While the Audelssa Estate Winery has been producing outstanding wines for more than a decade, it remains one of the best kept secrets in both Sonoma and Napa. Few secrets can be kept forever, and with each passing day this small producer's reputation continues to climb amongst seasoned oenophiles and first-time visitors to the area. This summer is an excellent time to become acquainted with a property Robert Parker calls "outstanding."
Audelssa is fortunate to occupy 125 of the most scenic mountainside acres in all of California. Situated at 1,800 feet above Sonoma Valley, the Audelssa's neighbors include the famed Monte Rosso and Bismark Vineyards. Magnificent views of the valley and the entire San Francisco Bay leave a lasting impact on the visitors fortunate enough to reserve an appointment to tour the winery and vineyards.
winecountrythisweek.com
Audelssa—the name an abridgment of the Schaefer children—is a winery that truly echoes its circumstances. The dream vineyards are incapable of replication; even the label reveals an image that could either be the extreme elevation or the strong winds that blow harshly on the terrain. But it is the allowance of these conditions that really produce Audelssa wines; Erich prides himself on his ability to stay out of the way. Since California—unlike France—can let grapes ripen, Audelssa Estate Winery can allow the vineyards to grow good, clean grapes that are expressions of the intense site, a goal for any winery with some moxie.
from Cellar Tracker Wiki Articles
Proprietors: Dan & Gloria Schaefer
Winemaking: Erich Bradley
100% Syrah
Case production: 202 cases
14.9% Alcohol
Aged 18 months in 100% French Oak, 30% New Oak
Audelssa prides itself on "Extreme Viticulture". They say "sometimes the most distinguishing element of a vineyard is the intense nature of its site". The syrah grapes that are used for the Maelstrom is grown on the Mountain Terraces Vineyard located on the western slopes of the Mayacamas mountains and is one of the most distinctive vineyard sits in California. Cascading down 1200 vertical feet the vineyard overlooks the Sonoma Valley and on a clear day you can see San Pablo Bay, as well as San Francisco. The soil that spans the acreage is composed of Rhyolite, and Basalt. The sever terrain naturally limits crop size, yielding fruit with extraordinary concentration and complexity of flavor. The Maelstrom wine is made employing minimalist winemaking techniques designed to allow the vineyard to be expressed in the wine.
Tasting Notes:
This is a masculine wine, bold and full bodied with a translucent garnet color. Notes of elegant cherry candy fruit with an undercurrent of light iodine, mineral and leather express the nature of the earth that it was grown in. The fruit, earth and game components of the wine intertwine to become rich and balanced. Enjoy this wine now or over the next 8 - 10 years.
