Mendocino County Wine Tour - August 2017 - Part 2
I’d made a couple of Mendocino County wine visits on Saturday, to two higher-elevation vineyards located far out in the middle of nowhere – Halcón in Yorkville Highlands and Drew in Mendocino Ridge. That meant a lot of driving for me on some winding roads through the mountains of Mendocino. I expected that Sunday would another fairly long day, but at least the driving would be easier as I was focusing exclusively on wineries in Anderson Valley that day.
The only winding road I’d face on this day was Highway 253 between my motel in Ukiah and Boonville in Anderson Valley. Getting an early start on Sunday morning meant that there were hardly any other cars on the road, so it was a pleasant and scenic drive. My first destination of the day was Foursight Wines, located just outside of Boonville and one of the first places you come to as you head into town from the east end of the valley.
Foursight Wines
Tasting Notes: Current Releases & Barrel Samples |
Foursight 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. This displayed bright citrus, stone fruit, and herbal aromas with floral undertones. Medium-light bodied with lively acidity and a clean finish, nice.
Foursight 2015 Sémillon, Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Pear and melon fruit, spice, and touches of honey and vanilla/oak on the nose. Medium weight on the palate with good acidity and a long, tasty finish, nice.
Foursight 2014 Pinot Noir, “Zero New Oak,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Light ruby color, featuring lots of bright red fruits, tea leaf, flowers, and spice. Medium-bodied with a pleasant texture and fine tannins, nice.
Foursight 2014 Pinot Noir, Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Similar color to the previous wine, with a bigger spice component along with a somewhat darker fruit profile along with earth and herb notes and undertones of sweet oak. Showing a bit more structure than the previous wine, with slightly chalky tannins on the finish – still on the young side but should develop nicely.
Foursight 2016 Pinot Noir, “Zero New Oak,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley (barrel sample). This featured higher-toned red fruit, exotic spices, and earth on the nose, with juicy acidity and a bright finish with milder tannins.
Foursight 2016 Pinot Noir, Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley (barrel sample). Red fruit, rhubarb, spice, and earth aromas, with a more texture on the palate and more tannic finish than the previous wine.
Foursight 2015 Pinot Noir, “Clone 05,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Plum and black cherry fruit, tea leaf, mushroom and forest floor aromas along with a touches of flowers and vanilla/oak. Medium weight with a slightly richer mouthfeel than the previous Pinots, finishing with fine tannins, nice.
Foursight 2016 Pinot Noir, “Clone 05,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley (barrel sample). Darker fruit profile than the previous wine and a bigger oak component, plus exotic spice aromas. Plenty of structure and grippier tannins, promising barrel sample that needs time.
Foursight 2015 Pinot Noir, “Paraboll,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Ripe plum and spice aromas, along with vanilla/oak and earth notes. Bigger mouthfeel and structure, with a firm tannic finish – should develop with more time in the bottle.
Foursight 2016 Pinot Noir, “Paraboll,” Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley (barrel sample). Ripe plum and blueberry, somewhat woody oak, and spice on the nose, fairly big and rich with youthful tannins.
Foursight 2014 Late Harvest Sémillon, Charles Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Ripe apricot, honey, and spice aromas with a touch of orangepeel. Moderately rich texture with good acidity and a long, clean, sweet finish, nice.
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I pulled into the driveway to Foursight Wines a few minutes before my scheduled appointment there, but proprietors Kristy Charles and her husband Joe Webb were already there, along with their young son Evan. I suppose that should not have been a surprise as they live on the same property, which is owned by Kristy’s parents and winery co-proprietors Bill and Nancy Charles. I had tasted the Foursight wines several times at various wine events and always enjoyed them, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to visit the vineyard and winery.
Bill Charles is an Anderson Valley native, and he met Nancy when both were studying at Cal State Chico in the early 1970s. Bill’s father settled in Anderson Valley in 1943 and ran a lumber mill outside of Boonville – he also purchased additional property in the area over the years. Bill went into the construction business as well as commercial real estate, while Nancy worked at a hospital in Ukiah for a number of years. They both worked at farming on the family’s property as well, raising beef cattle and poultry, and growing hay and other crops. Like her father, Kristy was born in Anderson Valley. She attended college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she earned a degree in journalism – she’s written for Wine Business Monthly among other publications and has worked with highly-regarded wine marketing and sales company Wilson Daniels. It was while Kristy was at Cal Poly that she met Joe, who was a business major at nearby Cuesta College. Joe transferred to Cal State Sonoma and earned a degree in their wine business program in 2005, while working for local producers such as Sebastiani and Landmark. Following his graduation, Joe spent 2½ years at Joseph Swan vineyards as assistant winemaker and direct sales manager, then moved to Anderson Valley in 2007 where he was the general manager / managing partner for Londer Vineyards for seven years. He’s been focused full-time on Foursight for the past three years. Besides his wine work, Joe is an avid skier.
Bill and Nancy first planted the 15-acre vineyard on their property just outside of Boonville in 2001 – it’s planted mostly to Pinot Noir along with Sauvignon Blanc and a little Sémillon. They sold nearly all their fruit for the first couple of years but Kristy and Joe made small lots of the Pinot for family and friends starting in 2004. In 2006 Bill and Nancy along with Kristy and Joe established Foursight, and their first commercial wines came from that vintage. They completed their winery and tasting room in 2009 – the same year that Kristy and Joe married. Foursight is very much a family business, and Kristy and Joe told me that they’d just recently hired the winery’s first full-time employee for tasting room and harvest help. The winery name refers to the four founders of the label as well as to the four generations of the Charles family who have lived and worked on their land in Anderson Valley. The total current annual Foursight production is close to 2,000 cases.
