california – Page 3 – JB's Wine Talk

People-Pleasing Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir That May Need Time

Today’s Story: Auteur Wines

Auteur Wines, established in 2003, is a relatively small producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in California’s Sonoma Coast. A family venture, Auteur is owned and operated by husband and wife Kenneth and Laura Juhasz. Kenneth found his passion for wine during college while working at restaurants and wine shops, ultimately falling in love with Pinot Noir and the endless possibilities of the variety. He worked harvests in the Willamette Valley, Napa, and New Zealand before starting Auteur with Laura. Laura, on the other hand, grew up in rural Wisconsin and worked in pharma when she met Kenneth in Oregon. Ultimately the two moved to Sonoma to start their passion project of making wine.

Auteur works closely with vineyard partners, sourcing from some of the greatest sites throughout the Sonoma Coast. While Gaps Crown, Ferrington, and Savoy may sound familiar for their Pinot Noir and Hyde for their Chardonnay, Auteur sources from other sites as well of equally incredible pedigree. I previously reviewed their 2012 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay.

Today’s Wine: 2019 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

100% Pinot Noir; 14.5% ABV

The 2019 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is medium ruby in color. Given about 45 minutes to open up in the glass, this really starts to blossom. The aromas are of medium intensity, with the nose offering up notes of blackberry, black cherry, blueberry, smoked meat, lilac, cocoa powder, cola, and a hint of oak. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium intensity and the palate displays notes of cherry cola, pomegranate, blueberry, purple florals, charred green herbs, chocolate, and baking spice. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium acidity, medium (-) tannins, high alcohol, and a medium length finish. 482 cases produced.

Price: $50. Though this wine has many good qualities going for it and I believe consumers would enjoy it, I struggle to call it a good value at this price-point. At this stage it’s still out of balance a bit and, while fairly complex, the profile leans bigger and more fruit-driven than I tend to go for. I would also like to see a longer finish, though it is possible the wine as a whole just needs time.

Fun and Refreshing White at a Great Value

Today’s Story: Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat is a Californian winery established by the late great Jim Clendenen in the Santa Maria Valley. Jim was born in 1953 in Akron, Ohio and he studied Pre-Law in undergrad at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his junior year, Jim studied abroad in France and discovered his budding passion for wine. Once he graduated UCSB, Jim returned to France and spent time in Burgundy and Champagne before deciding to pursue a career in winemaking instead of going to law school. Jim became the assistant winemaker at Zaca Mesa Winery in 1978 before working three harvests across Australia and France in the 1981 vintage. In 1982, Jim established Au Bon Climat with business partner Adam Tolmach and his focus was on the Burgundy varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Over the years Jim became an incredibly important beacon both for Santa Barbara County winemaking and the Central Coast of California as a whole. Au Bon Climat, under Jim, even became one of the leading wineries for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay throughout the US and beyond. Though Jim unfortunately passed away in his sleep earlier this year, his legacy shall last for decades to come.

Au Bon Climat sources fruit from some of the greatest vineyards in the Central Coast, most notably Bien Nacido Vineyard where they have some estate plantings. Bien Nacido Vineyard is the largest source for Au Bon Climat fruit, though Jim also purchased 100 acres in 1998 and named this other estate vineyard Le Bon Climat. Le Bon Climat sits directly across the Santa Maria Valley from Bien Nacido and is planted primarily to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Viognier. The last of the estate vineyards is Rancho La Cuna, which consists of 20 acres in the Los Alamos Valley planted to Syrah, Viognier, Grenache, Grenache Gris, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir. In addition to these sites, Au Bon Climat purchases fruit from the renowned vineyards of Runway Vineyard, Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, Los Alamos Vineyard, Sierra Madre Vineyard, and Talley Vineyards.

The winemaking at Au Bon Climat offers a nod to the Old World, with Jim wanting to bring what he learned in Burgundy to California’s Central Coast. These wines are meant to showcase their unique terroir in a most transparent fashion, following winemaking techniques that yield balance and restraint versus over-extraction, higher alcohol, and lacking acidity.

