Ladd Cellars Pinot + Chardonnay

I make Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from West Sonoma Coast, Sebastopol and the deep end of the Anderson Valley. I make wine in a balanced style, to pair well with food. I make wine that I love and want to drink, not for points or a ‘marketing plan’.

The Mixed 6 pack
One bottle each:
2014 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 13.4% (understudy: 2013 RRV Pinot)
2014 Cuvee Voile, Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 13.4% (understudy: 2012 Moore Ranch Pinot)
2013 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir, 13.7%
2013 Nash Mill Vineyard, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, 13.5%
2012 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 14.2%
2008 Cuvee Abigail, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 13.9%

The Cellar 4 pack
One bottle each:
2007 & 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
2008 Moore Ranch, RRV Pinot Noir

I make wines that I like to drink. A side benefit of that is they have the natural balance to age well. I’ve opened multiple bottles of each of these recently and have been happy with how good they are…still youthful, beginning to develop forest floor and other interesting qualities. Here’s your chance to give this a try. Most of these are on lists of SF bay area restaurants.

Random thoughts about above wines/vineyards/etc:

Chardonnay
This is from a vineyard between Sebastopol and Occidental. 40 year old vines! Well old enough for the vines to show the terroir of the vineyard, and have ‘old vine sap’ (concentration due to vine age). The 2014 fruit was picked at 22 brix, which turned into a 13.4% final alc and 3.15 final pH, even having gone through full ML! The combination of old vine sap + terrific natural acidity is what I love about this. I make wine to show it’s terroir, and have an ‘old world’ balance, and this is it.

Winemaking
I’ve been backing off on oak in recent years. I have don’t have anything against oak…different wines want different oak approaches. Recently tho, the wines have been telling me to use ~20% new oak, or less, compared to the 30% or more I used to use. I recently tasted my 2015 Moore Ranch (still in barrel) and I had to keep reminding myself that it’s entirely in neutral barrels. But 2015 was that kind of vintage, where the grapes/stems possessed everything the wine needs.

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. Moore Ranch wines have a strong terroir signature, from the soil, location and vine age of course. Clones include Pommard, Swan, 115, 114, 777 and 667, planted in 1997.

The 13 Moore Ranch is a mix of Pommard, Swan, 115 and a little 114. Looking at the fruit hanging in the vineyard, I could tell that’s what the Moore Designate ‘wanted to be’. These were co-fermented along with 15% whole cluster, to make the most of the ‘magic’ of fermentation. The result is one of the more complex Moore Ranch’s I’ve made, a mix of red and dark fruit tho more on the red fruit side. It reminds me of a young 2008, with the complexity upped a bit, which is saying a lot.

The 12 RRV is entirely from Moore Ranch (some years 5 or 10% other RRV things contribute, not in 12 tho). The RRV is a different set of clones, picked at a different time and fermented separately from the Moore Designate. Otherwise they’ll argue :slight_smile:. 2012 pinots have a reputation of being lighter than normal, mostly due to higher crops that year. My 12 RRV bites its thumb at those comments. This is due to a little known fact: the seeds cause grapes to grow in size. Seeds produce an enzyme that turns the tiny grapes into big boy grapes. Sometimes, due to spring weather conditions, seeds don’t form…so the grapes stay tiny, right up til they’re picked. The result: a lot of skins for the amount of juice (i.e. the skin/juice ratio)…making a more concentrated wine. You have to make sure to not over extract…I’ve been working with Moore Ranch fruit since 2006, so I’m quite familiar with what makes it tick and purr. The result is one of the better RRV Pinots I’ve made, one that’s beginning to show what it has.

Nash Mill
Located not far from Burt Williams’ Morning Dew Ranch, in the deep end of Anderson valley, north west of Octopus Mountain…making this 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. Tho the type of soil is common in AV, the large amount of shale isn’t, and it’s a common characteristic of most of the top AV sites.

The 2013 Nash Mill Pinot is a mix of Pommard and 115. It’s a red fruited Pinot that’s both pretty and savory at the same time. Can’t ask for anything more than that imo.

Many interesting/useful tasting notes on these wines, or of similar vintages, can be found at Cellar Tracker and here, of course!

http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/search.php?keywords=ladd&fid[0]=1

Thanks for your interest!

In for a mixed 6 pack.

In for a 4 pack.

I guess I like Ladd, I have 16 tasting notes in CT and another 10 bottles in the cellar.

Feel free to browse my notes

I’ve got the better part of two cases in my cellar. I just drank a 2009 Moore Ranch PN and it was delightful!

Thanks for all the orders so far…keep em rolling in!

And thanks for your great notes/support on my wines over the years Brig and Sheila! Woo Hoo

Eric is known for his Pinot noir (for good reason) but it’s definitely worth mentioning that the Chardonnay he is releasing here is fantastic. “Burgundian” is a much abused word but it really comes across as a Cote de beaune style wine and has fantastic freshness and bright energetic acid that really frame the fruit flavors well. I whole heartedly recommend it.

Thanks Berry!

Hey Eric - I’m interested in a six pack.

Thanks!

Thanks Roy, and everyone that’s ordered so far.

I just saw a note on one of the new/offered chards:

2014 Ladd Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée Voile
Wednesday, January 25, 2017 - Delightful. I find among my favorite chards Williams Selyem Heintz Vineyard and Varner El Camino Vineyard. I like them for their bright, clean and refreshing characteristics. This Ladd chardonnay embodies the good traits of those wines, but up a step, with a wonderful balance: bright, refreshing with mid-ripe fruit, great mouth feel and mid-palate happiness I rarely find. (93 pts.)

that 6-pack is a whole bunch of awesome wine - Eric’s Chardonnay is fantastic, in particular, and you all know how much I love Ladd Pinot with a couple years of age on it.

In for the 6 pack. Every Berserker Day I tell myself I’ll try something new and every year I find myself buying one of the Ladd offers.

I’m excited to try out your Pinots.

Hey…unfortunately my email is having a glitch at the moment. I’ll get back to you all once it’s worked out (not too long, hopefully), but everyone’s in so far.

Email sent - liked the Pinots from last year, looking to try some more plus the Chardonnays.

In for a 4 pack!

Thanks for all the orders and interest in the wines!

Hi Eric - any info on when these will ship (to SoCal in my case)?

Anyone received these wines yet?

Sorry for not seeing the your question/comment earlier Paul. I plan on shipping starting early March, now that the weird weather and flooding and all around here is (hopefully) over.