The estate Charles Vineyard is at the heart of Foursight. It’s a gently-sloping site featuring 2-3 feet of loamy topsoil with cobble and sand below – it’s ancient riverbed soil of Anderson Creek, which now borders the property. Joe told me that they generally have wind coming down the valley and through the vineyard starting in early- to mid-afternoon during growing season, and that the site can get up to a 50-degree diurnal temperature swing. Since frost can be an issue in spring, the family has installed a wind machine near the center of vineyard. They also recycle water through french drains and catch basins, while working to reduce irrigation water use. Pinot Noir clones planted include Pommard 5, 114, 115, and 777. Bill and Nancy still do much of the farming, with help from highly-regarded Anderson Valley vineyard managers Paul Ardzrooni and Norman Kobler. There’s no tilling at the site, and they use compost tea and wettable sulfur for spraying the vines. The family currently sells about half of the vineyard’s fruit to various producers including Papapietro Perry, The Withers, and Navarro.
All of the Foursight wines are made with estate Charles Vineyard fruit. Joe told me that picking decisions are mainly based on sugar, seeds, and flavor (he’s looking to retain red fruit flavor for the Pinots), and the aim is to make wines with less than 14% alcohol. The fruit is picked in the early morning – the coldest time of the day – and since the winery is adjacent to the vineyard, it can be typically processed within an hour of picking. There is no cold soak for the Pinots, and the wines are all fermented with native yeast. Pinots are fermented in one-ton t-bins, and are usually pressed after 28-35 days. Joe adds CO2 pellets contained in small plastic bins at both the beginning and end of fermentation for protection of the must from oxygen, and uses permeable bin lids to blow off some alcohol and volatile acidity during fermentation. The winery has a large Champagne press that they use for all the wines, and Joe will press Pinots to tank for 1-2 days before racking to barrel. The Pinots are typically racked once during barrel aging, and most are aged in barrel for 10-11 months plus additional time in bottle prior to release. Beginning with the 2016 vintage, a couple of bottlings will get more extended aging – the “Zero New Oak” and Charles Vineyard Pinots will spend 18-20 months in barrel and 11-12 months in bottle before release. In terms of wine style, Joe told me that he’s a fan of Ted Lemon and his Littorai wines.
After I’d arrived at the tasting room and talked with Kristy and Joe for a few minutes, Kristy excused herself to attend to some business, and Joe started me on tasting the current Foursight wines. He began by pouring me the bright and citrusy 2016 Sauvignon Blanc – this was made in 1/3 neutral oak and 2/3 stainless steel. Next was 2015 Sémillon, made in 20% new French oak, 20% stainless steel, and 60% neutral oak – very distinctive honey and spice notes on this wine. Joe said that both the Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon are picked at the vineyard after the Pinot Noir, and that he has occasionally blended the two varieties but usually keeps them separate.
We proceeded to two Pinot Noirs which were identical except for the barrel treatment. First was the 2014 “Zero New Oak” Pinot, aged entirely in older barrels, followed by the 2014 Charles Vineyard Pinot, aged in 33% new Remond barrels (mainly for tannin rather than aromatics/flavor). The fruit for both was picked at the same time and both were fermented with 50% whole clusters. There was quite a noticeable difference between the two, with the “Zero New Oak” bottling showing more red fruit and floral notes while the regular Charles Vineyard bottling had a slightly darker fruit profile and a bigger spice component.
Joe next led me back into the winery to taste some barrel samples as well as a few more current releases. We tried samples of the 2016 “Zero New Oak” and 2016 Charles Vineyard Pinots, which will be bottled in about a year – both of these were fermented with 40% whole clusters and the Charles Vineyard bottling will have about 40% new French oak. Next we tried a bottle of 2015 “Clone 05” Pinot Noir – entirely from Pommard 5 clone – with about 40% whole-cluster fermentation and 40% new French oak. This bottling was quite distinct from the basic Charles Vineyard Pinot, with more tea leaf and mushroom notes. Joe then pulled me a 2016 barrel sample of the “Clone 05” Pinot, and he mentioned that the fruit for this single-clone bottling is usually a bit riper than for the overall Charles Vineyard Pinot.
Joe next opened a bottle of the 2015 “Paraboll” Pinot Noir. The “Paraboll” name was used by Londer Vineyards for one of their Pinot bottlings, and Joe was able to take over the name from Londer after they closed their winery – he told me that he also wanted to keep the name as an ongoing tribute to Larry and Shirlee Londer. In keeping with the Londer “Paraboll,” this wine is in a bigger, riper style, aged in 66% new heavy toast French oak. We tasted a 2016 barrel sample of the “Paraboll” Pinot, then finished with a bottled dessert wine, the 2014 Late Harvest Sémillon. The fruit for this was picked at 28 brix with about 20% botrytis, and the finished wine is 8.0% alcohol and 13.2% residual sugar. This wine is not something that Foursight typically makes – more of a one-off – and Joe said that he likes to make something new and different in most years, for example their 2011 Vin Gris, 2013 “Unoaked” Pinot Noir, etc.
