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Grassini and Sanguis winemaker Matthias Pippig (he talks with his hand alot)
A few days ago I brought a group of friends to Grassini Family Vineyard in the American Viticultural Area (AVA) called Happy Canyon. I tasted here in the summer and was very impressed with Grassini’s winemaker Matthias Pippig’s talents especially with his own label, Sanguis. My reasons for scheduling this visit were twofold. First, I wanted to see how the wines were evolving and secondly I wanted my friends to see the most beautiful winery in Santa Ynez Valley (in my humble opinion). After driving through the scenic Happy Canyon area, with its horse farms and vineyards, we arrived at the Grassini gate and rang the intercom. We were buzzed in and the gate opened to reveal gently sloping hills covered with grapevines with varying hues of autumn yellow leaves. Further on we passed a beautiful lake surrounded by reeds and water-loving plants of many types. After driving slowly so we could take in the beautiful vistas, we arrived at the winery. Though the winery was recently constructed, it looked as though it had been there for many years. It was built using reclaimed antique fir (circa the late 1800s), some of which was milled from timbers found in the Oregon River. We were greeted by assistant winemaker, Jessica Gasca, who took us on a tour of the facility, which is itself a work of well engineered art. It is solar powered and built such that the juice, must and wine are gravity fed (in lieu of using pumps) during the entire production process. Moving grape must and wine by gravity is a technique used for centuries that fell out of favor because of the convenience of pumps. Though the use of pumps is the norm, some winemakers and reviewers feel that the use of pumps can cause irreparable damage by introducing air and smashing berries and seeds in a way which can release unwanted off flavors.
The cave at Grassini Family Vineyard
Another time-honored method utilized at Grassini has to do with wine storage. During the construction of the facility, a cave was excavated at the site so that the wines could be stored in a place that stays cool and dark with steady relative humidity. After spending some time in the Grassini cave, I wanted to start digging one at my house.
The group tasting Grassini wines (that's me taking notes)
Our tour included a very comfortable family room with beautiful copper clad fireplace and dining room. There is also a large bedroom suite (with a great view of the vineyard) that wine club members can rent. We tasted a couple Grassini wines, both inaugural releases, while sitting at the dining room table. We started with the spectacular 2007 Grassini Sauvignon Blanc which aged for 17 months: 60% in stainless steel, 20% in new French oak and the remaining 20% in neutral French oak. With well integrated flavors of white flower, peach and pear this wine has extraordinary richness, an almost creamy mouthfeel, and a finish with hints of vanilla and caramel. Next we tasted the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Though a bit young, this wine already has beautifully integrated flavors of black currant, plum, cherry and a finish of chocolate. I really enjoyed this painstakingly crafted wine and I look forward to tasting it over the next four or five years as the tannins soften.
2008 Sanguis Ramshackle & Threadbare
Next Jessica took us downstairs to the main tasting area which has stunning view of the vineyard. The room was dominated by an enormous hand wrought table where we were seated to sample the Sanguis wines. Those familiar with Manfred Krankl’s coveted Sine Qua Non will notice an unmistakable similarity with Sanguis as both labels feature unique artwork by their respective winemakers. An observant wine taster in our group asked Pippig about this; Pippig cracked a smile and said that he and Krankl have been friends for years and that they share a passion for motorcycles. Small world eh? First up was the Sanguis 2008 Ramshackle & Threadbare, a heady white blend of 58% Roussane, 40% Malvasia Bianca and 2% Viognier with aromas of honeysuckle and orange blossom. Though very rich, the fruit and acidity are balanced. I’d serve this wine in warm summer months with Asian or Thai cuisine or seafood. When I tasted the wine I thought it would be fabulous with grilled thresher shark steaks in a spicy orange and ginger marinade.
We moved on to reds, beginning with the Sanguis 2007 Backseat Betty. This is a blend of 83% Syrah, 14% Grenache and 3% Viognier. Pippig, who’d taken a break from his tasks in the winery to greet us, commented that the Syrah and the Viognier were cofermented. He feels that this influences the texture in a positive way. Though it sounds counter intuitive (since Viognier is white), cofermentation helps to deepen the color and flavor of the Syrah. This exceptional wine with flavors of white pepper, blackberry and plum is a real pleasure to drink young, but I think a patient collector will be rewarded in 2014 or 2015 with greater complexity and character. I think that this wine will follow the same arc that I find with some Châteauneuf-du-Papes. They drink well young and then have a few sleepy years where they are best left undisturbed followed by a period of time when they’ve evolved into captivating, complex wines.
