2008 Optima Wine Cellars Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Mission Codename: Return to Eternity

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Optima Winery, a winery that we first placed under surveillance in 2009, when we featured a previous vintage of today’s fantastic Zinfandel. If Optima’s 2008 vintage lives up to our expectations, acquire an ample quantity for our Dry Creek Zinfandel-loving Operatives.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Optima Winery

Wine Subject: 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Winemaker: Mike Duffy

Backgrounder:

Zinfandel is related to the Italian Primitivo grape, tracing its origin to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kastelanski. Zinfandel is one of the most versatile varietals with the ability to make wines, both rich to fruity, dark to light, and dry to sweet. Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, which are characterized by their balanced flavors, are gaining in popularity with our Operatives.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark fuchsia hues with a deeper core of inky garnet. At the edge of the glass, a pretty ring of pure ruby traces a fine circle. Swirl the wine and feel the weight (viscosity) of the liquid as it settles quickly in the glass. When the wine settles, wine-stained tears are quick to emerge before they run slowly down the glass.

Smell – Aromatic blackberry, bramble, brown spice and black cherry take the lead. These are closely followed by cedar, vanilla and toasty oak, with a hint of dark chocolate.

Feel – A softly round entry quickly turns gently dry with a hint of grip at the mid-palate as plush tannins contribute to the full feeling of the wine. Spice, dark fruit and a softly dark minerality sustain through the long finish.

Taste – Dark mixed berries and dark raspberry jam mingle with juicy flavors of tart cherry, dark cherry, Bing cherry and red plum. These yield to more subtle flavors of toasty oak, dark cocoa and cranberry.

Finish – Long and supple, leading with elegant dark fruit and slowly yielding to more earthen flavors and soft oak, with black pepper and tart cranberry at the very end.

Conclusion – Once again, Optima delivers a delicious, bold, classic Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Their 2008 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel shows off the power of the fruit, and the prowess of winemaker, Mike Duffy. This wine shows great balance, with enough acidity and restraint to make it a dandy food companion, without overpowering. An obvious choice for a bold grilled steak or a hearty pasta dish with red sauce, this wine would pair equally well with lighter fare, as well. Don’t be afraid to enjoy this wine with a broiled trout or a veggie-laden pasta Primavera. Mike takes his winemaking very seriously, shepherding them through their natural evolution – as Mother Nature drives the entire process. Today’s delicious wine gets our heartiest Wine Spies recommendation!

Special Note: I revisited this wine after our sample bottle had sat, overnight, without any gas to preserve it. The wine was even better, leading me to encourage you to decant for an extended period. Or, to swirl the wine, heartily, before you enjoy it. The rich fruit really leaps out after extended decanting!

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Mike Duffy

DATE OF BIRTH: May 1959

PLACE OF BIRTH: Oregon

WINE EDUCATION: Graduate of UC Davis in Enology

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: When I finished my Enology degree from UCD in 1981, I was already employed as the Assistant Winemaker at Trefethen Vineyards in Napa Valley. “I was very motivated to earn my degree and start working after being a broke college student for so long. I moved to Field Stone as winemaker in 1988, studying under the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff. For nine years, I worked full-time at Field Stone, saving weekends to tend to my own fledgling winery, Optima.

SIGNATURE VARIETAL: Cabernet Sauvignon

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Below is Agent Red’s recent interview with winemaker Mike Duffy.

WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Mike. I know how busy you are with harvest right now, so I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you – if even for a few scant minutes, today.

MIKE: Yeah, we have been plenty busy. We crushed thirty tons of grapes today!

RED: Wow. Again, thanks. Tell me, was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

MIKE: Yes, I was raised around wine. My first job in High School was helping my parents, Bill and Della, at their wine shop, that is what sparked my interest. Later I played with making wine out of anything I could get out of my parents garden. I would take flats of strawberries, peaches and blackberries and craft them into wine. One time I even raided the rose bushes in the neighborhood so I could make a rose petal champagne

RED: And where did you learn the most about winemaking?

MIKE: UC Davis gave me an excellent technical background. It was the basis for my ability to solve problems when they arise. The experience of making wine came from getting in and getting dirty at my internship at Trefethen in 1980. That’s where it all came together for me. I have a unique work ethic and a strong mechanical background, both of which I have my father to thank for. Both those qualities served me well when I left the academic world and helped distinguish me from other classmates and co-workers.

RED: Great places to get your footing! What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

MIKE: Andre Tchelistcheff was the biggest influence on how I make Cabernet, and the greatest source of perspective, history and wine knowledge that I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed. He approached the entire winemaking endeavor, from the vineyard in the spring, to harvest, and through barrel aging, as one integrated whole. I learned to take Alexander Valley Cabernet and to use its brilliant fruit as the basis for my wines. “Don’t bother making one of those huge Cabernets like many do in Napa, Mike. Anyone can make wines like those.” Andre would say. He inspired me to make a Cabernet that spoke to the virtues of Alexander Valley. A wine with an intense core of fruit and coco, balanced with vanilla and oak. Complex and powerful, yet subtle and soft. He also impressed on me the critical concept of not manipulating the wine, rather helping it become its best.

RED: You don’t know how many winemakers mention Andre as an influence! How long have you been making wine?

MIKE: Well one could say since I was a child, but 2009 was my 30th harvest in Napa and Sonoma. I still enjoy the “seasonality” of winemaking.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

MIKE: I began making wine for my own creative satisfaction. I worked for several top wineries that produced Cabernet, and there was always some step in the process when I said to myself, “If this were my wine I would do this differently”. That need to satisfy my own creativity from beginning to end is why I started my own winery when I was 25. My approach to winemaking combines art and practicality. “I always liked the honesty and hard work of agriculture and to me, winemaking is the ultimate fusion of agriculture and art.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

MIKE: Bottling and more bottling!

RED: Please share one thing about yourself that few people know

MIKE: I enjoy cooking; to me this is another form of taking an ingredient and using your creativity to make something incredible. My wife thinks I cook so well that she refuses to cook anymore. I love watching all of the cooking shows on TV, especially Iron Chef. I just can’t get enough, they are very inspiring.

RED:What is your favorite ‘everyday’ or table wine?

MIKE: I enjoy drinking a dry Gewurztraminer from Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, or from the Alsace region of France. It’s a wonderful wine that you can drink alone or with Thai, Asian or Mexican food all of which I enjoy cooking and eating. The best examples have a depth and a perfume that is unbelievable.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and about your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans. Your Alexander Valley Cab is stupendous!

MIKE: Thanks, very much, Red. Now, back to the grapes!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of Optima Winery in Healdsburg can be seen in this satellite photo.

2008 Dirupi Valtellina Superiore DOCG

Mission Codename: 2000 Years in the Making

Operative: Agent White & Agent Fog

Objective: Secure a wine from the historic and mountainous Valtellina region

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Dirupi

Wine Subject: 2008 Valtellina Superiore DOCG Nebbiolo

Winemaker:

Backgrounder:

The Valtellina mountains in Italy’s Lombardy region, has a wine-making history that dates back over 2000 years, with many of the region’s vineyards being designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Located in the Italian Alps near the Swiss border and along the river Adda. Most unique are the south-facing hillside terrace vineyards that are planted on the step mountain sides up to about 2500 feet above sea level making mechanized harvesting totally impossible. In Leonardi Da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus, he describes the Valtellina as “a valley surrounded by tall and fearsome mountains” and the wines as “heady and strong”.

