice and cloves. To some consumers, this style of chardonnay is a bit too much, and I can understand that – but tasting the same wine after one, or ever tree hours of decanting, is a bit more elegant. (Sometimes I find this kind of chardonnays, when tasted at the same age, tastes better and more complex the day after!) When the sweeter fruit notes have started to mellow, a more complex and earthy, even stony an “almost but not really burgundian” quality evolves.
On the palate, the same mellowing effect is to be expected from decanting. At first, it is full bodied, rich and ripe with a silky texture but lively acidity that lingers for almost a minute, but with air, it’s more complex and elegant. The texture and finish is great, the only negative thing is the slightly too warm alcohol. Serving it with food, which is recommended, the alcohol warmth will be integrated and absorbed by creamy textures and some acidity. I’d like to serve it at around 12 degrees.
Drink it 2011-2014

2009s from Rhys Vineyard

Rhys Vineyards is, together with Ridge Vineyards and Mount Eden Vineyards, the stars of the Santa Cruz Mountain appellation. The company was founded by Kevin Harvey, who in 1995 planted a tine vineyard with Pinot Noir on his property and a few years later started to make some wines in his garage. The first commercial vintage was 2003, and since then production has increased over the years. In 2006 Jeff Brinkman was hired as winemaker. In 2009 a brand new winery and wine cellar was built on the Skyline Vineyard property, at one of highest peaks of the mountain. All wines are small lot fermented (there are 80 one ton open top fermenters in stainless steel and nine in French oak) and kept in French oak barrels in the caves.
Altogether Rhys Vineyards owns 18.20 hectares of vineyards in Santa Cruz Mountains and below in the San Mateo appellation, but they also planted around 10.00 hectares with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on high slopes in the deep end of the Anderson Valley appellation in Mendocino. That vineyard will bear fruit in 2013, or 2014.
Production is small, around 4 000 cases per year, and almost everything is sold through the winery’s mailing list.

2009 Chardonnay Alpine Vineyard / 94 p

The Apline Vineyard, planted in 2001 to 2003 at 380 to 450 meters elevation in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is a cool site with a thin, stony and well drained sandstone and slate soil with traces of limestone. It’s no wonder why the wine have such a structure and fine mineral notes – it’s almost like a part of the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks. It isn’t. After a slow whole cluster pressing and settling of the juice, it’s completely fermented in French oak casks from François Frères (the oak at Rhys Vineyard is always air dried for four years), 25 percent new, in which the wine have spent 14 months, and even though the wine is fully malolactic, the acidity is fresh.

It’s a remarkable chardonnay, medium full bodied but still extremely elegant, with just a texture rather than flavor from the oak. The aftertaste is long, very elegant and absolutely dry. In many ways it reminded me of the wines of David Ramey, Mark Aubert and Steve Kistler. I kept the opened bottle and tasted it the day after, just to see how it developed with air, and as I expected, it tasted just fine, almost even dryer and more burgundian!

Drink it 2011-2017

2009 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard / 92-93 p

Winemaker Jeff Brinkman crafts this wine in the same way, but with around 30 percent new oak here. The difference lies in the terroir, and it’s notable. “The vineyards are close to each other, just a few kilometers a part, but looking into the aspects of the soils, they are ten million years apart”, Jeff says. As in all vineyards of Rhys, this is stony and well drained, but of volcanic origin. The clones, which as for the previous wine, are the Old Wente and a selection from Hyde Vineyard, which is also of the Old Wente type, and they were planted in 2004 to 2006.

This wine is fuller than the Alpine Vineyard selection, not too much but still notable, with the same intensity and texture and – although at the moment a bit covered by the fruit – the acidity and mineral notes are more of less the same. Again, there’s a steely note in the wine that may fool you a fraction of it was fermented in steel, but again that’s not the case. The oak, or at least what I suspect is the oak, is somehow a bit spicier in this wine. Also this wine kept very well in the open bottle until the day after. For both these wines I recommend decanting at least one hour before you serve them. I suggest a serving temperature of 12-14 degrees Celsius.

Drink it 2011-2017

2009 Pinot Noir Family Farm Vineyard / 92 p

The Family Farm vineyard lies below the other vineyards at lower altitude, approximately 120 meters, therefore within the quite rare appellation San Mateo AVA, rather than Santa Cruz Mountains (which is created for vineyards above 240 meters of altitude). The soil here is less rocky, clay loam and alluvial, and in combination with the slightly warmer climate here, the wine is richer, fuller, more fruit forward and less structured than the other wines in the linup. I was a bit sursprised when winemaker Jeff told me that this wine is whole cluster fermented, still there’s no signs of bitternet or greenness – the spicy and earthy notes from the stems only shows after some time in the glass. Instead it’s the ripe fruit flavor that hits you, dark cherries and even blackberries at first, with air some more light red fruit nuances, as well as a fine note of orange peel. It’s a rich and in that sense very Californian pinot with ripe tannins, still with a fine acidity and a lingerling, deliscious aftertaste.

Drink it 2011-2019

2009 Pinot Noir Skyline Vineyard / 94-95 p

Again a 100 percent whole cluster fermented pinot, but this one with a much more aromatic, intense and less spicy nose. At first, it seems to be more concentrated, with a dark fruit body reminiscent of blackberries and dark cherries. The oak, 50 percent new in this case and of the same type as for all wines here – four year air dried oak from the François Frères cooperage company in Saint-Romain in Burgundy – is extremely well integrated, almost invisible. The spicy and earthy notes from the stems, shows only after 30 minutes of aeration, but then only very little.

The mayor difference from the Family Farm bottling is the structure. The 1.20 hectare Skyline Vineyard is situated at an altitude of around 700 meters in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where temperatures are lower and the growing conditions much more extreme. The soil is thin and based of sandstone, limestone and mudstone (a type of lime and clay soil), which gives the wine a serious structure and minerality, that gives energy to the taste and lingers for a minute on the tongue. By the way, another great asset of the wine is the low alcohol – not even noted in the taste. It’s only 12.7 percent! “If I would have been a French winemaker in Burgundy, I guess I should have chaptalized the juice”, winemaker Jeff says.

Drink it 2011-2022

2009 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard / 93-95 p

Just one sniff on the wine and you’re stuck! It’s so different from the previous presented wines. It has a fantastic nose, bright and extremely intense, loads of both dark and light red cherries, sweet and sour, a floral touch and the typical aromatics derived from the stems, in this case 65 percent of the cluster wasn’t destemmed. Again, the oak (60 percent new) is extremely well integrated – bravo! On the palate, it is medium bodied, a bit more shy and closed that expected, but with good intensity and fine mid-palate and with marked tannins and a lively minerality that, at least today, gives a kind of closed impression. I’d give this wine another year or two in the bottle to let the structure soften a bit, and when that happens, the wine will be even more seductive and elegant.

Winemaker Jeff Brinkman was kind enough to open a bottle of the 2006 Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard (95-96 p) to show me how the wine develops over time, and is was a stunning bottle of wine. On the nose, it reminded me of the cherry notes in the grand crus of Morey-Saint-Denis, and the body, earthy notes, structure and minerality of the grand crus of southern Gevrey-Chambertin – but with a much more Californian type of richness.

To me, the Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard may be one of the finest bottling from Rhys Vineyards.