Today’s Wine: 2020 Pinot Gris – Pinot Blanc

60% Pinot Gris, 40% Pinot Blanc; 13% ABV

The 2020 Pinot Gris – Pinot Blanc is pale gold in color. The aromas are of medium intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of lemon peel, yellow apple, white peach, honeysuckle, flint, saline mineral, and oyster shell. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium intensity, and the palate displays notes of white peach, lemon zest, pear, cantaloupe, sea salt, almond, and dried gravel. This dry white blend is medium-bodied with high acidity, medium alcohol, and a long finish.

Price: $15. I think this wine offers exceptional value at this price-point, for it is crisp, refreshing, and downright enjoyable while also displaying solid depth, great balance, and impressive length.

Could This Be California’s Best Syrah?

Today’s Story: Colgin Cellars

Colgin Cellars is a relatively small “cult” winery established by Ann Colgin in the Napa Valley in 1992. After falling in love with the valley by attending the Napa Valley Wine Auction in 1988, Ann purchased fruit from the highly-regarded Herb Lamb Vineyard in 1992 and released her first vintage in 1995. Shortly thereafter, Ann purchased what became her Tychson Hill Vineyard which was originally planted to vine in 1861 before it was torn up during Prohibition. Ann replanted 3.5 acres of Tychson Hill in 1997 with the help of David Abreu, and the site gets its name from Josephine Tychson who farmed the property in its early days and was the first female vintner in the Napa Valley. Ann expanded in 1998 when she and her future husband, Joe Wender, purchased a 125 acre property that would ultimately become the site of the winery and Colgin’s IX Estate Vineyard.

Colgin produces four main wines and recently began bottling a “second label” meant to be more approachable in its youth. Though Colgin ceased production of the Herb Lamb bottlings in the late 1990s, the first of the main three current Cabernet wines came about in 1999 and is named Cariad. Cariad is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot with the fruit coming from vineyards owned by David Abreu. Next came the first vintage of Tychson Hill in 2000, which is a pure Cabernet Sauvignon bottling and often the most elegant of the Colgin portfolio. The IX Estate had its first vintage in 2002, and it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Colgin’s IX Estate Syrah also had its first vintage in 2002, wrapping up the four “Crus” of Colgin Cellars and meant to showcase Ann and Joe’s love of Northern Rhône wines. Completing the Colgin portfolio is Jubilation, a “second wine” that really isn’t a second wine in the eyes of Colgin’s production team. With its first vintage in 2016, Jubilation is created with barrels that demonstrate earlier drinking characteristics and the bottling provides a nice viewpoint into the Crus at a lower price-point.

I’ve had the incredible pleasure of enjoying each of the Colgin wines through several vintages, and visited the property earlier this year. While I can say the wines are truly a class of their own, the incredible tannin quality of each bottling sticks in my memory the most vivid. To learn more about Colgin, I encourage you to visit their website here.

Today’s Wine: 2015 IX Estate Syrah

100% Syrah; 15.4% ABV

The 2015 IX Estate Syrah is deep purple in color, but opaque and nearly black. Given some time to open up, the aromas are of medium (+) intensity and the nose showcases notes of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, plum, violet, clay, mild baking spice, cracked pepper, and a hint of smoke. The flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, while the palate displays gorgeous notes of blueberry, blackberry compote, spiced plum, black raspberry, violet, smoked meat, a touch of chocolate, and black pepper. This dry red is full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but ultra fine-grained and silky tannins, high alcohol, and a long finish. This is an outstanding wine.

Price: $350. At this price-point value is difficult to discuss, as there are endless options out there for less money and of nearly this high quality. This being said though, this is perhaps the greatest Syrah I’ve had to date from California and the balance is truly incredible given the alcohol level and youth. I hope I get to taste this again years down the road.

