Appellation Society \ Collectors Club September 2015
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APPELLATION SOCIETY COLLECTORS CLUB SEPTEMBER 2015 \ GREETINGS, CLUB MEMBERS I’ve settled into my harvest routine: First thing in the morning I head to the winery and taste the fermenting grape juice in a few of the tanks to determine if the juice is ready to be pressed off the grape skins. Secondly, based on the juice samples tasted in the lab the day before, I visit the vineyards to taste for myself the grapes which are getting close to ripe. If I’m lucky I grab lunch and return to the winery - this time to taste from every tank to check the wine’s progress. Late afternoon I am back in the lab to taste more juice samples…and the cycle begins again. My palate gets a workout, but I love it! The wines in this month’s shipment are all three from stunning, grand vintages – worthy of cellaring, but perfectly enjoyable now. Two of the wines are vintage 2012 – the Oakville and Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon - and the 2013 vintage wine, Contemplate, is a blend crafted exclusively for our members. Enjoy! Michael Beaulac Winemaker, General Manager OUR CHIHULY GETS A DUSTING As a wine club member we hope you’ve visited our winery’s cave and have seen the amazing glass sculpture, “Persian Set with Ash Lip Wrap,” by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly. If you’ve ever seen his work you know that it’s simply breathtaking – almost surreal in its beauty – and our yellow and gold-hued multi-piece sculpture is nothing less than spectacular. But, like glass of any kind, it gets dusty! So each year someone appointed from Chihuly’s team comes to the winery to clean the sculpture. Using gloves she lifts and spreads each piece on cloth-covered tables, removes (and then reapplies) the museum wax that holds the sculpture in place, and ever-so-gently dusts and cleans the glass pieces with a special cloth designed for the purpose. Watching her detailed handling of the sculpture reminds you of an archaeologist at work! VINEYARD UPDATE The growing season got off to a quick start this year, but in May and June during bloom – when tiny flowers destined to turn into grapes appear on the vines - cool weather arrived and slowed everything down. That’s okay with me. The grape clusters look loose and long, and they’ve gotten plenty of sunshine and air flow throughout the summer. Once again, I think quality is going to be very high this year. Gustavo Aviña, Vineyard Manager CELLAR UPDATE During harvest our cellar and lab population doubles as we bring in interns from all over the country to help us work the harvest. These folks come from all walks of life. Some are students, some are part-timers who help us out at harvest and bottling, and others are what I call the “tire kickers,” people from other professions who want to see if winemaking would be a good career. We hire them, train them, giving them tons of responsibility and then let them go. I don’t know of any other industry that does that! Michael Conversano, Assistant Winemaker WINEMAKING UPDATE The drought in California is on everyone’s mind. There’s no doubt it’s an issue for the state, but the silver lining in Napa Valley this year was that we had 23 inches of rain compared to an average of 29 inches. That’s not too bad. We’ve been testing our wells, and so far they’re pumping at the same rate as usual. There are rumors of another El Niño year. Our fingers are crossed! Michael Beaulac, Winemaker, General Manager WWW.PINERIDGEVINEYARDS.COM • ( 800) 400-6647 APPELLATION SOCIETY WINE SELECTIONS WITH CONSISTENTLY MILD TEMPERATURES THROUGHOUT SPRING AND SUMMER, 2012 WAS A STELLAR VINTAGE IN NAPA VALLEY, ALLOWING SLOW, EVEN RIPENING AND YIELDING EXQUISITE, BALANCED FRUIT. FOR YOUNG WINES, WE SUGGEST DECANTING FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE ENJOYING. 2012 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $85 Member Price: $68 Aromas of black cherry, red plum, and blackberry fruit with layers of mint chocolate, star anise and sugar cookie carry over to the palate with additional flavors of black raspberry, blackcurrant, red licorice, sweet basil and cigar box notes. Elegant tannins provide balance and structure throughout the lingering finish. Try with this month’s recipe of grilled lamb brochettes with French feta salsa verde. For a cheese course, pair with Ubriaco, a hard, aged Italian cheese. VARIETAL: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Petit Verdot APPELLATION: Oakville, Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.8% BARRELS: 60% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: up to 12 years 2012 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $85 Member Price: $68 Vibrant, red fruit aromas sing with wisps of sweet cinnamon, fine cocoa and caramelized sugar. Flavors of red cherry preserves, cassis and cherry cordial include hints of creamy