Salamandre Wine Cellars Winter 2004-2005 Newsletter

Early Harvest 2004-Good and Twenty

We knew our twentieth commercial harvest in 2004 was going to deliver something special before the first poppies bloomed in the vineyards. The warmest March in memory nudged the vines out of their slumber, and buds were bursting before the Equinox. Defying the odds, the precocious green shoots escaped a perverse April frost. Global warming aside, they also were spared searing Saharan heat in the summer.

Sandie and I escaped for our annual one-on-one retreat in the Trinity Alps in mid August with the eerie sense that we should have been scrubbing the crush machinery instead of watching the Perseid meteors fly. We harvested our first grapes before September and spent Labor Day weekend up to our elbows in Pinot Noir from 2 exciting new vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Special times conjure ambitious aspirations. I've made fine Merlot for 20+ years, and I've blended a little Cab with the Merlot a few times, but I have never made a proper Bordeaux blend. It was time. About 4 miles upcanyon from the Arroyo Seco Vineyard, Roger Moitoso and Serafin Guzman planted selected clones of heat-loving vines on the benchland above the fog at the Wiley Ranch. At the foot of Wiley lies the seasonal Arroyo Seco watercourse lined with sycamores (and happy salamanders). Behind the Ranch, the rugged Ventana Wilderness climbs into an intimidating warren of canyons and ridges, home to the grinning ghosts of cougars and condors, bears and bandits, lizards and lovers.

We made a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% each of Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. Now, I think the term "Meritage" is a stuffy contrivance. In honor of its feral surroundings, I think I'll call this the Coyote Cuvée. Perhaps the Wiley Coyote Cuvée.

We crushed the last grape under a new moon on October 15. On the anniversary of the earthquake, the skies opened. Timing like this calls for a party…and we answered. Dionysos naturally approved.

Come join us to celebrate and taste some of the region's most delicious wines.