Drink it 2013-2022

2009 Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard / 94-95 p

Another outstanding wine! If I have been served this wine completely blind, I believe my first guess would have gone to a slightly warmer vintage in the northern Rhône valley. Color is dark, almost opaque, and the nose is very dense, dark berry scented with loads of blackberries, plums and dark cherries, but also with that typical peppery and meaty note from Syrah grown in marginal climates. And the Horseshow Ranch is one of those cooler vineyards in California which can produce very Rhône like syrahs. It’s surprising how elegant this wine is, and knowing is have a 100 percent stem inclusion, there are no notes of greenness, bitterness or earthiness from the stems – only after 20 minutes in the glass, small signs of that shows, which throws you back in the northern Rhône again. In this wine, only 10 percent of the barrels were new, Jeff doesn’t like oak in his syrahs, again something that gives this wine a more rhônish personality. It’s a remarkable wine, and I can only dream of tasting this a decade from now. Then I’d put a thousand dollars on it as great St-Joseph or Cornas.

It’s recommended to decant this wine at least one hour before serving it.

Drink it 2013-2027

Hirsch Vineyards, now and then

David Hirsch was one of the first to plant vineyards in the region known as True Sonoma Coast. Already in 1980 he planted a 1.20 hectare block with Riesling and Pinot Noir, at that time more for fun rather than thinking about becoming av full time winegrower and winemaker. The first years, all grapes were sold to Williams Selyem, and later on also Kistler Vineyard (not anymore), Littorai and Siduri. Over the years, David worked hard to understand his land, to see the details and the anatomy of his vineyard. Working close with several great winemakers who bought his grapes, he learned more and more about each single block in his vineyard, which had expanded into 29.15 hectares.

Still he wanted to go even deeper, and the only way he could truly see the microdetails and improve the quality of his vineyard management, was to start to make his own wines. The first true vintage was 2002, however, David told me he made some wines for fun earlier. He told med that the 2001 actually tastes pretty good!
Typically, wines are red at Hirsch Vineyard. There’s only 1.60 hectares of Chardonnay planted, so production of the white wine is small. There are now quite a few pinots made, with Bohan-Dillon from the youngest vines as the lightest and most deliscious of them all. The San Andreas Pinot Noir (until 2006, this was sold just as Pinot Noir) is a blend of different clones, mostly Dijons clones, but also Pommard and Swan, and approximately 75 percent of the grapes comes from blocks planted between 1980 and 1990.

There’s also a Pinot Noir “M”, named after Davids wife Maria, a barrel selection with the most elegant and perfumed lots of Pinot Noir. Since 2009, the wine is sold as Pinot Noir Reserve, and that vintage and wine tasted from barrels is one of the most profound pinots I’ve ever tasted from Sonoma Coast.
Since 2007, there are also small lots of single block wines that are very interesting. These wines are the result of understanding the vineyard and its different blocks through their own winemaking.
Since 2010 the young and talented Ross Cobb of Cobb Vineyard (they make a great series of pinots from the Freestone in the southern part of Sonoma Coast) is the winemaker. He finished the blend of the 2009s, and did that with honor.

Production reaches around 5 500 cases per year.

2009 Chardonnay / 92 p
This great wine is made from whole cluster pressed Chardonnay grapes, and fermented in a smart combination of 50 percent small French oak barrels, very little new oak, 35 percent small stainless steel tanks 15 percent in small glass damejeannes (from the 2010 vintage, all juice is fermented in oak, but only 20 percent new). Alcohol level is 14 percent, which is just perfect to add that backbone that the rich but still very elegant and freshly acidic body needs. On the nose, it’s almost burgundian like, the oak treatment is perfect, and there are small traces of minerality that may fool most tasters in a blind tasting. Although the wine has gone through full malolactic fermentation, there’s no buttery or creamy texture or flavor in the wine. It’s really a great Californian chardonnay in a style that would make any Franchofile thrilled. Only 600 cases were made.
Drink it 2011-2016.

2004 Pinot Noir / 92 p
The first vintage was made in 2002, but I wasn’t that impressed with that vintage (I actually preffered the Hirsch Vineyard selection from Failla and from Siduri). Since then the quality has improved significant, with the 2009 vintage as a great stand out for the new, ultrahigh quality. However, there have been some fine vintages and the 204 is for sure one of them. I just decanted it 15 minutes prior to pouring it at 17 degrees, and it showed just great in the big Riedelglass. The nose offered loads of dark and very aromatic cherries, some floral notes, just a dash of oak and overall a very intense and elegant wine with a good portion of complexity. (I actually poured it next to the 2002 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes from Domaine Ponsot, and everyone around the table both preferred the Hirsch Pinot Noir, and thought for a while that is was the wine from Burgundy!) Well, to be honest, it didn’t have the typical chalky minerality found in burgundies, but the flavor profile was for sure very French. In the lingering aftertaste, there‘s some sweetness, but the alcohol is perfectly well balanced.
Drink it 2011-2018.

No oak please!

Chardonnay is by far the most popular white wine in California, so it’s no surprise that it’s the most widely planted green grape variety in the state. However, it wasn’t in the past – few grape growers planted this variety in the 1960s, and those who did, were recommended not to. The change came in the 1970s, and even more in the 1980s, when Chardonnay took its first steps to its present glory. Over the years, the oak fermented wine from Chardonnay had become the most typical California white wine. Also, the style changed into something very different from what was found in the rest of the world from this classic variety. The American winemakers had finally defined their own style for the beloved Chardonnay. The wines were now riper (most of them were often harvested at high Brix levels), richer and seasoned with sweetish and toasted oak. At first, everybody seemed to like them, and sales skyrocketed.
In the early 90s, a change came – a movement known as ABC, Anything But Chardonnay, came. More and more, consumers had enough of the sweetish, overly ripe and rich, and oaky chardonnays. In Australia some winemakers started to ferment Chardonnay in stainless steel tanks and labeled the wines as “Unoaked Chardonnay”, a style that over the years gained popularity. In the mid 90s, dry and crisp wines of aromatic grape varieties such as Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Albariño came in fashion just because they were crisp and always unoaked. More than the ABC movement, this new trend “forced” winemakers of Chardonnay to change their philosophies.
Since then, I’ve seen this change at almost all wineries I have visited. In a long term perspective, vineyards have been planted in cooler areas than in the past to get grapes of this new, more elegant quality. But equally important, grapes are now harvested at lower Brix to retain a fresh natural acidity (and avoid acidification), to get lower alcohol levels, keep more bright fruit flavors and more floral notes, and to give an overall better balance. In the wine cellars, some winemakers started to work with cold soak to extract more aromatic compounds from the grape skins, but more important, the use of vessels for fermentation changed dramatically.
From using one hundred percent oak, and a high proportion of that would be new oak, winemakers moved into more neutral oak (one to five year old barrels) and larger barrels, or even into stainless steel tanks, smaller steel drums or cement eggs. At first, this was only done for wines in moderate price levels, but in the early 2000s, more and more high end unoaked chardonnays (20 dollars, and above) were introduced on the market. At Melville Estate in Santa Rita Hills, winemaker Greg Brewer started to make a very crisp Chardonnay Cuvée Inox, which inspired him to make a series of chardonnays fermented in steel and neutral oak under his own label Diatom. In Russian River Valley, Marimar Torres started to make her Chardonnay Acero, fully fermented in stainless steel. These pioneer wines, and many more with them, are now just part of what is widely seen on the market – fresh, crisp and aromatic chardonnays with no or just little oak.