2006 Sanguis As the Crow Flies
Next up was the Sanguis 2006 As the Crow Flies, a classic Côte-Rôtie style blend of 97% Syrah and 3% Viognier with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, hints of smoke and herbs. I have to admit that I fall head over heels for great Côte-Rôtie style wines and their oddly pleasurable combination of floral and meaty, bacon-y aromas. I purchased some this beautiful wine on my last visit, so it was especially interesting to taste how well it is evolving. I don’t plan on opening any of these bottles in my collection until sometime between 2013 and 2015.
Lastly we tasted the Sanguis 2007 Devil in the Deep Blue Sea a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. Though this is a brand new release, this wine is drinking beautifully now with dominant flavors of black and red fruits and hints of mocha and bittersweet chocolate. I’d be willing to bet that this wine will evolve beautifully over the next few years. If you have the patience, I’d recommend opening at least one bottle of this gorgeous wine every year beginning in 2012.
The exceptional wines we tasted from Grassini and Sanguis are the product of impeccable winegrowing practices and the beautiful marriage of art and chemistry in the winery. Trust me, just go there. You’ll thank me later. Don’t forget to call a week or so ahead to make an appointment (888-686-3086). And when you get there, let Jessica and Matthias know that Anne from Wine Nation Underdog says “hi and keep up the fabulous work”.
Presqu'ile Chardonnay
As the old saying goes, “no man is an island”, but Matt Murphy and Dieter Cronje, winemakers of Presqu’ile are good with “almost”. Presqu’ile is French for “peninsula” (or almost an island) and it is the name that Murphy’s grandparents gave to a promontory of land they purchased off of the Missippi’s Gulf Coast. It was a gathering spot for family celebrations for many years until hurricane Katrina destroyed it. Years of fond memories inspired Matt Murphy to name his wine label Presqu’ile.
Dieter Cronje (L) and Matt Murphy (R) winemakers of Presqu'ile
I was fortunate enough to taste the Presqu’ile 2008 Chardonnay at the Chardonnay Symposium earlier this year. Unfortunately, the bright sun conspired with my camera settings and my photos weren’t good – in fact they were really, really, bad. (Thankfully their winemaking is way better than my photography.) Suffice it to say, Presqu’ile is worth seeking out. The Chardonnay fruit is from Solomon Hills and Bien Nacido and is cold fermented with native yeasts. Some is aged in stainless steel and the rest in neutral French Oak. This wine is too good to pour for your friends who insist they only like red wine…which leaves more for you! Murphy and Cronje also make an incredibly bright and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc that you can find on the by-the-glass list at Full of Life Flatbread. Now, you have yet another excuse to go to Flatbread this weekend. =) They also make a Pinot Noir, which I am looking forward to tasting soon. For more information on Presqu’ile, check out this great article that the Santa Barbara Independent just published. Until next time, remember life is too short to drink bad wine!
Morgan Clendenen winemaker/owner of Cold Heaven
When I think of Harvest Festival, I imagine there is an autumn chill in the air and I’m sipping red wines bundled up in a cozy sweater. However, this year, the 20th year of the festival, we were in the midst of a late summer heat wave, so shorts and sandals were de rigueur. This year there were over 115 different wineries represented at the festival. Of the 115, there were many wonderful, familiar wines from Ampelos, Beckmen, Brander, Dragonette, Fiddlehead, Foxen, Margerum, Jaffurs, Tre Anelli, Stolpman, Ken Brown, Cold Heaven, Palmina, Qupé, being poured, so I a made point to seek out wines that I had not sampled before.
