I'm pretty amped up to pass along a little sneak preview of something very exciting that's coming down the pipeline in early December:
A few weeks ago my brother and I ambushed Kevin Kelley (Salinia, NPA, etc) on a Saturday night at his cellar where he greeted us with two unfinished, partially 2nd-fermented flutes of one of the most fascinating and exciting local wines I've had in a really long time: A 100% redwood valley, mendocino sauvignon petillant naturel, comprised of a blend of primarily 2011 wine, plus a touch of 2010 skin fermented wine added for depth and alcohol (the 2011 base wine started off at a mere 10.9%abv!). The final introduction of fresh juice necessary for second fermentation in bottle comes from this year's 2012 sauvignon harvest - but no additions, no filtering/fining, no packaged champagne yeasts, no disgorging, and zero sulfites. We could tell immediately that the wine was going to become deliciously rustic and wild stuff when finished...if it finished, that is.
After all, bottling true petillant naturel is a process I've heard numerous winemakers regard as amongst the most challenging and risky in all of winemaking: Underestimating the percentage of fresh juice means no bubbles. Overestimating the percentage means too many bubbles and exploding bottles. Unhealthy fruit and/or too much sulfite means a stuck fermentation in the bottle, that may or may not reawaken months later and result in - you guessed it - more exploding bottles. And you only get once chance per vintage, so growers who experiment with petillant in the cellar often give up after cleaning up a lot of broken glass and wasted wine.
Anyhow, Kevin's petillant was obviously still midway through the second fermentation and weeks away from completion: quite cloudy, with present, but not fully developed bubbles. Similarly, the wine's aromatics were still in a primary/stone-fruit state, versus the intense minerality and more subtle, almost beer-like qualities that would ultimately (hopefully!) define the finished product. But awkward adolescence aside, we could already tell it was going to be an incredible wine.
After all, bottling true petillant naturel is a process I've heard numerous winemakers regard as amongst the most challenging and risky in all of winemaking: Underestimating the percentage of fresh juice means no bubbles. Overestimating the percentage means too many bubbles and exploding bottles. Unhealthy fruit and/or too much sulfite means a stuck fermentation in the bottle, that may or may not reawaken months later and result in - you guessed it - more exploding bottles. And you only get once chance per vintage, so growers who experiment with petillant in the cellar often give up after cleaning up a lot of broken glass and wasted wine.
Anyhow, Kevin's petillant was obviously still midway through the second fermentation and weeks away from completion: quite cloudy, with present, but not fully developed bubbles. Similarly, the wine's aromatics were still in a primary/stone-fruit state, versus the intense minerality and more subtle, almost beer-like qualities that would ultimately (hopefully!) define the finished product. But awkward adolescence aside, we could already tell it was going to be an incredible wine.
Those of you who were able to try last year's "Taken Rustic" from Kevin, can consider it a prototype of sorts for the upcoming release. "Taken Rustic" received an avalanche of press and buzz, and many of you have asked me about it following its mysterious introduction and immediate disappearance from the market last year (40cs were produced - and largely consumed at NoPa, Slanted Door, and by my mother). Regardless, I think you'll find this year's incarnation even more refined and expressive. Whereas last year's wine was a first time experiment, this wine is the result of numerous trials&errors over the past 12mos to perfect the temperature, balance of fresh juice:fermented, and technique necessary to produce a true, delicious petillant naturel. The closest analogs to which I can equate these wines are Movia's "Puro" or Camillo Donati's Malvasia...but Kevin's sparkling wines are even more intense in mineral/texture, while still being driven by lees/fruit. Perhaps most thrillingly - and unlike many petillant naturel's from the EU - the wine is built for the cellar and evolves dramatically: I ordered last year's bottling at NoPa recently, and after 12mos in bottle, all the subtle funk and cider/beer-like qualities have fallen away to reveal a delicate, extremely pure and gin-clear sparkling wine. In short, it's very exciting, incredible stuff, and there is *nothing* like it made in this country.
So, the happy ending to this post is that Kevin delivered me three sample bottles of the finished wine a few days ago and it is just outstanding: without question, one of the most soulful, pure, and outright delicious domestic wines I've ever tasted; one glass of which will make even the most devoutly europhile wine drinker fall deeply back in love with Calfornia wine. Aromatically, it is just bursting with pineapple and stone fruit + the almost lemongrass-like tang from the 10% 2010 skin-fermented fruit. On the palate, it is grippy, tart, and bone dry.
Kevin is only bottling a few hundred cases of this wine, and despite the considerable cost of the project (heavy duty Champagne bottles for this one wine, alone, cost $10K), he is pricing the wines at a virtually non-existent profit margin that will allow it to be poured by the glass at our favorite restaurants, and at an incredibly reasonable and sub-industry standard price. In order for the project to continue the price will necessarily have to increase in future vintages, but for now, everyone just wants the wine to get out into the world and into glasses for the holidays.
No comments:
Post a Comment