2008 Chardonnay from Rivino Winery / 88 p
From the 80 hectares Schrader Ranch located between US 101 and Russian River in Redwood Valley in the heartland of Mendocino, Jason McConnell and his wife Susanne Jahnke-McConnell started to make small amount of wine in 2008. The ranch was bought in 1993 by Gordon Jahnke, a law professor from British Columbia in Canada, but he had no intention to make wine. Instead grapes were sold to other wineries, among them Kendall-Jackson. Still around 95 percent of the grapes are sold, but under the stewardship of Jason McConnell, who started to make some wine for fun in 2005, there’s now a tiny production of around 1 300 cases per year.
The grapes, only Dijon clones from Block 2 close to the river, were harvested at 24 Brix, and whole cluster pressed. The juice was then cold settled at 8 degrees Celsius for a few days before it was fermented for almost a month at low temperatures in a small stainless steel tank. There were no malolactic fermentation and no bâtonnage during the ageing, and the acidity feels a bit higher than the 5.6 grams per liter there is. This first vintage is a wonderful effort, it’s totally dry, fresh and ultra pure with notes of brownish-green pears (just like you’ll find in white burgundies), lemon and almonds as well as the steel itself. It's a very attractive wine.
Drink it 2011-2014.

2007 Chardonnay from Roederer Estate / 87 p
No wonder Roederer Estate in the cooler northern part of Anderson Valley is one of the best sparkling producers outside of Champagne. The climate is considered cool by Californian standards, but not as cold as in Champagne, still this wine shows a quite European structure and fruit flavor. Grapes are all estate grown, harvested at low Brix in mid September and then pressed in whole bunches. After débourbage, the juice is transferred into stainless steel tanks (80 percent) and neutral French oak barrels to ferment. The latter fraction goes through malolactic fermentation, the stainless steel one not. Tasted completely blind, one would never put this wine in California – unless you have tasted a Californian wine like this before. It’s more like the wines of Mâconnais in the southern part of Burgundy, well, not totally. It doesn’t have that kind of minerality. There’s not a single note of oak, just that fine texture that the ageing in oak, on lees, results in. It’s delicious, light and fresh, a bit short, but very elegant. The only sad thing is that production is only 200 cases, and that the wine only is sold in the tasting room at Roederer Estate in Anderson Valley. And when you are there, take the opportunity to buy some of their great sparkling wines!
Drink it 2011-2014.

2008 Chardonnay Del Lago from Ceago Vinegarden / 87 p
Ceago Vinegarden is the new home for Jim Fetzer, past president and co-owner of Fezter Vineyards before the family sold it to Browne-Forman. In 2001 he bought a 66 hectare walnut ranch close to Clear Lake in Lake County. Here he cleared land to plant 20.25 hectares of vines and made his first wine (a Cabernet Sauvignon) in 2005. This is Sauvignon Blanc and red wine country, but this wine is proof of the potential of Chardonnay. Grapes are whole cluster pressed, and the juice is the completely fermented in stainless steel tanks, but left on the lees for some months to gain texture. It’s a lovely unoaked chardonnay – very pure, crisp and fresh with notes of lemon (almost sweetish lemons) and Granny Smith, it has that typical steely character, but also some complex notes of almonds that don’t come from oak – it’s either terroir or the effect of the lees. The finish is long, and very elegant.
Drink it 2011-2013.

Greg LaFollette renaissance

WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR 2010


It’s an honor to name Greg LaFollette the California Wine Report Winemaker of the Year 2010. Greg is very skilled and a well respected winemaker who has worked in the business for two decades. With degrees in biology, chemistry and food science, he left UC Davis in 1991 to work with research in the laboratory at Beaulieu Vineyards. Here he got the opportunity to meet and work with the legendary wine consultant André Tchelistcheff.
Winemaking led him to Australia, where he worked at Yarra Ridge for a while. After that he came back to Napa Valley and Beaulieu Vineyard, then Jarvis and later on Kendall-Jackson. Greg’s main focus were now Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and he was very close to break through on his own with these varieties, when he was appointed as the winemaker at the newly established Flowers Vineyards out in the true Sonoma Coast in 1996.
Over the coming years, Flowers gained a cult status, and Greg LaFollette was now a name to watch. It was during these years, the idea of making wines under an own label came. In 2001, Greg LaFollette and his friend Greg Bjornstad founded their own label Tandem. With contracts in some of the finest vineyards in Sonoma, they started to craft some very interesting wines out of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as tiny amounts of Pinot Meunier and Sangiovese (which was a very good wine!).
While making his own wines at a custom crush winery in Sebastopol, he was also hired by the new owners of De Loach Vineyards in Russian River Valley to introduce natural farming and biodynamical techniques, as well as restore and improve the quality if their wines. He didn’t only bring his skills to De Loach Vineyards, he also introduced a wide range of exciting single vineyard wines in their portfolio. By then, De Loach Vineyard was, more than in the past, a winery to count on.
A few years ago he left De Loach Vineyards to focus more on his own label, as well as consultant for other wineries. One of them was Quivera Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley, where he introduced biodynamical principles in their farming. This also resulted in big a step forward for Greg LaFollette when the owners or Quivira Vineyards, Pete and Terri Kight, bought Greg’s label Tandem in 2008 and reorganized it to LaFollette Wines. “For me it was great”, Greg told me. “Now I can focus on the vineyards and the wines – I don’t have to take care of either administration or sales”.
The new LaFollette portfolio is based on the same first class vineyards in Sonoma that Greg worked with in the past, but the wines seems to be a bit more distinct. It’s truly a renaissance for Greg LaFollette.




2009 Chardonnay Lorenzo Vineyard / 94 p
This is a great expression of 100 percent Chardonnay from the renowned 4.05 hectare Lorenzo vineyard, which was planted with (today) not specified clones back in 1974 and 1975. The vineyard itself is great, but wouldn’t have been well known unless Helen Turley made it famous under her prestigious label Marcassin in the 90s. This wine, though, is much better and far more complex. With a pH of 3.31, and no adjustment of acidity, the wine has sufficient amount of acidity to balance out any bitterness there may be from the 40 percent new French oak used for the upbringing of this wine.
Color is, of course by the young age of the wine, very pale, but clear and bright. There are a lot of things this Californian chardonnay isn’t – like big, sweet, oaky and overly alcoholic. No, this wine combines the finest of California terroir with the wise hands and skills of a smart winemaker. Greg really knows what he’s doing, and in this bottling his skills transform the grapes into something extremely lovely, and complex. The nose reveals a pure, cool and not too ripe fruit quality, but with “not too ripe” I actually mean – the nose is exceptional in its cooler style, with lemon peels, citrus, golden apples and crunchy pears. To be very honest without bragging about my frequent trips to the greatest estates in Burgundy two to three times per year, I find this wine to be quite burgundian like! However, there’s no chalky mineral aroma or flavor, but there’s enough structure in the wine for it to be described as very classic! The oak, in this wine very well integrated, is also a bit more spicy than in its burgundian counterparts.
Drink it 2010-2019.

2009 Chardonnay Manchester Ridge / 91-92 p
Located 600 meters above sea level on the first ridge from the Ocean in Mendocino, is really a challenge to work with. It ripens very late – in this vintage Greg harvested the grapes November 4, at 20.8 Brix! It covers 12.15 hectares and is planted various clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and in this wine there’s only the Clone 809, which is also called Chardonay Musqué. And you can tell, it adds floral and spicy notes to the wine. What Greg does, is to use a certain yeast strain to break down the linalool, the ester that give this floral note, and therefore it’s not as floral as it would have been. However, he let the juice cold soak with the skins for 32 hours during the press to extract that aroma as well as structure, and you’ll find some very fine and gentle tannins in the wine.
It’s a very interesting and elegant and highly aromatic wine with the expected floral notes as well as citrus and just a texture rather than flavor of the oak (it’s fermented and kept in neutral French oak). On the palate, its medium bodied, very fresh and lively with just a touch of tannins, and the same floral notes and fresh citrus flavors as on the nose, and the aftertaste lingers for a while. It’s good, very good, but it’s nothing for those who enjoy big, ripe, buttery and oaky American chardonnays.
Drink it 2011-2017.

