Welcome to our 2015 3rd Quarter Wine Club!!! Fresh off winning some nice medals from the Orange County Fair which includes two golds for our 2013 Cachagua Cabernet and 2012 Petit Verdot (as well as others), we are happy to include the Cachagua in this quarter’s shipment! We are also excited about some upcoming releases…
Our 2013 Chardonnay is about to hit the shelves and also sports a new, freshly designed label from Mrs. Heller. Be prepared for brimming aromas of pineapple and butterscotch with a lovely citrus mouth feel. Also, we will soon be releasing our 2012 Pinot Noir and our 2012 Petite Sirah – two wines that occupy total opposite ends of the red wine spectrum. The Pinot encompassing delicate cranberry and lightness of tannins while the Petite embraces dark berry with gripping tannins and acidity.
Another wine in this quarter’s shipment is our lovely 2011 Merlot. We have a long history with Merlot and have vineyard blocks planted as far back as 1976. Truly trailblazers when it comes to this often maligned grape variety, we have been crafting varietally, intense vintages for decades.
Though popularity of Merlot waned in the years directly after the movie “Sideways” in 2004 (which led us – thankfully – to grafting over a portion of our Merlot vineyards to both Malbec and Petit Verdot) we have always stood behind the quality of Merlot we produce. Often as big and broad shouldered as its brother Cabernet Sauvignon, our Merlot bursts with all sorts of incredible aromas and flavors. Traditionally one will note dark plum, cedar, mocha and herbal aroma notes with a luscious, tongue coating mouth feel and smooth tannins.
Getting back to “Sideways”, ironically the protagonist famously defames Merlot in one scene proclaiming (quite vehemently) that he would never drink a Merlot. But, the wine which he covets and drinks in the last scene sitting in a diner in a Styrofoam cup, nonetheless, is a 1961 Cheval Blanc which is roughly 40% Merlot!! Luckily, there is no need to bash our Merlot as it is a blockbuster and elegant from nose to palate.
Also making an appearance in this shipment are our lovely 2013 Merlot Rosé and 2012 Kiss of California. These two crisp and refreshing wines are the perfect summer refreshers and are sure to bring your mouth satisfaction on every sip. Look for juicy strawberry and watermelon on the Rosé and a citrusy minerality on our dry Kiss.
In the vineyard we are patiently waiting for young, vestigial grapes to ripen as the season continues to progress. From now until early September, we are nurturing the vines to produce quantity to satisfy the demand and quality to continually impress.
In the winery we are topping the 2014 red barrels as well as the 2014 Chardonnay and preparing to bottle some very exciting new vintages of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Keep your eyes open at our Tasting Room for these beauties in the next couple months.
As always, we thank each and every one of our members for their continued support of our 100% organically grown wine. Your support helps us to continue farming organically and treating our soils, water and air with respect and integrity.
Cheers and all the best from the Winery and Vineyard Staff.
Rich Tanguay, Winemaker