A Taste of Friuli in the Napa Valley

Today’s Story: Ryme Cellars

Ryme Cellars was established in 2007 by husband and wife team Ryan and Megan Glaab. Ryan and Megan met while both working harvest at Torbreck Winery in Australia, and since then between the two of them they’ve held positions at Pax Wine Cellars, Peay Vineyards, Sine Qua Non, and Marcassin. Ryan and Megan started Ryme with one ton of Aglianico, later expanding into Vermentino, Ribolla Gialla, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. Most recently they even added Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the portfolio. The Ryme wines are those that Ryan and Megan like drinking, both by variety and style standards. Their fruit comes from sustainably- or organically-farmed vineyards, and winemaking is rather simple without cultured yeasts, temperature control, or added enzymes. Most of the reds ferment whole cluster while most of the whites ferment on the skins, and aging occurs in used French oak barriques before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Today’s Wine: 2018 Ribolla Gialla

100% Ribolla Gialla; 13.6% ABV

The 2018 Ribolla Gialla is pale amber in color. The aromas are of medium intensity, though I don’t find the nose to be incredibly complex as it offers up notes of peach skins, mandarin orange, honeysuckle, thyme, and some stony minerality. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium intensity, with the palate displaying notes of bruised golden apple, peach, apricot, tangerine, white pepper, and thyme. This dry amber wine is medium-bodied with medium acidity, low tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish.

Price: $35. This is a very fun wine to try, though for the price tag there are better values out there. While it’s not incredibly complex and the finish is cut shorter than I would like, this was an enjoyable bottling and I would buy it again if at the very least to spice up my California wine selections.

Fun and Uncommon White From a Napa Valley Legend

Today’s Story: Corison Winery

Corison Winery is a relatively small, family-run winery established in 1987 by winemaker Cathy Corison and her husband William Martin. Cathy fell into winemaking somewhat by chance, thanks to a wine course she stumbled into while studying Biology at Pomona College. After graduation she moved to the Napa Valley and later received her Enology degree with UC Davis before working harvest at Freemark Abbey in 1978. Throughout the 1980s Cathy worked in winemaking at Chappellet Vineyard, ultimately starting Corison Winery through custom crush in 1987. William, on the other hand, worked as an architect before meeting Cathy in 1990 and moving to the Napa Valley. He spearheaded the purchase of the Kronos Vineyard in 1995, and designed the winery which broke ground there in 1999. Today William helps with IT and accounting while Cathy runs winemaking, however both are heavily involved in all aspects of the winery (especially during harvest).

Corison Winery at its core is a Cabernet Sauvignon house. However, Cathy’s wines are not entirely common relative to her neighbors in that she focuses on producing restained, elegant, and “old school” wines. Cathy’s fruit is generally harvested earlier to preserve some natural acidity and to avoid over-ripeness, resulting in Cabernet that is relatively lower in alcohol and built for the long haul. A step further, Cathy’s winemaking is largely non-interventionist which allows the wines to showcase its fruit with a sense of place. Corison produces three main wines, including the Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Sunbasket Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and an appellation wine labelled Corison Cabernet Sauvignon. She later started making a Helios Cabernet Franc from the Sunbasket Vineyard, and produces a rosé and Gewürztraminer under her second label called Corazón.

I previously reviewed the 2008 Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Today’s Wine: 2020 Corazón Gewürztraminer

100% Gewürztraminer; 13.3% ABV

The 2020 Corazón Gewürztraminer is pale straw yellow in color and completely transparent. Aromas are rather delicate and of medium intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of lychee, grapefruit, lime zest, pear, ginger, rose petal, and wax. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium intensity, and the somewhat spicy palate displays notes of ginger, lychee, pear, grapefruit zest, lemon pith, white pepper, and white florals. This dry white is medium-bodied with medium acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish.

Price: $40. While the quality level here is good and it’s fun to try a California Gewürztraminer, I struggle to call this a strong value given many of the options coming out of Germany and Alsace, France. This is fun to try at the estate during the tasting, but Corison’s magic truly comes with the Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings.

Carneros Chardonnay Drinking Beautifully With Some Age

Today’s Story: Auteur Wines

Today’s Wine: 2012 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay; 13% ABV

The 2012 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay is deep gold in color, certainly showing some age. Given some time to blossom in the glass, the aromas are of medium (+) intensity and the nose showcases notes of baked pear, yellow apple, apricot, orange marmalade, honey, toasted nuts, buttercream, and stony mineral. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate displays notes of baked yellow apple, golden pear, lemon, white florals, brioche, dried vanilla, almond, and mineral. This dry white is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish.