2009 Pinot Noir Van der Camp Vineyard / 92-93 p
Originally planted as a sparkling wine vineyard, the Van de Kamp vineyard has turned out to be an outstanding source of Pinot Noir for still red wine. This wine is a true example to that. Color is medium high and at first the nose is a bit closed. After a few minutes in the glass, it starts to open up, and reveals a medium high intensity with a very sophisticated fruit that combines darker sweet and sour cherries with sweet raspberries. There’s also a very fine earthy note that adds complexity, and overall it’s more European in style that typical Californian – not that this is always preferred or regarded as better – after all, the wine comes from California – it’s just the impression I’d like to share. And, to be very honest, it’s just lovely. As always the wines from Van der Kamp Vineyard has a good structure of tannins and lively acidity (which is a good asset when making sparkling wines), so the wine benefit from a few years of cellaring. I kept the open bottle and tasted the wine over a period of four days, and it was just in the fourth day it lost its brightness and intensity. Day two, it actually tasted better and more complex than it did a first!
Drink it 2011-2025.

2008 Pinot Noir DuNah Vineyard / 92 p
As a consulting winemaker, Greg made wine for many wineries and families. One of them was Rick and Diane DuNah between 2003 and 2008. Their vineyard, just about four hectares in size, is situated in the cool southern eastern area of Sonoma Coast of Petaluma Gap, overlooking Cotati and San Francisco (on a clear day). It was planted in 1998 with Pinot Noir of Dijon 115, 667 and 777 clones and some Chardonnay, and prior to making their own wine all grapes were sold off to Flowers. The 2008 vintage marked the last vintage under their own label, but Greg continued to make wine from their grapes, under the LaFollette label.
“Compared to what Rick and Diane wanted, I harvest my grapes almost ten days earlier at lower Brix and pH, therefore my wine is a bit brighter and more elegant, and I also use less new oak on this wine, approximately e third compared to 40 or sometimes ever 50 percent”, Grey says. This has resulted in a much more elegant and perfumed wine.
The nose is very elegant but intense, absolutely pure with fine notes of red berries, rhubarb and blood orange, and there’s also a touch of charcuteries that adds spice and complexity. The oak is well integrated and supple, acidity as fresh and lively as expected, and the aftertaste light and elegant without any sweetness, alcohol or oak bitterness. It’s a truly lovely wine to be enjoyed by those who prefer elegance to power.
Drink it 2011-2018.

2009 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard / 91-92 p
As for the chardonnay, the grapes for this Sangiacomo bottling, comes from the cooler western part of the vineyard, and it’s made from the clones Swan, Dijon 777 and just a little bit of Dijon 114. Vinification is the same as for the other pinots. On the nose, the wine offers a wide range of red berries, also a slight red floral note, just a slight spiciness of the oak, and a kind of wild earthiness that Greg often refer to as “sauvage”, and that might derive from the Dijon 14 clone (if I’m correct), which adds an interesting energy to the wine. On the palate, there is a fine sweetness (I often find it in the wine from this site) which is perfectly well balanced with a lively acidity, the texture of the oak, and a good but ripe and well balanced tannic structure that will help this wine to age.
Drink it 2011-2019.

2009 Pinot Meunier Van der Kamp Vineyard / 90 p
The Pinot Meunier section in this vineyard was planted in 1959 and 1960, and these are the oldest vine of that champagne variety in California. I find it very interesting and exciting that Greg actually makes a varietal wine out of it – it’s rarely seen elsewhere on Planet Wine. The grapes are whole cluster fermented in closed stainless steel tanks (almost the maceration carbonique method) with its natural yeast. It’s a fine wine for sure, but it doesn’t offer the same complexity as the pinots, still you’ll find floral notes, raspberries, strawberries, a good acidity, just a hint of earthy notes (from the stems, I guess) and a fine tannic structure in your tasting notes. In this vintage, Greg made just 48 cases. It’s a fun wine to pour in a blind tasting, but I’d rather finish it with a roasted chicken or some veal with mushrooms. Serve it as the pinots, at 15-16 degrees Celsius in a burgundy glass.
Drink it 2011-2017.

Copain goes white

When Wells Guthrie founded his own label Copain in 1999, his main focus was Pinot Noir and Syrah. He built the foundation of his philosophy from what he learned in France, where he travelled and worked before he started Copain. In Burgundy he was particularly impressed by the wines of Chambolle-Musigny (he often refers to domains such as Dujac, Roumier, Mugnier and Groffier), and in the Rhône Valley he found the inspiration in the wines from Thierry Allemand and August Clape in Cornas, and Jamet of Côte-Rôtie.
Although Wells had turned into a true Francophile, his first vintages wasn’t that French in style. Sometimes alcohol levels jumped up to 15 percent, but most of the time his wines were elegant compared to other Californian wines.
With 2006 vintage, Wells have taken a new direction, with earlier harvest, lower pH and sugars, which have resulted in much more profound wines with lower alcohol (around 13 percent for his pinots, slightly higher for his syrahs), higher natural acidity, greater finesse, and above all that, more intensity and elegant flavor profiles. His 2009 vintage, of which most of his reds are not yet released, is his best vintage ever.
And in 2009, he added, for the first time, a white wine.

2009 Chardonnay Brosseau Vineyard / 93 p
Since Chalone achieved it AVA status back in 1982, it has been referred to as a single winery appellation, with the well known Chalone Vineyard as the only winery. But there are actually a few other vineyards, five to be precise, and Brosseau Vineyard is one of them. This is a cool appellation at 450-500 meters above see level in the Gavilian Mountains, overlooking the Salinas Valley in Monterey County. With daytime temperatures of 17-22 degrees Celsius, this is a very cool appellation, and wines from here turns out to be very elegant with high natural acidity and, if red, a firm structure.
In 2009 Wells purchased some Chardonnay from 30 year old vines here to make his first white. He fermented the juice in neutral French oak barrels, five to six years old, so there is no oak flavor at all here – which is great. The oak just add some texture to the wine. Another smart move was to never do any bâtonnage, and even though the wine went through full malolactic fermentation, the acidity is lively and fresh (pH is 3.12), which in combination with lovely notes of minerals, adds focus and complexity in the perfectly dry and long finish. In many ways, there are a lot of burgundian styled qualities in this superfine inaugural vintage of this chardonnay. Although this wine may keep very well, it’s at it best quite young. It’s a good idea to decant it half an hour. Serve it at 12-13 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2010-2017.

2005 Blanc de Blancs from Schramsberg

I (try to) follow a golden rule, never to compare sparkling wines from Spain or California with those from Champagne, because they’re not champagnes. Still, we (and I) tend to do so. In most cases, the battle is lost, there’s nothing like real champagne. Yet Schramsberg (and the great sparkling wines from Roederer Estate in Andersson Valley, Mendocino) will fool you at certain times in blind tasting.

