Darioush, 2010 Viognier, Napa Valley

Estate grown Viognier derives its unique style from a four-acre vineyard site in the Oak Knoll appellation. The cool micro-climate of the vineyard allows this temperamental varietal to slowly develop robust and concentrated oral and fruit characteristics. The fruit, and resulting wine, is minimally handled to express its pure and fragrant nature.

Bright and alluring fragrances of macadamia nut, guava and honeysuckle introduce the distinctive 2010 Signature Viognier. A notable crisp green apple acidity pleases the palate while delightful flavors of Asian pear, star fruit and white nectarine harmonize with a nuanced nish accented by orange zest, clove and to ffee.

VINIFICATION
~ Meticulous attention to detail and minimal handling
~ Hand-harvested into small 28 lb. baskets
~ Hand-sorted and whole cluster pressed
~ Barrel fermented and aged 7 months sur-lie with bi-monthly batonage
~ Barrel lots racked prior to bottling

COMPOSITION 100% Viognier
APPELLATION Darioush Estate Vineyards, Ashley Vineyard, Oak Knoll
COOPERAGE Aged 7 months sur-lies in 15% new French oak, Burgundy cooperage
WINEMAKER Steve Devitt
AVAILABILITY 1499 cases

Proprietor Darioush Khaledi

Darioush Khaledi, a man passionate about fine wines founded Darioush in 1997. Khaledi grew up in Iran's Shiraz region, a wine-growing region until the Islamic revolution. His father made wine as a hobby, and as young boy, Khaledi used to sneak sips from the barrel. As an adult, he became a devoted collector of fine wines.

Immigrating to the United States in the late 1970's Khaledi's passion for wine never waned. In the early 1990's he embarked on a worldwide search for the ultimate vineyard estate. Darioush is the culmination of this search.

Winemaker Steve M. Devitt

Steve Devitt is Winemaker/Vineyard Manager of Darioush. Steve manages all winemaking and viticulture activities at Darioush. His understanding of microclimates, the local soils and the wines they produce enable him to create Estate wines that best express the character of each individual vineyard. As a winegrower, he believes that the best winemaking begins in the vineyards. Steve personally manages the Estate's extensive new vineyard developments and all aspects of the Estate's wine production.

The Darioush Estate is committed to hand harvesting and handsorting each grape cluster prior to crushing. This is a meticulous and labor-intensive method, but it ensures that only the finest, fully matured grapes are used in our Darioush wines. This approach includes small lot whole cluster pressing, destemming, cold soaking, extended maceration, barrel-to-barrel racking and bottling without filtration.

This minimalist approach preserves and expresses the true varietal character of Darioush Signature wines.

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2005 Shafer Relentless, Syrah, Napa Valley

The Winemaker
The longtime winemaker for Shafer is Elias Fernandez. Elias has been with Shafer for over 25 years. He was on a path to be a great musician with a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of Nevada but decided shortly thereafter that his roots were in the wine business. His father and mother were both day laborers and he was used to hard work. He decided to enroll at UC Davis in 1981 and was hired by Shafer in 1984 as an assistant winemaker. He took on full winemaking responsibilities in 1994 and has worked diligently to help establish Shafer as one of Napa Valley’s premier wineries. He was named best winemaker by Food and Wine Magazine in 2002. The story behind the name for this wine is that it is in honor of the winemaker Elias Fernandez’ relentless pursuit for quality.

Varieties:
78% Syrah
22% Petite Syrah
The grapes are picked, crushed, and fermented together!

Aging: The wine is aged in new French oak for 30 months
Alcohol: 14.9%

Winemaker Notes:
“The flavors and aromas are immense, round, mouthfilling and long-lived with a luscious blend of rich blackberry, black plums, meatiness from the Syrah and a dose of blueberry from the Petite Sirah. The tannins are ripe and long-lived, with a lengthy, pleasing finish.” —ELIAS FERNANDEZ

“… a sure-fire winner … the classic cassis, blackberry, peppery meatiness of this wine are beautiful.” —ROBERT M. PARKER, JR., THE WINE ADVOCATE

Vineyard Location: A small ridgetop site and a foothills site along the Vaca Mountains just south of Stags Leap District

Shafer Goes Green
There are several ways that Shafer works on sustainable farming:
Solar Power
Future Farming
Birds of Prey
Eating Machines
Cover Crops

Solar Power: In 2004, Shafer switched to 100% Solar Energy to power their operation! They are committed to sustainable agriculture – using cover crops, as little or no pesticides or herbicides, letting the harmless do their job in the vineyard to control pests that like grapes and grapevines.

