Sarah Francis Wines Berserker Day

Berserker Day Limited Offer for Wine Berserkers!

The 2010 Sarah Francis Cabernet & Chardonnay sold out within 60 days of release.

The allocations for 2011 are about to be announced to waiting list members. Only 2 barrels of Cabernet and 3 barrels of Chardonnay of 2011 vintage were made with the majority already purchased as futures by original wine list members at the time they purchased the 2010 vintage.

Because I love the idea of passionate people in this wine community of Berserkers I have decided to make a limited allocation release available for Wine Berserker Day 2014!

3 bottle pack
2011 Sarah Francis Cabernet Sauvignon
Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard
F block rows 219-222
2 Barrels Produced
Rutherford, Napa Valley
Futures Order- release fall 2014
Weather Dependent
Standard Shipping Applies all states except in CA you may select
pick up only and put in notes that you are willing to accept GSO delivery and shipping will be free to all California Customers.

Special Berserker 3 pack 2011 CS price $450 normally $600 plus applicable sales tax.
ONLY 20 packs available



3 bottle pack
2011 Sarah Francis Chardonnay
Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Vineyard
Carneros, Napa Valley, California
3 barrels produced
Futures order
To be released May/June 2014
Weather Dependent

Standard Shipping Applies all states except in CA you may select
pick up only and put in notes that you are willing to accept GSO delivery and shipping will be free to all California Customers.

Special Berserker 3 pack of 2011 Chardonnay
$210 normally $255
Plus applicable sales tax
only 20 packs available

Please PM the following info:

Full Name
Shipping Address
Billing Address
Email Address
Phone Number
DOB
Credit Card number
Name on Credit Card
CCV code
Expiration Date
Qty of 3 packs for 2011 Chardonnay
Qty of 3 packs for 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

BONUS: TODAY ONLY IF YOU WOULD LIKE THE SAME DEAL ON THE 2012 - when you order today- you will be charged for both 2012 and 2011 in same quantities and same varietals same prices for 2012 as 2011 (note due to demand the price for the 2011 increased from The 2010 offerings
but you will be locking in the 2011 prices for the 2012 vintage in same varietal and quantity that you order 2011’s today only). The 2012’s will be released in the spring and fall of 2015 weather dependent. Only 4
Barrels of Chardonnay and 2 barrels
of Cabernet were produced in 2012.

If you would like the 2012s please indicate that in your message by noting: “BERSERKER DEAL 2012 FUTURES CHARGE me same today”

Cheers!

Sarah Francis
For more info

One of several late entries for BerserkerDay - enjoy!

Thanks Todd

Paging Corey! [smileyvault-ban.gif]

On a serious note, anyone with any tasting notes for this wine?

Sarah Francis, Chardonnay 2010
This wine has an intense golden hue that is star bright and highly concentrated. The nose is clean and powerful with strong notes of green and yellow delicious apple with ripe apricot and white peach in the background. There is slight scent of brioche bread and hints of white flowers, honeysuckle and hazelnut. The palate confirms the nose with high, yet well integrated, acidity of green apple on the front. This quickly dissipates to ripe golden delicious apple and tropical notes of pineapple and mango. The fresh baked bread and toasted nuttiness support the fruit intermingle beautifully. Earthiness shows in the mid-palate with slate and river rocks and finishes with dried leaves, dried earth like a freshly tilled field. The finish is extremely long and brings out white pepper and a spicy note while the fruit and toastiness remains present and softens. The fruitiness will give way to the earthiness over the next few years while remaining vivacious for decades to come.
Sara Francis, Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
This wine has an intense ruby color with little rim variation and a purple halo. The nose starts with a spice note of black and white pepper and pronounced dark fruit of black and red cherry, blackberries and boysenberry. There are secondary notes of rose petals and dried red clay. On the palate the tannin is gripping and intense. The fruitiness confirms the nose with black and red cherry, boysenberry and currants. The black pepper note is present in front and mid palate while red floral and tobacco notes come along on the medium long finish. There are signs of earthiness with dried leaves and gravel, but they are subdued and overpowered by the spice and fruit at this stage. This is a strong wine built to last and will mellow out and integrate over many years. --Todd Brinkman Sommelier/Beverage Director Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage

F Block is THE prime lot in the entire Georges III vineyard. A lot of the big names source from there, namely Schrader, Sojourn, Myriad, some hack named Keating. Those are some good rows, too. Close to the creekbed.
I imagine the Cab is very, very good.

Appreciate the notes Sarah.

Eric, have you tasted? any ‘real world’ notes from folks here?

I ask b/c it’s $200 and now $150/btl… vs some hack’s GIII is $199 for 3 btls… trying to see if there’s notes that say “wow this is Schrader good”…

Please don’t take this as a knock on the price, i really am curious about the wine but hesitant on jumping in without some real world notes, especially with a ‘presumed weaker’ vintage 2011… I don’t see any notes on CT either…

Burgundy Al reviewed the 2010 on CT ( you probably already knew that. )

Never tried that wine nor anything from Sarah Francis. I can only confirm that the source of the fruit is high quality.

Todd Anderson has tasted all vintages and purchased the cab and Chardonnay 12 pack cases from each vintage 2010, 2011, and 2012

I have tasted barrel samples of the 2011 Cab and can tell you this wine is nothing but quality focused! Hand picked in the vineyard directly into the New French Oak barrels for fermentation. This is an up and coming winemaker that everyone should have their eyes on. Currently have 2010 in my cellar. This is an outstanding offer on a wine that soon will be impossible to get. With only 2 barrels made, once the word is out, they won’t be any second chances. Jump on this now and you can say I was buying SF wines before anyone knew who she was!

