Our limited production Unique Cuvées focus on the expression of their place of origin, rather than grape varieties. The specific conditions of their terroir drive our blending decistions: no pre-conceived formulas, no recipes, no borrowed "traditions" from anywhere else: Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, or Napa. In the "Old World" tradition, varietal blends enables us to reach a better balanced, distinctive expression of terroir, free of winery manipulations like inoculations, acid corrections, water additions or removal (reverse osmosis), fining/filtration, and so on. By far, most of our blending is done in the vineyard - we co-ferment as much of the final blend as Nature allowes… Experience shows that this practice results in well-integrated, harmonious blends. We regularly co-ferment white and red grapes: this tends to improve the texture, mid-palate, and aromatic expression of our red wines. And since 2007 we no longer use any new oak barrels for aging our wine; we use 1-5 years old barrels, which do not distort or mask the true character of the wine with the all too familliar "vanilla gloss".
We lease about 8 acres of top quality Mountain vineyards in our immediate area and farm them with the same care and environmentally conscientious methods of viticulture we use in our Pinot Noir Vineyards.
Cuvée Mystérieuse -- NV
Our first Special Cuvee experiment: we found that the Syrah and Merlot grapes work wonderfully well together, making a wild, intense, tannic hulk of a wine. The Cabernet adds some elegance to the mix and tames it with its refined berry/herbal touches, and the Viognier brings it to life with its fresh acidity and enchanting flowery/spicy aromas.
708 bottles
, 36 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 10/1/2002.
Carte Blanche -- 2009
Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Roussanne.
0 bottles
bottled yes on 2/20/2010.
Tickled Pink -- 2009
Syrah 100%. A dry rosé: light, lively, extemely food-friendly.
0 bottles
bottled yes on 2/12/2010.
Tickled Noir -- 2009
Pinot Noir 100%.
330 bottles
bottled yes on 4/15/2010.
Home Vineyard Pinot Noir -- 2008
Similar to the 07 in style, with slightly more elegance and purity.
945 bottles
, 36 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 1/1/2010.
Tickled Pink -- 2008
Syarh 66%, Cabernet Sauvignon 34%
780 bottles
bottled yes on 2/27/2009.
Carte Blanche -- 2008
Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne, Semillon, Viognier, Chardonnay.
1390 bottles
bottled yes on 2/19/2009.
Home Vineyard Pinot Noir -- 2007
Intensely fruity, graceful balance and texture, great purity and length.
973 bottles
, 18 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 12/23/2008.
Tickled Pink -- 2007
A dry rosé made of 100% Syrah
1404 bottles
bottled yes on 2/23/2008.
Carte Blanche -- 2007
Viognier/Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc.
996 bottles
bottled yes on 2/28/2008.
Texas Hill Rd Pinot Noir -- 2006
Located about 2 miles east of our Home Vineyard, this is a one-acre, east-facing vineyard at about 1700 ft. elevation. Clone 115 planted ca. 1995 on de-composed granite and clay-loam topsoil.
0 bottles
bottled on 2/1/2008.
Tickled Pink -- 2006
Rose of Syrah and Mourvedre
0 bottles
bottled on .
Carte Blanche -- 2006
Viognier/Roussanne,/Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc
1750 bottles
bottled yes on 2/7/2007.
Tickled Pink -- 2005
A lively, refreshing, spicy blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. If you have given up on California Rosé - try this one!
792 bottles
bottled on 3/8/2006.
Carte Blanche -- 2005
Viognier (55%), Chardonnay (28%), and Sauvignon Blanc (17%), together creating a rich flowery fabric, with herbal spices and minerals.
894 bottles
bottled on 3/8/2006.
Black Pearl -- 2005
Syrah 47%, Cabernet Sauvignon 47%, Petit Verdot 2%, Viognier/Roussanne 4%.
1060 bottles
, 42 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 7/10/2008.
Cuvee Mysterieuse -- 2005
A crosss between the California sun and the Rhone Valley's warm spice and friendly flavors. Complex, gentle, harmonious, spicy, food friendly.
1044 bottles
, 36 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 5/13/2008.