Today’s selection is is a 100% Nebbiolo and the Valtellina Superiore DOCG is considered one of the most prestigious wines of all of Italy.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep ruby red with a clear bright core that shows ruby streaks when held to the light. When swirled, this springy wine has fast and tightly spaced legs that race down the side of the glass.

Smell – Pretty and aromatic with ripe and tart red fruit including red cherry, raspberry and hints of strawberry notes are layered over subtle perfumed rose petal and sandalwood. A touch of green herb, toasted oak and spice along with hints of truffle also appear.

Feel – Despite its relative youth, this full-bodied and dry wine is extremely smooth with well developed finely textured tannins; almost feminine in character. Add some lively but balanced acidity and a touch of minerality and the resulting structure lingers long into the finish.

Taste – Ripe and tart red fruit including red Italian cherry, wild raspberry and hints of strawberry blend with floral, oak and green herb notes. A touch of earthy truffle and violets adds complexity.

Finish – Long and ultra clean, this wine’s red fruit gently fades leaving behind a fresh feeling in the mouth. As the fruit lingers the finely textured tannins and acidity remain making the mouth water for another sip.

Conclusion – The 2008 Dirupi Valtellina Superiore DOCG Nebbiolo is a fantastic wine showing Nebbiolo in all its glory but not overpowering. Surprisingly smooth and plush with great red fruit that starts on the nose and lingers long into the finish. Extremely elegant with subtle complexity from start to finish. Enjoy this wine tonight or cellar for up to ten years or more and pair with a simple tagliatelle pasta with olive oil and shaved truffles (O.K., we know its not that simple, but it is certainly divine).

Mission Report:

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the the Valtellina mountains in Northern Italy can be seen in this satellite photo.

2008 Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery Russian River Valley Cabernet Franc

Mission Codename: Fire for the mind as well as the body

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Revisit Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery to secure their 2008 Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery

Wine Subject: 2008 Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Franc

Winemaker: Jason De Loach

Winery Backgrounder: Two generations and 30 years after entering the wine trade, the De Loach family are still making extraordinary wines. Cecil, a retired San Francisco firefighter, and his wife, Christine, purchased their first 24 acres of grapes in the Russian River Valley. When the tired of seeing others making award-winning wines from their grapes, they launched their own wine label, under the De Loach family name. The De Loach Winery became synonymous with the Russian River Valley. After selling the De Loach label, the family launched the Hook & Ladder winery, whose purpose it is to ”craft exceptional wines, from the highest quality grapes, that people love to drink.”

Regional Backgrounder: The Russian River Valley, in Sonoma County, produces a range of wines of of remarkable distinction. The cooler maritime conditions of the region make the RRV ideal for growing a variety of grapes. This AVA was officially designated in 1983, but many of the wines in the region used the designation as early as the 1970s (early in California’s wine history) with the many of the vines having been first planted in the early 1900s.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark garnet that extends to edges with a clear but densely hued core. When swirled, this slightly viscous wine leaves slow fat legs many of which hang on the side of the glass for several moments before descending to the wine below.

Smell – Rich and aromatic with lots of spiced dark fruit including cherry and blackberry framed by toasted oak. Notes of wild anise, bittersweet dark chocolate, soft green herbs and tobacco adds complexity and depth.

Feel – Generous and plush, this wine is initially cool and smooth until mid palate when its finely grained tannins, lively acidity and textured minerality make their appearance. As this wine opens it becomes very smooth and round on the mouth but remains well structured into the finish.

Taste – Ripe and sweet dark fruit and especially ripe cherry, raspberry and blackberry blend with toasted and spiced oak, soft earthy and mocha, sweet cigar tobacco and bittersweet chocolate notes. A subtle meaty and minerality also lingers underneath the fruit flavors.

Finish – This wine’s ripe and expansive fruit lingers long into the finish, and while the fruit gentle fades, the well structured tannins linger.

Conclusion – The 2008 Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Franc is a delicious, and value, Cabernet Franc that is rich and inviting on the nose, smooth but well structured on the palate and has plenty of great fruit, especially ripe cherry on its approachable but pleasantly complex palate. Enjoy this wine with grilled steak tips or a rustic cheese plate now or for the next five years.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Jason DeLoach

WINE EDUCATION: This year will be my 15th harvest, I just turned 31. Most of my education is all hands on experience, I also did an internship in Chile, took viticulture at the Santa Rosa Jr. college and I did a winemaker course with the UC Davis Extension program. I also worked at a custom crush winery for almost 4 years as a cellar master.

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Head winemaker at Hook and Ladder winery

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Make the best wine you can with the tools that are given.

WINEMAKER QUOTE: “Too much oak in a wine is a crime”

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: At Hook and Ladder – Spring 2010

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Jason. We are thrilled to be showing your 2008 Russian River Pinot Noir today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

JASON DELOACH: Glad I can help.

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

JASON: I was lucky enough to grow up in the wine industry. When I was 14 I started working for my Grandfather Cecil DeLoach every summer for half my summer vacation – but I couldn’t start working in the cellar till I was 18. So as soon as I turned 18 I started working in the cellar full time. I really liked the controlled chaos of harvest. I really like to work hard, I like team work and I love science. My dad got me hooked on science early on. So really at the time I just figured I would work towards someday being a cellar master..

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

JASON: I worked with a lot of wine makers. The 3 years before I started working for Hook and Ladder I was a cellar master at a custom crush winery. Dan Goldfield of Dutton Goldfield, Jeff Mangahas of Hartford Court and Dan Cederquist which was the wine maker for DeLoach vineyards for a long time. He also was a consultant at the custom crush winery where I worked. The thing that was great about working at a custom crush winery is that you work with Winemakers that have really different styles/approaches to what they do and want. There are Winemakers that are super proactive and others that kind of just let the wine do its own thing. I spent the first 6 years of my time just working in the cellar, so I have a pretty good feel for what can be done at a realistic level. I guess I lean towards being realistic but also I’m proactive and expect a lot of what we can accomplish at Hook and Ladder. I know this doesn’t make any sense, but I consider myself a realistic perfectionist.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

JASON: I make wine for Hook and Ladder Winery ha ha ha. No, really, my goal at Hook and Ladder is to make the very best wine I can with the tools that are given. I want to show case the best wine I can make, so I guess I answer to myself first – then Cecil.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

JASON: The vineyards for the 2008 Cabernet Franc are located on our familys Los Amigos Ranch in Healdsburg, part of the Chalk Hill sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley. This is a wine that has very nice deep color, has flavors of intense cherry vanilla, dark berry and spice. It is a very full bodied wine that has a very long lasting raspberry spice finish. There is also a very nice acid to tannin structure, and just the right amount of oak to compliment the wine. The wine is aged for an average of about 14 months in a combination of American and French/Hungarian oak, between 20-25% of which is new wood; keeping in mind we also consider first, second and third year wood as relatively new. We make sure to compliment the wine, not over power it and we usually only produce a small amount of this wine for the 2008 vintage we made only 291 cases.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

JASON: I have two favorite pairings for our Cab Franc: Veal Parmigiana and spaghetti, or a grilled steak with roasted rosemary red potatoes.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Russian River Valley so special?

JASON: On the border of the Chalk Hill/Russian River area the temperature is usually ten to fifteen degrees warmer then where we are in the heart of the Russian River Valley and just like the Russian River Valley in the morning there is a nice layer of fog that burns off mid to some – times late morning. Then later in the afternoon comes the heat, followed by the fog moving back in during the evening. This type of weather pattern is great because it extends the growing season allowing the grapes to mature at a slower rate allowing for much great fruit complexity and great fruit forward wines. Also because that region is ten to fifteen degrees warmer it is a great place to grow fruit like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

JASON: Well right now we are working on cleaning up and putting to rest the wines from the 2010 crush, also we are always doing monthly maintenance to the wines keeping up with our quality control program. In addition now is the time we start building blends and switching gears into our bottling

RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?

