You know how I finished my last post on Stefania saying I'm definitely going to try to hold on to the 2007s for a little longer? That may prove to be harder than I thought. I collected my latest shipment a little over a week ago and have already got through three bottles of the 2007 "Haut Tubbe". On the nose it's slightly funky, with notes of lavender, brambles and pine. With air some eucalyptus showed. On the palate the tannins first appear soft, though on the final glass they were firming up. There's plenty of acidity and a complex blend of fruit dominated by blackcurrant and with hints of mint. Just kept getting better. My guess is that this blend has a larger proportion of Cabernet than the 2006, which I think was predominantly Syrah. Terrific value at $20, and I believe there's still a little left if you haven't already got your order in. 90. Recommended

Then there's the 2007 Uvas Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, which exemplifies the kind of quality wines the Santa Clara Valley is capable of producing, and is drinking really well with an hour or so in the decanter. The nose has brambles, oak, caramel and a hint of toasted coconut. It's got bags of lush blackberry and blackcurrant fruit with enough structure backing it up. On first opening there's a hint of citrus-pith bitterness on the finish which recedes with air. Should continue to develop nicely if only I can keep my hands off it. 92 Recommended

Share |

The Chaine d'Or winery is maybe 30 minutes from where I work, so when Paul Romero told me he'd be bringing in the last of his grapes I took a long lunch break to go up and see. By the time I arrived the heavy work was done and it was down to what may be the most important part of winemaking - cleaning up. Jerry was hosing down everything in sight (including the dog) while Stef was doing punch downs on the Syrah and estate Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as lab tests on the latest delivery.

Much of the wine is now through primary fermentation and is in the barrel undergoing the secondary malo-lactic fermentation. Since 2007 Paul has relied on wild yeasts with good results.

I got to taste my first barrel sample of the 2009 vintage - a Cabernet Sauvignon from the "Crimson Clover" vineyard. So far everything I've heard about the 2009 vintage has been positive; it was an easy year and has resulted in a larger than average crop of very good quality. The downpour in late October doesn't seem to have caused too many problems. Pretty much every winemaker I've spoken to has had good things to say about it, and before the cynics say "well they would, wouldn't they" bear in mind that they still have plenty of wine from previous vintages to sell.
The cab was a lovely dark purple colour; loads of fruit and some nice young, firm tannins - it tastes good now!

Crimson Clover is a 1.5 acre vineyard in the Santa Clara Valley near Morgan Hill. It's not too far from the Uvas Creek vineyard, from which Paul & Stef sourced some excellent fruit for their first vintages. Uvas Creek's owners now also own the Sycamore Creek winery and are using all the fruit themselves, so this will be the winery's Santa Clara Valley Cabernet from next year.

The winery has just released their fall offering; 2007 Santa Clara Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 "Haut Tubbe" and 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. I'll post notes once I open them, but I'm particularly keen to try the Cabernet again, as the last time I had it, it was showing very well indeed. The Chardonnay is completely sold out; there may be some of the others left.

The "Haut Tubbe" is a blend of various small lots including Cabernet, Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Because it's sourced from both the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley AVAs it has to carry the "California" appellation. I recently opened a bottle of the 2006 Haut Tubbe (my last as it turned out thanks to an out-of-date cellar listing, bad planning that). It had good fruit backed by lots of tannin; we had a glass each and put the stoppered bottle in the fridge. On the second day the tannins had softened considerably and the dry, brambly fruit was showing nicely. On the nose it was savoury, with grilled meat, menthol and figs. Clearly this is a wine that deserves cellar time. I'm definitely going to try to hold on to the 2007s for a little longer.

Share |

Paul & Stef were opening the Chaine d'Or winery for a guest from England and invited me to join them, to get a preview of the forthcoming fall releases.

2008 Chardonnay, Chaine d'Or Vineyard.
Light, fresh lemon and peach nose. A rather creamy mouthfeel; lemon/lime flavours with a chalky mineral finish. The oak was present but not intrusive, and there's nice acidity. Reminds me of the Cooper Garrod "Gravel Ridge" Chardonnay. $24 89 Only 72 cases produced

2007 "Haut Tubbe", California
A blend of small lots from multiple vineyards; roughly 50% Syrah with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Grenache and Mourvedre.
Nice dark colour. The nose showed dark fruit and toast. Good body with a rich, creamy mouthfeel. Spicy berry/fruit punch flavours and a medium finish. Recently bottled and just opened, it clearly needed air and put on weight in the short time it was open. Excellent value at $20. 91+ Only 94 cases produced.