I had mentioned to Joe that I would like to see their vineyard, so after we were finished with tasting the wines, we walked out of the winery and east along the road through the property until we reached the vineyard gate. We walked past the Sémillon vines along vineyard fence, and I noted that they had quite large clusters. It was just about that time that Joe yelled out and grabbed his ankle – he’d been stung by yellowjacket! While we were in the tasting room earlier, he’d told me that he’s allergic to the stings and has been fortunate to largely avoid being stung during harvest and crush over the years. He wasn’t so lucky this time, as I saw a Facebook post from him a day or so later showing that his ankle had swelled up quite a bit. We looked at some of the Sauvignon Blanc vines – Joe said that these often have a good deal of shatter, and indeed there were many “hens and chicks” clusters with different-sized berries in the same cluster.
As we walked over to the Pinot Noir vines, we felt a few raindrops, a very unusual occurrence in the area for early August. Joe said that the family farms the Pinot with a goal of two clusters per shoot, so the yield is modest. We saw that veraison had begun on many of the Pinot vines, and Joe was surprised that the color was mostly on the morning (east) side of the vine rows – something he said he had not seen before. With veraison underway, the family was starting to install bird netting in vineyard. We looked at various parts of the vineyard, with different Pinot clones and different rootstocks and trellising in some areas. Joe told me that he’d like to do some denser meter-by-meter planting for the Pinot Noir at some point.
My visit to Foursight was a great way to kick off my day in Anderson Valley. It was good to see Joe and Kristy again – they proved to be terrific hosts, and it was fun to taste through the entire line-up of their current wines. I also enjoyed my walk through the Charles Vineyard with Joe – a scenic location. All the current Foursight wines were quite good, and all of their four Pinot Noirs were very distinct from one another. The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, 2015 Sémillon, 2014 “Zero New Oak” Pinot Noir, and 2015 “Clone 05” Pinot Noir were my favorites of the current wines, and the other wines were not far behind. The 2016 Pinot barrel samples I tried with Joe all showed good potential as well. The Foursight tasting room is an easy choice for a winery stop when visiting Anderson Valley, and if you’re looking for a place to stay in the area, they have two guesthouses on the property too.
Before I left Foursight, I asked Joe for lunch recommendations, as it had been many years since I’d enjoyed a meal in Anderson Valley and I knew there had been a number of changes in the dining scene since then. Joe suggested Stone & Embers, just a few miles down the road in Philo, and that worked perfectly with my plans to visit some Philo-area tasting rooms before heading back toward Boonville later that afternoon.
Stone & Embers is located in a complex called The Madrones. This includes guest quarters and several tasting rooms set among beautiful Mediterranean-style courtyards and arcades. Surprisingly for early August, the rain I’d felt while visiting Foursight earlier in the morning continued off and on as I approached Philo. It was still drizzling very lightly when I got to Stone & Embers, but weather looked to be clearing up and I opted to sit outside in their patio. I’d arrived shortly after the restaurant had opened for lunch, and the patio filled up with other diners before long – clearly this was a popular place, always a good sign.
Pizzas are the specialty at Stone & Embers – they're all 12" individual pies. The one I ordered was delicious and others I saw being brought out looked great too. I had the "Arugula Pie" – panna sauce, arugula, green garlic, baby potato, smoked prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, grana Padano, lemon oil. I'd considered ordering a salad too but in the end I didn't need it since the pizza had loads of arugula on it. My meal was very tasty and certainly memorable. I didn't get a starter or dessert but the choices looked tempting. Service was very good, and there’s a well-chosen selection of wine and beer too. A bit pricey but worth the money – I'd certainly go back to Stone & Embers again.
I had no Sunday afternoon appointments set up, so I picked a few wineries to stop in and taste – all except one of them were places I’d never visited before. I decided to start off with a long-time Anderson Valley favorite – Navarro – and then work my way back to Boonville to shorten my drive back to my motel in Ukiah later in the day.
Navarro Vineyards
Tasting Notes: Current Releases & Barrel Samples |
Navarro 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, “Cuvée 128,” Anderson Valley. Bright citrus and stone fruit aromas with touches of fresh herbs and flowers. Medium-light bodied, this had a fairly lively mouthfeel and finish.
Navarro 2015 Dry Muscat Blanc, Estate, Anderson Valley. Showing the variety’s typical perfumey aromatics along with citrus, pear, and spice notes. Medium weight on the palate, with a pleasant finish.
Navarro 2015 Dry Gewürztraminer, Estate, Anderson Valley. Subtle but distinctive lychee and spice plus herbs on the nose. Medium-bodied with refreshing acidity and a clean finish, nice.
Navarro 2016 Rosé, Mendocino. 93% Grenache, 7% Carignane. Moderate scents of watermelon and flowers, with earthy undertones. Medium-light bodied, this had a lively texture and long finish.
Navarro 2014 Pinot Noir, “Méthode à l'Ancienne,” Unfiltered, Anderson Valley. This displayed lots of tea leaf and red fruit on the nose, along with spice and earth notes. Medium weight with good acidity and fairly mild tannins.
Navarro 2014 Pinot Noir, “Deep End Blend,” Unfiltered, Anderson Valley. Featuring black cherry and plum fruit, bigger earth and spice components, and a touch of mushroom / forest floor. Medium-bodied with more structure than the previous wine, finishing with firm but fine tannins, nice.