JASON: Well for our wines, really like people to take their time and let the wine open up, really take in the nose and when you taste the wine try to let your pallet guide you through the wine. At Hook and Ladder we make premium had crafted wines and we really put our full focus on everything we do. When we build a blends, by design the wine should take your pallet on a little journey, from the front of the pallet, to the mid pallet and on to the finish and take note of all the things that you can pick up along the way. We spent a great deal of time building wines that have a pallet that isn’t one sided or strong in one way and weak in another. We want the pallet and noise to be complete and full of character.

RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

JASON: I just really hope everyone enjoys our wines. I encourage you to take the time to learn about Hook and Ladder winery and its history. We really do have a great story and I just want to continue to make the best wines I can. Our wines really just keep getting better every year.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

JASON: Thanks I really appreciate it, here at Hook and Ladder our mission is to make the best wines we possibly can with the tools provided and for a great value, of course I can’t forget to mention that we have approximately 375acres awesome Estate grown fruit farmed by Cecil DeLoach for over 30years. We have a great hard working wine making team, we try to keep things as “real” as possible and I couldn’t do it without them…..hope you enjoy the wine.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery, in the Russian River Valley region, can be seen in this satellite photo.

2008 Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery Russian River Valley Cabernet Franc

Mission Codename: Fire for the mind as well as the body

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Revisit Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery to secure their 2008 Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery

Wine Subject: 2008 Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Franc

Winemaker: Jason De Loach

Winery Backgrounder: Two generations and 30 years after entering the wine trade, the De Loach family are still making extraordinary wines. Cecil, a retired San Francisco firefighter, and his wife, Christine, purchased their first 24 acres of grapes in the Russian River Valley. When the tired of seeing others making award-winning wines from their grapes, they launched their own wine label, under the De Loach family name. The De Loach Winery became synonymous with the Russian River Valley. After selling the De Loach label, the family launched the Hook & Ladder winery, whose purpose it is to ”craft exceptional wines, from the highest quality grapes, that people love to drink.”

Regional Backgrounder: The Russian River Valley, in Sonoma County, produces a range of wines of of remarkable distinction. The cooler maritime conditions of the region make the RRV ideal for growing a variety of grapes. This AVA was officially designated in 1983, but many of the wines in the region used the designation as early as the 1970s (early in California’s wine history) with the many of the vines having been first planted in the early 1900s.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark garnet that extends to edges with a clear but densely hued core. When swirled, this slightly viscous wine leaves slow fat legs many of which hang on the side of the glass for several moments before descending to the wine below.

Smell – Rich and aromatic with lots of spiced dark fruit including cherry and blackberry framed by toasted oak. Notes of wild anise, bittersweet dark chocolate, soft green herbs and tobacco adds complexity and depth.

Feel – Generous and plush, this wine is initially cool and smooth until mid palate when its finely grained tannins, lively acidity and textured minerality make their appearance. As this wine opens it becomes very smooth and round on the mouth but remains well structured into the finish.

Taste – Ripe and sweet dark fruit and especially ripe cherry, raspberry and blackberry blend with toasted and spiced oak, soft earthy and mocha, sweet cigar tobacco and bittersweet chocolate notes. A subtle meaty and minerality also lingers underneath the fruit flavors.

Finish – This wine’s ripe and expansive fruit lingers long into the finish, and while the fruit gentle fades, the well structured tannins linger.

Conclusion – The 2008 Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery Russian River Valley Los Amigos Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Franc is a delicious, and value, Cabernet Franc that is rich and inviting on the nose, smooth but well structured on the palate and has plenty of great fruit, especially ripe cherry on its approachable but pleasantly complex palate. Enjoy this wine with grilled steak tips or a rustic cheese plate now or for the next five years.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Jason DeLoach

WINE EDUCATION: This year will be my 15th harvest, I just turned 31. Most of my education is all hands on experience, I also did an internship in Chile, took viticulture at the Santa Rosa Jr. college and I did a winemaker course with the UC Davis Extension program. I also worked at a custom crush winery for almost 4 years as a cellar master.

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Head winemaker at Hook and Ladder winery

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Make the best wine you can with the tools that are given.

WINEMAKER QUOTE: “Too much oak in a wine is a crime”

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: At Hook and Ladder – Spring 2010

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Jason. We are thrilled to be showing your 2008 Russian River Pinot Noir today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

JASON DELOACH: Glad I can help.

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

JASON: I was lucky enough to grow up in the wine industry. When I was 14 I started working for my Grandfather Cecil DeLoach every summer for half my summer vacation – but I couldn’t start working in the cellar till I was 18. So as soon as I turned 18 I started working in the cellar full time. I really liked the controlled chaos of harvest. I really like to work hard, I like team work and I love science. My dad got me hooked on science early on. So really at the time I just figured I would work towards someday being a cellar master..

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

JASON: I worked with a lot of wine makers. The 3 years before I started working for Hook and Ladder I was a cellar master at a custom crush winery. Dan Goldfield of Dutton Goldfield, Jeff Mangahas of Hartford Court and Dan Cederquist which was the wine maker for DeLoach vineyards for a long time. He also was a consultant at the custom crush winery where I worked. The thing that was great about working at a custom crush winery is that you work with Winemakers that have really different styles/approaches to what they do and want. There are Winemakers that are super proactive and others that kind of just let the wine do its own thing. I spent the first 6 years of my time just working in the cellar, so I have a pretty good feel for what can be done at a realistic level. I guess I lean towards being realistic but also I’m proactive and expect a lot of what we can accomplish at Hook and Ladder. I know this doesn’t make any sense, but I consider myself a realistic perfectionist.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

JASON: I make wine for Hook and Ladder Winery ha ha ha. No, really, my goal at Hook and Ladder is to make the very best wine I can with the tools that are given. I want to show case the best wine I can make, so I guess I answer to myself first – then Cecil.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

JASON: The vineyards for the 2008 Cabernet Franc are located on our familys Los Amigos Ranch in Healdsburg, part of the Chalk Hill sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley. This is a wine that has very nice deep color, has flavors of intense cherry vanilla, dark berry and spice. It is a very full bodied wine that has a very long lasting raspberry spice finish. There is also a very nice acid to tannin structure, and just the right amount of oak to compliment the wine. The wine is aged for an average of about 14 months in a combination of American and French/Hungarian oak, between 20-25% of which is new wood; keeping in mind we also consider first, second and third year wood as relatively new. We make sure to compliment the wine, not over power it and we usually only produce a small amount of this wine for the 2008 vintage we made only 291 cases.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

JASON: I have two favorite pairings for our Cab Franc: Veal Parmigiana and spaghetti, or a grilled steak with roasted rosemary red potatoes.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Russian River Valley so special?

JASON: On the border of the Chalk Hill/Russian River area the temperature is usually ten to fifteen degrees warmer then where we are in the heart of the Russian River Valley and just like the Russian River Valley in the morning there is a nice layer of fog that burns off mid to some – times late morning. Then later in the afternoon comes the heat, followed by the fog moving back in during the evening. This type of weather pattern is great because it extends the growing season allowing the grapes to mature at a slower rate allowing for much great fruit complexity and great fruit forward wines. Also because that region is ten to fifteen degrees warmer it is a great place to grow fruit like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

JASON: Well right now we are working on cleaning up and putting to rest the wines from the 2010 crush, also we are always doing monthly maintenance to the wines keeping up with our quality control program. In addition now is the time we start building blends and switching gears into our bottling

RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?

