A great 2006 Syrah from Colgin Cellars

Since Ann Colgin founded this highly reputable estate in 1997, her wines have been hard to find. And very expensive!
Beofore Colgin Cellars, Ann Colgin made wines with her former husband Fred Schrader, who since their divorce took his own path to fame with Schrader Cellars, a now fabulous wine estate with high scooring cabernet wines.

The perfectly managed estate, that sits on top of Pritchard Hill, is run by Ann and her husband Joe Wender. The young and talented Allison Tauziet is responsible for the wines since 2007, although she worked here side by side with winemaker Mark Aubert since 2005. I have noticed a slight move towards more finesse and silkiness in the past vintages, and I think it’s fair to give credit to Allison Tauziet for that, althoug the increased age vines in the IX Vineyard is also part of the very positive evolution.
The 8.10 hectares of vines in IX Vineyard was planted in 1999 by the brilliant vineyard manager and consultant David Abreu, who still is in charge of the viticulture. A total of 1.65 hectares were planted to Syrah, and the clones were taken from Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie in Rhône, France. With focus on the smallest of details in the viticulture, low yields and a rigorous selection of grapes, the total of 9.10 hectares of prime vineyards results in a production of no more than 2 500 cases of fine wines per year.

2006 Syrah IX Estate / 98 p
Poured in an extensive tasting of excklusive California syrahs, this was by far the greatest wine tasted! It’s in many ways a terrific wine, the overall balance is impeccable and the aromatic profile is almost perfect. Color is young, cherry red and dark, but not opaque, and the nose is open, intense and just fabulous. It’s loaded with dark fruits like blackberries and plums, but also with just a hint of red berries that adds elegance, and there’s also a very fine and complex spiciness with notes of licorice, violets and pine wood. Even though the wine was raised in brand new Burgundy barrels, the oak is as perfectly integrated as can be. Also on the palate, it’s extremely well balanced with ripe and sweet scented dark fruitiness, as well as a complex spice that adds so much complexity. Tannins are of course present, but they are not as marked as I expected them to be, and that’s because the balance is almost perfect. I did decant this wine for some hours before enjoying it, but to be honest – this wine tasted great from the very moment I pulled the cork, until the last glass was emptied seven hours later! It’s really a sensational wine, and it shows that the combination of the perfectionist Ann Colgin, the great vineyard IX Estate, the green fingers of David Abreu and his vineyard amigos, and the talented and very skilled winemaker Allison Tauziet is a perfect match. I guess this great wine will evolve into something very similar to the great wines of northern Rhône with age, and I'm very thrilled to be there when it happens.
Drink it 2010-2026.

2004 The Rejuvenators from Sine-Qua-Non

Manfred Krankl doesn’t need any further presentation. His winery, his wines and his philosophy are well known, still there’s a lot of mysticism around him and his wines, kind of a cult. More and more, his focus has moved into the Grenache grape, still Syrah is his kingdom. Pinot Noir was given up some years ago, and since a few years, after the pass away of the noble sweet wine man Alois Kracher, there will be no more commercialized sweet whites. Sadly, in both cases. Also, the production of the fabulous whites has decreased significantly over the years, so every drop of the full bodied, intense, sweet scented but dry and complex extraordinary whites of Manfred Krankl will be rare. I just wished I could convince Manfred to keep on making more of his whites, I just love them!

2004 The Rejuvenators / 95 p
In this vintage, Manfred made his white wine cuvée of approximately 55 percent Roussanne, 25 percent Viognier and 20 percent Chardonnay, all grapes sourced from Alban Vineyard in Edna Valley and his own Eleven Confession Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. Both sites are quite cool, which to a certain extent explains the freshness. Color is bright and golden straw, the nose intense and deep with notes of ripe tropical fruits, sweet lemon, vanilla (from the oak) and white flowers such as lilies. After four hours in the decanter, the sweeter aromas that I initially noted had faded away and evolved into more complex and sophisticated notes. On the palate, there’s abundant of fruit flavors to start with, but there’s also enough acidity to give the wine a very fine balance, sweetness or not, high and warm alcohol notes or not. The magic think about this heavy weight white, is that whatever power and depths it offers, there’s also a great portion of finesse to make the wine extremely well balanced, and the finish is phenomenal and lingers for a minute of two with a lovely licorice and bittersweet lemon touch in the very finish. I recommend decanting it at least one to two hours before serving it, and serving it at around 12-14 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2010-2016.