Price: $40. This is drinking incredibly well right now, both showcasing its age but maintaining acidity and proving complex as it opens in the glass. While I’d love for the finish to be a bit longer, given the age and quality I think this is a fair price if you find it today.

A Fun Take on Cabernet Franc

Today’s Story: Ryme Cellars

Today’s Wine: 2017 Alegria Vineyard Cabernet Franc

100% Cabernet Franc; 12.5% ABV

The 2017 Alegria Vineyard Cabernet Franc is medium to deep ruby in color. Given some time to open up in the glass, the wine showcases aromas of medium (+) intensity including black cherry, redcurrant, blackberry, plum, violet, pine, mild cedar, and cocoa powder. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, with the palate displaying notes of cherry, black raspberry, blueberry, plum, licorice, sweet tobacco, dried green herbs, and gravel. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) and dusty tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium length finish.

Price: $27. I think this offers pretty solid value given the balance, intensity, and complexity that evolved in the glass. While it could have a longer finish to drive it home, there’s too much good here for the price level.

Merlot as It Should Be

Today’s Story: Enfield Wine Co.

Enfield Wine Co. is a relatively small family-owned and operated winery established by John Lockwood and Amy Seese in 2010. John started working in the wine industry in 2004 at Heron Lake Vineyard, followed by harvests at Littorai, Bodega Melipal in Argentina, and Failla Wines. John remained with Failla for five years managing and farming their Sonoma Coast and Russian River estate vineyards, ultimately starting Enfield as a small passion project. In 2013, John left Failla and devoted his time entirely to Enfield.

Enfield focuses primarily on terroir as a starting point, working with small independent growers across a range of regions to source their fruit. John and Amy purchase fruit from Antle Vineyard and Brosseau Vineyard in the Chalone AVA, Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville, Heron Lake Vineyard in Wild Horse Valley, Jesus & Patricia’s Vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview, and Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County. From these sites they acquire a range of varieties including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo amongst others, all with varying vine age as well. John’s philosophy is to harvest his fruit for balance and ferment the wines naturally in order to showcase each unique terroir, eschewing a heavy-handed winemaking style. The wines are often fresh, lively, and mineral-driven, though John does enjoy exploring esoteric bottlings as well.

I previously wrote about the 2019 Jurassic Park Vineyard Chenin Blanc from Enfield.

Today’s Wine: 2018 Michael Black Vineyard Merlot

100% Merlot; 13.9% ABV

The 2018 Michael Black Vineyard Merlot is deep ruby in color with deep purple hues in the bowl of the glass. I decanted this for 2.5 hours due to its youth, which seemed perfect. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with a rather complex nose showcasing notes of black plum, blackberry, blueberry, violet, licorice, cigar box, clay, dried green herbs, baking spice, and cocoa. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate displays notes of blackberry, blueberry, black raspberry, black cherry, sweet tobacco, cedar spill, crushed rock, and eucalyptus. This dry red is medium- to full-bodied with medium acidity, medium (+) but fine-grained tannins, medium (+) alcohol, and a long finish.

Price: $45. I think this offers rather strong value, and it’s a fantastic representation of the Merlot variety. This is very well-balanced, offering great depth and length as well all while being rather young. For those wine drinkers who don’t like Merlot, I’d suggest giving it another shot with this bottling.

Terroir Driven Pinot From the Sta. Rita Hills

Today’s Story: Tyler Winery

Tyler Winery is a relatively small winery and estate established by Justin Tyler Willett in 2005. At the time, Justin was assistant winemaker at Arcadian Winery and honed his craft with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay while maintaining several barrels in the corner of the cellar that ultimately became Tyler. Tyler Winery sources all of their fruit from Santa Barbara County, with major emphasis in the Sta. Rita Hills and more recently the Santa Maria Valley as well. Within the Sta. Rita Hills, Justin sources from acclaimed sites including Bentrock, La Encantada, La Rinconada, Sanford & Benedict, and Zotovich Family. In the Santa Maria Valley, Justin sources from Dierberg and the highly-regarded Bien Nacido Vineyard. In the past few years, Justin and his wife Amanda also purchased their first estate vineyard, named Mae Estate Vineyard, in the Sta. Rita Hills. In 2017, they planted 28 acres to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah which were transplanted from vine materials sourced from trusting partners in 2015. The 2019 vintage marks the first from this estate site.

