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 . 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!