mocha, rich caramel and cinnamon sugar. Silky, tannins and bright acidity provide structure and balance. Partner with a hearty bistro dish such as steak frites or coq au vin over buttery noodles. For a cheese course, try Grana Padano, a hard, aged cheese from Italy. VARIETAL: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot APPELLATION: Rutherford, Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.8% BARRELS: 60% new French oak AGING POTENTIAL: 7-12 years 2013 Contemplate $75 Member Price: $60 An alluring bouquet of black plum, blackberry and baked strawberry with notes of cassis, rosemary and mocha. Flavors of Bing cherry, lavender, white pepper and dark chocolate endure on the palate, backed by smooth tannins and balanced by bright acidity. Pair with a sweet yet savory meal like roast chicken with plum salsa or grilled peaches and prosciutto. For a cheese course, pair with cave-aged Gruyere, a robust cow’s milk cheese. VARIETAL: 42% Petit Verdot, 33% Cabernet Franc, 23% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.7% BARRELS: 43% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: 8-10 years METICULOUS CRAFTSMANSHIP • CONTINUITY • CLASSIC BALANCE COLLECTORS CLUB WINE SELECTIONS IN ADDITION TO 3 PRE-RELEASE WINES, COLLECTORS CLUB MEMBERS RECEIVE 3 LIBRARY WINES . BEFORE SERVING, PLEASE ALLOW THE BOTTLE TO REST UPRIGHT FOR A MINIMUM OF 48 HOURS FOR ANY SEDIMENT TO SETTLE. AS OLDER CORKS MAY BE BRITTLE, USING AN AH-SO OR TWO-PRONGED PULL IS SUGGESTED. 2006 Andrus Reserve, Napa Valley $155 Member Price: $124 The nose of this brick-colored wine leads with sweet scents of currant, blackberry and cherry cola that give way to notes of cinnamon, baking spice and anise. The palate is luscious and deep, with flavors of cassis and crushed berries that intermingle with impressions of leather, dried sage and white pepper. Supported by bright acidity, this wine lingers through the round, structured finish. Pair with braised chicken and mole sauce. VARIETAL: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot APPELLATION: Rutherford, Stags Leap District, Oakville, Carneros ALCOHOL: 14.05% BARRELS: 75% new and 25% one-year-old heavily-toasted French oak, 16 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now 2005 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $126 Member Price: $100.80 An array of delightful aromas of candied cherry and boysenberry balanced by hints of tobacco and sage engage the nose in this deep garnet wine. The palate bursts with sweet fruit notes of cherry jam and blackberry, highlighted by notes of caramel and cedar that linger into a supple finish, supported by well-integrated tannins and complex acidity. Drink now - this wine is in its prime! Pair with grilled bone-in ribeye steak. VARIETAL: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot APPELLATION: Oakville, Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.3% BARRELS: 60% new French oak, 16 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now 2008 Tessitura Red Wine, Napa Valley $85 Member Price: $68 Dark garnet in color, this wine opens with alluring aromas violet potpourri, vanilla and dark berries that mingle with hints of cocoa, toasted marshmallow and crushed cranberry. The entry explodes with flavors of strawberry jam, red cherry and dark raspberry, enhanced by touches of black pepper and licorice that linger into the smooth finish, supported by round acidity and bold tannins. Pair with herb-rubbed rack of lamb and roasted new potatoes. VARIETAL: 57% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec APPELLATION: Napa Valley ALCOHOL: 14.3% BARRELS: 50% new French oak, 18 months AGING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now WWW.PINERIDGEVINEYARDS.COM • ( 800) 400-6647 Sugar, Sugar It’s harvest time, which means the lab at Pine Ridge is awash in Ziploc bags containing grapes ready for analysis. Sampling our grapes for sugar content – as well as acid (TA) and pH levels – is one of the primary ways we determine ripeness. Sugar sampling starts well before harvest – nearly a month before the grapes are ripe. “We like to get a base line early to monitor how the berries are developing throughout the season,” says Enologist Colleen Fitzgerald, who performs the analyses on the grapes that arrive from the various blocks in our vineyards. grape cluster to create one sample. “It’s the only way to get an honest assessment of how ripe the block is getting in its entirety,” says Colleen. Once the sample berries have been gathered into individually marked Ziploc bags, they are brought back to the winery and gently squished by hand before the juice is removed and analyzed. Colleen measures sugar using a refractometer, pH with a pH meter and TA (titratable acidity) Sample berries are gathered from each block and brought to the lab. As harvest nears, sampling becomes a weekly and then a daily exercise, the lab handling as many as 20 or 30 vineyard samples a day.