The estate itself is old, founded in 1862 by the German immigrant Jacob Schram and his wife Annie Christine. At that time, they planted Riesling and Gewürztraminer on their mountain estate just north of St Helena in Napa Valley. They were truly pioneers in Napa Valley, only their fellow-countryman Charles Krug founded his wine estate a few years earlier. A part from that, there was nothing here! Back in those days, the production from the 20 hectares of vines reached almost 12 000 cases per year, but illness and the pass away of the 75 year old Jacob Schram in the early 1900s, and later on several changes of ownership and finally Prohibition would put and end to that.
In 1965 wines were produced here again, and since the new owners Jack and Jamie Davies just loved sparkling wines, and nobody made that kind of wines in Northern California at the time, they immediately gained a great reputation for their fine wines. Since then, the sparkling wines of Schramsberg have been the most exclusive and well known outside of Champagne.
Although there is a very good red estate wine produced here, the 60 000 to 65 000 cases per year production is almost entirely made up by sparkling wines. Around 2.6 million bottles is kept in the cool cellars, and some of the best wines here are aged up to five toor six years on the lees before disgorgement. The long ageing, the cool vineyard sites and the very focused vinification are the keys to the quality.
The wines of Schramsberg are well worth looking for.

2005 Blanc de Blancs Brut / 90 p
One hundred percent Chardonnay, but sourced from vineyards in various appellations over the north coast, normally between 50-60 percent from the cool Napa Carneros, 22-28 percent from the even cooler Anderson Valley and some five to eight percent from really cool vineyards in Marin County. Approximately 80 percent of the wine has been fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks, that and the cool vineyard sites defines the very dry and crisp taste of this cuvée. The rest was fermented in neutral French oak barrels, which gave the wine a more round texture for a better balance. After slightly more than two years on the lees, the wine was disgorged and given a dosage of 10 grams per liter (just like Dom Pérignon and Cristal). It’s definitely a fine wine, pale in color, light and elegant on the nose with notes of lemon peels and almonds with some depths and a quite complex nuance from the ageing on the lees. On the palate it’s light to medium bodied, dry and fresh with a fine texture and a very dry finish. It’s a perfect aperitif.
Drink it 2010-2017.

2007 Chardonnay line-up from Kistler Vineyards

Kistler Vineyards belongs to the better producers of chardonnays in California, and since their first vintage 1979, they have both put more focus and refined their ways of farming and making great wines, as well as gained some kind of a cult status for their wines. In the 80s and early 90s, the wines tasted richer with more forward oak flavor, now vintner and winemaking team Mark Bixler and Steve Kistler have found a much finer alance and therefore greater complexity in their wines.
They own around 24 hectares of vines in Sonoma Valley and Russian River Valley, and besides that they either farm and buy or only buy grapes from several top notch vineyards in Carneros, Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. The grapes are whole bunch pressed, and the juice is then fermented with its natural yeast in small French oak barrels, of which 40 percent at the most are new, with the balance of one and two year old barrels. In the past, much more new oak was used.
Thanks to the same vinification across the range of wines, each vineyard selection will display the terroir of each appellation and vineyard. That makes Kistler Vineyard quite unique, only a few other producers in northern California works with such a wide range of Chardonnay vineyards as they do (Patz & Hall will be another very good example).
The total production is around 15 000 cases annually.

2007 Dutton Ranch / 92 p
The Dutton Ranch, or Dutton Ranches as one should call the wine if one wanted to be more correct, was the first wine made by Kistler already in 1979. The grapes are normally sourced from four of the several dozens of vineyards which covers a total of 380 hectares that Dutton family owns in Russian River. This is one of the most elegant wines in the range and it offers a lovely bouquet of citrus, white flowers, honey and bees wax, and just a fine touch of oak. On the palate it is medium bodied with a lively acidity (the vineyards are all located in the cooler parts of Russian River), a silky texture and just a dash of roasted hazelnut flavors from the oak barrels. As all wines, it benefits from decanting to breathe half an hour before enjoying it.
Drink it 2010-2014.

2007 McCrea Vineyard / 93-94 p
According to Steve Kistler, this vineyard gives one of the finest chardonnays in Sonoma County. It’s located at 240 meters of altitude in Sonoma Mountain and was originally planted with old low yielding clones back in 1970. The wine is elegant with a fine cool climate fruit aroma (citrus and yellow apples), and the oak is very well integrated with just a dash of roasted hazelnuts which is part of the signature of Kistler chardonnays. The cool scented but ripe, intense and almost fat fruit flavor is on finely balanced with acidity and oak (more flavors that actual taste) and there’s also a lovely salty taste of mineral. It’s easy to agree with Steve Kistler, this is a very fine wine. For those who seek a more refined taste, I would recommend a few more years of bottle age – this is one the wines that turns quite burgundian over the years.
Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Durell Vineyard / 92-93 p
The Durell Vineyard is located very close to San Pablo Bay in the south of Sonoma Carneros, so it therefore belongs to the Sonoma Coast appellation. The soil is poor and stony and the vines in the lot that Kistler works with, was planted in 1993 with low yielding clones from Hyde Vineyard and of the Old Wente selection. As expected of this cool site, this wine always show a zesty citrus flavor, a fresh acidity and a touché of mineral. Perhaps the winemaking philosophy should be a bit more careful, the oak is at the moment more present on both the nose and the palate since the body is slightly lighter, and also since the acidity and mineral notes makes the aftertaste a bit shorter. That oak flavor will of course soften over the coming year, and it may be a good idea to let the wine mature for another six months or so before pulling the cork.
Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Hyde Vineyard / 95 p
In whatever bottle the grapes from Larry Hyde’s vineyard ends up, the wine tend to taste pretty good. In the hand of the magicians Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler, it should taste better than good. And it does! This is normally one of my personal favorites from Kistler. As young as it is today, it offers a ripe and intense nose and palate with a spicy note of oak – however in full balance. But looking beyond the oak, there is a fabulous nose and taste that is reminiscent of a very fine and serious wine from Meursault (domains such as Roulot and even Coche-Dury, but slightly riper). The quiz weather this is American or burgundian is more apparent on the palate, where the texture is superb, silky, viscous and ripe as a grand cru wine, with a fresh acidity, very well integrated oak (it’s more of a texture than a taste) and a lingering aftertaste. This is a beautiful wine that will age just perfectly over the next years. And the burgundian equality will be more obvious in, let’s say, 3-4 years from now.
Drink it 2010-2017.

2007 Hudson Vineyard / 91-93 p
Lee Hudson is one of the best growers in Carneros, and Kistler have since 1994 been buying grapes from the famous E-Block that was originally planted with the Old Wente clone for Helen Turley. Compared to the Hyde vineyard selection, this wine is more dense and ripe (which surprised me a bit) and therefore more Californian in style. Still you’ll find some classic notes on the nose. The fruit is slightly sweet, and to be honest a little bit to warm and ripe to offer that brightness and finesse I expected, but since the wine is young and (perhaps) a bit closed, and it opens up during the time it sits in the glass, I expect it to taste a bit dryer and more elegant within a year or two. Of all the wines in this horizontal tasting, this was the one that confused me most. I look forward to taste it soon again.
Drink it 2010-2014.

