Truchard 2007 Roussanne, Carneros

Truchard Vineyards is a small, family-owned winery in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. Proprietors Tony and Jo Ann Truchard have managed a successful vineyard and grown exceptional grapes for over 30 years. Through their hard work and devotion to this unique property, they helped pioneer grape growing in the Carneros. In 1989, the Truchards established a winery and began producing wines using only their estate-grown fruit.

Truchard Vineyards, located it Sonoma’s Carneros District has been producing grapes for over 30 years on the site of an old prune orchard. While well known for many varietals, one of the most unusual is the 3 acre parcel planted to a the not so common Roussanne. Growing in soils composed of volcanic rock and ash, the vines benefit from the gently sloped terrain and cooler Carneros temperatures.

Roussanne, one of the white grape varietals of the Rhone is most often blended with Marsanne and rarely seen on it’s own. Truchard believes this challenging grape can achieve greatness when grown in the correct area and allowed to ripen to perfect maturity.

Rich flavors of green apple, honeydew melon and lychee are balanced by sweet aromas of nectarine, pears and pineapple all brought together with a citrus-mineral acidity which makes for an unctuous yet clean bright palate.


WINEMAKING: All of the fruit was whole cluster pressed and fermented in French oak barrels (20%) new. After fermentation the wine remains in barrel on the lees (sur lie) for 6 months. A partial malolactic fermentation (30% complete) allows the wine to retain its natural acidity, while regular stirring of the lees (battonage) gives added complexity and richness. 
This wine was bottled in May 2006.
Case Production: 969 cases

This wine lends itself to a number of dishes but has a special affinity to richer style fish preparations such as our local black cod with a black truffle emulsion.

2005 Buena Vista, Syrah, Carneros

From their website: Just outside the town of Sonoma, the original Buena Vista winery is now a California Historic Landmark. Founded in 1857, Buena Vista Carneros is California’s oldest premium winery. Set along the along the south-facing hillside overlooking San Pablo Bay, Buena Vista Carneros's breathtaking property is one of the most significant in Carneros. Straddling the southern-most tips of Sonoma and Napa Counties, wind and fog sweep in daily from the bay to cool the vines and extend the growing season. Nearly 500 acres in this most spectacularly situated region of Carneros, Buena Vista Carneros' Ramal Vineyard boasts a remarkable number and range of sites with more than 100 separate vineyard blocks based on topography, geology and microclimates.

The syrah is sourced from the estate vineyards in Carneros, the Carneros Syrah is an approachable expression of cool climate Syrah – where the gamey side of Syrah is balanced by the elegance and finesse of the cool climate fruit, cherries and floral notes.

The aromas are a combination of blueberry and kirsch, roasted meat, violets and black licorice. The flavors are cherry, spice and currant, with a medium to long finish of plum and toast. This is a very food friendly wine due to its natural acidity and a restrained winemaking approach.

Body: medium to full
Color: garnet red
Aromas: blueberry, boysenberry, smoke, hint of game, black licorice, nutmeg

Ageing: 14 months in 33% new French oak

Jeff Stewart: In France, wine is food. I was fascinated with the lifestyle and the importance of wine in that culture,” says Buena Vista’s winemaker, Jeff Stewart. “I knew I wanted to pursue a career in Science and after several conversations with my high school chemistry teacher, I was soon enrolled in the Viticulture and Enology program at U.C. Davis. The idea of combining agriculture, science and esthetics to create wine, a beverage revered in many cultures for thousands of years, was mesmerizing.”

Eat with: grilled butcher's steak, roasted potatoes, salsa verde

Website: http://buenavistacarneros.com

2005 Nicholson Ranch, Syrah, Las Madres, Carneros

From their website: Nicholson Ranch has a commitment to maintain the health and fertility of the land by using sustainable farming practices. To this end, predominantly natural and organic methods of vineyard management are employed. Rather than spraying insecticides, Ramona Nicholson prefers to work with Nature—the natural rhythms of the Earth—by encouraging raptors, snakes, owls and beneficial insects to thrive.