Bob Lindquist winemaker/owner of Qupe and his son Theo
With far too many wines to sample everything, I had to really pick and choose carefully from the offerings. Of the wines I tasted, there were a few real stands outs. Jim Vogelzang was pouring an absolutely lovely ’06 Vogelzang Cabernet Sauvignon, but his superb 2009 Sauvignon Blanc was what took my breath away. Jim took a few minutes to explain to me what they do differently. Naturally, they start with great fruit – after all you cannot make an outstanding wine if you start with bad grapes. Here is where it gets interesting. After the grapes are picked; they are put on refrigerated trucks which are driven to Napa. In Napa they delivered to renowned winemaker Robbie Meyer (of Versant, Jericho Canyon, Peirson Meyer and L’Angevin) who works his oenological magic. Jim also let me know that for the Sauvignon Blanc, Meyer uses neutral French oak barrels that have been used for Chardonnay. Another outstanding white was the unreleased ’09 Dragonette Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc which was heady with the aroma of honeysuckle and tasted of creamy lemon curd. Yes, dear reader, I know I said I was going to avoid familiar labels, but this was an unreleased Sauvignon Blanc from Dragonette, so I had to bend my own rule. It was less of a hard and fast rule and more of a guideline really, anyway. 😉
Dan Reeves of Reeves Ranch Vineyard
Even though it was a very warm day and white wines were helping me cool off, I did taste some wonderful reds at the festival. I loved the 2006 Jalama Paradise Road Syrah, which is co-fermented with 3% Viognier in the classic French Côte–Rôtie style. Young winemaker, Mark Cargasacchi is crafting some truly beautiful wines. It runs in the family; Mark’s brother is making some outstanding wine too. Speaking of Mark’s wines, he wasn’t pouring it at the festival, but his 2006 Jalama El Capitan is *really* worth getting your hands on (while you still can). It is a red blend of 47% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre and 23% Cabernet. He only made 92 cases of this rich beauty, and last time I checked they only had 8 cases left, so if you’re a fan of GSM blends, give the folks over at Jalama Wines a call: 805-735-8937 or go visit the new tasting room in the Lompoc. Tell them that Anne from Wine Nation Underdog sent you. You’ll thank me later after you’re tucking into your first glass. Overall, my favorite Syrah of the festival was the 2008 Reeves Ranch Syrah. I had heard of the name Reeves Ranch Vineyard because Kris Curran (winemaker/owner of Curran) made a Reeve’s Ranch Reserve Syrah from fruit from this vineyard a few vintages ago. It was extraordinary, so naturally I had to go investigate the source of this outstanding fruit. Boy was I in for a treat. Dan Reeves poured me some of his 2008 Reeves Ranch Vineyard Syrah and I really enjoyed the well integrated flavors of coffee, mocha and spice. Most of the fruit is from the estate which is located in the foothills above Los Olivos. The vines which were originally planted in 1989, were grafted over to Australian and French Syrah clones (Shiraz clone 3, Estrella and Clone 99) in 1994. The rest of the fruit is from Black Oak vineyard in Los Alamos. Though the grapes from Reeves and Black Oak were fermented separately, it was eventually blended together and aged for 18 months in French oak, some of which was neutral. After I tasted this wine, I thought it would be priced around $35 a bottle. Are you ready for this? The wine sells for $24 on the Reeves Ranch website and you get a discount if you order a case. Don’t you love it when you find a great wine at a really good price? I do! If you are in the Central Coast area, you can taste this wine at Avant Tapas and Wine bar in Buellton. It is also being poured by the glass at Los Olivos Café (in Los Olivos). Don’t wait too long though, because they only make 400 cases a year.
Peter Stolpman of Stolpman Vineyards
There were lots of great events over the Harvest Festival weekend, including an open house at Au Bon Climat / Qupé winemaking facility. There was also an open house event at Cold Heaven – as soon as I get my notes and snapshots organized I will post again. Until then, let me leave you with this thought. Those who abstain from alcohol die sooner than those who drink moderately (1 to 3 drinks per day)…as if you needed an excuse!