Navarro 2016 Pinot Noir, “Deep End Blend,” Anderson Valley (barrel sample). Very aromatic, with lots of flowers, spice, tea leaf, and black cherry on the nose. Lively texture and good structure, this is already delicious and has very good potential.
Navarro 2016 Riesling, Late Harvest, Anderson Valley. Upfront ripe apricot, honey, and spice aromas. Medium-rich mouthfeel, with a moderately sweet finish and good balancing acidity, nice.
Navarro 2013 Gewürztraminer, Cluster Select Late Harvest, Anderson Valley. Intense honey, lychee, and stone fruit on the nose, along with a touch of spice. Medium-rich texture with fine acidity and a long, sweet finish, nice.
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I’d heard earlier in the day that Navarro was holding a special barrel-tasting event for wine club members and that it might be crowded, but I thought I’d give it a shot anyway, as it has been one of my favorite Anderson Valley wineries over the years. As it turned out, the special event was not being held at the tasting room itself, so once I parked, I walked in and managed to find a spot at the tasting bar right away. One of the earlier modern Anderson Valley wineries, Navarro was established by Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn in 1974. That year they began planting their estate vineyard near Philo with Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Muscat, and Chardonnay, and these varieties remain the winery’s best-known. About 90 acres of the 900-acre Navarro property is planted. Although not certified organic, vineyard practices aim for organic farming methods, avoiding pesticide use, planting cover crops between rows of vines, and trying to promote biodiversity and ecological balance on the land.
Navarro produces a wide variety of wines – currently around 30 different bottlings – from Alsatian-inspired Riesling and Gewürztraminer and traditionally-styled Pinot Noir to some of the finest late-harvest sweet wines in California. Even though the total production is now around 40,000 cases per year, Navarro prefers more traditional, labor-intensive winemaking over high-tech methods. Winemaker Jim Klein made wine in Santa Barbara County and New Zealand before coming to Navarro in the early ‘90s.
The rustic Navarro tasting room has been a busy place every time I’ve stopped in, and this day was no exception. Bianca Cruz was one of several staff members behind the bar there, and she poured me a number of the winery’s current releases. I tasted three whites there – the 2016 “Cuvée 128” Sauvignon Blanc was sourced from Foursight Vineyard, while the 2015 Dry Muscat Blanc and 2015 Dry Gewürztraminer were both from Navarro’s estate vineyard. Next was the 2016 Rosé, made mainly from Grenache plus a little Carignane, both sourced from the Ukiah area. All four of these wines were quite pleasant, with the Gewürz being my favorite of them.
Moving on to reds, Bianca started me out with a couple of 2014 Pinot Noirs – the “Méthode à l'Ancienne” and “Deep End Blend.” Both were good, but a barrel sample of the 2016 “Deep End Blend” Pinot, to be bottled in early 2018, was a real stunner – beautiful aromatics and fine structure. We finished up the tasting with two sweet wines. The 2016 Late Harvest Riesling fruit was harvested with some botrytis, and the finished wine is 8.2% residual sugar. The 2013 Cluster Select Late Harvest Gewürztraminer had lots of botrytis when it was picked, and the wine showed plenty of honey character along with the lychee-like Gewürz fruit, and a rich, sweet finish (15.5% residual sugar).
Navarro has been arguably the most solid and consistent performer among long-time Anderson Valley wineries. The wide range of wines makes it likely that almost everyone will find something they enjoy here – including their tasty non-alcoholic Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir grape juice – and the prices are more than reasonable. The Navarro winemaking style has long favored subtlety and elegance, and their latest wines show that emphasis has not changed. Favorites on this visit included the 2015 Dry Gewürztraminer, 2014 “Deep End Blend” Pinot, and both of the sweet wines, and the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc and 2016 Rosé were quite good as well. A visit to Navarro remains a “must” whenever I’m in Anderson Valley.
Baxter Winery
Tasting Notes: Current Releases |
Baxter 2015 Chardonnay, Oppenlander Vineyard, Mendocino. Earthy citrus and stone fruit aromas with touches of spice and stony minerals. Medium-bodied with refreshing acidity and a crisp finish, nice.
Baxter 2013 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. This showed slightly higher-toned red fruit along with lots of spice on the nose. Medium weight and lively with milder tannins.
Baxter 2014 Pinot Noir, Weir Vineyard, Yorkville Highlands. This had a more earthy profile than the previous wine, along with plummy fruit, spice, and a savory note. More structure than the previous wine, with a moderately tannic finish.
Baxter 2014 Pinot Noir, Run Dog Vineyard, Anderson Valley. More subtle black cherry fruit component, with tea leaf and earth in the foreground, plus touches of spice and forest floor. Medium-bodied with plenty of structure and great acidity, showing a minerally note along with firm tannins on the finish, nice.
Baxter 2013 Pinot Noir, Oppenlander Vineyard, Mendocino. Lighter color than the other Pinots, this displayed lots of exotic spice along with tea leaf, earth, red fruits, and floral notes. Big and structured, but with fairly refined tannins – deserving of more time in the cellar, this is very distinctive.
