Riesling Grapes

It’s arguably the greatest white grape in the world, but only when it’s grown in the right place. Nothing beats Riesling for its combination of freshness, minerality and off-dry vibrancy. There were some great examples in California, like the Pritchard Hill wines of Chappellet in the 1980s and Bob Long’s exquisite Riesling from not far away. Now there’s another one, and its existence can be credited to a 4:30 a.m. wake up call and a search for Steelhead trout.

Matt Cline is first and foremost a vineyard ferret with an uncanny knack for sniffing out remarkable and singular vineyard parcels from Contra Costa to Russian River. But as much as he’s a winemaker, Matt’s a fisherman, and when he picked up the phone at 4:30 a.m. in early December 2007, he knew who was calling.
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Pinot Noir grape clusters

How do we know this is the best under $30 small-berry Russian River Valley Pinot Noir on the market today? It’s easy. Just simple arithmetic.

We were standing in some pretty special rows, a unique spot where the Petaluma Wind Gap provides a direct conduit between the cold Pacific and the Russian River Valley. The berries were tiny, perfect, small, conical clusters, the kind of fruit that Pinot Noir makers dream about. The vineyard had been farmed to perfection by the best grape-growing family this side of the Oakville Grade. There’s a reason why most of the Russian River Pinot Noir is simple. The clusters just don’t look like these.
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Domaine Jean-Michel Sorbe

It’s the ultimate winegrower’s vintage. The 2008 growing season in the Loire began uneventfully, at least until the midsummer hail storm ripped through the valley, leaving shattered clusters in its wake. For many producers, like Jean-Michel and Guillaume Sorbe, production would be cut by 40%. If that wasn’t enough, the rain came in August, pounding the region, making producers wonder if they would actually have a harvest. Those who weren’t superbly attentive suffered. The best producers of Sancerre and a few superb young growers in the satellite appellations kept things in check. And they waited.

The rigor and the waiting paid tremendous dividends when the skies turned blue, the days warm and the nights cool — stretching out the harvest until the few grapes that remained reached fantastic physiological maturity. Vincent Ricard called it “the best vintage in a decade.” Dominique Roger said “it was the most amazing vintage of his 25 year career.” Jean-Michel Sorbe, who fashioned this superb tiny-production Sauvignon Blanc from the sand and gravel soils of Quincy, just called it “etonnant.” (”amazing”).
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Phil and Eric Titus

It’s California magic, a small dollop of which enhances color and provides the deepest purple brushstroke to Cabernet, Merlot, even Zinfandel. The grape is Petite Sirah, and, when it’s right, it accounts for some of the most hedonistically sumptuous red wines in Napa Valley. Why don’t you see more of it? First, it’s not often right. Second, when it is, it can be hands-off expensive.

We were at Eric and Phil Titus’s place on Silverado Trail. In the midst of St. Helena’s high-rent district, the Tituses remain resolute and modest — the ultimate Napa Valley pragmatists. Eric and Phil’s mom was driving the tractor when the boys were in high school and college, and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. As we pulled into the tasting room driveway and spotted the ‘76 Cutlass Supreme under Eric’s fig tree — well, that kind of said it all.

The tasting room was modest, but Phil’s fabulous reds were anything but. We had tasted through some beautifully crafted Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel when we came to “The Experiment” — an incredibly rich, compact, luscious 2006 Petite Sirah with perfectly integrated tannins. This is the definition of Napa Valley hedonism in a bottle.
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