Body: medium to full
Color: violet red
Aromas: blackberries, lavender, sage, rosemary, mint, provencal herbs

Winemaker, Jacqueline Yoakum uses a minimal intervention approach to all her wines, which means that no sulfur is added at the time of crushing, the wine is not inoculated, only indigenous yeasts are used, and malolactic is allowed to occur naturally.

Case production: 623
Ageing: 18 months in French Oak, 25% new

The 2005 cool growing season allowed us to hang the fruit in the upper part of the vineyard until October 18th and in the lower vineyard until October 25th. The greater stem maturity created an opportunity to do more whole cluster experiments, ranging in whole cluster percentages from 0 to 100. With a little less ripeness than years past, this benefited the six different lots from the 12 tons we brought in. All the complexities of fruit and stem are showcased in this wine. The nose begins with blackberries and lavender and ends with sage, rosemary and mint. The palate picks up with a range of dark fruit flavors that are buffered by the stem influence of ripe tannin, Provençal herbs and black olives.

The lightest of the three Syrah bottlings, in color, body and flavor profile, is Las Madres (in Los Carneros sub-AVA), from a vineyard only two miles from Nicholson Ranch. Carneros has become the North Coast’s best kept secret for producing elegant, balanced Syrahs due to the cooler climate and longer hangtime for the grapes.

Eat with: grilled pork tenderloin, roasted root vegetables, applewood bacon, collard greens & pork jus.

Website: http://www.nicholsonranch.com/

Truchard 2005 Roussanne Botrytis

Truchard 2005 Roussanne Botrytis

Vintage:
Near perfect conditions throughout the spring of 2005 resulted in excellent berry set and a very large crop. Mild summer temperatures gradually ripened the fruit, allowing for extremely long “hang time”. The 2005 vintage produced elegant wines; with intense aromas, rich flavors, and bright acidity.

Vineyard:
This exotic dessert wine was made from Roussanne that was left to hang on the vine until mid November. Ideal conditions of high humidity and moderate temperatures allowed for the growth of botrytis cinera, an unusual mold that can grow on the grape clusters. Botrytis causes the fruit to dehydrate and become extremely sweet, it also produces unique aromas and flavors. It is rare and highly prized when making a “late harvest” wine; for this reason Botrytis is often referred to as the “noble rot”.

Winemaking:
All of the fruit was whole cluster pressed. The fermentation was carried out in French oak barrels (25%) new, using a special Sauterne yeast. The fermentation was halted when the proper balance of sugar and alcohol was achieved. The wine was aged in barrels for 10 months and bottled in August 2006.

Truchard Winemaker Profile:
Sal de Ianni worked his first harvest in 1994 at Hess Collection Winery. He spent 6 months in the cellar, and then returned to school. During the 1995 vintage, he worked at Cuvaison Winery, in both the cellar and the lab. After six months, he went back to Davis to finish my thesis: “Investigating Methods of Detecting Urea in Wine.” In the summer of 1996, he received his MS in Enology and returned to Cuvaison for the upcoming harvest, as the enologist. Immediately after harvest he was offered the opportunity work in Margaret River, Western Australia. He would be the “temporary” winemaker at a small ultra-premium winery – Pierro Margaret River Vineyards. He left for Australia in January 1997 and returned to Cuvaison in August, just in time for the 1997 harvest there in California.

After his winemaking experience in Australia, He felt that it was hard to go back to being an enologist; so he began searching for a winemaking position in the Napa Valley. He answered a help-wanted ad the local paper which read “small, family-owned winery looking for a hands-on winemaker.” He joined Tony and Jo Ann Truchard at Truchard Vineyards in January 1998 and is still there ten years later.

Tasting Notes:
A floral nose of dried apricots, mango, and honeysuckle. The mouth is bright and viscous - with the flavors of ripe pear, nectarine, and wild flower honey. Firm acidity provides a clean, crisp finish of citrus and peach. 200 cases produced.