2008 Au Sommet from Heidi Peterson-Barrett

Heidi Peterson-Barrett just released her new baby, a winery called Au Sommet Wines that was founded in 2008 in partnership with her longtime friend John Schwartz. This is really a brand new project, and it’s based on a vineyard planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and some Petit Verdot in poor volcanic soil 300 meters above sea level in the Atlas Peak district in Napa Valley by the well known vineyard consultant Jim Barbour (he is, for those who doesn’t know, together with David Abreu, one of the most famous vineyard managers in California). The size of the vineyard is just 2.83 hectares, so production will be tiny and prices very high. It takes some guts to set the price on the inaugural vintage (2008) at 250 dollar per bottle – almost the same as the well established and highly acclaimed wines from Bond. On cannot help wondering if, and when, the so called cult thing about great cabernets from Napa Valley will come to an end. Do we need more of them? And, quite frankly, can there be more great wines from the tiny valley of Napa?
Nevertheless, the 2008 Au Sommet is a very fine wine indeed and nothing has been spared to make this wine what it is. Just an example, with the poor soil and the strict pruning to get good concentration in the grapes, yields are no more than 18 hectoliters per hectare! That may justify a part of the price tag. The second, and most important explanation, is of the course the winemaker, the famous Heidi Peterson-Barrett.

Heidi Peterson-Barrett was born into wine. Her father was a wine grower and winemaker and Heidi spent a lot of time with him, learning all the basics in viticulture and winemaking. After graduation in fermentation science at UC Davis, Heidi worked as assistant winemaker for several wineries in California, and among them with the legendary winemaker Justin Meyer at Franciscan Winery and Silver Oak Cellars. Heidi also worked in Germany, where she learned the importance of making wines with finesse, and in Australia.
At the age of 25, Heidi was hired as winemaker at Buehler Vineyards in Napa Valley, and according to herself, it was there she finally understood she wanted to craft elegant and exclusive wines. And that’s exactly what Heidi has become world famous for doing. Being the first winemaker at Screaming Eagle, and playing a very important role in the newborn wine cult in Napa Valley during the 90s, Heidi soon became one of the most renowned winemakers of California. As a consultant, she was (or, in some cases, still is) responsible for the wines from Jones Family, Grace Family, Hartwell Winery, Lamborn Family, Vineyard 29, Oakford (now closed) and Showket, and she also makes the wines for Barbour, Amuse Bouche and Revana, as well as making wines under her own label, La Sirena.

2008 Au Sommet Cabernet Sauvignon / 94 p
This inaugural vintage is a blend of 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon of the very good classic clones 7 and 377, and six percent of Petit Verdot. Since the vines are young, the yield is very low, only 18 hectoliters per hectare. Grapes were harvested at a moderate ripeness of 24.5 to 25.8 Brix, which explains the elegance and vibrant and fresh perfumes of the wine. As expected, the wine have been raised in brand new French oak barrels, which has flavored the wine with some vanilla and chocolate notes, as well as some structure, but the overall impression is that the balance is just fine. The nose is driven by dark and concentrated but not heavy or overly ripe fruit, with just a hint of stony minerals. On the palate, it is surprisingly elegant and silky – no harsh tannins or bitterness whatsoever, and no overly sweet fruit or alcoholic spice. It’s actually quite silky and elegant, but the aftertaste is a bit short, but good and elegant rather than great.
I decanted this wine for four hours prior to pouring it, and it really needed that. It continued to develop and open up in the glass during the tasting (for at least 30-45 minutes), and what was left in the bottle for day after, was even more elegant and harmonious.
Although it is a very fine wine, it doesn’t have the intensity and depths that other great Napa Valley cabernets have, yet! I'm cinfident in that it will gain that weight and depth in the future vintages. Still, it is a very good first release, and it’s well worth following over the years as the vines are getting older.
Drink it 2012-2023.

