Cherry Ridge Vineyard

Few of our wines have received as many glowing reviews as Dan Goldfield’s Cherry Ridge Syrah. This is that rare California Syrah that seamlessly bridges the New World and Old, marrying all the sweet, ripe, opulence of the Green Valley with the fine mineral verve of Cote Rotie and Hermitage. Maybe that’s why great young winemakers, like Tim Milos at Rubissow, can’t stop talking about Cherry Ridge.

But we’d never seen Cherry Ridge. So before leaving for Napa and Sonoma in August, we made a date for a walk on Cherry Ridge and a tasting of the 2007 release, a wine Goldfield said was nothing short of a miracle.

If you’ve managed to put your hands on previous vintages of Cherry Ridge, get ready. The 2007 is something else. 2007 was a drought year and bud break was early, but while the vintage was dry, it was temperate, allowing for tremendous hang-time. That extra time on the vine is Syrah’s best friend, allowing the big red-fruit flavors to reach sensational maturity without sacrificing balance.

Goldfield may be California’s best kept secret, but spend two hours walking the rows and you’ll never forget this winemaker with a mind that mirrors his body: incredibly fit and lively, jumping from place to place in a Joyce-like stream. A word of caution; the last place you want to be when touring vineyards in Sonoma is where we were — the back seat of Goldfield’s car.

“Cherry Ridge doesn’t make financial sense — and Steve hates that — but if I didn’t do stuff like this, I don’t think I’d make wine.” He pulled over at hillside intersection, bounced out of the car. “Steve wanted to plant Pinot here. Why not? It sells for much more. And this would have been a good spot for Pinot Noir. The problem is that it’s a perfect spot for Syrah.” As he kept a steady pace up the hillside, talking, plucking tight-cluster berries from the vine, popping them into his mouth, he pointed south to the Petaluma Wind Gap with its cool winds that keep this warm spot temperate. “It’s one of our problems in California. If you want to make the best wine off of a piece of land, sometimes you just can’t make money.”

Tiny berries. Tiny yields. Cote Rotie-like richness with cool climate vibrancy. Only French wood, only small clusters.

Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log

“Deep, dark ruby color. Explosive aromas of vibrant, red fruit, bramble and dark cherry. Wonderfully bright, ripe, dark red-fruit/cherry flavors, with excellent texture. Remarkably long (pH is only 3.60 with all this opulence!), and despite the tremendous concentration, light on its feet. Alcohol a modest 13.5% a la Cornas or Hermitage. Drink now for the primary fruit explosion or age for a decade.”