Tag Archives: vineyard profiles
on February 22, 2013
Each spring we release our newest vintages of Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot, and this year we’re delighted to introduce a new Chardonnay to our collection: Nickel & Nickel Stiling Vineyard Chardonnay.
Stiling Vineyard Chardonnay, like our Medina Vineyard Chardonnay, is from the Russian River Valley, where foggy, cool ocean influences combined with the soils produce Chardonnays with a special minerality that can only be Russian River Valley. If you attended our February 2 Open House, you tasted this wine after checking in.
We will be talking with our viticulturist about characteristics of this vineyard and checking in with Winemaker Darice Spinelli to get her impressions of this wine. In the meantime, this Chardonnay is available to you in our online store—a wonderful way to toast the coming spring.
on January 29, 2013
We’re continuing our profile of the State Ranch vineyard with notes from our winemaker on this Cabernet Sauvignon’s flavor profile. For previous posts on this vineyard, visit here and here.
Darice Spinelli points to several factors that make State Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon the single-vineyard wine we know and love:
1. The fruit from this vineyard is one of the last to come in each harvest, and that longer hang time leads to the darker fruit profile in the finished wine. (Contrast with C.C. Ranch’s red fruit flavors.)
2. The Yountville climate is similar to the Oakville climate, which brings richness and structure to State Ranch Cabernet.
3. A combination of clones (Cabernet Sauvignon clone 7 and 4) add complexity to the wine.
If you are new to State Ranch Cabernet—or even if you’re a long-time fan—look for those dark, jammy flavors with a touch of minerality and rich, big structure. This is truly a wine to savor!
To read more about this wine, click here, and to purchase the 2009 vintage, click here.
on January 25, 2013
We are continuing our feature on our State Ranch Vineyard. For our first post, click here.
The thing that stands out about this vineyard for Viticulturist Aaron Fishleder is the excellent, natural drainage—particularly on the east side of State Lane. Situated on an old riverbed, the rocky loam soil in this vineyard promotes year-around drainage, which fosters moderate vine growth and beautiful concentration in the resulting wine.
Nickel & Nickel receives fruit from 11 acres of this 23-acre vineyard. Though located in the Yountville AVA, the State Ranch vineyard is just down the road from Stags Leap District. We will talk with Winemaker Darice Spinelli next week about characteristics of State Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.
The star marks the approximate location of the State Ranch vineyard in the northeast corner of the Yountville AVA.
on January 9, 2013
We’re continuing our vineyard profile series (last month we looked at our John C. Sullenger Vineyard), with State Ranch. Located on the valley floor just east of the town of Yountville, Nickel & Nickel has produced Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard since 2006. State Ranch is currently the only vineyard we produce wines from in the Yountville AVA.
Situated on either side of State Lane—a road that runs north off of the Yountville Cross Road—the State Ranch vineyard neighbors several other excellent Cabernet producers.
Over the course of this month, we will be talking with Viticulturist Aaron Fishleder and Winemaker Darice Spinelli about characteristics of the vineyard and wine that make it distinct.
on December 21, 2012
We’ve given insight to the unique aspects of this vineyard, those which contribute to the single-vineyard Cabernet that only this vineyard can produce. (For the previous posts see here and here.) Today, Winemaker Darice Spinelli describes the characteristics which define the John C. Sullenger Cabernet Sauvignon.
For me, Sullenger is about the beautiful fruit and coating palate feel. The wine has a rich texture, beautiful Oakville tannins and a lot of complexity. There is opulent fruit with earthy notes and a coating middle palate that leads into a long finish. Truly, it’s the complexity and layering that are the Sullenger signature.
What lends to those characteristics? It’s the vineyard. I cannot create Dragonfly Vineyard Cabernet here. So that’s true terroir. It’s the sun, the climate, the soil, the rootstock, the vine—the combination of all these things creates the overall character of this wine. The flavors themselves are the expression of this vineyard.
To enjoy the last of the 2009 Sullenger Cabernet, click here.