2007 Parmlee Hill Vineyard Stone Flat / 94-95 p
Although the Parmlee Hill vineyard far out in Sonoma Coast was planted in 2000, it shows already a great potential to make one of the best and most impressive wines in the range. The nose is open and expressive, for the cool climate typical with its intense and almost sweet scented stone fruit qualities (due to the extended hang time on the vines), and there is also a slightly smoky aroma that I suppose comes from a combination of the soil and the oak barrels. On the palate it rich, finely textured and marked by fresh acidity, and although the oak is present with both a young bitterness and sweet vanilla flavors, it’s well integrated in the long aftertaste. During the 30-40 minutes I had the wine in my glass it gradually opened up and became more and more complex. It was a very positive first meeting!
Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Vine Hill Vineyard / 93-94 p
Vine Hill Vineyard covers 8.10 hectares of vines and is one (the second) of two estate vineyards. It’s located at Vine Hill Road in the heart of Russian River Valley, and was planted in 1988 with a suitcase clone of Chardonnay that is said to have been taken from Corton-Charlemagne. It may well be so, at least this wine normally show the lightest body and finest texture of the chardonnays from Kistler. On both the nose and the palate, finesse is the dominant personality. The oak is perfectly well integrated, so the delicious floral note shines through and adds elegance to the wine. Acidity is lively but well balanced, and although the aftertaste is fine and harmonious, I miss the magic in the finish. Still it is a very fine wine. Perhaps it’s just a bit too young at the moment.
Drink it 2010-2015.

2007 Kistler Vineyard / 94-95 p
When Kistler Vineyards was founded in 1979, this was their first estate vineyard and the home of their small winery. At that time, the 14 hectares at 600 meters elevation above Sonoma Valley was planted to Chardonnay of the Martin Ray clone from Mount Eden Vineyards in Santa Crus, as well as some Cabernet Sauvignon which is not longer there. In 1995, two more hectares of Chardonnay was planted. I was surprised how closed this wine was at first, but that shyness also made the wine even more burgundian and classic. Even though the cooler fruit flavors of citrus and yellow apples are most evident, there’s also a touch of butterscotch, but the oak flavors are very mild. It’s really a beauty, and it will taste just phenomenal in the next year or two.
Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Cuvée Cathleen / 92-94 p
This is the white special cuvée of Kistler (there are few top selections of Pinot Noir) and the source of the grapes varies depending on the vintage. Normally, a majority of the wines comes from either Vine Hill Vineyard or Kistler Vineyard, but since this is a cuvée of the best barrels in the cellar, there will always be a blend of vineyards. In this vintage, most or even all grapes comes from Kistler Vineyard, and as always it is the most concentrated wine. It’s not, a huge wine as so many “reserve” selections can be – the house style and finesse is still evident. However, there are more oak flavors here, both some spiciness and a sweetish note of vanilla, but thanks to the acidity the overall balance is just fine. One of the tasters made a very interesting remark, that this wine shows a little bit of everything – both the depths, the higher aromatics, the intensity, the lightness, the mineral notes and the acidity.
Drink it 2010-2016.

La Carrière from Peter Michael Winery 2008-2005

The vineyards of Peter Michael Winery are among the most beautiful in California. The 225 hectare estate, of which 48.55 hectares are planted to vines, climbs from the Knights Valley floor in eastern Sonoma up on the mountain. At 300 to 400 meters, the white and red Bordeaux varieties are planted, and further up the mountain the Chardonnay vineyards are situated, from 500 to 600 meters above sea level. These are among the highest vineyards in California.
Some of the slopes, such as the La Carrière Vineyard, are as steep as 40 degrees (!), and the soil is composed of different volcanic materials which all adds a lovely and much so needed mineral note in the rich and ripe wines.
In many ways, this estate is unique. One of the most interesting aspects of it, is that just within some hundred meters you’ll find another soil type, altitude and/or exposure, hence the various personalities of the wines made here. This is, together with Diamond Creek Vineyards in Diamond Mountain further south in Napa Valley, the most impressive site of terroir in California.
La Carrière Vineyards is the steepest vineyard of the estate. It was planted in 1994 with Chardonnay of various Dijon Clones (60 percent), the fantastic Hyde selection (26 percent) and the See clone (14 percent). The beautiful vineyard stretches from 530 to almost 600 meters above sea level on a steep south facing slope with a dazzling white volcanic ash that makes it looks like the vineyards in Chablis, or even in Le Mesnil in Champagne. The soil may well have the same impact on the wines here in Knights Valley as in France, but the sunshine is for sure not French. These wines are true California chardonnays, rich and ripe, yet with a sense of finesse and classical winemaking.

2008 La Carrière / 93-94 p
La Carrière is always a 100 percent Chardonnay wine, fermented in brand new French oak barrels with the natural yeast, and after full malolactic fermentation and 11 to 12 months in the oak, the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. Alcohol level normally reaches 14.7 to 15.2 percent, in this vintage 15.2 percent, which has been absorbed pretty well by the ripe fruit, the silky body and the fine structure … it’s just in the finish where the warmth of the alcohol shines through. Color is pale straw, nose is slightly closed at first and it takes a few minutes and some aeration for the aromas to develop, then the youthful spicy oak find the balance with the ripe and concentrated but still quite elegant fruit. On the palate, the ripe fruit shows in a slightly sweet scented flavor, but the finish is completely dry thanks to the acidity and the tannins from the oak. I would keep this wine for another half year or year, or decant it one hour prior to serving it.
Drink it 2011-2016.

2007 La Carrière / 95-96 p
This is a great vintage, not only for this wine, but for most vineyards in California. Already when it was poured into the large glass, the lovely aromas filled the air. Color is still young and pale, the nose very elegant with a great flavor combination of the classic wine world and the new – cool climate fruit flavors meets the sunshine of California … yellow apples, pears, lemon peel, candid lemon, pineapple, as well as some spicy nutmeg flavor from the oak. Even though the alcohol reached 15.0 percent, balance is the word in this wine, which is one of the finest made from this vineyard up to date. When serving this wine, and other California chardonnays of this power and richness, it’s very important to serve it slightly chilled to keep the alcohol, spicy oak and sweet fruit in absolute balance, around 12 degrees Celsius is just perfect.
Drink it 2010-2017.

2006 La Carrière / 93-94 p
This vintage is absolutely great, and even if the 2008 and 2007 are as good or better, the 2006 drinks just perfect right now. As the other vintages in this tasting, the color is pale straw. I find the nose to be the mostly fine tuned and elegant of the four – which of course depends on a very good vintage and the fact that this wine at this stage has found a perfect balance between primary fruit and oak flavors and the elegance that comes with just some age. If I have been served this wine completely blind, I would have been in Bâtard-Montrachet for a while, just because this wine has that great fatness and texture as one finds in the greatest grand crus of Burgundy. However, the mineral notes are not as expressive in the 2006 La Carrière. Anyway, it is a lovely wine to drink over the next years.
Drink it 2010-2014.

2005 La Carrière / 92 p
Of the four, this is the fullest, ripest and the spiciest. Color is still young, pale straw with a slightly greenish rim. On the nose, the oak is quite spicy with notes of nutmeg. Still the oak is well balanced by the ripe but not too sweet fruit – notes of pears and apples as well as pineapple are intense but not overly heavy, so it is very well balanced and elegant. On the palate, it’s actually still young, rich with a slightly sweet scent of ripe fruit, but thanks to a good but not fresh acidity, a hint of mineral, and a spicy note from the brand new oak barrels, the structure is firm and elegant. It’s a very good wine – by itself it’s fantastic, but next to its more elegant neighboring vintages it’s not as outstanding.
Drink it 2010-2012.

Cuvée Indigène 2007 and 2008 from Peter Michael Winery

At Peter Michael Winery in Knights Valley, six chardonnays are made. One of them, Point Rouge, is a top selection, another one, Mon Plaisir, is sourced from Jess Jacksons vineyards in Alexander Mountain further up north, and three wines are vineyard selections from the steep vineyards above the winery of Peter Michael. Then there is a chardonnay called Cuvée Indigène, introduced as an experimental wine by the former winemaker Helen Turley to discover if and how wild fermentation could add a greater sense of terroir in the wines.
Today, when all wines are fermented with the indigenous yeast and the winemaking team knows more about the terroir in the different vineyard blocks, this cuvée has become a wine of its own. The intention is to make a powerful, yet elegant chardonnay. Grapes are predominately sourced from the Upper Barn Block in Jackson’s vineyard in Alexander Mountain. It is wild fermented in brand new French oak barrels, it undergoes full malolactic fermentation and stays in the oak for a year, with bâtonnage once a week. Production reaches around 500 cases per year.

