I make balanced Pinot Noir from West Sonoma Coast, Sebastopol and the deep end of the Anderson Valley…and now I make Chardonnay from West Sonoma Coast! This years offers are:
The 2011 6 pack:
One bottle each:
2011 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir
2011 Cuvee Abigail, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2011 Nash Mill, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2008 Cuvee Abigail Pinot Noir
2013 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
The Mixed 6 pack:
One bottle each:
2008 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2009 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir
2009 Cuvee Abigail, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2010 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir
2010 Nash Mill, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
The 2011 3 Pack:
One bottle each:
2011 Cuvee Abigail, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2011 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir
2011 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Can’t order both the 2011 6 pack and 3 pack unfortunately.
If you’d like to order, send me a PM with your email address (it has to be a WB PM, including your email address). I’ll email you a link to order with (using my new ordering and shipment management/tracking system). Note that you won’t be added to any mailing list as a part of this, unless you add yourself. The included shipping is to a business address, there’s a $3 fee (I get charged more than that) to a residence.
Chardonnay
I’ve always had a passion for great balanced chards…Chablis, Littorai chards (esp ones with >10 years of age) and many others. So I was thrilled when I was offered fruit from a West Sonoma Coast vineyard with 40 year old vines (naming the vineyard requires a separate contract and more money, so I passed on that for now)! Plenty of acid (tho not over the top), reductive winemaking and 15% new oak will let the yellow & white fruit and bit of minerality be the focus. This was bottled in December, and is still quite tight, so some patience will be required before opening.
The 2011 Vintage
2011 was a fantastic vintage for balanced Pinot Noir. The entire year was historically cold, yet the vineyards still managed to get a good amount of sun (for most of the year, when it wasn’t raining late in the season). The sun + cold gave a much longer hang time, which translates to more nuance and complexity, esp on vineyards with great soil and exposure. The keys to success in 2011 (in no order): low enough yields (aka fruit per vine) to allow ripening, experience making balanced/lower ripeness wines from the vineyards, early/effective mold/mildew prevention, and sorting in the vineyard to prevent the mold that did develop from getting into the picking bin.
All in all, I hope I get a chance to make wines from a vintage like this again (tho with less/later rain please!).
Details about the Pinot Noir wines/vineyards mentioned above:
Moore Ranch
Located near Sebastopol on Occidental road. Thin topsoil on top of a rocky subsoil gives a savory/earthy/mineral quality to the wines (in addition to the red and dark fruit). Because of its cool location, these wines display a Sonoma Coast character in addition to the Russian River. Takes time to reveal itself, which is why I release my wines later than most. All 15-20 year old vines helps give the wine more of a soil character and less clone character. Contains Pommard, Swan, 115 and 114. Typical alcohol here is 13.6% to 14.1%…the 2010 is 13.6% and the 2011 is 14.1%, so go figure (note: no watering back here, or other funny business).
Notes on Moore Ranch wines: Search wines for 'ladd cellars moore' - CellarTracker
Cuvee Abigail
Starting with 2010, this comes from Pratt Vineyard, between Sebastopol, Occidental and Freestone…not far from Falstaff vineyard. Pure goldridge sandy loam soil gives the wine floral/roses/citrus, depth and some savouriness to the red fruited wine. The vines here are 15-20 years old…something I greatly appreciate and value. Clones here include 2a, 9 and Pommard. The 2a and Pommard are on their own roots, which takes the rootstock influence out of the equation and perhaps gives a purer vineyard expression. Clone 9 has been in California since the 1800’s but was lost, and rediscovered (in Jackson) in the late 1980’s. I love working with clones outside of the usual assortment, esp these and this vineyard.
Notes on Cuvee Abigail wines (except 2011, which no one has tasted!):
Nash Mill
Located in the deep end of Anderson valley, north west of Octopus Mountain…which makes Nash Mill a mountain slope vineyard. The topsoil is a sandy clay loam typical to the deep end. The subsoil has large amounts of shale in it, which adds an appealing/distinctive savory quality. The clones Pommard, 115 and 667 were planted in 2003. I’m happy with the amount of depth and complexity it has given the vine age, which is the shale at work here. The 2010 was fermented with 20% whole cluster (which is now a background element in the wine). 2011 was such a cool year, I felt the fruit would be best standing on its own, without any stem inclusion
Notes on the 2010 Nash Mill (no one has tasted the 2011 yet!):
Russian River Valley
The Russian River wine is almost entirely grapes from Moore Ranch, picked/fermented specifically for this bottling.
The Moore Ranch designate includes clones Pommard et al (discussed above). Unfortunately, I don’t think Pommard/Swan is esp interesting or compatible with clone 667. So the RRV wine based on clones 667, 777 and 114 was born! I’m extremely happy with this, esp as an AVA wine. The 07 and 08 vintages are mostly 114 & 777 and are more red fruited wines. The 09, 10 and 11 have higher amounts of 667 (still mostly 777/114) and are more darker fruited. In all cases, the savoriness of the soil comes through, due to the vine age and rocky subsoil.
Thanks for your interest!