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I’d come across the Baxter Pinot Noirs at several wine events over the past five years or so and thought this would be a good time to stop at their tasting room in the center of Philo. The Baxter label was founded in 2002 by California natives Phil Baxter and his son Phillip – both studied winemaking (at Cal State Fresno and UC Davis, respectively), and have long backgrounds in the wine business. The first vintage of Baxter wines was from 2003. Phillip worked in Burgundy prior to returning to California to help launch the family’s label and has headed up the winemaking for the label since its inception, though both father and son play integral parts in the process. Most of the production is Pinot Noir, sourced from a number of vineyards in the Anderson Valley area and Yorkville Highlands. They also make some Chardonnay plus a little Nebbiolo and Montepulciano (both of these last two varieties from Fox Hill Vineyard near Ukiah), and they’ve worked with a few other grape varieties over the years as well. The wine is made at the family’s property in the Mendocino Ridge area.
The Baxter tasting room along Highway 128 in Philo has been open for about four years, and it stands out with its modern style. I stepped inside and Claire Baxter – Phillip’s wife – welcomed me. A native of England, Claire met Phillip while both were working in France. Claire told me that the vineyard sources for the Baxter wines are all organic or sustainable. The Pinot Noir fruit typically gets a 5-6 day cold soak, then is fermented with native yeast in one-ton t-bins, using about 10-30% whole clusters. The Pinot clones from each vineyard are kept separate, and the wine is usually pressed after about a seven-day extended maceration, then aged for 18-24 months entirely in neutral oak. The other Baxter wines are also aged in neutral oak – Claire said that they purchase older Chardonnay barrels from other vintners for use on all their wines.
Claire poured me the five wines that were available for tasting the day I visited, beginning with the 2015 Oppenlander Vineyard Chardonnay. The vineyard is located outside the small and remote town of Comptche, north of Anderson Valley, and Baxter is the only winery making Chardonnay from that site. The wine was a standout, with citrus and stony mineral components. Next was the 2013 Anderson Valley appellation Pinot Noir (sometimes referred to as their “Black Label” bottling), sourced mainly from Mary Elke’s vineyard near Boonville as well as other sites which vary depending on the vintage. This is the Baxter wine you’ll be most likely to see away from the tasting room.
The “Black Label” Pinot was nice, but the following three single-vineyard designates were all a step up and all quite distinctive. The 2014 Weir Vineyard Pinot, from an organic and dry-farmed site in Yorkville Highlands, was made from 667, 2A, and Rochioli clones – it displayed the earthy and darker-fruited character I often find in Pinots from this vineyard. The 2014 Run Dog Vineyard Pinot was entirely from Pommard clone fruit. The vineyard is located near Mountain View Road northwest of Boonville – Baxter leases and manages the farming at this one-acre organically-farmed site. With subtle fruit, herbs, and fine structure, this was a favorite. The final wine was the 2013 Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot Noir, from own-rooted Pommard, 114, and 115 clones – lighter in color but bigger in structure than the other two. Baxter also produces other single-vineyard designate Pinots that I didn’t taste on this visit, including one from Langley Vineyard in Anderson Valley.
I’ve felt that Baxter has been producing some of Mendocino’s most impressive Pinot Noirs in recent years, and this visit reinforced that view. Their Chardonnay showed that they do an excellent job with that variety as well. The Baxter winemaking – using no new oak in any of their wines – really allows vineyard distinctions to show clearly. The 2015 Oppenlander Vineyard Chardonnay was a standout, as were the 2014 Run Dog Vineyard Pinot and 2013 Oppenlander Vineyard Pinot. A visit to the Baxter tasting room in Philo is highly recommended.
Witching Stick Wines
Tasting Notes: Current Releases |
Witching Stick 2014 Chardonnay, Durell Vineyard, Sonoma Valley. Bright apple and earth aromas plus a touch of spice. Medium weight with a lively mouthfeel and clean finish, nice.
Witching Stick 2015 Zinfandel Rosato, Fashauer Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Light salmon/pink color, this had red fruit along with orangepeel on the nose. Medium-light bodied with moderate acidity and a slightly tart finish.
Witching Stick 2012 Pinot Noir, Gianoli Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge. Fairly light color, with somewhat higher-toned cherry and rhubarb notes, along with spice and earth. Medium-bodied with bright acidity and moderate tannins.
Witching Stick 2013 Pinot Noir, Gianoli Vineyard, Mendocino Ridge. Black cherry, spice, earth, plus tea leaf and stony mineral aromas. Medium weight and lively, with dusty tannins on the finish, nice.
Witching Stick 2011 Pinot Noir, Cerise Vineyard, Anderson Valley. This had lots of spice upfront, along with earth and background cherry notes on the nose. More structured than the previous Pinots, with a slight mineral note plus somewhat grippy tannins on the finish.
Witching Stick 2012 Pinot Noir, Cerise Vineyard, Anderson Valley. More fruit-forward than the previous wine, with black cherry, spice, bramble, and earth aromas. Good structure with moderate tannins – nice now but should still benefit from more bottle age.
Witching Stick 2013 Pinot Noir, Cerise Vineyard, Anderson Valley. This featured a floral note on the nose plus spice, black cherry, and tea leaf. Bright acidity on the palate and moderate tannins, with a stony mineral element on the finish, nice.
Witching Stick 2012 Zinfandel, Fashauer Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Bright raspberry and wild berry aromas, intense but not jammy, with brambly and earthy undertones. Medium-bodied with a lively texture and finish – more refined than many Zins and with great character, nice.