JASON: Well for our wines, really like people to take their time and let the wine open up, really take in the nose and when you taste the wine try to let your pallet guide you through the wine. At Hook and Ladder we make premium had crafted wines and we really put our full focus on everything we do. When we build a blends, by design the wine should take your pallet on a little journey, from the front of the pallet, to the mid pallet and on to the finish and take note of all the things that you can pick up along the way. We spent a great deal of time building wines that have a pallet that isn’t one sided or strong in one way and weak in another. We want the pallet and noise to be complete and full of character.

RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

JASON: I just really hope everyone enjoys our wines. I encourage you to take the time to learn about Hook and Ladder winery and its history. We really do have a great story and I just want to continue to make the best wines I can. Our wines really just keep getting better every year.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

JASON: Thanks I really appreciate it, here at Hook and Ladder our mission is to make the best wines we possibly can with the tools provided and for a great value, of course I can’t forget to mention that we have approximately 375acres awesome Estate grown fruit farmed by Cecil DeLoach for over 30years. We have a great hard working wine making team, we try to keep things as “real” as possible and I couldn’t do it without them…..hope you enjoy the wine.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The Hook & Ladder Vineyards and Winery, in the Russian River Valley region, can be seen in this satellite photo.

2006 Charles Creek Vineyards Muy Bonito – A Syrah Blend

Mission Codename: Que Rico!

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Revisit our old friends at Charles Creek Vineyard and acquire their most pretty Syrah blend.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Charles Creek Vineyard

Wine Subject: 2007 Muy Bonito – A Syrah Blend

Winemaker: Kerry G. Damskey

Backgrounder:

Our Operatives are crazy for Charles Creek wines. The first time we featured their excellent wines here, our Operatives snapped up our entire allocation before the one-day sale was over. Today, we return to Charles Creek to bring you their Muy Bonito Syrah Blend. The popularity of Syrah is undeniable. Big and bold in flavor and texture, it packs a concentrated punch of flavor that many people love. This Rhone varietal, although many believe that the grape originated in the Persia region, is 100% French in lineage. The Syrah grape is directly descendant from the Monduese Blanche and Dureza varietals and is grown worldwide with great success. Today’s delicious Syrah is a delight with original flavors, deep aromatics and a tender mouth feel.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark garnet and purple with a dense but clear core that allows just hints of light streak through it. Along the edges, the color lightens slightly and when swirled, slow medium thick legs of random speeds ring the glass.

Smell – A bountiful blend of spiced ripe and tart red and black and red fruit led off my black cherry and followed by red plum, soft raspberry and other berries. Hints of sweet spice, black pepper and green herbs meld with a healthy oak note. Reminiscent of the southern Rhone on the nose

Feel – Full-bodied and dry on the palate, this initially cool and smooth wine is plump, expansive and chewy with firm but well developed tannins that warms as it lingers long and reach the corners of the mouth followed by balanced acidity and a touch of dark minerality.

Taste – Rich, generous and ripe spiced red and black fruit including black cherry, blackberry, ripe raspberry and plum meld with toasted oak and vanilla that has a subtle smokey character. Dark minerals, spice and black pepper adds a kick along with just a hint of mocha and green herbs.

Finish – Long and lingering with this wine’s textured tannins and minerality grasping the slowly fading fruit and begging for another sip.

Conclusion – The 2007 Charles Creek Vineyard Muy Bonito – A Syrah Blend will instantly appeal to lovers of California Syrah but also those who like Rhone wines as well. The unique blend that includes Grenache, Cabernet, Tempranillo and Cab Franc adds complexity on both the nose and palate with a sturdy but not overbearing structure. Drinking very well now (give this wine some time to open) this wine will continue to develop for several years. Pair this wine with grilled steak tips or anything else you throw on the grill; and at this value price, this can be your every day Syrah blend!

Mission Report:

Charles Creek’s winemaker, Kerry G. Damskey, was unavailable for an interview, today. What follows is our original mission report, when we first infiltrated Charles Creek winery – and discovered just how much we love their wines:

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer!”

Snapped out of my reverie, I turned to see who had busted me. It was my contact here at the winery, codename: El Patron.

“Oh, hi,” I replied somewhat dumbly.

I had arranged to meet Patron later in the afternoon and thought that I’d get in a little private recon before our scheduled rendezvous. I wanted to get a feel for the land and for the vineyards where the grapes for their Las Pasiones were grown.

After I explained the reason for my early arrival, Patron took me on a tour of the vineyard and, later the winery. During the tour, he briefed me on the background of the winery and its founders. Bill Brinton, one of the founding owners, has farming, innovation and creativity in his blood. A direct descendant of John Deer, Bill himself is something of a pioneer, creating wines of exceptional character and remarkable value. Charles Creek is named after his son Charley and his grandfather, Charles Deere Wiman.

Bill works in partnership with his wife, Gerry, and together they maintain the vision for the winery and work to select the best grapes for their wines. The pair share a passion for wholesome values and integrity, which spills over into their wines.

My tour of the winery was great fun, and the staffers I met there are just as passionate about the wines that Charles Creek produces as its owners. When I remarked that I thought that their wines were somewhat under-priced for the quality that they produce, they just gave me polite smile and said, “We know. We know….”

Today’s wine is a great value, but its no ‘budget’ wine. This wine, Las Pasiones, drinks way above its class, delivering elegance, balance and, most of all, deliciousness.

Winemaker Profile:

Kerry Damskey – Consulting Winemaker

With 25 years of winemaking experience on four continents, Kerry Damskey brings both expertise and perspective to Charles Creek Vineyard. Damskey has spent his career gaining a better understanding of the entire ecology of wine, including the impact of climate, soil, sun exposure, and temperature on the grape growing and winemaking process. This concept, which the French call terroir, is the name of his consulting company.

Damskey holds a B.S. in fermentation sciences from the University of California, Davis, is a graduate of the intensive program for small business at the Stanford University School of Business, and is a candidate of the Institute of the Masters of Wine. Damskey is a multi-time winner of the Sonoma County Wine Sweepstakes award the highest award at one of the most competitive events, and has received numerous other gold awards for his wines.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The approximate location of the Charles Creek Vineyard tasting room can be seen in this satellite photo.

NV Mumm Napa Valley Brut Prestige Extended Tirage

Mission Codename: Surly? No, Sur Lee!

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red back to Mumm Napa to procure a the latest release of Mumm’s extraordinary Reserve Brut Extended Tirage, winery-only sparkling wine.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Mumm Napa

Wine Subject: NV Napa Reserve Brut Extended Tirage

Winemaker: Ludovic Dervin

Backgrounder: For today’s selection, we sent Agent Red to our dear friends at Mumm Napa, in search of another exclusive sparkling wine. He returned, triumphant, with the latest release of their very special Extended Tirage Brut Reserve, which was aged, sur lee (on the yeast), for one year longer than their standard Brut. With this added aging, the wine takes on a decidedly more complex and rich character.

Made from grapes that are hand-picked, exclusively at night, this blend of 53% Pinot Noir,
42% Chardonnay, 3% Pinot Meunier and 2% Pinot Gris contains all four sparkling wine varietals.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Rose gold hues support a steady cascade of some of the smallest bubbles we have ever seen in a sparkling wine! These bubble rise continuously, even after a glass has been sitting for a long time.