2007 Cuvée Indigène / 93 p
Golden straw color indicates a rich and barrel aged wine with the first signs of maturity, yet the nose is youthful and fruit driven with notes of pineapple and lemon peals, and there’s also a fine buttery and creamy quality that adds intensity, plus a slightly roasted note of nutmeg from the oak barrels. On the palate, the wine is rich and ripe, again with a creamy texture and sweet notes of lemons, but there is enough acidity and mineral notes to make a fine balance. The oak adds a certain nutty complexity to the taste, and the alcohol (14.5 percent) gives warmth in the end of the taste. Even if the first sip gives a slightly sweet sensation, the finish is dry, very long and elegant. Wines like this should be served at 10-12 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2010-2012.

2008 Cuvée Indigène / 92-93 p
The overall characteristics are quite alike those of the 2007 vintage, but the color in this wine is paler and the structure more firm and marked by acidity. Although the body is almost as rich and silky, the taste is drier and the notes of minerals are much more evident, which adds a greater complexity in this vintage. Still, there are lovely notes of nutmeg, hazel nuts, honey, sweet lemons and acacia. I have a slight preference for the 2008 vintage, just because of the mineral notes and the finer texture. It should be served at 10-12 degrees.
Drink it 2010-2013.

Chardonnays from Walter Hansel Winery

The successful business man and car dealer Stephen Hansel is the man behind Walter Hansel Winery in the heartland of Russian River. The first 250 vines were planted already in 1978 by his father Walter Hansel, to whom Stephen gives tribute with the winery’s name. The first wines were made 1996, with some assistance of their friend Tom Rochioli. Today the Hansel family has 30 hectares of vines, equal acreage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which makes a yearly production of about 10 000 to 11 000 cases.
Overall, the wines from Walter Hansel Winery are exquisite, always pure and intense, with a good portion of finesse. They are also among the best buys there is in Sonoma.

2006 Russian River Chardonnay / 90 p
This estate chardonnay is mainly made from grapes in the older parts of the vineyard. As the other wines, whole cluster pressing and fermentation with natural yeast in French oak barrels is utilized. Although Stephen Hansel prefers the barrels from François Frères, the wines are never oaky or toasty. On the contrary, both on the nose and on the palate, this wine is purely fruit scented, very elegant, almost to the point I would like to use the word neutral. This, however, is a positive description, by neutral I mean extremely elegant. I could swear that a fraction of this wine is fermented in steel drums, at least it taste like that, but I find no notes in my database that this is the case. Instead of oak flavors, the wine shows more of citrus, lemon peel and cool climate apples, and there’s also a tingling touch of mineral in the medium light body. Delicious is a perfect word to use.
Drink it as an aperitif or to lighter fish dishes over the next 2-3 years.

2006 North Slope Chardonnay / 91 p
Made from a specific two hectares block with Dijon 76 and Dijon 96 clones on a north slope in the vineyards, this is a kind of vineyard selection bottling from the estate. Fermentation and upbringing is identical with that of the Russian River Chardonnay, but the wine has more depths and slightly higher acidity. The oak is present, but again very well integrated and it’s more like it gives some texture to the wine, rather than taste. Only in the end of the taste, there is a hint of that typical toasted aroma typically found in wines raised in François Frères barrels. Acidity is vibrant, even though all wines go through full malolactic fermentation, and that’s one of the beauty about this wine.
Drink it over the next 2-3 years.

The 2005 Hyde Chardonnay of David Ramey

David Ramey is one of those winemakers you just admire. It’s more common to find a winemaker who works with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, or Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. David doesn’t. Instead he picked Chardonnay for his wines and Cabernet Sauvignon for his reds. And they are outstanding, the reds amazing and the whites among the best in California. No wonder his skills, digging in his past, you’ll find his name at wineries such as Château Pétrus in Pomerol, Simi Winery in Alexander Valley, Matanzas Creek in Sonoma Valley, Dominus Estate and Rudd Estate in Napa Valley, and Chalk Hill.
Since late 1990s, David make wines under his own label Ramey Wine Cellars, at first only some great chardonnays from Sonoma and Napa Carneros, which still is his trademark, but from 2001 also a selection of very complex cabernets from Napa Valley. In blind tastings, his Chardonnay wines very often overshadows the ones from premium producers such as Peter Michael Winery, Kistler Vineyards and Marcassin –at least when looking at elegance and their burgundian finesse. I just love them.

2005 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard / 93-94 p
Hyde Vineyard is one of the great vineyards of Carneros, one of the grand crus of California. The 56.70 hectares are exposed to the cool breezes from San Pablo Bay, and the vines are perfectly farmed since they were planted, since 2004 dry farmed and completely organic. Around 25 winemakers buy grapes from this vineyard, and each block is farmed to each winemaker’s specification. David Ramey works with one of the best blocks, and so does Kistler and Patz & Hall, where the vines are 8-25 years old. Three clones are found in this block, the Old Wente, the Robert Young Clone and the floral clone of Long Vineyard. The grapes are whole cluster pressed, and the juice is then fermented in French oak barrels, of which approximately 65 per cent are new. Based on the taste, it may seem strange that the wine goes through full malolactic fermentation and up to 20 months of ageing.
Okay, you’ll find some spicy notes of hazelnuts, nutmeg and cloves, but they are extremely fine tuned and well integrated. I would never describe this wine as oaky. The lively acidity and delicious fruit, with qualities more often found in wines from slightly warmer vintages in Burgundy, confirms that this is a cool climate wine. Although the intensity and texture is more Californian, the elegance and complexity plays in the same field as really good wines from Burgundy. A great sign of quality is the fact that the wine opens up with air, and even more that it can stand temperatures up to 16-18 degrees Celsius. Most Californian chardonnays will taste sweet, clumsy and very alcoholic at this temperatures – not the ones from the talented David Ramey, and particularly not this one.
Drink it 2010-2015.

Many faces of Adelaida Cellars

Winemaker Terry Culton came to Adelaida Cellars in west Paso Robles in 2002, and since then he has crafted wines of excellence and many faces. I don’t know what the secret is, but as always I guess it is to be found in the vineyard. The strange thing here, however, is that Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and even Nebbiolo, grows in a series of adjacent vineyard blocks (57 hectares in total) in the same small valley, although on various altitudes. Although travelling all over the world, up to date to over a thousand of wineries on all continents, I’ve never before came across a vineyard like this. And it seems to work!

2008 Chardonnay HMR Vineyard / 87 p
Only 300 cases were made of this quite elegant chardonnay, fermented in neutral French oak with partial malolactic fermentation. It’s for sure a cool climate chardonnay, with a crisp acidity and delightful lemony fruit. The oak gives more texture that taste of flavor, and there also some steely notes that I guess derives from the mineral rich soil. It’s a very elegant wine with a greater relationship with fine burgundies than the regular Californian chardonnays, but the aftertaste i unfortunately quite short, which of course is a bit sad. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

2006 Pinot Noir HMR Vineyard / 88 p
The grapes for this wine comes from one of the oldest vineyards with Pinot Noir in California, they were planted 1964 and 1965. Production is traditional, open top fermenters with manual pigeage and malolactic fermentation in small French oak barrels, of which only 25 per cent are new. This is a lovely pinot, at least for those who look for a more refined wine with a dry and classic structure, and although it is more complex than fruit driven, it is loaded with sour cherries. As the other wines from Adelaida, the finish is a little bit dry. Drink it 2010-2016.

