CWM Wine Club Fourth Quarter 2020 The CWM Wine Club is all about discovery and we love nothing more than sharing our new favorites with you. These wines are truly exceptional, each in their own way, and are bursting with loads of personality. Each wine has its story to tell, which is also part of the fun... knowing the background of the people who make these handcrafted beauties. Since we are all staying close to home right now, this quarter’s selection is all from California producers. Stay safe and stay strong. The Blackbird 2018 Dissonance from Napa Valley is a delightfully refreshing blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that is simply bursting with lovely aromatics of sweet pear, honey, and subtle grassy notes wrapped in a bright and exceedingly supple texture. Mendocino is an ideal place for cool climate Pinot Noir which gives the Waits-Mast 2016 Oppenlander Vineyard its combination of effusive burnt cherry, sweet vanilla, cloves and hints of chocolate. We are enamored with this wine! Only 145 cases produced. Dan Cederquist has a wealth of experience making Zinfandel in Sonoma County. His Rockfish 2016 Zinfandel from the remote and high elevation Rockpile Appellation shows juicy berry character and intriguing layers of sweet caramel oak character. Only 98 cases produced. The Portalupi Winery specializes in Italian varietals and their 2018 Barbera from the Shake Ridge Ranch in Amador County is quite possibly the best Barbera made in California. Its supple dark juicy berries and mouthwatering acidity are so appealing. Just 630 cases produced. The harmony and complexity of a Cabernet Blend truly shines when all the components are well integrated. The Double Eagle 2014 is a beautifully balanced and complex Napa Valley wine comprised of 54.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32.5% Cabernet Franc and 13% Merlot. It displays generous, vibrant, rich fruit combined with layers of crème brûlée, cocoa and toasty oak. Just 920 cases produced. Because Jeff Runquist handles Petite Sirah fruit from Clarksburg so gently he manages to extract luscious, deep dark fruit without the harsh tannins often found in this variety. His 2018 was aged in 100% new French oak and it is a lush and silky smooth showstopper! To reorder any of these wines, please contact Greg O’Flynn at 415-567-0646 2113 Chestnut Street San Francisco, CA 94123 or e-mail [email protected] California Wine Merchant Wine Club Q4 2020 Blackbird Vineyards 2018 ‘Dissonance’ Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon Napa Valley Winemaker Aaron Pott’s curiosity in wine began at the age of nine when he ordered a glass of milk in a venerable Parisian bistro. When the waiter responded that “milk is for babies” and produced a glass of watered-down red wine, Aaron quickly realized that wine was a beverage of choice for discerning adults. Studying oenology at UC Davis years later, he delved into all aspects of winemaking, including practical application by working part-time in the research lab at Robert Mondavi Winery. In 1990, Aaron took the assistant winemaker position at Newton Vineyard, under then-winemaker John Kongsgaard, who became Aaron’s first great mentor. John introduced him to Frenchman Michel Rolland, the legendary international winemaker and consultant, whom Aaron tried to convince to procure him a position in a French cellar. Rolland soon sent word that he had found the ideal position - winemaker at Château Troplong Mondot, a prestigious property in St. Émilion. Building on that invaluable experience, Aaron then became winemaker of Château La Tour Figeac. In his spare time, he also completed a master’s degree in Viticulture from the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, France. Aaron worked for nearly six years making wine in France before starting to work with Napa-based Beringer Wine Estates in 1998 as winemaker for the company’s international brands in France, Italy, and South America. Returning to the US, Aaron became winemaker at St. Clement in 2001, then added the winemaker position at Quintessa to his resumé in 2004. Aaron formed his own label, Pott Wines, in 2007, and is dedicated to consulting for a limited quantity of notable producers as well as making wines of his own. Currently, Aaron consults on winemaking projects for wineries such as Krupp Bros. Estate, Quixote, and Joseph Carr, in addition to Blackbird. In November 2012, Aaron was named ‘Winemaker of the Year’ by Food & Wine magazine. Aaron’s most recent addition to the Blackbird portfolio is a Bordeaux Blanc-inspired white blend called ‘Dissonance’, with the first vintage produced in 2014. The wine is named such because it is in dissonance (but certainly not discord!) with the estate’s original inspiration of producing only red wines. While at Blackbird, Aaron has long worked with farmer Lee Hudson for a variety of grapes (Hudson’s own ‘Pick Up Sticks’ Grenache was featured in the CWM wine club last year), but he loves the Sauvignon Blanc parcels