Smell – White peach and vanilla meld with a softly coppery note, out front. As you inhale the wine more deeply, yeasty bread dough, citrus and Granny Smith are revealed.

Feel – Soft and full, with a lovely mousse that expands slightly on entry. Across the mid-palate, the small bubbles help to introduce a bright, creamy, plump acidity that enhance the flavors of the wine, as it spreads further around the mouth.

Taste – Fresh green fig, fresh-baked white bread, yeasty dough, green apple, lemon tart and citrus, with a hint of copper and a hint of cherry pastry at the very end.

Finish – Long and filled with flavor, this bubbly lingers longer than most. Citrus and fig give way to soft copper and cherry pastry. Then, mysteriously, citrus makes a big return and then tails off gradually.

Conclusion – We loved the previous release of this wine, which we showed back in January of 2009. This new release shows even more elegance and more complex flavors than its predecessor. The lush feel of the wine supports the layers of flavors, which are inviting, delicious and interesting. Ready to drink now, our sources also tell us that this wine has real aging potential. Available only at the wine winery, year round, we are thrilled to be the only wine merchant to make it available outside of the winery – today only. Delicious any time and with any occasion, be sure to purchase enough to last you until the next release of this exceptional sparkling wine.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

LUDOVIC: This wine is our way to showcase the characteristics of extended aging on the lees. It is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, with small percentages of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris, all hand picked in Napa Valley. The additional time spent on the lees adds complexity, creaminess and biscuity notes that only develop as the yeast cells break down over time while integrated in the wine during second fermentation. These are the qualities that give the wine its balance and dimension. This wine is drinking really well right now and I expect it to cellar well for the next five years.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

LUDOVIC: We recently featured this wine in a winemaker reception with an assortment of hors d’ouevres including brie en croute, crab dip, stuffed mushrooms and goat cheese with fig balsamic on crostini and everyone went wild. It was a clear winner.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Carneros District so special?

LUDOVIC: The Carneros District, with its cool evenings, foggy mornings and warm days, provides the best climate around for producing the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. When we go out tasting the grapes, we’re looking for even ripening, while maintaining high acidity and moderate sugar levels. These qualities are what create elegant, ageable sparkling wines that we can enjoy through the years.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

LUDOVIC: We are busy tasting all the individual lots from the 2010 harvest and creating the blends for the 2010 vintage wines. We’re also working on our ISO annual visit, that we’ve had the last three years since our certification. We’re proud to be the first winery in Napa Valley to be ISO certified in Quality, Environmental and Safety. We’re also keeping our employees safe on the roads with all this unusual weather and snow around the valley.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you and
your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The gorgeous Rutherford, California location of the Mumm Napa winery and vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.

2005 Palladian Estate Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Codename: Palladio’s Gift

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red to St. Helena, at the northern end of the Napa Valley, to secure an elegant and delicious Cabernet Sauvignon for our demanding Operatives.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Palladian Estate Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley

Winemaker: David Mahafey

Backgrounder: Today’s estate-grown wine comes to us from winemaker David Mahafey and proprietors David and Sandy Jones. This potent pairing previous brought us a stunningly excellent Pinot Noir from their other winery project, Olivia Brion. When Agent Red learned of their Palladian Winery project, he rushed to procure their thoughtfully crafted and recently released 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, and wine that was barrel and bottle aged to perfection, prior to its release.

Situated in the heart of Premium Cabernet Country, the estate vineyard for today’s wine neighbors the Meadowood Resort and surrounding vineyards. The vineyard sits just off the Silverado, in St. Helena, where it enjoys the company of some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon producers in the world.

Saint Helena is one of the more recent distinct AVAs or districts in Napa Valley, having been formally designated in 1995. Just north of the famous Rutherford AVA, St. Helena is distinct from its neighbors in climate, aspect and soil. Being between the mountainous districts (Spring Mountain and Howell Mountain) to the north and the valley floor to the south (Rutherford) this region is uniquely ’up-valley’. This AVA covers about 9000 acres with the well known Charles Krug being among the first to grow grapes here dating back to the 1870s.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep dark garnet with a deep and slightly inky core, this wine’s deep color extends right out to the edges of the glass, where a soft rim of ruby encircles the glass. When swirled fast, chubby legs gather high on the glass – and then then race down to the surface of the wine.

Smell – Medium in intensity and very well developed, this wine shows a complex bouquet that leads with red cherry, cassis and blackberry. These are layered atop cigarbox, soft wild fennel, toasted vanilla oak and a hint of tobacco leaf. As the wine opens up, additional aromas of wild mushroom and soft earth emerge.

Feel – Very smooth and soft across the entry. Then, the feminine feel of fine grained tannins and a touch of acidity enhance the plus feel and encourage flavors to evolve on the palate. After swallowing, a minerality that introduces a soft dryness emerges, spreading to the corners of the palate.

Taste – Classic, integrated Napa Cabernet flavors leading off with black fruit of black cherry and black plum, wild fennel, soft exotic spice and a hint of black pepper. After the wine opens up, mineral notes, bright cherry and white pepper emerge.

Finish – Clean and very long, with lingering black plum, black cherry, spice, mild sweet cigar box and earthy notes that are all supported by the fine tannins.

Conclusion – The 2005 Palladian Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley is an exceptional example of a fully developed wine. Winemaker David Mahafey impressed upon me the fact that this wine was carefully aged, first for up to two years in oak, and then for two years in bottle – before it was deemed ready for release. Rich and plush on the palate, complex and very well-integrated, this wine delivers balanced flavors will delight your senses. Drinking like a true Bordeaux, this elegant wine shows wonderful grace and finesse. Drinking perfectly now, this wine will only continue to improve with age, so buy enough bottles to enjoy some now – and savor the rest over the next several years.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: David Mahaffey

WINE EDUCATION: Taught wine production and wine study classes at Napa Valley College for ten years—I have a Masters degree in Education from Harvard

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WINE BIZ: Inventor and co-developer of an Ozone Sanitation system used by more than 800 wineries. Applied for and got Wild Horse Valley approved as AVA in 1987

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Transparency in the winemaking so that the vineyard specific qualities always shine through.

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: First Vintage 1980, first commercial wine release 1985

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, David. We are thrilled to be showing your luscious 2005 Caberent Sauvignon today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

DAVID MAHAFFEY: I’m always happy to pontificate about wine in general – and my wine in particular.

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine making?

DAVID: Yes, harvest 1979, rain threatening, last day of picking at Green & Red vineyard, the last box of grapes were dumped into the stemmer, the heavens opened and Biblical rain started… Followed by one of the great feasts of my life.

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

DAVID: I’m lucky enough to have been able to drink some really great Burgundy. The one that comes to mind is, ‘95 Musigny from Comte de Vogue – extraordinary fragrance and femininity. I’m sure I’d recognize if I ever got to taste it again. (now, however, a second mortgage would be necessary to do that)

RED: Who do you make wine for?