On the winemaking side, all vineyards practice organic viticulture and fruit is harvested by hand during the night. Hand-sorting occurs at the winery, then native yeast fermentation begins for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in large oak vats. Wines are barreled down once dry, and new oak usage varies by variety, block, vine age, and vintage though the preference seems to go toward neutral oak. After a year or so in barrel, the wines are racked, blended, and returned to barrel for several more months. When ready, the wines are usually bottled unfined and unfiltered with the end result meant to showcase the unique terroir of each vineyard site or the appellation as a whole.

To learn or explore Tyler further, check out their website here.

Today’s Wine: 2019 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

100% Pinot Noir; 13.2% ABV

The 2019 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is pale ruby in color. I let this open up for 45 minutes to an hour in the glass and it really blossoms. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of black cherry, stemmy strawberry, licorice, new leather, game, gravel, damp earth, thyme, and some oaky spice. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity, incorporating notes of tart cherry, black raspberry, spiced plum, rose, sweet tobacco, cured meat, crushed rock, charred green herbs, and mild baking spice. This dry red is light- to medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (-) tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish.

Price: $38 from the winery (I found it for $34 retail). I find this to be a rather solid value for domestic Pinot Noir, especially if you can find it closer to the $30 mark which seems reasonable with some searching. The wine is a very good expression of the Sta. Rita Hills, with balance, length, intensity, and complexity to match (and at such a young age).

Gorgeous Sonoma Coast Syrah

Today’s Story: Pax Mahle Wines

Pax Mahle Wines was established in 2000 by Pax and Pam Mahle with a focus on Syrah and more “esoteric” varieties that can thrive in the cooler climate vineyards of Sonoma County and Mendocino. Pax and Pam moved to California wine country in 1997, though after a few years with Dean & DeLuca sourcing wines Pax decided he wanted to move into the production side of the wine business. Though Pax quickly rose to stardom producing Rhône variety wines (namely his Syrah), he expanded into working with Trousseau Gris, Chenin Blanc, Gamay Noir, and Mission with similar success. Pax farms his vineyards eschewing the use of chemicals and crushes his fruit by hand and foot as part of his minimal intervention philosophy. Pax only uses natural yeasts during fermentation and sulfur is added as minimally as required for stabilization only. Thanks to the high quality vineyard sites and his winemaking philosophy, Pax’s wines are magnificent representations of the varieties and terroir from which they come.

I previously wrote about the 2017 Sonoma Hillsides Syrah from Pax.

Today’s Wine: 2016 Griffin’s Lair Syrah

100% Syrah; 13.2% ABV

The 2016 Griffin’s Lair Syrah is deep ruby in color but with deep purple hues in the bowl of the glass. I let this open up in the glass for about an hour, though I think decanting is the proper move. The aromas are of medium (+) intensity, with the nose showcasing notes of blueberry, blackberry, plum, violets, pine, cracked pepper, iron, and crushed rock. Meanwhile the flavors are also of medium (+) intensity and the palate displays notes of blueberry, black plum, black cherry, sweet tobacco, mild smoke, cracked green peppercorn, charred green herbs, and chalk. This dry red is medium-bodied with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) but fine-grained tannins, medium alcohol, and a medium (+) length finish. Very good quality, though I think patience will be further rewarded by cellaring this bottling.

Price: $60 (I found it for $50). I think this is somewhere between the fairly-priced and good value status, especially if you find it for around $50 like I did. There’s a great Old World charm to this wine, while the complexity and intensity are quite solid. It is still rather youthful though, so decant this or give it a couple more years.