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current releases Our wines are released throughout the year, but as we don't make very much, they sell out quickly!
If you would prefer to send us an order via fax or mail, please click here for our printable order form.
As usual, our 2008 harvest started with Viognier. In 2008 the first pick was on September 8 with an early morning pick of viognier from Jack McGinley vineyard and two days later we picked from Vogelzang for the first time. As usual Peter was too optimistic about the crop level and the frost we had in the spring showed its impact – we got only 1.7 and 0.9 ton – and from Cuatro Vientos we could not pick due to the frost issues. Our philosophy with white and rosé wines is to keep the flavors of the fruit pure and not to mask them with oak, so malolactic fermentation was inhibited to keep the minerality of the viognier intact as well as the crispness on the nose and palate. To add another dimension to the wine we added 5% gewürztraminer from Alisos Vineyards. The wine is juicy, vibrant, lively, even rich. Nose is perfumed and powerful offering meyer lemon, kaffir lime, white peach, tangerine, and mango. Non-fruits include white flowers, citrus blossoms, honeysuckle, lemon pudding, herbs de provence (primarily lavender), with a hint of candied ginger. The minerality comes across as dry stones. The palate confirms the nose and the finish is big and long with a great bright acidity that allows continual evolution of the lingering flavors. This wine is cool, crisp and ready to be paired with shellfish and your favorite spicy foods. Just 175 cases produced. Click here for full winemaking notes.
This may be the wine we find the most fun to make. What makes our rosé different is the crushing and cold soaking of the initial syrah grapes we picked. This not only gives us a beautiful glowing pink color but it adds a deep red mouth feel that we find lacking in many rosés. The wine is never touched by oak and does not go through malolactic fermentation. We want to keep the ripe flavor of the syrah grapes alive and allow for the natural aromas and flavors to come forward. To enhance the aroma and flavors of the wine we decided to add 14% Riesling and 6% Gewurztranminer. After months of cold fermentation and patience, it is finally time for a cold glass! The color is bright pink/salmon – looks like it will glow in the dark. You will find the nose of tangerine/oranges, with watermelon, pomegranate, and pink lady apples. The minerality is slate like and on the palate white lilies and herbs are offered. The finish is long and filled with the aforementioned fruits. This rose is done in the provençal style with a soft tannin structure that comes from the 6 days of 40% skin contact. Always great as an aperitif, or paired with fish, chicken or our favorite – spicy thai food! Just 175 cases produced. Click here for full winemaking notes.
0n September 20, 2005, we started the second harvest from our own vineyard!! We picked 19 tons of clone 115 and 8 tons of Pommard clone 04. The pinot harvest lasted until September 27th and 2005 was a big crop year. With the vines trying to produce an exorbitant amount of clusters, we had to remind them what it means to make quality wine. This was a problem throughout the appellation and if we did not stay on top of the crop levels, the wine would suffer. With our vineyard consultant Jeff Newton leading the charge, we dropped between 30-40% of our grapes to eliminate any green flavors. And alas, we were successful! Lambda is used mathematically as a cosmological constant – this is our main program and we will make this wine every year going forward. This wine is bursting with rich cherry notes and the underlying flavor of cola, this pinot shows us what one more year of growth can do for vines. The nose offers a hint of milk chocolate and blueberries. Enjoy this wine with your summer cuisine from salads to quiche and especially barbeque. 92 Points, Wine Spectator:
Aromas and flavors of loamy earth, blueberry and wild berry are
tight, focused and concentrated, gaining depth and richness. Click here for full winemaking notes.
Bountiful red fruit dominates the black cherries and the underlying flavor of cola, accented with hints of exotic spice, gingerbread and warm earthiness. This sumptuous extract is smooth and elegant, like a ballet in rehearsal. A very layered wine that is softly framed by fine tannins, this third harvest from our estate vineyard shows how beautifully the vines are maturing. PinotFile: Moderately light garnet color. Vivid black cherry aromas with a hint of baking spice and the faintest oak. Very tasty medium-weighted flavors of cherries and raspberries with a touch of spice and citrus. Soft, smooth and clean with minimal ripe tannins and a good grip of acidity in the background. Well-bred and well-crafted. This Pinot Noir is what many aspire to, but most fall short of. Great value as well. 92 points, Wine Spectator Click here for full winemaking notes.