Burgundy styled pinot from Flying Goat Cellars

As I’ve written before, Flying Goat Cellars is a small one man show operation in the so called The Ghetto in Lompoc out in the Santa Rita Hills far west. Here proprietor and winemaker Norm Yost crafts some of the finest pinots of the Central Coast. Norm makes his wines based on the philosophy that wines are made to be enjoyed with food – therefore his wines are refined and silky, never powerful, heavy and oaky. Since he doesn’t own any vineyards, all wines are made from purchased grapes from some of the coolest vineyard sites. With a tiny production of 2 500 cases per year, these wines are unfortunately relatively rare to see, but they are not as expensive as expected, and as they could be regarding the very high quality.

2006 Pinot Noir Salisbury Vineyards / 94 p
The Salisbury Vineyard is located only three kilometers from the Avila Beach out on the coast in San Luis Obispo, and is one of the coolest vineyards in the Central Coast. Norm buys the grapes from the highest vineyard blocks, which are planted with the clones Dijon 115 and Clone 2A. The wine is produced with classical methods in small open top fermenters, and it has been raised in small French oak barrels, of which only 20 percent were new. The color is pale cherry red and the nose open, intense and initially very burgundian like – then some more sweet scented raspberry aromas evolves. Still, on the nose it is remarkably close to a fine wine from Gevrey-Chambertin (the Rousseau style) or even the style of DRC’s Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Duvault-Blochet, but there’s no chalkiness or mineral notes as in the burgundian counterparts. The oak is perfectly well integrated, which again move your guesses in the blind tasting towards the old world style of winemaking. After ten minutes in the glass, the nose is even more complex and burgundian like, yet with the seductive sweetness – which is one the most charming parts of Pinot Noir.
On the palates it’s immediately sweet and lush, but acidity comes just in the second you fall in love with the sweet red fruit to tell you there’s also a good portion a lively structure here. If you concentrate, you might be able to taste some oak spiciness, or does that flavor derive from the soil? Tannins are silky and fine, the balance as good as can be, and the acidity is really refreshing. I just wish the aftertaste was longer …
To get the most out of this wine (and other Californian pinots), serving temperature is recommended to be around 15-16 degrees Celsius.
Drink it 2010-2014.

2007 Montebello from Ridge

There are two things that always surprise me with Montebello. First it’s almost always a very nice wine to drink young, if you're able to decant it a good hour before serving it. I guess that’s because the ripe but never overripe fruit creates a great body to balance the firm but ripe tannins. Secondly there's very few wines that can swallow 100 percent new American oak without being overly sweet and flavored with coconut and vanilla. Again, I guess it’s the body that takes care of these flavors, and that our senses will focus much more on the overall balance and the depths of the flavors, rather than just the oak.
The Montebello from Ridge is a true Californian classic, a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend that since its first vintage 1962 has proven to be a very long lived wine. The legendary winemaker Paul Draper once told me he was impressed and inspired by some century old red wines from Bordeaux, and then decided to try to make wines with the same capacity. Perhaps he found a way to do that – even the older vintages of Montebello seems to hold together very well. Not even the 1984 Montebello I poured in a 1984 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon tasting last year showed any sign of being old, not even fully mature!

