33 Acres Brewing Co.
Produttori del Barbaresco
Barbaresco Nebbiolo 2009
On the nose, dark sour cherries, dates, burnt figs, grilled meats, burnt ambers, liquid smoke & dark dry florals. The core color is dark with garnet edges. The palate is; slightly sour but mostly sweet dark cherries, stewed plum, cooked strawberries, rhubarb, dates, figs, tomatoes, smoke, grilled meats, brewed coffee, light tarry notes, dry crushed rock powder, volcanic minerals, dark rich earth, dusty tannins, dry dark florals, soft chewy leather, nice round acidity with a decent, soft, elegant finish...50-50 fruit & earth. This is the largest co-op producer in Europe with 50 members. They collectively have 250 acres; which is about 1/6 of the total under vine. Photos of; the town of Barbaresco (their tasting room near the tower), Produttori cellar and their tasting bar. No appointment necessary. Close to Gaja and the town has one of the best one star Michelin lunches as well as the best service we've experienced. Just right of Gaja. Good with our Veal Bolognese. — 7 years ago
33 Acres Brewing Co.
33 Acres of Ocean Westcoast Pale Ale
Feeling like @33Acres is British Columbia's best craft brewer. The caveat being I wasn't able to try @Brassneckbrew. — 9 years ago
Sinegal Estate
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2016
Of the Napa wines I tasted over 4 days on this trip, the 16 Sinegal Reserve & the 13 Seavey Cabernet were my favorites. Both great wines but, stylistically very different. The Seavy big and bold and the Sinegal pure beauty & elegance.
The nose reveals very dark currants. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush and lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals.
The body is full. The tannins are really meaty but, exceptionally soft, fine and meaty. Lots of dark spice with plenty of heat. The mouthfeel is gorgeously sexy with feminine elegance. Dark & milk chocolate. Blackberries, creamy black raspberries, black plum & plum, mocha powder, core of anise, beautiful dark spice, big sweet tarry notes, soft volcanic soils, some dry brush, lavender, violets and fresh dark red florals. The acidity is perfect. The finish is well balanced sexy and gorgeous. The structure, tension say this needs to cellar eight to ten years.
Photos of; tasting cellar area, modern stainless tanks, outside terrace tasting and or dining area and their grounds and lake.
Producer history and notes...Sinegal Estate was founded in 2013 with wines made from their 30 acre Inglewood estate in St Helena (not to be confused with the Inglenook Estate in Rutherford). This is not a new property, it was part of an original land grant and its more modern day history dates back to 1879 when owner Alton Williams purchased the property and planted the first vines in 1881.
The property has changed owners a number of times over the decades. At one point the Jaegers’ owned the estate, Bill Jaeger and his wife Lila lived here. These Napa Valley pioneers were in part responsible for helping establish Freemark Abbey and Rutherford Hill. Lila was also a gardener and established beautiful gardens on the property.
Owners, David (father)and James (son) Sinegal purchased the property in 2013. James was the co-founder of Costco and once CEO. David worked at Costco for 21 years.
After the purchase, David divided each of their vineyards into smaller blocks, picking selectively (30 times in 2013) rather than all at once, and adding technology to the vineyards so they have up to the date reports on a number of data points including temperatures, soil moisture and various barometric pressures. If they want to selectively water, say vine #67 in row number three, they can do so with their irrigation system. Extremely efficient!
Nine acres of vines are planted to various red varietals including; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. They have some of the older Cabernet Franc vines in the valley that are 30+ years old.
The soils here are diverse and can vary even within small geographic ranges on the property. Some of their vineyards are planted on the valley floor – while their upper vineyards are hillside, on the edges of the Mayacamas Mountains.
Their landscape above the property is interesting and part of the Mayacamas Mountains. Visually, it appears drier than other parts of this mountain range and the vegetation reflects that with grey pine and more open natural vegetation rather than the thicker wooded vegetation more commonly associated with parts of Spring and Diamond Mountains to the north.
After purchasing the property, David created planned and laid out his vision to create a world-class boutique wine making operation. Many wineries in the Napa Valley can take years before they come to fruition, not so here. After only about 10 months, the existing winery was remodeled. 6,500 feet of caves were expanded and drilled into the hillside behind the winery and a new hospitality center was built. The hospitality center ties in very well with the winery. From the small tasting room, large doors open revealing the tanks.