Partnering with Bugs and Weeds: Another key part of farming sustainably is the use of cover crops. Today our vine rows grow wild with clover, vetch, oats, bell beans and other vegetation that creates a lively habitat for insects.
“The cover crops create a healthy environment where “good bugs” prey on “bad bugs,” says Doug Shafer. “More specifically, insects such as spiders and ladybugs naturally kill off or consume vine-damaging insects such as leafhoppers and blue-green sharpshooters.”

Cover crops do double and triple duty. They control erosion while also choking back weeds we don’t want. They control the vigor of the vine and at the end of their lifecycle they’re plowed under and enrich the soil with nitrogen and other macronutrients. This combined with our own compost allowed us to say good by to chemical fertilizers.

Schulz 2006 Fortunati Vineyard Syrah

THE FORTUNATI VINEYARD was planted by Gary Luchtel of Surh Luchtel Cellars. John Schulz and Gary grew up together in a small town in Iowa and through that relationship Schulz Cellars was fortunate enough to secure a contract on a 2 acre block of Syrah. The Fortunati Vineyard is situated in the heart of the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Syrah has become an important part of the Oak Knoll AVA due to the ideally suited deep clay loam soils, which produce wines that are rich and complex.

Tasting Notes: Rich but not too fat with a solid core of tannins. Bright and vibrant red cherry fruit with a rich, round mouth feel ending with a hint of anise and cloves.

Varietal Make up:
100% Syrah 
Appellation:  Oak Knoll District

Cooperage: 50% French Oak, 50% American Oak,
50% new barrels
18 months in barrel 

Release Date: June 2007 

Production: 200 cases

Schulz “Fortunati” Syrah is a classically styled Napa Valley wine showing rich, smooth flavors with a firm structure giving it depth and complexity. Beginning with deep, dark fruit aromas that are followed by layers of rich, dense black berry and black cherry flavors leading to a very round texture in the mouth with structure enough to give a long lingering finish.

90 points - Wine Spectator
 "Serves up a complex mix of dark berry, blue, boysenberry and huckleberry all show prominently displayed, joined by spice, leather, cedar and herbal scents. Supple textured."
Drink now through 2013.
The name alone of Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll AVA, with its ideal climate and soil for bold red grapes, inspires taste buds around the globe, so when we had the chance to sample John and Michelle’s Fortunati Vineyard Syrah we were obviously excited. John Schulz is a big shot over at von Strasser, one of our favorite Napa Wineries, and thus we were able to get the inside scoop on his own labor of love. Once you taste this Syrah, you’ll fall in love too.

More info from the Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Dark purple, inky and almost black in color with deep dark garnet edges and clusters of fast thin legs that streak down the edge of the glass when swirled.
Smell– Big, bold and complex in its nose with aromas of wild blackberry and bilberry over a base of black pepper, fresh cut cedar and hints of floral lavender, mocha and an earthy quality.
Feel – Full-bodied, dry and rich with a smooth supple tannins and a touch of spice on the edge of the palate. Its balanced acidity provides a creamy round texture for the bold flavors to come.
Taste – Extremely well integrated for a relatively youthful wine, with flavors of ripe black fruit, ripe plum, mild black pepper and hints of cedar, leather, wild fennel and cocoa.
Finish – This wine finishes long with lingering flavors of its ripe fruit and complex earth, wood and spice components.
Conclusion – The 2006 Fortunati Vineyard Syrah is a delicious wine that is perfect for cozying up to a warm fire with your favorite secret agent. Well integrated and complete with classic aromas and flavors, this is a Syrah that is drinking beautifully now but will also continue to develop over the coming years.

Submitted by James Cross

2006 Krupp Brothers, “Black Bart” Marsanne

Aromas: peach blossoms, honeysuckle, jasmine, honey, apricots, almonds
Body: full
Color: straw yellow

From the website: WINEMAKER: Nigel Kinsman joined the team at Krupp Brothers in October 2006. Nigel has earned many accolades and the respect of the wider Australian wine community by crafting complex and balanced wines at Hay Shed Hill in Margaret River, Western Australia. Prior to that, Nigel gained experience at several of Australia's top wineries and honed his skills with Italian varietals as winemaker for boutique Chianti winery Tolaini, under the guiding hand of winemaking consultant, Michel Roland. Nigel firmly believes that wines are "grown not made."

Krupp Brothers Marsanne comes from a gently sloping south-facing block at Stagecoach Vineyard, containing 2 excellent French Marsanne clones, 574 and a Tablas Creek field selection.

Tasting Notes: Straw yellow, brilliant clarity; Intense lifted nose, displaying a wonderful complexity of flavors—honey suckle, orange blossom, jasmine tea, almond kernels, fennel, lemon and freshly harvested honeycomb. The palate is full, polished and balanced with flavors of citrus, peach and apricots. The texture is succulent and creamy complemented by a steely minerality.

Eat with: beet & feta salad - olive oil & herb marinated feta, pickled vegetables, upland cress & yellow beet vinaigrette