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I didn’t even need to get back in my car to reach my next destination, as it was right across the road in Philo at the tasting room of Witching Stick Wines. I had tasted their wines on a few occasions in recent years and I’ve always enjoyed them, particularly their Zinfandel. Witching Stick is the project of longtime Edmeades winemaker Van Williamson and his wife Anne Fashauer. Van had worked at a number of noted wineries prior to his 15 years at Edmeades, including Chateau Montelena, Fetzer, and Greenwood Ridge. Witching Stick’s estate Fashauer Vineyard is located in the mountains to the west of Philo – it’s in an area that is overlapped by both the Anderson Valley and Mendocino Ridge AVAs – and it was planted in 2000 with Zinfandel budwood sourced from century-old Dupratt Vineyard a short distance away. The first Witching Stick wines were from the 2010 vintage.
The Witching Stick tasting room opened in 2014, and it has a “homey” feel to it – it’s in the front portion of an older house, and a group of visitors was relaxing with their wine at a table on the front porch when I arrived. Lynn greeted me from behind the small tasting bar as I walked in – she mentioned that Van is usually at the tasting room on weekends but couldn’t make it that day.
Lynn started out my tasting with a lively 2014 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, followed by a 2015 Zinfandel Rosato from Fashauer Vineyard that featured an intriguing orangepeel spice component to the aromas. Lynn was pouring several vintages of two of the Witching Stick Pinots the day I visited, and I tasted 2012 and 2013 vintages of Gianoli Vineyard Pinot Noir from the rugged mountains of Mendocino Ridge. The 2013 was a particular standout, with herbal black cherry aromas and stony mineral notes. Next were three vintages of Cerise Vineyard Pinot, from 2011, 2012, and 2013. The vineyard is in the hills just east of Boonville. I thought each Cerise Pinot was better than the last, with the floral, earthy 2013 being my favorite of the three.
We finished the tasting with the 2012 Fashauer Vineyard Zinfandel. The site is a relatively cool one for Zin, and the Mendocino Ridge region has a long history of Zinfandel and mixed black vineyards – Van worked with several of these vineyards at Edmeades so he has plenty of experience making Zin from this area. At just over 14% alcohol, this is definitely not a big, jammy Zin – it’s bright and brambly yet elegant. Although the wine is predominantly Zinfandel, Lynn told me that there’s a little Carignane as well, as part of a vineyard field blend. In addition to the wines I tasted, Witching Stick has also made a Fashauer Vineyard Carignane Rosé, single-vineyard Pinots from Wiley and Perli vineyards, a Pinot blended from various vineyard sources called “Dowser’s Cuvée,” a Valenti Vineyard Syrah, and a sweet Zinfandel dessert wine.
I had a fun time tasting with Lynn at Witching Stick, and it was a treat to try the different vintages of the Gianoli and Cerise Pinot Noirs. The tasting room has an informal, relaxed atmosphere that I enjoyed, and I’ll have to return sometime when Van Williamson is there. Favorite wines included the 2014 Durell Vineyard Chardonnay, 2013 Gianoli Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2013 Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir, and 2012 Fashauer Vineyard Zinfandel. As good as the Pinots are, I still think that the Zin is the true star here, one of the very best you’ll find from this region. The Witching Stick tasting room is certainly worth a stop if you’re in Anderson Valley.
Elke Vineyards
Tasting Notes: Current Releases |
Elke 2011 “Madame Elke” Brut, “Méthode Traditionnelle,” Mendocino. From 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir. This had yeasty and earthy notes along with citrus and floral aromas. Restrained bubbles and a bright, pleasant finish, nice.
Elke 2015 “Mary Elke” Chardonnay, Anderson Valley. Showing scents of apples along with touches of spice and earth. Medium-bodied with moderate acidity and a mildly creamy texture.
Evans 2013 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. Lots of spice on the nose along with flowers, herbs, and black cherry fruit in support. Medium-bodied with good acidity and milder tannins, nice.
Elke 2011 Pinot Noir, Donnelly Creek Vineyard, Anderson Valley. This displayed spicy and somewhat higher-toned red fruit, plus earth and herb notes. Medium weight with bright acidity and moderate tannins.
Elke 2013 Pinot Noir, Donnelly Creek Vineyard, Anderson Valley. More fruit-forward than the previous wine, with black cherry, earth, and touches of flowers and spice. Medium-bodied with good structure and fine tannins, nice.
Elke 2014 Pinot Noir, Donnelly Creek Vineyard, Anderson Valley. This showed more subtle fruit notes, with more earth and tea leaf aromas along with floral undertones. With a structured mouthfeel and moderately grippy tannins, this may just need more time to show its best.
Elke 2015 Pinot Noir, Donnelly Creek Vineyard, Anderson Valley. Plenty of pretty floral aromas plus red fruit, tea leaf, and forest floor notes. This had juicy acidity and good structure, with a stony mineral component and moderate tannins on the finish, nice already and should develop well with more time in the bottle.
Evans 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon “Gypsy Cab,” Lake County. Upfront plummy fruit and herbal notes on the nose, with touches of spice and earth. A lighter weight Cab with fine acidity and milder tannins.
Elke 2013 “Fräulein Elke” Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. Intense ripe apricot and honey aromas, with notes of citrus and spice. Rich mouthfeel with a long, sweet finish..
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Although I’ve enjoyed Elke wines many times at tasting events and elsewhere, for some reason I’d never visited their tasting room, located about a mile west of Boonville. I made sure that I stopped in this time, and I’m glad that I did. I followed a short dirt drive from the highway until I came to the winery and tasting room, located in a barn-like building adjacent to Mary Elke’s estate Donnelly Creek Vineyard.