DAVID: If I can make myself happy, everybody else is going to be thrilled. Most of the time winemaking is a skilled craft, like being a chef, however, once in a while, an intuitive leap from my standard protocol really works and it feels like art has happened. That makes me happy.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

DAVID: The grapes are organically farmed, gardened really, all hand work, from a true Estate vineyard. I hold the wine for two years in barrel and age for at least two more years in bottle before release. The 2005 vintage is our current release, we want to see the wine aged during its young life in perfect conditions! The wine has had the time to develop, silky, silky tannins and exotic bouquet notes, like ancient perfumed love letters lost in the back of a cedar armoire! (I’m allowed to wax poetic). Classic structural proportions, and under 14 % alcohol – this wine will continue to please for a long time! A few percent of Cab Franc adds the floral violets notes. The ‘05 Palladian was just picked #2 in the top 100 Wines of the Year by an important Southern California Wine shop. This lovely vintage will soon be history.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

DAVID: I love this wine with rich winter comfort food, like Chanterelle risotto. This wine really clears the palate, and makes each bite of food taste focused and clear. Wine should be at the service of enhancing, and refining the meal. Young, over extracted, 15.2 % alcohol Cabernet, (D-cup style) might be OK on the back porch with a cigar, but NOT at the table with a savory meal!

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Palladian Estate vineyard, in St. Helena, so special?

DAVID: The Palladian Estate is in the heart of the Napa Valley, in some of the best cabernet soil in St. Helena, (across the road from Harlan’s Napa Reserve). Arguably, one of the best locations on earth for ripening the noble Cabernet Sauvignon grape. We have chosen the name Palladian for our wine because Palladio’s structural designs were all about proportion and balance – a perfect metaphor for what is important in wine, proportion and balance. The Palladian temple pictured on the label, is near the barrel cave and serves as a quiet reminder of what has been considered beautiful for five hundred years. I really hope our care of the soil means someone can grow cabernet here seven generations from now.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

DAVID: Let’s see.. a wine thief, a Reidel glass, a hammock, and the big screen TV in the cave.. not really the last two items, but the first two I’m using to frequently taste every barrel of the ‘09 and 2010 vintages to watch the mid palate expand and the flavors evolve. BTW, please get it touch when you come to Napa and come do some barrel tasting with me. I love to pontificate about wine!

RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?

DAVID: With reverence…BULLSHIT! Wine is to make the pasta more interesting on Wednesday night! Serious answer—with curiosity, intent, and memory sensors set to 11.

RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

DAVID: Please call and come taste my wines from the barrel and talk to me about wine.

RED: I have the feeling you’ll be seeing our Operatives, soon…. Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The approximate location of the Palladian Estate Winery vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo.

2007 Schug Carneros Estate Heritage Reserve Chardonnay

Mission Codename: True Heritage

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Wine Spies favorite, Schug Carneros Estate, and retrieve their fabled Heritage Reserve Chardonnay, for our deserving Operatives.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Schug Carneros Estate

Wine Subject: 2007 Heritage Reserve Chardonnay – Carneros

Winemaker: Mike Cox and Walter Schug

Backgrounder: To most wine aficionados, winemaster Walter Schug needs no introduction. Mr. Schug’s pioneering work with Joesph Phelps and Insignia is the stuff of wine legend. Today, Walter Schug’s own winery, Schug Carneros Estate, makes wines that are every bit as good or better, but made for folks like us Wine Spies – and you, our Operatives. Carneros Chardonnay is revered for its quality, elegance and smoothness. The Carneros viticultural area, a wine growing region which straddles the Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, has been a great source of wine that we have featured here. Always, those wine have been of supreme quality. The cool Carneros region provides ideal growing conditions for Chardonnay and Chardonnay literally thrives there. Schug’s Heritage Reserve Carneros Chardonnay is a remarkable wine that showcases the best that the region has to offer. It is no wonder that Schug wines have become a Wine Spies Operative favorite.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Golden yellow with light honey hues right though its perfectly clear core. When swirled, the wine settles quickly, leaving behind columns of chubby tears that move slowly down the glass.

Smell – Very inviting, with a lush, medium intensity that leads with pear, citrus, white peach and green apple skin. These mingle with secondary aromas of orange blossom, light spice, white minerals and soft oak which round out the nose.

Feel – Very round and velvet smooth on entry and across the mid-palate. The velvet feel fills the entire mouth, coating with flavor and soft tannins that seem to gradually reveal themselves after the wine is swallowed. Gradually, an easy dryness spreads around the palate, drying the lips.

Taste – Layered, delicious and complex, while also being very easy on the palate, this wine leads with flavors of citrus, green apple, yellow apple, pear and white flowers. Creamy Clementine, white minerals and soft spice and complexity.

Finish – Long and lush with delicious flavors lingering long after you sip. As fruit flavors dwindle, a flinty dryness appears, followed by a hint of subtle spice and soft oak.

Conclusion – The 2007 Schug Heritage Reserve Chardonnay is a delicious, luxurious and deep Chardonnay from the masters of Carneros, Schug Estate Winery. The wine exhibits a smooth and very silky feel, characteristic of Schug’s Heritage Chardonnay. The wine is not overly creamy – or buttery – due, in part to the fact that only 15% of the wine underwent lamo-lactic fermentation, a technique that can give Chardonnay the butterball flavors that we do not enjoy here at Wine Spies HQ. This wine is, instead, beautifully balanced, with layers of aromas and flavors that keep on evolving as the wine airs out and warms slightly in the glass. We recommend that you sample the wine at different temperatures, as it really seems to come to life at slightly warmer than fridge temps. If you love expressive and silky Chardonnay, and Chardonnay that pairs beautifully with food, this wine deserves your special attention. Michael Cox and Walter Schug have, once again, crafted a superb wine that our tasting panel just loves.

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Michael Cox

WINE EDUCATION: Started working in Sonoma wineries out of high school. Graduated form UC Davis in 1991

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Winemaker for Schug Winery since 1995

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY:
Don’t get to fancy, let the vines and the yeast do their stuff. Just don’t mess up what mother nature intended.

WINEMAKER QUOTE: From Tao Te Ching: “The hard and stiff will be broken, the soft and supple will prevail.”

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: 1993 Napa Valley Chardonnay from DeMoor (Napa Cellars)

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Mike. We are thrilled to be showing your fantastic 2007 Carneros Chardonnay, Heritage Reserve today. The wine is really wonderful. Thanks so much for the wine, and for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

MICHAEL: Thanks Red, we are so happy that you continue to love our wines. We always enjoy your detailed reviews – and these sit-downs!

RED: The pleasure is all ours, I assure you. How long have you been making wine?

MICHAEL: My first job in a wine cellar was when I was 19. I got a summer job working at Hacienda Wine Cellars (pre Bronco – then family owned by the Cooleys).

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

MICHAEL: Not sure if it is specific, but that summer of 1987, working on the bottling line, cleaning barrels, driving all over Sonoma County sampling vineyards, long wide ranging conversations on music and farming with the winemaker, Eric Laumann all combined to sell me on the idea that growing and making wine would afford me the ability to continue to live in Sonoma Valley.

RED: And where did you learn the most about winemaking?

MICHAEL: Hmmmm. Tough one. I spent my formative years from 1987 -1991 at Hacienda, a year at Dry Creek Vineyards, got my first‘Winemaker’ job at Napa Cellars/DeMoor, and have spent coming on 14 years here at Schug with Walter. I’d probably have to say my time at Napa Cellars. I was 25 and they gave me the keys and said ‘drive’. I learned to get things done, not to waste time or money, and how to pull together a wine from vineyard to bottle. For all the talk of art, it is also a big logistics game.

RED: What is your winemaking style or philosophy?

MICHAEL: I’ll happily steal from Robert Mondavi here: ‘The first glass of wine should invite the second.’ I don’t like flabby, heavy, ponderous wines. I want brightness and zip. Elegance is foremost.

RED: Walter Schug is a legend in the wine business. How has he influenced you?

