2007 Pinot Noir Cahill Lane from Walter Hansel Winery

Car dealer and vintner Stephen Hansel runs his estate in the heartland of Russian River Valley in Sonoma with his heart. His 30 hectares of vineyards are planted to equal parts with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and in both disciplines he offers several site and clone selections (North Slope Vineyard, South Slope Vineyard, Cahill Lane Vineyard and the ripe, rich and lush Cuvée Alyce, the reserve style of the estate.
It all started when the late Walter Hansel planted his first vines in 1978 just for the love of farming. When his son Stephen later took over, he founded the Walter Hansel Winery in 1994 and begun to make wines, to his father’s surprise.

“Who are going to buy these wines, and why do the bottles carry my name”, was the question Walter threw in the face of Stephen.

“Well, I named the winery after you, dad – after all, you were the one who planted the vineyards and started this – and I put your name on the labels just because I want to honor you – and if we can’t sell the wines, we’d better drink them ourselves”, Stephen replied.

After that, Walter didn’t complain, although he still didn’t understand.

Today Walter Hansel Winery produces some of the finest pinots in Russian River Valley. They are normally benchmarks for the vintage. Also, prices are fantastic! “Even if I could sell my wines for 70 or even 100 dollars per bottle, I wouldn’t – I like to keep the prices at a fair level”, says Stephen and explains: “It’s still a hobby, and I do it to honor my late father”.
Think about that when you enjoy these fine wines.

2007 Pinot Noir Cahill Lane Vineyard / 91 p
Having said all that above, I’m not as impressed by this wine (today) that I normally am, and that only because of one single detail in this vintage – I find the oak to be just a bit to toasted and spicy at the moment. The grapes, in this case Pinot Noir of the French clones Dijon 114, Dijon 115 and Pommard (from missal selection), comes from a single block in the vineyard, and after 5-7 days of cold soak, the juice is fermented in small open top fermenters with frequent pigeage. Malolactic fermentation and upbringing is carried out in French oak barrels (from François Frères and Seguin-Moreau), of which as much as 70 percent are new. Apart from the oak – of which the most spicy notes will fade away over the next 12 months or so – there is abundant of lively, sweetish raspberry and strawberry aromas in a very true to its origin style, which is a bit seasoned with red flowers, and it’s very charming. On the palate, the first sip reveals a lovely and quite seductive sweet fruitiness, which at first seems to be lush and rich in glycerol, but within a second or two, the lively acidity an also a touch of mineral notes makes the taste drier and more structured. The tannins are silky, and a part from the youthful oak bitterness, there is no bitterness derived from the skins or the stems (all grapes are fully destemmed). I’d like to give this wine some 10-15 minutes in a decanter to soften the oak a bit, and to let the fruity and floral qualities to arise. Serve it at 16 degrees Celsius.

If it wasn't for the oaky notes, I'd give this wine a higher score. Even so, it's a very good and charming wines, and I guess it'll taste even greater within a year, or two!
Drink it 2010-2017.

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.