Mary and her late husband Tom planted Donnelly Creek vineyard in 1990, but Mary had been growing winegrapes (in Napa Valley) for about a decade before that. At the same time, she was famed for her Mary Elke organic apple juice – she continued to make some for many years. There are about 60 acres of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay planted at the Elke Home Ranch and at Donnelly Creek, and a number of well-known vintners have purchased her fruit over the years. The first wines under the Elke label were from the 1997 vintage, and Matt Evans has been the winemaker there since 2010. The winery is particularly known for Pinot Noir, and the estate vineyards include five Pinot clones, including two rare heritage selections, Stang and Elliott. Even after the Elke label was established, most of the fruit has continued to be sold to other producers. Mary’s son Matt has been managing their vineyards in recent years.
Tasting room manager Glad Donahue welcomed me in, and I found a seat at the modest tasting bar – a simple wood top set on a couple of wine barrels. Glad started me off with the very nice 2011 “Madame Elke” sparkling wine – this was the winery’s first vintage Brut, made by the méthode traditionnelle from 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir. Next was the 2015 Mary Elke Chardonnay, fermented in mostly older barrels and aged on the lees, then a 2013 Pinot Noir made under the Evans label, produced by winemaker Matt Evans. This wine was fermented with 33% whole clusters and showed lots of spice character.
Glad followed this with a four-vintage vertical of Elke Donnelly Creek Vineyard Pinot Noirs. Mary has produced several other Pinot bottlings over the years – many labeled “Mary Elke” – but the Elke Donnelly Creek bottlings have been the most distinctive of the wines. Mary has told me in the past that the Mary Elke label Pinots are intended to be in a more “New World” style, while the Elke label Pinots are more “Old World” and are made to be cellar-aged. The Elke label Donnelly Creek Vineyard Pinot is often referred to as the “Blue Diamond” bottling for the distinctive blue diamond on the label. The 2011 had spicy, higher-toned red fruit, the 2013 had a bit darker and more fruit-forward profile, the 2014 displayed more subtle and earthy aromas, while the 2015 – my favorite of the four – featured floral red fruits, tea leaf, and a minerally finish.
We finished the tasting with two more wines – the first of these was the 2013 Evans “Gypsy Cab,” sourced from a hillside site in Lake County. The 2013 “Fräulein Elke” Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, with fruit harvested at 34 brix, barrel-fermented, and finishing with 15% residual sugar, provided a sweet and rich conclusion to the tasting. Elke also makes a Pinot Gris that I didn’t taste on this visit.
Glad confirmed some news that I’d heard earlier – Mary is retiring from the wine business. The 2015 wines will be the final Elke vintage, and the tasting room is scheduled to close in November. It sounds like Mary and her son Matt will continue to farm their vineyards and sell the fruit to other vintners, though. The Elke tasting room really captures the essence of Anderson Valley – informal, rustic, and fun. Visit it while you still can! My favorite wines on this visit included the 2011 “Madame Elke” Brut sparkling wine, the Evans 2013 Pinot Noir, and the 2013 and 2015 vintages of the Elke Donnelly Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir. Mary and her wines have been a notable part of the Anderson Valley wine scene for nearly as long as I’ve been visiting the area. Although it will be sad to see the end of her tasting room and wine label, I wish Mary a long and enjoyable retirement!
Pennyroyal Farm
Tasting Notes: Current Releases & Library Wines |
Pennyroyal Farm 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, Anderson Valley. Restrained citrus and stone fruit aromas, with touches of flowers and herbs, and a slight stony mineral note. Medium-light weight with moderate acidity and a pleasant texture and finish.
Pennyroyal Farm 2016 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. Very light color, this displayed an intense floral character along with strawberry and spice. Lighter-bodied with vibrant acidity with a clean, fresh finish, nice.
Pennyroyal Farm 2015 Chardonnay, “Hammer Olsen,” Anderson Valley. This showed lots of spice along with apple and pear fruit and vanilla/oak in support. Moderately rich mouthfeel with a creamy finish.
Pennyroyal Farm 2014 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. Cherry and rhubarb, flowers, spice, and a touch of earth on the nose. Medium-bodied with bright acidity and a minerally note in the mouth, finishing with moderate tannins, nice.
Pennyroyal Farm 2013 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. This featured a more savory profile than the previous wine, with tea leaf, forest floor, and earth along with red fruit and spice notes. A bit more structured but with refined tannins, nice.
Pennyroyal Farm 2012 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. Another savory, herbal Pinot, with black cherry and plum fruit. Slightly smoother texture than the previous wine, with moderate tannins.
Pennyroyal Farm 2010 Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. Somewhat riper and higher-toned red fruit aromas along with more spice. Still fairly structured on the palate, with grippier tannins than the previous Pinots.
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I made one last wine-tasting stop before leaving Anderson Valley, at Pennyroyal Farm just east of Boonville. As the name implies, this is more than just a wine business, and a major part of the operation is producing fine farmstead cheeses from their goats and sheep. Pennyroyal Farm is considered a sister winery of Navarro Vineyards, as Sarah Cahn Bennett – daughter of Navarro proprietors Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn – is the Pennyroyal Farm co-owner and winemaker. Sarah has worked in the vineyard and the cellar at Navarro for a number of years. I’d met her and tasted a few of the Pennyroyal bottlings at a wine event about a year prior to my visit – I was impressed by the wines and thought this would be a good chance to learn more about them.