MICHAEL: Walter has been, and continues to be a mentor. I am very fortunate that Walter saw in me someone with the kernel of his own winemaking style that he could nurture and develop. He is a font of knowledge that I can tap into at any time. With just about any situation he’s seen it in his own experience here, at Gallo, or as consultant, at least twice.

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

MICHAEL: We already talked about Walter being a mentor, but Eric Laumann, who gave me my first job was also very important. He certainly instilled a confidence in myself and the wines that make. He also is a reminder to not
take yourself too seriously, just the wine.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

MICHAEL: Myself foremost. Plan D is always to just drink it all ourselves, so it better be good.

AGENT RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

MICHAEL: This is the 2007 Carneros Chardonnay, Heritage Reserve. Every spring I go through the cellar and taste all the individual barrels of chardonnay we have and the ones that I feel have a special charm get a chalk mark. I then spend a few weeks trying different blends with the owner and his father, massaging the blend until we come up with something that, we think, best represents the vintage and the Schug style. In our case “Reserve” is a small, handcrafted selection of our very best barrels we have to offer.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

MICHAEL: Dungeness crab, marinated overnight with garlic, lemon, paprika, wine and olive oil

RED: Whoa… Umm, YUM! Tell me, what makes the Carneros region so special?

MICHAEL: It is a small region, so within our borders there is a lot of consistency. Appellations like Sonoma Coast and Russian River just don’t have the same climate conditions throughout the appellation. We have two main dominating features: the wind and the water. Wind is where the cool ocean air forces it’s way though the Petaluma Gap into the bay and interior valley. It cools us in summer and brings the fog. The water is the San Pablo Bay and the wetlands that surround it. In winter, it buys us a few extra degrees and gets the vines going early. Between the wind and the water, the growing season in Carneros can be up to two weeks longer than our neighbors. At the same time, we don’t have to push the growing season into late September/early October, so rain is not normally an issue. On top of that Carneros is pretty dry as far as Northern California goes. In general, we like that.

RED: What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone that is considering a career as a winemaker?

MICHAEL: Trust yourself and your palette. Don’t chase a style or someone else’s opinion. Be ready to work and get down and dirty. Don’t expect a lot other than the reward of the wine itself.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

MICHAEL: Thinking about the 2011 vintage, planning meetings for the vineyard, evaluating barrels, tasting the 2010’s, scheduling bottling supplies, catching up on paperwork, occasional market work, open houses….

RED: Please share one thing about yourself that few people know

MICHAEL: Considering how much I enjoyed NASCAR, I may well be a closet redneck.

RED: Nice. What is your favorite ‘everyday’ or table wine?

MICHAEL: Well until recently it had been Laurenz V.’s Gruener Veltliner, either the Singing or the Charming, but I have been drinking a lot of our dry Rose of Pinot Noir of late.

RED: How would you recommend that people approach your wines, or wine in general?

MICHAEL: Well wine is for sharing with friends so have some people you like around and start opening bottles. Schug wines always get better of the course of a meal as the layers start to unveil themselves. Don’t rush into it. Relax and enjoy.

RED: If you could choose any one wine to drink (regardless of price or availability), what would it be?

MICHAEL: The Holy Trinity from E. Guigal – La Turque, La Mouline, La Landonne. Odd for a Pinot maker, but I could drink those all night.

RED: What is the one question that I should have asked you, and what is your answer to that question?

MICHAEL: Hmmmm. How about: ‘If you couldn’t make wine, what would you do?’ And to be honest, I am not sure of the answer… I always say that my retirement plan is to move to Hawaii (Kauai – westside) and make rum, but that’s a bit close to winemaking… So perhaps a historian and author. 18th and 19th century European to be a bit more precise.

RED: Very cool. Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and about your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

MICHAEL: No problem. Thanks again for having me. I hope I covered what you wanted to know. Glad you like the wine, I hope your Operatives do, too.

And here is a recap of Agent Red’s original interview with Walter Schug:

I had the incredible great fortune to meet with one of the wine industry’s most respected and renowned wine craftsmen in California wine history.

Walter Schug, owner and winemaster at Schug Carneros Estate, was born into wine in Germany in 1936, where his father was winemaker for one of Germany’s top Pinot Noir Producers.

As a young man, Walter worked throughout Europe, honing his craft. In 1966 Julio Gallo asked Walter to oversee all grapegrowing and quality control for the company. Seven years later, after Walter’s reputation had grown, Joseph Phelps asked Walter to become Phelps’ winemaker at his new Napa Valley winery.

Walter helped to create the Insignia label and some of the finest and most sought after Bordeaux-style blends in the country. Walter crafted wines that set the high water mark for excellence in winemaking.

To this day, Walter Schug’s early influence on the industry lives on, with wineries across California and around the world emulating his winemaking style.

With Phelps, Walter Schug’s goal was to make the best Bordeaux-style blend possible. Today, Walter Schug’s philosophy remains largely unchanged. There is one big difference, however; Where a bottle of Insignia may cost you $200 or more, a Schug wine of comparable quality with cost you less than $60.

On arriving at the Schug winery last week, I am greeted by Axel Schug, Director of Marketing for the winery and the son of Walter Schug. Axel, with whom I had met previously, introduces me to his father, and then escorts me through the bowels of the winery, to a tasting room buried in a wine cave. The long table the stretches down the tunnel is surrounded on both sides by seemingly every vintage from Schug’s history.

As I am escorted to my seat, I notice several magnums of Insignia wine and I spot one bottle in a special wooden display. Walter Schug sees me looking at it and he takes it from the display and shows it to me. The bottle is from Joseph Phelps himself, and a touching tribute to Walter Schug, from Phelps, is engraved on the back.

What follows is a partial transcript of our conversation:

AGENT RED: Mr. Schug, thank you so much for making yourself available today. It is an honor to meet you!

WALTER SCHUG: Welcome, Agent Red.

AGENT RED: Let me first say that your wines blow me away. The winery is beautiful as well. I love Carneros and wines from the region. You are really a pioneer of the region. When it came time to build your own winery, how did you come to settle here?

WALTER SCHUG: When I was with Gallo, I sourced fruit from Carneros. I recognized the region as having great potential for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Given my passion for Pinot, settling in Carneros was a natural.

AGENT RED: And, when you did settle, you produced a fair amount of Chardonnay, did you not?

WALTER SCHUG: Yes, and it was excellent, too. It still is. Back then, Chardonnay subsidized my passion for Pinot Noir! It allowed me to perfect Pinot here.

AGENT RED: This Cabernet Sauvignon we are drinking [today’s 2003 Heritage CS] is incredible. How has your philosophy changed from your Insignia days?

WALTER SCHUG: Very little. The goal now, as it was with Phelps back then, is to create the very best wine that we possibly can. And, to do so without recipe or formula.

AGENT RED: Ahh. Whereas I have heard that Insignia is more formulaic in its approach to winemaking today. Instead, your proportions or even fruit sources may change a good deal – if it means making wines that are that much better. Am I correct?

WALTER SCHUG: Yes, this is true. This Cabernet is streamlined and far more European in character. This is a wine that has elegance, delicacy, finesse – this is what I strive for in all of my wines!

AGENT RED: Again, this is a great wine and I am sure that our Operatives will love it. I also look forward to bringing them your Pinot Noir, during a future mission.

WALTER SCHUG: If they appreciate wines that are made for the best enjoyment, they will love this wine. In the end this wine is not made by going to the vineyard and knowing what you are going to get. Rather, it is the result of meticulous blending of wines made from the best fruit. Again, it is my mission to create wines that are the best expressions of place. It is my mission to make wines that are to be enjoyed.

