2006 Elizabeth Spencer, Grenache, Mendocino County

Elizabeth Pressler and Spencer Graham, husband and wife, formed Elizabeth Spencer in 1998.

The Grenache is from a single vineyard with very stony soils located in Mendocino just east of Ukiah. Due to the rough terrain, the vines struggle through the growing season creating grape clusters with very tiny berries yet full of exuberant aromatics and flavors. The soils here are a textbook example of the theory proving that growing vinifera fruit in rugged terroir does achieve the fullest, most complex components in the resultant wine.

Body: medium
Color: deep garnet
Aromas: black cherry, black tea, lilac, white pepper, raspberry, spice
Varietal Blend: 95% Grenache, 5% Durif
Case production: 350 cases
Ageing: 14 months used and new French oak

From their website: The wine is supple and round on the entry, with grip and texture building beneath layers of ripe plum, Bing cherry. This mouth-filling wine is firm and refreshing on the finish.

Winemaking: Grapes were hand-harvested in late October, removed from the stems and placed in a small open-top tank. After light maceration, the skins and the pulp sat together for six days prior to fermentation in order to extract as much of the bright fruit flavors as possible. Native yeasts were encouraged, and the wine was punched down by hand, pressed just before dryness and moved to barrel to complete fermentation. Barrel-aged for 14 months, the tannins integrated seamlessly with the body of the wine prior to bottling.

Eat with: charcuterie platter, pâté, rillettes and terrine.

Website: http://www.elizabethspencerwines.com/

2007 Westwood 4-Part Rose, Sonoma Valley

A dry pink wine that is called 4-Part Rosé, produced from saignée de cuvee of our Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise and Syrah grapes.

John M. Kelly, Sonoma - Trained as a biochemist, he has been professionally active in the wine industry since 1986. He started as the Westwood Winery winemaker and general manager in 1994, and became an owner/partner of the Annadel Estate Vineyard in 1998.

Varietal: 51%Grenache, 27%mourvedre, 13% Counoise, 10% Syrah
Case production: 48 cases
Body: medium
Color: salmon pink
Aromas: strawberry, rhubarb, lemon, melon, hints of white pepper and spice

From the website: Counoise, part of this blend, is usually seen as a blending grape in Rhone. It is used primarily for its high acidity and spice and pepper aromas. The 4 part rose is made in the saigneé method which involves bleeding off a portion of red wine after a short amount of contact with the must. John Kelly, winemaker and owner, boasts that this wine is extremely versatile with food and has the capacity to age.

There is a unique combination of soils and exposures at Annadel Estate Vineyards. Because of the diversity of soils and meso-climates at the site they decided to expand the range of wines offered under the Westwood label. In the warmer terroirs we planted an unusual selection of red Rhône varieties: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Counoise.

Westwood Winery was among the first vineyards to purchase California-certified Chateau Beaucastel budwood from Tablas Creek nursery, including two clones of Grenache, as well as Mourvedre and Counoise (a virtually unknown red grape approved for the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation). All of these Rhone varietals, particularly the late-ripening Mourvedre, are planted in the warmer upslope areas of the vineyard on the weaker, shallower soils.

Good words: The 2007 Annadel Estate 4-Part Rosé is barrel-fermented dry in the manner of Chardonnay, making an unusually rich and complex rosé with notes of toast. James Knight, North Bay Bohemian

In 1998, Kelly formed a new partnership and purchased a 37-acre parcel at the northwest end of the Sonoma Valley, starting Westwood’s shift to a Sonoma Valley brand. With the 2000 vintage, he began sourcing fruit from that area, and in 2002 Kelly finally assumed the winery’s ownership. Westwood’s production moved from Shingle Springs to just south of Sonoma in 2005, near the then-newly-opened Tasting Salon, and the first wines from Westwood’s own Annadel Estate Vineyard were produced later that same year.Westwood produces 750 to 2000 cases annually. Kelly matter-of-factly states that he’s “producing a living thing, not a beverage. The wine has to be what it’s going to be. I don’t let my philosophy get in the way of good winemaking. I do as the situation dictates.” He prides himself on the fact that “no matter when you open [a bottle of Westwood], you will be happy with it,” believing that “a wine’s got to taste good when it’s young to taste good when it’s old.” by Brittany Cohen winecountrythisweek.com

Eat with: grilled rabbit roulade, carrot purée, haricot verts, baby carrots, roasted shallots & thyme jus

Website: http://www.westwoodwine.com/