Although Pennyroyal Farm was only established in 2012, its story goes back further. Sarah’s family had owned the 100-acre property outside of Boonville for many years, and it had mainly been a hayfield during that time. In 2008 they began planting vines on a portion of the site – about 8 acres of Sauvignon Blanc and 15 acres of Pinot Noir. There are also 100 goats and 30 sheep on the farm for cheese production. The farm was conceived with a vision toward being entirely sustainable – fully solar-powered and zero-waste. No-till farming and composting are important parts of the plan, and various vegetables, herbs, greens, fruits, and flowers are also grown there. Pennyroyal Farm was named for the plant – a type of wild mint – that grows throughout much of the property. A number of different cheeses are produced, and the ones I had the opportunity to taste were delicious.
The Pennyroyal Farm tasting room opened in March 2017. It’s a beautiful, airy space that’s entirely modern yet reminiscent of older barn structures in the area. Even though I arrived just a half-hour before closing time, the tasting bar was still busy. Maura Burks greeted me there and proceeded to pour me the winery’s current releases as well as a few older vintages. All of the Pennyroyal Farm wines are made entirely from estate-grown fruit (including the Navarro estate) and they’re made at the Navarro facility. Maura started me with the citrusy and floral 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, which was aged in a large wood oval for nine months. The 2016 Rosé of Pinot Noir was a real standout – the fruit was kept on the skins for less than one hour before pressing and the wine was made entirely in stainless steel, where it was on the lees for six months before bottling. This had beautiful floral and strawberry scents with juicy acidity. Barrel-fermented, the 2015 “Hammer Olsen” Chardonnay was named for one of Navarro’s estate vineyards where the fruit for this wine was sourced.
Maura next led me through a vertical of four vintages of the Pennyroyal Farm Pinot Noir, all fermented in small bins. We began with the 2014, the latest release, which was aged for 10 months in about 33% new French oak. This was quite good, but even better was the 2013 vintage – perhaps the additional year of bottle age had given it a more savory quality to go with its black cherry and tea leaf notes. The 2012 had a similar character to the 2013, while the 2010 – the first Pennyroyal Pinot vintage – was from a blend of Pennyroyal Farm and Navarro estate fruit, aged for 18 months in 33% new oak. These were all very nice Pinots, particularly the three most recent vintages.
Pennyroyal Farm looks like a great new addition to Anderson Valley. It’s a family-friendly place with good wines and cheeses, and there are food options available to accompany tastings or just to enjoy out on their patio. I’d love to take their tour to check out the farm operation in the future when I have more time. I thought the 2016 Rosé of Pinot Noir and the 2013 and 2014 vintages of Pinot Noir were the standouts of the wines I tasted. This was a fun way to conclude my Mendocino wine tour, and the Pennyroyal tasting room is certainly a recommended stop in Anderson Valley.
After leaving Pennyroyal Farm, I couldn’t resist making one last stop in Anderson Valley before driving back to Ukiah for the night. Anderson Valley Brewing Company is located off of Highway 253 just a few hundred feet from Highway 128, the main road through the valley. I’d been there before, and I’ve enjoyed the Anderson Valley Brewing beers on many occasions through the years.
I often enjoy a beer after a full day of wine-tasting, and on this occasion I opted to try a sampler of five beers, served in 5-ounce glasses. There were nearly 20 beers on tap when I stopped in, so this was a good way to try out a few – my favorites were the Balo Saison and the Ee-Tah! IPA. It’s a fun atmosphere at Anderson Valley Brewing – the space is large and airy with lots of tables both inside and out on a patio. Not all brewery tasting rooms are family-friendly but this one is, and there were plenty of young kids there with their parents. As you would expect, there’s a wide choice of bottled beers available to take home and you can have your growler filled there too. If you enjoy beer, be sure to stop in when visiting Anderson Valley.
The drive back along Highway 253 to Ukiah was uneventful, and for the second straight evening, I chose a dinner spot that was within easy walking distance from my motel. This time I had dinner at Be-Bop’s Diner – it’s a fairly basic 1950s-themed diner where burgers are the star. There were lots of burger options – I had the "Peggy Sue" with mushrooms, garlic, Jack cheese, and bacon plus lettuce, tomato, and onion. The burger itself was quite good although the accompanying fries were just so-so. I got what I came for though – a tasty burger and beer – and I'd return if I'm looking for a burger in Ukiah.
This was a brief but very enjoyable tour of Mendocino County vineyards, wineries, and tasting rooms. All three of my scheduled visits – at Halcón, Drew, and Foursight – were fun, and all featured terrific wines. And I was happy with my choices of tasting room drop-in visits too – at Navarro, Baxter, Witching Stick, Elke, and Pennyroyal Farm. While I’ve found that Mendocino wines – like those from many parts of California – can sometimes be hit-and-miss, the better producers are as solid as from any wine region in the state. Many Mendocino wines are very well-priced, too – though as you’d expect, some of the top producers’ wines are not inexpensive – so you can often get great value for wines from the area. And as with many of California’s “lesser-known” wine regions, you’re more likely to meet a winemaker pouring at their tasting room – it was a friendly and laid-back atmosphere nearly everywhere I went. Mendocino County always seems farther away from the central San Francisco Bay Area than it really is, and I’ll have to make it a point to return there more often. As always, thanks to everyone that we visited for being so generous with their time and their wine!
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