NEWBIE INTRO Forgotten Union Wines

Greetings!

Benjamin Leachman here, sole proprietor of Forgotten Union Wines.


I entered the wine industry after getting a degree in Biochemistry from Occidental College. After a few years of being assistant winemaker for RH Phillips (pre-Constellation Toasted Head), I went back to get a BS in Vit & Enol and a MS in Hort & Ag from UC Davis. After graduating in 2011 I started working with Philippe Melka at Seavey Vineyard.

I became the Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker in 2012. I left Seavey to take an Associate Winemaker position at Checkerboard Vineyards in 2014.

There I made Martha McClellan & Bob Levyā€™s wines (L&M), alongside Dennis and Stephā€™s estate wines. After harvest I left Checkerboard to start my own wine company, Forgotten Union Wines, out of my house in the historic ā€˜Union Cityā€™ area of North Napa. I returned to UCD a second time to get a Wine Business Certificate from the Graduate School of Management while moonlighting as Director of Viticulture at Walsh Vineyards Management. Oh, did I mention I do international vineyard consulting as well? I know a thing or two about growing and making ultra premium grapes.
My first release was a 2015 Stagsā€™ Leap Cab for which I created the Vidi Vitis label. It was my first Valley Floor fruit fermentation, and it has aged beautifully.
2015 VV Cab.jpg
In 2017 I transitioned to Oakville:

Through my contacts at UCD I was able to secure a 4-year contract on fruit from the Old Federal Vineyard (which, for obvious reasons I canā€™t call ā€˜To-Kalonā€™). The fruit is unparalleled! The tannins are almost too soft, the fruit almost too bright. Pair that with some really high end oak (Taransaud, Darnajou and a little Gamba here and there) and prepared to be blown away by the results! Iā€™m also a proponent of low sulfur dioxide use. How low? Total SO2ā€™s below 50ppm. We keep things really clean and topped up and havenā€™t found the need to do constant SO2 additions.

(adapted from Matt Stamp, 2015 The True Story of To-Kalon Vineyard - Matt Stamp - Articles - GuildSomm)
I have a second label focused on Carneros Chardonnay & Pinot, Sheepish, which delights in ripe fruit from this cool region. Sheephishly ripe fruit! I farm the grapes for the Sheepish label at my day job where I can identify blocks with potential and execute when opportunities arise! While my Vidi Vitis label was professionally designned by a neighbor of mine, my Sheepish label was drawn by an undergraduate buddy (he was paid in wine).

My current 2019 Chardonnay is from 30 year old vines of Clone 4 planted to 5C rootstock in the rolling hills just west of the City of Napa. Itā€™s a balanced, crisp wine made with low intervention (no yeast, no MLB, minimum SO2). 50/50 Stainless Steel and French Barrel Fermented. Please expect harmless tartrates in the bottom of the bottle.
The Pinot noir is from a nearby vineyard planted in 2001 to clone 459 (a rare clone, distinguished by dark color, high acidity, and large clusters). I was trained on Napa Cab, so itā€™s a California style, ripe and fruity.
In the works for bottling 2021: Coombsville Merlot, Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, and Rutherford Xinomavro. Keep an eye out for reviews from Spectator!

Iā€™m posting some reviews from Board Members on my wines on offer below:

2017 Vidi Vitis Cabernet:

Please, if you have any further questions, donā€™t hesitate to ask! My cell is 53O-798-Ol49, or email at benjaminleachman at gmail dot com. https://www.forgottenunionwines.com

Cheers!

Welcome!

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Welcome!

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Heads-up, the URL link isnā€™t working - some weird thing that I see happen on occasion on these forums. It essentially include the wineberserkers url before yours.

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Doesnā€™t work for me either.

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That Cab sounds promising. Welcome!

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Thanks so much for pointing that out Max- I added https in front of it and I think it works now.

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Thanks Jordan, I think itā€™s pretty rock solid Cab. Iā€™m starting with pristine fruit from an amazing area of Napa. Iā€™ll get a berserker review or two posted here soon so ā€œyou donā€™t have to take my word for itā€.

Cheers,
Benjamin

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Mod edit: fixed the the link, all good now.

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I picked up a bottle of each of the three wines that Forgotten Union produces the other day and tasted last evening. My tasting notes are below.

[Disclaimer: The winery where I work uses the vineyard management company that Benjamin works for to farm their vineyards but I do not work with Benjamin directly]

2019 Sheepish Chardonnay Carneros 14.25% ABV
Straw color. Pear, Green Apple, Honey aromas. Also an intriguing Chamomile note that I donā€™t typically pick up in Clone 4. Nice entrance, with the Pear and Honey flavors following through, refreshing nice balance with toasty oak notes on the finish. No heat but I was surprised the oak did not appear more in the aromas. I am not a fan of California Chardonnay for the most part but I liked this wine.

2018 Sheepish Pinot Noir Carneros 14.95% ABV
Lighter red color. Floral, dried Strawberry, dried tobacco leaf aromatics. There is certainly a good percentage of new oak used and it is in both the aroma and flavor. There is a good acidity in the wine, linear, with a little heat on the finish. I am curious to see how this wine evolves.

2018 Vidi Vitis Old Federal Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 15.25% ABV
Dark purple color. Has a Cassis/Chambord aroma I get from many Napa Cabs, ripe and flashy. Also milk chocolate and dried herbs which are enticing. The mouthfeel is tight and linear with a good amount of tannins. The finish is long and persistent, and no heat on the finish given the Alcohol ABV. I would have loved to have a little more fruit to balance out the spicy oak and tannins but all in all a nice effort. This is a young wine that needs some age.

I have not participated on the board too much. I do hope to post more in the future.

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Hi Benjamin,

Appreciate you posting my review of the 2017 Old Federal Way Cabernet Sauvignon as I was a little delayed reposting it myself and preparing for BeserkerDay in general.

Just wanted to supplement my review by saying that I definitely sensed elements of the To Kalon flavor profile when I tried it. It would be interesting (and rewarding as well Iā€™m sure!) to try it again after almost 2 years and the oak becoming more integrated. Definitely worth the time of folks on this board to consider trying it as a BeserkerDay pick-up!

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