September 2019 Club Letter

Wine Club – Fall 2019

So much to say, so little space to say it in. Having just bottled the 2018s, and waiting for the 2019 harvest to start (we’re ready!!), it’s been fun to re-visit these wines from 2017 as we assembled this club shipment. We are including three Pinots; two of which have been part of our lineup for some time, the third of which is newer to the mix, somewhat iconic, and has already garnered a following. We round it out with the last “Schioppettino” we will be releasing for a while, but this one is a doozy! We continue to be grateful for the many blessings in our lives; and we hope these wines convey how we feel about this very special place we call home.

Holdredge 2017 “Judgment Tree” Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - New Release Only 102 cases made. $70/btl (Club Price: $59.50)

In 2017, I may have walked Rochioli more than any other vineyard we work with. I just wasn’t feeling like it was ready- I liked the flavors a lot, but it just wasn’t speaking to me. Then one morning in mid-September, on my way back from vineyard checks on the coast, I stopped by for a quick taste, though I wasn’t expecting much difference. It was a classic cool Russian River morning, and as I walked uphill through the profound “hush” that only a heavy fog can bring, it felt like there wasn’t another being in the universe as far as I could tell. At that moment, I finally heard the vineyard. We picked the following day.

This wine was one of those that made itself in many ways. It was slow to start fermenting (native yeasts sometimes have their own thoughts), and finished slowly too, with really good extraction; the total time on the skins was 24 days. Early on, it showed a fair amount of grip which is typical of that vineyard, but I’ve learned to be patient there, as the tannins always resolve into very fine tannins. While this wine has plenty of red fruit, it isn’t at all “candied”, it’s really more of a mulled fruit note- and those superfine tannins really carry the finish, which lasts a good while. I plan on drinking this over the next 7-9 years.

Holdredge 2017 Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir- “Steiner-Dry Stack Vineyards” - New Release Only 95 cases made. $50/btl (Club Price: $42.50)

This is the second wine we’ve blended from these two vineyards (we’ve worked with Steiner since 2012), and I continue to be drawn into the dynamic of blending wines from two very distinctive sites on the same slope of the mountain. Dry Stack (lower slopes) came in quite early (second wine in the barn), and showed a pretty dynamic (exuberant) personality from day one. The Steiner (upper slopes), true to its place, was picked three weeks later and has always been darker, more pensive, and broader across the palate. In the blend, the Dry Stack provided a

focused core of red fruit, while Steiner lent richness to the palate. This year we blended slightly more Dry Stack into the blend; as we added more, we just liked the resulting structure of the wine even more. If you like aromatics of strawberries, cherries, and dried flowers, you’ll love this one. The 2016 took a while to reveal itself- but ended up as one of the “crowd favorites” of all the 2016s. Drink now and for the next 6-8 years.

Holdredge 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – Bucher Vineyard New Release Only 125 cases made. $50/btl (Club Price: $42.50)

In a way, this wine reflects a full circle at Bucher. Our first wine from there in 2006 was all from the “Pear Tree” block- the northernmost block at Bucher (about a 1⁄2 mile north of the ranch entrance). Pear Tree is planted almost entirely to clone 667 and has always been the backbone of our wines from Bucher. Beginning in 2008, we began getting grapes from other parts of the ranch, which have been used in varying amounts over the years. 2017 marked a return to 100% Pear Tree block- it is simply better by itself, and no amount of blending gave us a better wine.

This definitely shows full ripeness, with a darker color than the others in this release. The red fruit is more to the dark cherry side of things, and the telltale rose petal aromatic note we get from Bucher is darker as well. It definitely is fleshy in the palate, but still holds the finish. This summer, we’ve been having it with a lot of grilled meats (it’s amazing how well a boneless pork chop and this wine go together). We are definitely enjoying it now- but it should continue to develop nicely for another 5-7 years.

Oscuro 2016 Dry Creek Valley “Schioppettino” - New Release!
Only 84 cases made. $45/btl (Club Price: $38.25) In 2004, we made and released the very first Schioppettino in North American history. It has been a lot of fun learning about this grape, and it opened us to some other amazing Cal-Ital wine possibilities. But our growing portfolio of Pinot places serious demands on our winemaking time and energy, so with some sadness, I must report that this may be the last Schioppettino we make for a while (although Carri has pointed out that I sometimes go to “Happyland”- which she says is at the junction of no business sense and no impulse control; so never say never).

But if we gotta say “ciao”, this is the vintage to do it with- talk about going out with a bang – this wine just smacks you in the face with a noted of cracked pepper, followed by mulberries, dark cherries, and blackberries. It is at once rich and focused, but I think it expresses luxuriousness as much as anything. Over the years, we’ve marveled at how versatile this wine is with food. Last night, I harvested some late potatoes, onions, parsley, and a few green beans from the garden, cooked some bacon, and made a simple potato salad with a little olive oil and the slightest hint of vinegar. Just wonderful. You’ll be able to enjoy this wine with food (or by itself) for the next 6-9 years.

Cheers!

John & Carri Holdredge