Heart of Stone Syrah -- 2005
Syrah 98%, Viognier 2%. Fermented on the stems in an open top wood vat.
0 bottles
bottled unfined, unfiltered on 6/29/2008.
Texas Hill Road Pinot Noir -- 2005
About 2 miles east of our Home Vineyard, this is a one-acre, east-facing vineyard at about 1700 ft. elevation. Clone 115 planted ca. 1995 on de-composed granite and clay-loam topsoil.
1080 bottles
bottled unfined, unfiltered on 3/15/2007.
Cuvée Mystérieuse -- 2004
Syrah 61%, Merlot 31%, Mourvedre 5%, Viognier 3%. Intensely aromatic, complex, elegant, beautifully balanced. Rich, polished tannins.
1259 bottles
, 48 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 5/3/2007.
Syrah Heart of Stone -- 2004
Syrah 96%, Viognier 4%. Mouthfilling and spicy, rich in cherry, musky flavors, ending on violets and minerals.
1997 bottles
, 48 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 4/13/2007.
Tickled Pink -- 2004
A dry rosé made of Syrah, Grenache, and
Mourvèdre. Well balanced, with rich fruit, refreshing
natural acidity, spices & minerals. A perfect lunch wine.
936 bottles
bottled yes on 2/15/2005.
Carte Blanche -- 2004
The second version of our white blend, this time with nearly equal proportions of Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.
1284 bottles
bottled on 3/8/2005.
Black Pearl -- 2004
A blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc. Rich, flavorful, and harmonious.
1260 bottles
, 42 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 4/25/2007.
Pinot Too -- 2003
Made from the fruit of younger vines on our property blended with some older vine fruit from another vineyard in our neighborhood.
672 bottles
bottled Unfined, Unfiltered on 1/7/2005.
Holy Moly! -- 2003
Our very own SGM blend (Grenache 58%, Syrah 21%, Mourvedre 21%).
1308 bottles
bottled unfined, unfiltered on 6/29/2005.
Black Pearl -- 2003
Merlot 51%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Syrah 19%
1144 bottles
, 42 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 1/24/2006.
Sacre Bleu! Syrah -- 2003
Syrah 95%, Grenache 2%, Mourvedre 1%, Viognier 2%. Super intense and structured.
1260 bottles
, 36 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 12/26/2005.
Cuvée Mystérieuse -- 2002
The blend this vintage is of Syrah, Merlot, and Viognier, resulting in an intensely aromatic, elegant, highly distinctive wine.
1320 bottles
, 60 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 1/2/2005.
Syrah Heart of Stone -- 2002
Our first relase of a varietal Syrah: big, juicy, spicy, built to last. Just in case you wonder, this wine is neither over-ripe, over-alcoholic, or over-oaked. We much prefer pure fruit, balance, and the stamp of a unique vineyard site in our wines, and this Syrah has it all.
1668 bottles
, 60 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 8/4/2004.
Pinot Too -- 2002
Fruit from our own young vines blended with old-vine Pinot we bought locally make a delicious, irresitible little wine - - - Well, not that little.
350 bottles
bottled unfined, unfiltered on 3/4/2004.
Carte Blanche -- 2002
Our first white wine, made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Viognier. These blend so amazingly well together, we just can't figure out why nobody has tried it before...
1440 bottles
bottled Unfined on 3/1/2003.
Black Pearl -- 2001
The various grape varieties for this blend were organically grown in a number of separate vineyard parcels between 1700-2400ft, on steep, rocky, granitic slopes. The result is a giant of a wine, with uncommon concentration, depth, length, and balance. An elegant monster.
1572 bottles
, 12 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 3/10/2004.
Black Pearl -- 2000
A big, rich, harmonious wine, elegantly combining the cabernet might with the syrah animal charm, the sangiovese tangy plumpness, and the petit verdot daunting spice.
948 bottles
, 72 magnums, bottled unfined, unfiltered on 3/1/2003.
A
Unique Vineyard Producing Pinot Noir Wine of Distinctive Character in the California Sierra Foothills.