2007 Montebello / 95 p
It is important to mention, that the wine was tasted after four hours of decanting, and then tasted in a big Riedel Bordeaux glass. This is the proper way to enjoy a young Montebello. It’s still very young, dense and dark and almost opaque. The nose is loaded with dark and ripe black currant and cherry fruit, still youthful and far from being developed or even open. It’s only with experience of wines such as this one can predict or at least imagine what will come out of it when the wines reach its first stage of maturity. I mentioned that the oak always is extremely well integrated, and it is. However, you’ll find some sweet vanilla notes as well a just a spicy touch of the oak, and I guess these notes will be absorbed by the fruit in some years as the wine opens up. On the palate, its intense and youthfully sweet but marked with a huge structure of (ripe) tannins and mineral.
This vintage is a blend of 79 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Merlot, nine percent Petit Verdot and just two percent of Cabernet Franc. Grapes are harvested at approximately 24 Brix, which explains the moderate alcohol lever, only 13.1 percent by volume. “Any alcohol lever higher than that is by intention”, says winemaker Paul Draper and adds that hign alcohol has nothing to do with global warming, or the California sunshine and warm climate.
Vinification I simple, fully destemmed grapes, about ten days of natural yeast fermentation and maceration, followed by 18 months in completely new American oak barrels. The wines is then clarified with egg whites, then bottled.
Even though it tastes pretty good already today, wines like this always gains finesse and complexity with age, and it would be a kind of waist to pop the cork now. Be patient and you’ll be rewarded big time.
Drink it 2015-2035, or even later!

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.

Two 2007 pinots from Kosta-Browne

I’m a bit confused over the wines from Kosta-Browne. It’s always one of the most exciting visits and barrel tastings one can do in California – then the wines show great finesse and complexity, and friends of mine with great skills as wine tasters, have been very excited after these barrel tastings, and even compared them with tastings in the cellars of great domaines in Burgundy. Then, when the wines are bottled and retasted back home, it's most likely they will taste more full bodied, riper and sweeter with a notable higher alcohol compared to what you remember from the cellar tasting. I know impressions will be the same in many cases at a lot of wineries, and the explanation is (most likely) that the cellars are cooler than your dining room, therefore the wines tend to show more of their elegance, and less of oak, sweetness and alcohol.
Still I continue to buy the wines from Kosta-Browne. I want to see which way they will go with age. And, I’m happy to say that they will become more elegant with just a few years of bottle age. At the moment, I just love to drink the 2005s of Kosta-Browne. Part of being a wine writer, wine connoisseur or wine lover is to understand how a certain wine evolves with age. Now I know how to treat these wines.

Kosta-Browne is an 11 000 cases per year operation based in a custom crush winery in Sebastopol, Russian River. It’s the Pinot Noir counterpart of wineries such as Kistler, and the range of pinot wines consists of a selection each from Russian River and Sonoma Coast, 8-9 vineyard selections per year plus a top selection of the four best barrels each year, logically called Pinot Noir 4-Barrel. Alsp you will find some syrahs here.

2007 Pinot Noir Gary’s Vineyard / 90-91 p
Gary’s Vineyard is one of the finest in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and for many winemakers who buy grapes from here, that selection will be one of their best wines. This is also what I have found at Kosta-Browne in some previous vintages – but not in this one. Perhaps it’s just because the wine is young and a bit sturdy, but even after an hour in the glass, the wine didn’t open up in the way I expected. Not that this is a bad or boring wine, not at all, it’s actually a very good wine, but compared to the lovely wine from Amber Ridge Vineyard, it doesn’t show. The color is slightly paler, the nose more acidic with sour cherries rather than sweet raspberries (this is something I like), but it doesn’t have the same intensity or body.
Drink it 2010-2015.

2007 Pinot Noir Amber Ridge Vineyard / 93 p
I have often found that the Amber Ridge bottling is one of the most elegant of the pinots of Kosta-Browne. It comes from a 12.15 hectare vineyard near Windsor in one the coolest parts of Russian River, which to a great deal explains the elegance and fine acidic structure of the wine. The vineyard was planted in 2000 with the French clones Dijon 115, Dijon 667 and Dijon 777 and the soils is, as so often out here, the fine goldridge. Vinification and oak regime is the same as in the wine above, but still the oak is a bit more integrated with just a slight sweet scent of vanilla. The overall balance is absolutely fine, the quality of the fruit is impressive – although the ripeness is high which have made the texture lush and silky, there is still a nice fragrance of sweet and freshly crushed raspberries with a lighter and more aromatic quality than in the wine from Gary’s Vineyard. It’s just in the finish of the taste the almost 15 percent of alcohol strenght reveals itself, so to avoid any “problems” with that, I recommend a serving temperature of around 16 degrees Celsius. You may decant this wine if you like, but it is not necessary.
Drink it 2010-2017.