they farm together for the Blackbird wines. The soils are complex - classic Carneros clay loam combines with gravel and alluvial deposits from the nearby creek that frames the vineyard, enhanced by additional volcanic mountain sediment from Mt. Veeder that has eroded down the mountain over the millennia. All this combines to create an incredibly special, well-drained site that offers an unparalleled expression of the grape. Aaron ferments the Sauvignon Blanc in a combination of stainless steel and clay amphorae. These amphorae are exclusively produced for Blackbird and are handmade by a blind man in the northeastern Italian province of Friuli. Each vessel possesses its own unique features that coax out a textural impact that is then imparted to the wine, toning down the sometimes brassy notes of Sauvignon Blanc. Further softening any rough edges, Aaron blends in a small percentage of Semillon from the Bavarian Lion Vineyard in Knights Valley. The Semillon is aged in new and used French oak, which adds an unctuous texture as well. Tasting Notes: Bright aromatics of honeyed citrus and lemon peel greet the nose. Sweet stone fruit of white peach and nectarine highlight the mid-palate, with complementary hints of cantaloupe and lush florals of acacia and orange blossom. The fruit lingers over a wonderfully textured mouthfeel, yet still exhibits a fine, crisp finish. Only 80 barrels produced 88% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Semillon Sauvignon Blanc aged in stainless steel and clay amphorae; Semillon aged in French oak (30% new) Alcohol: 13.2% California Wine Merchant Wine Club Q4 2020 Waits-Mast 2016 Pinot Noir ‘Oppenlander Vineyard’ – Mendocino Waits-Mast Family Cellars, founded by Jennifer Waits and Brian Mast, is a small-production winery based in the Bayview district of San Francisco. While dating in San Francisco over twenty years ago, the couple took a weekend getaway up north to Mendocino wine country. They loved meeting the locals and were immediately enamored of the small-town feel. Soon enough, they were attending the annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and sitting in on the event’s technical and winemaking sessions. Jennifer and Brian were bitten by the Pinot Noir ‘bug’, and were thus inspired to follow their own passion for wine. In 2005 they embarked on a journey to craft their own Pinot Noir under the guiding hands of Scott Shapley at Crushpad LLC. The company offered the ability to make wine in quantities as small as a single barrel, from many of the same, high-quality California vineyard sources used by famous wine brands. Jennifer planned to present the barrel package as a Father’s Day gift to Brian after learning she was pregnant. Pleased with the results of their single barrel, which they shared with family and friends, Jennifer and Brian launched Waits-Mast Cellars in 2007. Crushpad provided the couple with production facilities and top-shelf winemaking talent, brokered their contracts with grape growers, and even offered label design and licensing services. In the early years Jennifer and Brian made wine from Russian River Valley and Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County as well as Mendocino, but ultimately decided to focus solely on five different family owned vineyard sources within Mendocino for their wines. The very first Waits-Mast commercial release of 2007 Wentzel Vineyard Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley was named to the SF Chronicle’s Top 100 list in 2009. Unfortunately, Crushpad ultimately went bankrupt and Waits- Mast had to move their wine production to the ROAR facility (formerly led by well-respected winemaker Ed Kurtzman of previous CWM Wine Club fame). This is where winemaker Shalini Sekhar enters the picture. Shalini, a former musician (she earned a master’s degree in Flute and Piccolo Performance), shifted to a career in wine; which she found married the same combination of art and science that fueled her passion for music. She studied enology and viticulture at Fresno State University, honing her winemaking skills at such industry luminaries as Williams Selyem Winery and Stags’ Leap Wine Cellars. She then became cellarmaster for Copain Custom Crush (now Punchdown Cellars), and also worked at San Francisco’s urban winery Bluxome Street. After joining the team at ROAR as the Custom Crush Winemaker, Shalini started making wine for Waits-Mast in 2013 along with a Russian River-based project called Furthermore (for which she was named 2015 Winemaker of the Year at the SF International Wine Competition). Shalini was also included in the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2019 list of ‘Winemakers to Watch’. The Waits-Mast production has stayed minuscule - hovering around 500 cases total. The source for this bottling, the Oppenlander Vineyard, is well off the beaten path in Mendocino County. The site lies just over eight miles from the Pacific Ocean (as the crow flies) at an elevation of 250 feet.