Come to the SoCal gathering!
This does not help my quest to not buy this today.
Sure…
It’s a short resume, as I’ve spent big chunks of time with 2 wineries. I started with David Bruce Winery in 1987, sneaking in the back door to work harvest knowing pretty much nothing about making wine. I was motivated to learn how the attributes of different sites translated into the wines… before the word Terroir was commonplace in California. Around 1990, we began to shift the focus of the winery from Chardonnay to Pinot Noir, and explore regions from all over the state, eventually creating about 12 unique Pinots, and another 10-15 other wines per year. I developed a fondness for small open topped fermenters, allowing us to isolate small vineyard blocks, as well as vary treatments during fermentation to create a bigger “spice cabinet” of flavors in the cellar. When I left David Bruce in 2002, I came to Carneros Creek Winery in Napa, which Francis Mahoney started in the early 1970’s. I was tempted by the diversity of clones, rootstocks and soils within the Estate vineyards, which can create a remarkable range of flavors considering that it’s all in Carneros. In a typical harvest we produce 25-30 different lots of Carneros Pinot Noir, and then blend to create distinct styles for the Mahoney and Fleur brands. (The Carneros Creek label was sold in 2004, but Francis kept the Vineyards.) It’s been a great opportunity to focus in depth on that relationship between site and wine. Additionally, Francis has a number of entertaining experimental blocks, which is where the Syrah comes in… along with Sangiovese, Vermentino, Nebbiolo, Tempranillo, Montepulciano, Albarino, and so on. Based in Carneros, we also grow Chardonnay for the Mahoney label, and bottle 3-4 Pinot Noirs as well. All that gives plenty of opportunity for the small fermenter program, even if it makes the cellar a bit crazy at harvest.
If I were to generalize, I would say my goal for the Mahoney wines is to try to let the vineyards do the talking, as opposed to the winemaking. We don’t use much new oak as a rule, (and never in the Syrah), and work to keep fruit foremost in the wines. I do, however, like longish barrel aging, to get past the simpler, grapey flavor profiles. These Syrahs spent about 22 months in Neutral French oak, and it’s not unusual for our Pinots to get 18-20 months in barrel as well. As a rule, we go to barrel soon after fermentation, and let the wine stay on the lees until just prior to bottling. We are believers in filtration as a means of preserving fruit…but rely only on Crossflow filtration at bottling. Feel free to ask questions if you have them!
Thanks-
Ken
What is the new thing with Woot charging tax? Does this depend on the vineyard the wine is coming from or is this a new thing for the Woot site??
Also, does anyone know if this wine is on the spicy side?!
We have actually discussed an Albarino offering through Woot, so stay tuned. I’m glad you had a chance to try that wine… like the Syrah, it’s pretty limited, usually 100-200 cases is all we bottle. Our Albarino is planted at the Las Brisas Vineyard, which is foggy and windy, and seems ideal for that varietal
OT- tried to order, but the services/ers seem to be down. Anybody else having this problem?
I would say that there is some black pepper in the nose, but that the fruit (blackberry, dark cherry) carries the wine. I have tasted Carneros Syrahs that are very much driven by green peppercorn aromas, and these are not. Despite being in a cooler climate, we typically pick Syrah fairly ripe, so I think we lose some of that spice while gaining fruit.
Interesting to hear you worked at David Bruce. I liked several of the Bruce Pinots from those vintages.
I’m trying to resist this offer, because I already have too much woot wine on the way and no room left in my wine chiller. But I’m tempted…
Just be sure to drink it before the weather gets hot! We had a great team at David Bruce, and evolved a unique style of Pinot Noir there. I think what I do at Mahoney is more similar to the Santa Cruz Mountains bottling from DB than the Central Coast or Russian River wines there. We used more oak at DB than here at Mahoney as well, but I think our Estate fruit stands capably on it’s own, and higher levels of oak tend to mask the fruit.
When and where is that? Or, is there a forum that is discussing this? Thanks!
I remember being impressed by the nose on the first Bruce Pinot I ever tried. I was sort of in a Pinot rut at the time, and relied mostly on Oregon/Willamette Valley Pinots. There were only two California Pinots I liked up to that point, namely Saintsbury (which it seemed like everybody liked) and Estancia (which I liked but for some reason few people I knew liked). The Bruce had a better nose than either of the other California Pinots and a very different character than the Oregon Pinots. I quickly became a fan.
I guess I risk alienating some others here on woot by saying this, but I like oak, especially in cabs and zins. But that doesn’t mean I want it in every wine, and I’ve enjoyed Shiraz/Syrahs both ways.
I may have to get one of these and then split it with a friend.
Thanks Kyle!
Last Wooter to Woot:
moondigger
Found a friend willing to split with me. Still have to figure out where I’m going to store three bottles.
I am intrigued and would be willing to take a bottle of each vintage off someones hands. Bay area folks let me know.
I am also having issues. The page after “buy now” does not load. I had the same issue last friday and it has not yet been resolved obviously.
Don’t get me wrong… I like oak also, when it is supportive of the fruit, and we do use some new oak, in our single vineyard Pinot bottlings as well as the Carneros Pinot blend. It’s about balance and moderation, and style, ultimately…
Gotcha, and I agree. My comment about alienating some others here on woot was based on my (possibly incorrect) impression that there are a lot of wooters who dislike the characteristic oak flavors. I, for one, like the buttery/toasted oak flavors in some wines and my wife likes her Chards as oaky as she can get them.
I’m not sure how she’ll react to yesterday’s offering…
we’re working on this issue. apologies for the inconvenience.
please make sure you extend the time for the items supposed to expire