A vegetable garden slightly under an acre grows just south of the winery building. Vegetables from this garden are sold to nearby restaurants.
A skeleton key appears on the labels of their wine and is prominently displayed on the outside of their winery building. This has historical significance. The original key opens the front door to the historic home on site and is displayed in the tasting room. With respect to the history of this property, this one key has already become iconic to the brand.
You only need to look inside of the winery to see that their wine making team is focused on quality. Each of the small lot tanks have built in pumps which can be controlled and programmed to do pump-overs anytime of the day or night. In addition, these tanks have multiple points at which the temperature can be controlled. These tanks do not necessarily handle all their fermentation’s. They also ferment small lots in puncheons and barrels as needed. Control across the board is the key here and it is the control of the details in wine making that is is so integral from when the fruit first arrives through to when it is bottled.
2013 was their inaugural release. The focus is currently on two primary varietals, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc were sourced from the estate but, then it was determined it was growing in an area better suited for red varietals so it was torn up and new plantings were made in the back of the property. While not far from these original plantings, their new home for their Sauvignon Blanc features different soils and is growing in a cooler part of the property.
The wine making team has been experimenting with the style of this varietal since 2013 with subsequent vintages seeing more oak. Especially, using the slightly longer cigar shaped barrels , which have extra surface area for maximizing complexities including textural feel imparted from aging the wine on the lees in these particular barrels. Maceration on the red wines is often 8-10 days and sometimes up to 20 days.
Most of their sales are direct to visitors or through their mailing list. However, they do have some distribution outside California in Florida, New York and Washington. Primarily to restaurants. — 6 years ago
Bedrock Wine Co.
North Coast Syrah 2015
The recent syrah kick continues. A bit more fruit forward than some of the other cool climate sonoma examples lately (and a full point higher alc at 14.5%). Still 33%-50% whole cluster and native yeasts/minimal racking which adds up to syrah goodness. This is last years shipment and is a little more settled now but these could use a couple more years to integrate if you can keep your hands off as the new ones are arriving this week. — 6 years ago
Bedrock Wine Co.
Dolinsek Ranch Heritage Red Blend 2011
Dark ruby color with brambly mixed black and red fruit and spice aromas. On the palate it's medium-bodied, and focused with creme de mure, black and red currant, black cherry, and spice with a very appealing minerality. Long finish. A field blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouchet, Grand Noir, Teroldego, Syrah, Black Muscat and Golden Chasselas. From 4.5 acres of wizened, stumplike, dry-farmed, head-trained red vines, which, planted in 1910, produce only half a ton per acre. — 8 years ago
33 Acres Brewing Company
33 Acres of Darkness Schwarzbier
33 Acres of Darkness. Schwarzbier, smoky caramel and poundable at 5.2% abv. — 8 years ago
Swick Wines
Gris Foncé Crooked Acres Vineyard Pinot Gris 2014
Bold maneuver by Joe Swick of co-fermenting Pinot Gris & Noir results in a pleasurable puzzle of a wine, like listening to Ornette Coleman get rid of chord changes, this wines interacts w perceptions at a radical pace. The Pinot Gris actually supplies more tannic chew that buzzes on the palate while the Noir presents a folk melody structure to wrap your mind around. The collision is rather haunting, and I can't wait to understand how it goes with food in surprising ways. I'm gonna glass this sucker at Americano! — 8 years ago
DuMOL
Jack Robert's Run Sonoma Coast Syrah 2012
Floral lilies, black and blue fruits, licorice and allspice. Sharply focused and very pure. Fresh and sweetly herbal with a little forest floor and evergreen edge. White and black pepper. Detailed and nuanced. Blackberry, soy and bitter dark chocolate. Good drive and power. Youthful finish; quite tightly wound. Apple skin acidity and lingering orange zest. Decant now and drink to 2025.
Dutton-Gregori vineyard. Hand harvested and sorted. 8% Viognier co-fermentation. Aged 17 months in 33% new French hogsheads. Released November 2014. — 10 years ago
Jerry Raphael
Dang good Chard, not super complex but very drinkable. Been open sitting in my fridge for 3 weeks or more. Must’ve sprayed it. Every time I think I’m over Pali drinkers they pull me back in. — 9 months ago