We then moved on to some barrel samples:

2008 Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA Barrel Sample
Lightish colour. Nose showed some Pinot funk and sulphur. As it blew off, notes of roses and cherry emerged. Palate showed tart cranberry and raspberry; 88+ now, will be interesting to see how it develops.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvivnon (Chaine d'Or and Harvest Moon Vineyards) 20% Merlot (Elandrich Vineyard)
Barrel Sample, 1yo oak: Light, smoky, berry nose. Good flavours of blackberry blackcurrant and earth. 90+
Barrel Sample, New oak: More dusty oak showing on the nose. Palate was dry and tannic; tight with spicy bramble flavours. 90+
Both samples showed good acidity and structure. With 5 barrels made, total production should be around 125 cases. Note that because of the small crop all the 2008 Chaine d'Or Vineyard Cabernet will go into the Santa Cruz Mountains.

And to finish, some existing releases:

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA
Appealling nose of blackcurrant and eucalyptus, plus a hint of menthol, follows on to the palate in spades. Like a liquid Halls blackcurrant mentho-lyptus (but in a good way). Good, fine tannins on the finish. Paul has noted that the eucalyptus component waxes and wanes from tasting to tasting and has an interesting theory on the cause. For the record, the moon is currently waxing gibbous. Either way, the wine is showing superbly right now but has plenty of fruit and structure to merit patience. 93

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Uvas Creek Vineyard, Santa Clara Valley
Faint hint of volatile acidity on the earthy, brambly nose. Showed nice black fruits and good balance. Drinking well now. 91

2007 Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch Vineyard, Mendocino
Hints of candied plums, smoke and hay. Rich, black cherry flavour with notes of black pepper and a long, spicy finish. 92

Share |

If it wasn't for Paul Romero, you wouldn't be reading this. A few years ago I began following Paul's postings on the Wine Spectator forums; his enthusiasm for the Santa Cruz Mountains made me realise that it was foolish to spend so much of my time and money in Napa when there was a world-class AVA on my doorstep. Thanks to him I was introduced to several local enthusiasts, read the few available books on the area and started my two Web projects. So when Paul announced that he was officially launching a commercial winery I was one of the first to sign up.

Stefania is named after his wife, business partner and "muse". The first vintage was 2005; they released a Syrah from Eagle Point Ranch in Mendocino and a Cabernet from Uvas Creek in Santa Clara Valley. Through hard work and good fortune (it seems that the harder they work, the luckier they get) Paul and Stefania now manage several small vineyards around the SCM/SCV AVAs, including the former Matteson (now Woodruff) vineyard and recently took over operations at Chaine d'Or, following the retirement of the owner, Jerry Anderson.

You won't see Stefania's wines reviewed by the professional critics. It's not that they doubt the quality of their product, they simply don't want to draw the attention of the "points chasers". They would rather build a client base that comes back each year because they like the wines, which makes a lot of sense. Their mailing list already has a waiting list.

This spring they have released their second vintage of the Syrah as well as a red blend named "Haut Tubbe". The Syrah is amazing; it has an amazingly floral nose backed by dense, spicy fruit. A light touch with the oak and softer tannins mean that although I'm sure this will age nicely I very much doubt that it's going to have the chance. Well priced at $35

The "Haut Tubbe" is a blend of small lots from various vineyards. Although the main component is Cabernet Sauvignon that was footstomped by partygoers (including yours truly) there is also around 20% of Rhone varietals (Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre) mostly from their (housing) estate vineyard, and it's those that really show the most. The wine has plenty of tannin, so I probably won't be popping mine any time soon, though I think it would be interesting to try it in a blind tasting alongside other local "California" designates, such as Cinnabar Mercury Rising, Fogarty Skyline, Roudon-Smith Claret, Silver Mountain "Oscar's Wild" etc. $20.

Small quantities of the wines are available from local restaurants and at Unwined in San Jose, but the bulk is sold to the mailing list. If you're not already signed up, you should certainly look into it.

Share |