2007 Zinfandel Michael Estate Vineyard / 90 p
This is a pure Zinfandel from old head pruned vines, and to select the very best and fully ripe berries, the grapes are harvested in several tries. The upbringing took place in neutral French oak barrels for almost two years, and neither the oak nor the 15.9% alcohol is very important in the wines flavor profile (there’s only a slight warming sensation in the aftertaste). Instead there are loads of pure, dark and aromatic fruit flavors and the tannins are relatively silky. It’s a very good zinfandel indeed. Drink it 2010-2015.

2006 Syrah Reserve Viking Vineyard / 92 p
This is one of the most impressive wines of Adelaida Cellars. It comes from a very low yielding quite steep slope, and the juice is fermented in small open top fermenters with daily pigeage and then the wines has been stored in French oak barrels (a third new) for almost two years. This is a dark, quite rich and spicy beauty, with hints of black pepper, licorice, violets and black currants, but it’s not as charming on the palate as on the nose – it is way too structured for that. But with some air, it opens up and reveals a lovely combination of backbone and upfront fruit. For a even more complex wine experience, keep this wine another year or two. Drink it 2011-2021.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Viking Vineyard / 91 p
This top notch wine of Adelaida Cellars it beautiful, and shows that Cabernet Sauvignon can stand on its own here I west Paso Robles, a wine region well known for its blends. Fermentation took place in open top fermenters, and the wine has then been stored in French oak barrels, only 40 per cent new, over two years. I like this wine for it absolute elegance, the pure and intense cassis flavors it offers, the notes of mineral and the very well integrated and polished structure. Still it is very young, but not closed, it just need some more years to really show its true complexity. Drink it 2010-2021.

Sweet kisses from Sine-Qua-Non

I adore Sine-Qua-Non, and I admire the hard work and focus for details owner and winemaker Manfred Krankl puts into his handcraft. However, there are some sad things about Sine-Qua-Non. One is that Manfred decided to reduce production of his white wines, to give more focus on his outstanding wines of Grenache and Syrah. The other is that he decided to end his small but highly exciting production of sweet wines. The reason is the death of his friend and partner in sweet wines, the great Alois Kracher of Austria. However, tiny amounts of sweet wines (one or two barrels per year) are still made, but not in a commercial scale – if anything from this ultra cult winery could be considered to be of commercial volumes.

2005 Mr K The Noble Man / 96 p
This is a very late harvest wine made entirely from Chardonnay grapes in Santa Barbara. The juice is fermented in brand new French oak barrels, but alcohol only reached a level of 12.1% in this case. Color is golden, quite deep and brilliant, and the nose is almost overwhelming with the same intensity you normally find in the Aszú Essencia of Tokaj, or high end passito whites from Italy. There is loads of ripe peaches, sundried apricots, sweet tropical fruits such as pineapple and mango, as well as orange blossom honey on the palate, but only a small fragment of the oak. On the palate, it’s full bodied, ripe and intense with a rich sweetness that gives the wine a silky texture and viscosity, and there is just enough acidity to make this compote well balanced. Again, the oak is just there – like a ghost in a haunted castle, and you’ll hardly see it. This is pure nectar. Drink it 2010-2015.

From Eden with love

It’s hard to imagine what a struggle it must have been for Martin Ray to plant and farm his vineyards in the mountains above Saratoga in the 1940s. Even today, the drive up there is all but an easy ride. And when you go there, I promise you will start to wonder if this really is the right way. It’s only a dirt road, winding and narow to the point it almost feels dangerous, and sometimes also very steep (my car almost didn’t make it in certain parts), and it seems to lead to nowhere. It’s so unlike a truck could drive up and down this road with barrels and cases of wines – so of course this must be the wrong way. Yet, there is no other way up the hill. After 2.2 miles, you’re finally there!

The Mount Eden Vineyards saw the start of its modern era in 1981, when Ellie and Jeffrey Patterson bought the historic property. Here, some of the best clones Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon from high end domains in Burgundy and France were planted long time ago, and when the new owners took over, there were still some of the old vines left (however, in 1997 the oldest block of Cabernet Sauvignon was ripped out and replanted).
It’s wrong to say that Mount Eden Vineyards is a hidden gem. Hidden might be a good description when talking about its location, but the vineyard is far too famous to be called hidden. Forgotten may be a better word. The wines, especially the chardonnays, are famous for their longevity, and they belong to the most classic of the white wines of California. But one should not forget the cabernets, which combines the complexity of the great wines of Bordeaux and the well structured and long lived wines from mountain vineyards in California, such as those from Ridge, Diamond Creek and Dunn.
Production is now up to 10 000 cases in a good year, and prices are great – around 50 dollar per bottle!

2005 Estate Chardonnay / 91 p
One of the secrets is the relatively early harvest, and the other is the soil and cool vineyard site. That’s what makes this chardonnay so long lived. Grapes are whole bunch pressed, and the juice is then fermented in equal parts new and one to two year old French oak barrels. It undergoes full malolactic fermentation (of which you can’t tell) and will stay in the oak for ten months. It is for sure a very classic wine, Californian by all means, with a golden straw color, rich and intense nose with notes of tropical fruits (but no sweetness) and lemon peel, as well as hazelnuts. Still there is enough complexity to, if so only for a moment, think about the wines of Bâtard-Montrachet. On the palate it is rich but completely dry with a lively acidity and a structure that is almost tannic, and again there is a kind of French touch to it. But there’s no doubt about this wine’s origin – it is so Californian, but in a style that even the more classic oriented wine drinkers would love. Drink it 2010-2015 (or later).

2007 Estate Pinot Noir / 90 p
Although a good wine, I’m not as impressed of the pinot as of the Estate Chardonnay, but that’s most likely due to the youth of this vintage – it is a bit dry, tannic and short. On the nose, it’s at first a bit closed, but with some air it opens up and reveals lovely aromas of dark cherries and sloe, and there is also a slight floral note. This is not one of those seductive and ripe pinots, this is more earthy and deep, also more well structured and mineral driven, and it needs some time in the bottle to show its full potential. It is made in a classic way, but there is as much a 75 per cent of new oak, and the wine has been kept in the barrels for 18 months. Considering the time and amount of new oak, it’s very well integrated. I would love to see this wine a few years from today. Drink it 2011-2019.

2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / 95 p
This is the star of the show. In this vintage, which is great from a vintage point of view, it’s a blend of 76% per cent of Cabernet Sauvignon, 22 per cent of Merlot and only three per cent of Cabernet Franc. The wine has been treated with both new and older French oak barrels for 24 months, and took the oak very well. Although very young and far from it will be in the coming years, the nose is already gorgeous, massive and complex. There are loads of dark but not sweet fruit, intense in a way that only great wines can be – yet so young and tight. It is easy to say “Bordeaux like”, and yes – it is. In ten years from now, you can fool most tasters in a blind tasting with this wine. However, the mineral notes and firm structure is much more California and poor mountain vineyards, than the gravelly soils of the left bank of Bordeaux. From pouring it directly from the bottle, it transformed from a massive and tight wine, to a more open and ultra complex cabernet during the 30 minutes I had the wine in the glass. Decanting is therefore recommended, now as well as within the coming 10-15 years. Drink it 2012-2030.