WINES
APPELLATION BLEND SERIES
appellations within
Sonoma and Napa
I am dedicated to the land where grapevines take root. My training in France and my obsession with detail can be tasted in each of the wines I create. I invite you to take the first step into my world. Prepare yourself to experience intensity, precision, and elegance, balanced by power and texture; these are the traits which are most important to me.
My numbered cuvées reflect the stories behind the wines, and also indicate you are tasting one of my appellation blends. These are wines which come together in a synergy of different vineyard lots and clones.
the
varietals
Chardonnay
Cuvée Number Five
Ah, the Pacific Coast! It’s a place of almost otherworldly beauty, where my thoughts drift to daydreaming about clusters of grapes as I drive down the winding roads. The dense fog, the ocean, the salty breeze, all of these are elements which impact the vibrancy, minerality, and precision of this Sonoma Coast wine.
I have been waiting for a while, to produce a blend with Sonoma Coast fruit that would capture the essence of the cooling influence of the ocean proximity, revealing complexity, acidity, minerality and longevity. Chardonnay is a special varietal. It seduces with its complex array of flavors and texture. This wine evokes pure lemon meringue pie with intense acidity and a long, persistent finish.
Our Cuvée Number Five is composed of different vineyards influenced by the cooling effect of the coastal fog and multiple clones.
Pinot Noir
Cuvée Number One
My first vintage of Cuvée Number One was back in 2014. A perfect vintage to start making an appellation blend. That year saw bountiful, beautiful fruit.
One of my favorite things to do is to walk vineyards, allowing my mind to fly to places where I visualize the process of transforming the fruit into wine. Then, when the harvest is all over, and the wine sits quietly in barrels, each clone, block, vineyard site is left alone to achieve its magical balance of aromas, flavors, and texture. This classic cuvée began its journey from grape to glass in the pre-dawn hours of September 3rd to the 10th. After hand-sorting and then gentle de-stemming, each precious berry was transported to open top, stainless steel tanks for cold soaking and ultimately, a slow, temperature controlled native fermentation. Extraction of its deep color and extremely pure fruit profile was done by punching down of the cap twice per day for the entirety of primary fermentation. Upon completion, the wine was transferred to 55% new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place prior to 11 months of slumber in the cellar. Bottling of this unfined and unfiltered Pinot Noir took place in August 16th of 2022.
This wine explodes with red fruit aromas with a full body in the mouth and soft texture contributing to the long, lingering finish. A wine to enjoy in its youth but if you’re patient, it will age gracefully for the next 5 to 10 years.
Pinot Noir
Cuvée Number Eight
Beyond the unquestionable allure and beauty of Sonoma County lie an amazing number of microclimates, soil conditions, and distinct geographies conducive to growing and making wonderful wines. This incredible diversity has resulted in over sixteen sub regions in this county alone, one of which is the Sonoma Coast. This cuvée is born from coastal vineyards resting at over 1,000 feel of elevation—Sun Chase and Nightwing with an incredibly diverse selection of Pinot Noir clones: 115, 667, 777, Mt Eden & Swan.
Carefully hand harvested in the early morning hours of September 7th to the 9th, the immaculate clusters for this Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir arrived to our winery in the cool, pre-dawn air for hand sorting. Fully de-stemmed fruit was fermented with 100% indigenous yeast in open top stainless steel tanks, with twice daily punchdowns extracting remarkable color, tannins, and flavor. Upon completion, the wine was transferred to 55% new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place prior to 11 months of slumber in the cellar. Bottling of this unfined and unfiltered Pinot Noir took place in August 16th of 2022.
This cuvée is the first addition to my Appellation Series since the introduction of Cuvée Number Five in 2017. The number eight, to me, is the perfect number; a never-ending path that mirrors the circle of life in this beautiful corner of the world. The proximity of the vineyards where this wine is born to the Pacific Ocean presented a unique instance of infinity, where endless blue skies meet the endless blue of the sea.