Rho is a correlation coefficient – each year we will make different blends of clones to optimize this wine. The 2006 rho consists of the top 20% of our estate pinot noir lot for the vintage. we tasted through all of the pinot barrels and determined which were of a caliber for the rho blend. The final blend consisted of 56% new french oak, which had been aged for almost two years. The barrels chosen were from coopers TW Boswell, Remond, Sirigue, Radoux and Marsannay. Most of the barrels were from sections of the vineyard where we employ branch locks for parallel vertical shoot positioning. The rho is furthered aged, at least one year, in bottle before we release it. We feel this final step lets the rho achieve its maximum potential! The nose of brown sugar, sarsparilla, and bing cherries on this garnet hued beauty captivate at first scent. Offering a pleasing palate of cinnamon infused molé , dark berries and bing cherries, the 2006 rho is lush, and fruit driven with a big, long tannin structure that will aid beautifully in aging. 529 cases and 32 magnums produced. Click here for full winemaking notes.
As usual we were one of the last picks from the Fiddlestix vineyard, with our grapes harvested on October 10, 2007. We aged this wine for about 18 months with 1/3 new french oak prior to bottling and then providing some addition cellaring time in bottle prior to release. The 2007 Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix has an underlying Fiddlestix vineyard signature; sweet and velvety on entry. Just after crushing this fruit the bin had the most beautiful smell of fresh thyme. After aging and bottling, the flavors have morphed into a rich blend of cherries, lush strawberry pie and a hint of sweet tobacco. A glimpse of earthy musk and more cherries cap off the nose. Fiddlestix never fails to show us the beauty of what the other corridor of Sta. Rita Hills can produce.
"ages gracefully" has never described a wine better than our grenache! this dark ruby beauty is a gorgeous example of what 33 months in a barrel will produce. with a perfect balance of fruit, alcohol, and tannins, opening the bottle holds excited anticipation for both the nose and the palate. as if you were strolling through a German Christmas market, the nose is full of toasted almonds, warm cherry pie, and a warm smoky fire burning in the distance. on the palate, firm tannins hint at smooth licorice, followed with sweet orange, pomegranate and cherry. she is rounded out with a silky dark chocolate and slightly peppery finish.
In general the 2006 season gave us an average winter rainfall and a nice, long summer. This was the first year we harvested our small syrah blocks 6 and 7 with clones 470 and 383. This is our black beauty or what we like to call our "lip licking" wine because the palate goes on and on and on -- people continue to lick their lips. Besides the long palate, gamma offers a nose of dark chocolate and sweet almond. Combined with cracked white pepper a signature of cool climate syrah in sta. rita hills. In addition, the tannins are balanced and the oak is supporting.
For the 2006 syrache program we wanted to get our fruit from several different micro-climate areas in the santa barbara county. The syrah is from the Stolpman, Byron and Alisos vineyards and the grenache is from the Byron and Alisos vineyards. Over the years we have learned this combination of grenache and syrah from the different vineyards and climates creates great complexity and many layers in the wine. Full of bright fruits on the nose and palate especially cherries. The wine is about the fruit and not the oak and is designed for those who like to explore. You will find this wine to have a wide food profile from fish, poultry, beef to lamb. In addition, the tannins are balanced and the oak is supporting. Click here for full winemaking notes.
dornfelder can barely be called a red wine -- dark as the night. it almost appears to be black-purple with legs of black glycerin that stain the glass. you will find this wine to have anise notes with hints of violets, raw meat and mint. there are also notes of earthy must with a rich concentration of black fruit and hint of mushroom and forest herbs. on the palate you will find rich fruits of blackberry jam, dark plum and spicy hints of cloves. there is a very subtle hint of acid on the front, then massive fruit and just the right tannin to finish. |