Wines are great! She is a great upcoming winemaker with solid juice. She has a great story to tie with beautifully balanced wines from 2011.

Flat out great wine, I’ve had every vintage (chard and cab) from both bottle and barrel and her attention to detail from the vines to the wine keep quality at an incredible level. Very consistent from vintage to vintage as well. Certainly a sleeper in the 2011 vintage.

Weston Eidson - Montagu Wines

I’m sure the wine is good, but I don’t know that many people will want to drop $150/$200 on a “sleeper wine” when Schrader can be had for $175. It’s just a tough sell in that neighborhood.

Thanks everyone who ordered the SF inaugural Berserker Day Offering. Everyone took advantage of both the 2011 and 2012 vintages. Thank you also to the many current customers who have already ordered all of the vintages and are enjoying their cellars of the 2010 sold out vintage and awaite the arrival of their futures of 2011 and 2012’s. It is a great feeling to know that those of you who have done barrel tastings and wine dinners where you tasted the 2011’s and 2012 futures of both cab and chardonnay took the time to post your tasting experiences and answer the questions Berserker members new to Sarah Francis Wines posted today. If anyone has any further questions that I can answer-please reach out to me directly or feel free to post questions in the forum openly. Cheers!
Sarah Francis
Sarah@SarahFrancisWines.com

The 2010 sold out upon release, customers who had tried all vintages ordered 2011’s and 2012’s as futures, and every customer that only tasted 2010’s came back after their 2010’s arrived and ordered the 2011’s and the 2012’s as futures. I recently heard about Berserker day and have been enjoying observing the passion of Berserker members and therefore took a small 5 case amount of my personal allocations and presented it to the Berserker Community because of the passion for wine I find here. 3 of the available cases were bought by Berserkers. I love Thomas and Schrader-Thomas and I put many hours foot to the ground in George. There’s no place I’d rather be. Schrader makes more wines than I do-and it is greatly allocated, and I am discovering that this is quickly happening to SF -although I just released my 1st vintage in September the 2011’s and 2012’s for both cabernet and chardonnay are already approaching sell out before their release. Schrader is an exceptional wine one of my personal favorites. I encourage you to order it if you have the chance to be offered allocations at $175.00 a bottle. Cheers!

As Ed Murray noted, I tasted Sarah’s 2010s and posted my tasting notes on Cellar Tracker. While I haven’t tasted the 2011s, let me say I was incredibly impressed with the 2010s. Given that 2010 was Sarah’s first vintage in Napa and with these vineyards, her Cabernet and Chardonnay were remarkable accomplishments that owe their exdellence to Sarah’s incredible dedication to quality. I am probably the last person to comment on one vintage or another in Napa, but I know somebody as focused and dedicated as Sarah will be making great wine gong forward.

I’m actually on the lookout for a new chard. I like the Aubert and Kistler styles, you know, a little smokey oak but not a ton of butter. Are these close?

My chardonnay is from Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Vineyard. I pick at higher acid ratios, lower brix, to preserve the acids, barrel ferment after whole cluster press, allowing natural fermentation to begin before pitching yeast, and then upon completion of fermentation continue to stir and age sur lie for 3 years. I use neutral oak, arrest malo, but end up with partial mlf mostly due to neutral barrel use. The 2011 is barrel fermented in neutral and 1 year old used french oak barrels, then aged sur lie 3 years. I do not fine or filter. The result is an aromatic, crisp, acidic chardonnay with minerality that displays the unique terroir of this special vineyard in Carneros, Napa. Most people say they have never tasted a california chardonnay like it. Many people who do not normally drink Chardonnay have ordered the Chardonnay along with the Cabernet because they fell in love-this has happened too many times to count. That’s actually been a very special moment for me in wine-because this vineyard and chardonnay captured my heart the same way. I am endeared to French Burgundian Chardonnay. I do not like heavy chardonnays-although I do like a layer of spice and oak structure that delivers a beautiful spice nuanced and a long layered finish -I want it to be integrated helping highlight the unique characteristics of Carneros Lake Vineyard, allow it to tell it’s beautiful and unique story without detracting from any single beautiful layer it expresses. I simply allow the vineyard to express all that a California Chardonnay can be-which is complex, aromatic, crisp, acidic, with a long finish and can be cherished and treasured for decades. Most CA chardonnays (not all-but most) are released at 12 to 18 months max, peak in the 3 year range then descend not holding too well after the 5 year mark. Some think that is because of the higher alcohols of california chardonnays-but I don’t think that higher alcohol always means the wine will not age as well-I think it has more to do with acids-lack specifically-coupled with a higher alcohol. I release at the 3 year range, everything about this Chardonnay stunningly captivates you upon release-even immediately after bottling- there is no doubt it will continue to mesmerize me for decades. So no-not heavily oaked, not heavily buttery in it’s expression. I hope others on here will give you different viewpoints of my chardonnay-but I am happy to provide you with some connections of avid chardonnay collectors who have every prized chardonnay both french and californian ever made in their cellar and ordered the 2010 SF vintage and then quickly upon tasting the 2010 ordered the 2011 and 2012 vintages. If you would like that info just PM me and I will try to connect you so you can have a broader more in depth analysis as it compares to other chardonnays that you admire from a collector who has Aubert and Kistler (multiple vintages) as well as many others.

Does the 3 pack come with a Handjob?