Harvested from three Carneros vineyards (Jim and Del Yamakawa Ranch, Sangiacomo Family Green Acres Vineyard, El Novillero Vineyard). Cool–weather area close to San Francisco Bay, slow ripening and high natural fruit acidity. These “Shot–Wente Selection” grapes are an heirloom Chardonnay selection with smaller than normal clusters and grape size, giving more skin to juice ratio making the wine more flavorful. Whole–cluster pressed and fermented in new (25%) French oak barrels using wild yeast and periodic lees stirring. Natural malolactic fermentation occurs without artificial starter. Additional lees contact after barrel fermentation produces a lovely aroma the French call “Noisette” after its hazelnut characteristic. Smooth and luscious.
Sourced from Ron Smith’s 25-year-old (a mile or so south of the Stag’s Leap AVA and grown in conditions even cooler than Stag’s Leap, thus exaggerating the length of the growing season and extending the fruit hang time). Adding an extra week or two to the normal ripening pattern gives us fruit of ideal physiological ripeness Native, wild yeast, and allow for an extended maceration of up to 45 days that contributes further to the wine’s natural softness. After we drain and press the must, the wine is aged in 35% new 60-gallon French oak barrels, then bottled without fining or filtration. Balanced and complex, a wine with an especially bright future.
Harvested from what is probably the coldest vineyard in Sonoma County, Carneros, the mineral component of the gravelly soil is allowed to show through the fruit. Earliest ever bottling of this wine preserved the freshness of fermentation. Also sourced from a Trinchero family estate vineyard in the eastern Russian River Valley. Fermented and aged mainly in Grade 304 stainless steel and a portion in concrete which adds richness. Continuous yeast lees contact throughout fermentation. Crisp, fresh, vibrant, minerality, texturally rich and complex.
Grapes are sourced from the left bank of Conn Creek as it flows from Howell Mountain to Lake Hennessey. The Cabernet vines, now 25 years old, were planted by Dave Abreu on higher elevation, rockier soils on the northern–most parcels. Sustainably farmed by the Maldonado Family Farming Company, yields are kept low and the sun follows the vine rows from dawn to dusk resulting in slow, even ripening on the south face of the vines (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot). Moderate barrel treatment, lower alcohol, and even ripening result in a Bordelais styled wine. 30% new French oak for 16 months. Complex, yet bright and fresh, traces of cassis, raspberry and cedar.
Planted in 1992 by David Abreu, this fruit is located on ground higher than 600 feet on rocky land rich with basalt. Rocky hillsides help control this variety’s vigor, producing better wine. The size of the crop was about 20% smaller in 2017 as well, mostly due to the cold, wet weather we experienced in spring during flowering. It is planted around the Neyers Ranch. French oak aged (40% new). Cassis, hints of blackberry, crushed violets, mineral component, pencil lead, cedar, rich softness, lush and lean flavors.
vineyard designate, named after the first initial of the Neyers’ three children, Alexandra, Michael, and Elizabeth, “AME” is also the French word for “soul.” This three acre parcel in the highest and rockiest part of the property rises from 800 ft. to 1,200 ft. in elevation, mostly at a 45 degree incline. The south facing slope is planted with heirloom bud with wood that originated at Château Margaux in France. The soil is a mix of gravel and large hunks of basalt (limestone–like rock from heavily compacted volcanic ash). Mix of mocha, blackberry, licorice, and graphite. Focused and elegant weight.
Sourced from three AVAs: Borden Ranch, Clements Hills and the Mokelumne River AVA. All three regions fall within the triangle bounded by Stockton to the south, Sacramento to the north, and the Sierra Nevadas to the east. They enjoy a range of soil types, weather that is sufficiently warm to ripen grapes, but mitigated by cooling breezes from the Pacific Ocean that slow the ripening process, allowing us to harvest the fruit at ideal sugar and acid balance. Long skin maceration (approx. 45 days), natively fermented and aged in 60–gallon, neutral French oak barrels. Bottled without fining or filtration. Enormous charm with flavors of freshly squeezed wild berries and additional complexity of a bright mineral earthiness.
The name derives from the sub–region where the winery is located. This red wine is comprised of 50% Carignan (140+ year-old vines), 40% Mourvèdre, and 10% Grenache. The fruit comes from four separate Northern California areas: Carignan from Oakley, Grenache from Sierra Foothills, Mourvédre from southern Sonoma Valley and Syrah from Santa Lucia Highlands. Each lot was fermented naturally using native, wild yeast, and the grapes were all crushed by foot so as to not break the stems left in the fermenting must. Bright and flavorful, with a fascinating combination of mineral and earthiness. The Carignan fruit is stylish, incorporating elements of wild cherry, plum and black fig, while the Grenache and Mourvèdre add exotic aromas of wild herbs and lavender.