Danish visitors who are cellar ratting at Ampelos for the summer
On the way out to Los Olivos for a wine tasting event, we stopped at Brander. I’d served Brander’s 2008 Purisima Sauvignon Blanc at a wine dinner a few weeks ago. I’d been meaning to come back to buy more ever since. One of the guests at the wine dinner, a self-proclaimed “reds only” guy, tasted it and said “I’ve been wrong about white wine my whole life”. Truly a high compliment – and a worthy wine. Many Sauvignon Blancs, especially those with aromatics of grass or “cat pee”, are totally lost on me. This Sauvignon Blanc has heady floral aromatics and a great balance of fruit and acid. It will be a great match for seafood! In addition to the Purisima Sauvignon Blanc we tasted a number of other wines from Brander. The 2008 Cuvee Nicolas, a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, was another well balanced white from Brander. It spent 5 months in neutral French oak before it was bottled. It is slightly rounded on the palate, though it still has good acidity. An all-around great food wine! We also tasted some of Brander’s red wines. The 2008 Brander Merlot is really wonderful with flavors of black cherries and chocolate. It only spent 5 months in French and American oak – so the flavor of the fruit really shine. Priced at $20 a bottle (or $216 a case), this wine is an incredible value – lots of bang for the buck! Another great red is the 2007 Brander Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Even though it is young, there is already fabulous flavor integration and it is drinking well now. I grabbed a few of these so that I can have Cabernet to drink while I am waiting for my Napa Cabs to sufficiently age. =)
Bob Lindquist, Ethan Lindquist and Paige Lindquist
After Brander we headed to Los Olivos to the Qupe tasting room where winemaker Bob Lindquist lead a tasting of all the wines that Qupe makes from the Bien Nacido Vineyard. It was an impressive lineup of whites and reds:
2008 Qupe Bien Nacido Cuvee – this is a blend of 50% Chardonnay/50% Viognier. Qupe has been making this blend since 1992. For this blend the Chardonnay fruit is picked underripe and the Viognier is picked slightly overripe – resulting in good structure, freshness and balance.
2008 Qupe Chardonnay Bien Nacido Y Block – This wine is made from fruit picked at varying times which means that the wine is both crisp (from earlier picked fruit – at 21 brix) and lush (from later picked fruit – at 25 brix).
2007 Qupe Chardonnay Bien Nacido Reserve Block 11 – This Chardonnay has 22% Roussanne blended into it which gives the wine headier aromatics. Bob Lindquist says that “this wine can age beautifully for 10-15 years.”
2007 Qupe Roussanne Bien Nacido Hillside Estate – Roussanne is a challenging grape on many different levels. It is difficult to grow well and it is also challenging in the cellar. This wine is fermented and aged in barrels that were used once for Chardonnay. This year’s vintage is more crisp and minerally than past vintages and should develop into a more complex wine over time.
2006 Qupe Roussanne Bien Nacido Hillside Estate – Named “Best New World Wine” by Decanter magazine, this is a perfectly balanced 100% Roussanne grown in Block 10 of Bien Nacido. The vines are Tablas Creek clones; these are originally from Chateau de Beaucastel in the Chateauneuf du Papes.
2000 Qupe Roussanne Bien Nacido Vineyard – At 10 years of age, this balanced wine is drinking really beautifully. The fruit for this wine was the first crop off of a custom planting at Bien Nacido. It was fermented and aged in one year old Francois Freres French oak barrels (that had been used once for Chardonnay) for 15 months.
2007 Qupe Syrah Bien Nacido – 3% of the Syrah fruit was sourced from the new Sawyer-Lindquist Vineyard. The weather during fruit set was very windy, which caused yields to be low and increased the intensity of the flavors. Lindquist says that this one can be cellared for 8-12 years.
2006 Qupe Syrah Bien Nacido Hillside Estate – The fruit for this Syrah is from a 5 acre southwest facing slope called Z block. This block is farmed organically to Qupe’s specifications. This is Qupe’s 20th vintage of Syrah.
2006 Qupe Syrah 25th Anniversary Bien Nacido X Block – The block where this fruit was grown is farmed biodynamically by the Bien Nacido team. Lindquist used 50% whole clusters in the fermentation which adds layers of spice and complexity. He made this wine specifically to cellar – he says you can lay this one down for 20-25 years.
1999 Qupe Syrah Bien Nacido Hillside Estate – Lauded by critics (96 points from Wine & Spirits magazine) since its release in 2002, this wine is drinking beautifully in 2010 with flavors of fruit, spice and smoke. 1999 was rainy and cold and the grapes ripened very slowly. In fact, the grapes for this wine were harvested on November 18 at 22.5 degrees brix – later than any other Qupe vintage to date.
Lindquist was clearly in his element pouring wine with help from son Ethan and daughter Paige. After we tasted through the entire list of wine, Lindquist told stories. He said that Paige’s first word as a child was “cheese”. Of course! We also played a few rounds of 1960’s music “name that tune”. Jason and I didn’t recognize a single song; sadly we didn’t win any wine. Oh well, we didn’t go home empty handed – we picked up a few bottles of the 2007 Qupe Central Coast Syrah, 2006 Qupe Syrah Alisos Vineyard (one of my favorites!) and the 2007 Qupe Grenache Purisima Mountain Vineyard.
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