AGENT RED: Mission accomplished, Mr. Schug, Mission accomplished!

WALTER SCHUG: Thank you, Agent Red.

We talked a great deal about Walter Schug’s history and his influence and impact on the wine industry. While I was certainly impressed by his incredible history, I must say that what impressed me the most – what seemed to matter to me the most – was what the Schug Carneros Estate winery was doing today. Today, Schug is crafting remarkably beautiful wines that are a true delight to drink and enjoy!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Schug Carneros Estate can be seen in this satellite photo.

2007 Vihuela Winery Incendio Red Blend

Mission Codename: Ultimate Fusion

Operative: AgentRed

Objective: Return to Vihuela Winery, in Paso Robles, a winery first infiltrated by The Wine Spies in 2007. Secure an ample quantity of their flagship blend, Incendio, for our deserving Operatives.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Vihuela Winery

Wine Subject: 2007 Incendio

Winemaker: Mike Vihuela

Backgrounder: Paso Robles has long been established as a wine producing region that give other California regions a run for their money. With a climate and soils that make for perfect growing conditions for red wine grapes, it is no wonder. Winemakers in Paso are a somewhat unique breed, often declaring themselves to be the renegades of Cali wine. A blend of 40% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot 20% and 10% Petit Verdot, today’s wine, from Mike Vihuela, is music to the senses.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deepest burgundy, with perfect clarity through a deepening core. At the edge of the wine, a gorgeous ring of fine ruby encircles the glass. Swirl the wine, and chubby legs form high on the wall of the glass, before they crawl slowly downward.

Smell – Dark cherry juice is the lead note, here, followed by loamy earth, blackberry, dark spice, candied plum and hints of cedar and aged leather.

Feel – Soft and light, on entry, this wine develops a lovely middle-weight feel across the mid-palate. Bright acids support the plush tannins and enhance the flavors. At the tail end, slate and black pepper drive an easy dryness that spreads from the mid-palate, outward.

Taste – Bing cherry, red raspberry, blueberry, cassis and a hint of plum lead the way. Then, soft black pepper and slate ride alongside brown spice, softest oak, earth and hard leather.

Finish – This wine has an exceptionally long finish, with flavors that seem to tail off quickly to a level that is then sustained for a very long time. The wine starts with red fruit, moves to black fruit mixed with minerals and pepper.

Conclusion – This is a fantastic and delicious red blend that delivers on the deep fruit and character that we have come to equate with great wines from Paso Robles. This wine offers up great balance, with the perfect mix of fruit, minerality and spice. With a fantastically long finish and bright acidity, this is a fun wine to enjoy on its own or with a great meal or hard cheeses. Pair with your favorite meats or game and, if you purchase six or more bottles, the included music CD – for the ultimate fusion!

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Mike. We are thrilled to be showing your 2007 Incendio today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.

MIKE VIHUELA: Thanks, Agent Red. It’s good to be back with you!

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

MIKE: My passion for wine grew out of an appreciation for the many types of cuisine my mother prepared. She was always trying something new or exotic and that inevitably developed into cooking with wine and pairing wine with each meal.

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

MIKE: My mentor was Matt Mikulics, he runs the vineyard now and I would describe his style as integrating both European style and American techniques.

RED: Who do you make wine for?

MIKE: I haven’t thought about wine reviewers as much as I probably should. My main goal is to make wine that anybody can enjoy with friends and food. The rose-tinted analogy in my head is the Greek Symposiums where wine, food, music, ideas and life in general were intertwined and embraced.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

MIKE: The Incendio wine was crafted as a tribute to the band with the same name. The band is based in LA and they fuse Spanish guitar with a bohemian new age vibe. Given that a Vihuela, besides being the name of my winery, is also a Spanish Guitar it was probably kismet that this collaboration would come to fruition. The blend is Syrah 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Merlot 20% and Petit Verdot 10%. Your tasting notes do a better job than I could of describing the depth, character and elegance of the wine, so I’ll stop there

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

MIKE: Well, somewhat contrary to my answer below about Vihuela’s wines, I think that Incendio pairs well with medium bodied cheese like dry Jack, light sweet sauces and roasted meats. The earthy quality of the wine really lends itself towards those foods.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Paso Robles region so special?

MIKE: We’re very fortunate to have such wonderful soils, climate and technology at our disposal to make great wine, but I’d say the culture is a huge part of the region. Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo are laid back and the other winemakers that I’ve been fortunate enough to know are great at sharing ideas and techniques.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

MIKE: I’ll be honest and say music has occupied more of my time these days. Wine and music are my two passions in life and I’ve been jamming in the studio quite a bit lately. I am however pleased with how the 2008 wines have been maturing in barrel and expect that they’ll be something special. I’ve also been spending time discussing with my vineyard partner on how we can improve the quality of our fruit by modifying some of the irrigation and pruning techniques we use.

RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?

MIKE: I like big wines that are balanced well, so again the pairing is key. Most of my wines pair exceptionally well with heavy cheeses and meats so that’s where I start. I’m also a strong advocate of decanting big reds as well. Even in San Luis Obispo, which is apparently the Happiest Place on Earth according to Oprah, you can get caught up in hustle and bustle so as cliché as it is it’s nice pop open a bottle, take some time to let it breath, bust out the cheese (and the Incendio CD) and chill with some friends.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The approximate location of the Vihuela Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.

2008 Olivier Larochette Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes

Mission Codename: The land of Ausonius

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Acquire a limited production and exclusive Pouilly-Fuissé

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Olivier Larochette

Wine Subject: 2008 Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes

Winemaker: Olivier Crocheter

Backgrounder: Pouilly-Fuissé, located on the southern end of the Mâconnais (about 25 miles south of Beaune) is an ancient winegrowing region it a history that dates back nearly 1600 years. While there are no premier crus in the Pouilly-Fuissé or its satellite appellations, some of the region’s climats are very highly regarded for exceptional Chardonnay. Most notably Pouilly-Fuissé is pale, crisp and refreshing with the best producers creating wines with rich flavors and firmer structures.

Today’s selection is made from Chardonnay vines that are at least 35 years old with the designation of Vieilles Vignes.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Pale golden yellow with brilliant clarity and straw reflexes in its core. The color remains to the edge and when swirled slow fat legs hang for a moment before falling to the wine below.

Smell – Bright but also restrained fruit including peaches, dried apricot and quince; add to this toasted oak and hazelnuts, orange blossom and a hint of yeasty toast and soft oak.

Feel – Medium to full-bodied, well structured with lively tart acidity and flinty minerality that frames the fruit and leaving a tartness that lingers into the finish.

Taste – Flavors of tart citrus, peach, green pears and some tart star fruit along with dried apricot and toasted hazelnuts blend with a soft but present toasted oak and a yeasty bread component. Hints of characteristic honey and white floral notes adds pleasant complexity.

Finish – Long and clean with this wines tart fruit and vibrant acidity mingling with flinty minerality as the green tree and citrus fruits fade.

Conclusion – The 2008 Olivier Larochette Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes is a fantastic wine that shows the varietal character of Chardonnay wonderfully. Not overly oaked or buttery but not absent of those components either. Most notably, the tart fruit and lingering acidity keeps this wine ultra refreshing and clean on the palate. We paired this wine with a selection of fresh sheep and goat cheeses.

Mission Report:

We are in the process of transcribing our winemaker interview and will post it as soon as it is available.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The approximate location of the Pouilly-Fuissé can be seen in this satellite photo.