Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Musqué Clone | Arroyo Seco
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$25
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Even white wines show year to year variation. The new Sauvignon Blanc 2018 has a delightful “higher level” aromatic intrigue beyond the Musqué’s reliable grapefruit and fig. Like its predecessors of this special clone for 30 years, this wine hefts a firm acid backbone, which winemakers need to lift barrels and chefs need to complement exotic foods. This one is going to last a long time.
May, 2020 |
Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest 2011 | Arroyo Seco Vineyard
In Salamandre’s 34 commercial harvests, I have made 6 late harvest wines which I’d call excellent, so we know how rare these opportunities are. (I’ve dropped a few passes, too.) In 2011, the exotic Sauvignon Blanc Musqué clone at Arroyo Seco Vineyard developed the natural blessing of Botrytis after a brief rain followed by warm Indian summer breezes. Then it became nerve-wracking. Grey stratus clouds stacked on the horizon, flocks of birds sharpened their beaks when all the regular grapes had been harvested, and swarms of bees hovered over the vines. Naturally thin skinned, these vulnerable grapes eked out a harrowing struggle against the conspiring forces of nature, and we sweated out the weather until the sugar content peaked at 35 Brix. We picked a day before the rain that would have wiped them all out. The fresh, viscous juice radiated fresh fig and grapefruit aromas, a hint of new mown hay, beyond the predictable apricot and honey of Botrytis’d wines. This is a treat which, if shared, will strengthen any domestic partnership. Late harvest wines age for decades, and this one is really soaring at 8 years old. Alas, it’s almost gone, but never forgotten. Residual sugar 7.4 %. Sold in 375 ml bottles (tenths).
WS November, 2019 Also, for more detail, check out our article on Late Harvest Wines: A Stickie Adventure |
$50
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You'll notice that Salamandre has some fully aged red wines available.
That's on purpose! We like our reds to be strutting their best stuff when we sell them, particularly since many of them sport quite a tannic bluster when they're young. It's disappointing to open one too soon, but it's impractical for some of our customers to hold them for 5 or 6 years...so we hold them for you.
If you're interested in more technical aspects, we encourage you to browse our red wine ageing article in our Winemaker's Notes collection.
That's on purpose! We like our reds to be strutting their best stuff when we sell them, particularly since many of them sport quite a tannic bluster when they're young. It's disappointing to open one too soon, but it's impractical for some of our customers to hold them for 5 or 6 years...so we hold them for you.
If you're interested in more technical aspects, we encourage you to browse our red wine ageing article in our Winemaker's Notes collection.
Coyote Cuvée 2019 | Wiley Ranch, Arroyo Seco
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$46
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Wiley Ranch is a sloped gravel bench high above the seasonal Arroyo Seco River, bordered uphill to the West by the rugged Ventana Wilderness...home to condors and cougars, badgers and bandits, rattlesnakes and firebreaks. The vineyardists at Arroyo Seco Vineyard foresaw that the cobbly soil, elevation, wind patterns, and extended sun exposure would ripen Bordeaux varieties which had not fared consistently just 5 miles distant on the flats below. They planted multiple clones of each of the 5 traditional Bordeaux grapes to see which would be happiest, and budded over based upon their performance. We cheerfully tinkered with the blends. We also honored the feral proximity of this land by exalting the Coyote...the Wiley Coyote to be more explicit.
We made our first Coyote Cuvée in 2004, exploring different proportions of the justifiably famous Bordeaux blends. Our blends always featured a dominant role for Cabernet Sauvignon with prominent support from variable permutations of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. This latest, and possibly the last of this series, features a 2:1:1 proportion of Cab, Malbec, and Merlot, blended after fermentation and aged fully 2 years in oak. Bottled in November, 2021, it's nearly opaque and rather tannic as expected, but with even a cursory splash and short time to "breathe," it just booms with fruit. I've tasted a lot of young red wines over the last 45 years, and this one is going to be special! I believe that assertive red blends like these crave a robust oak background, and we supplied that with a mix of American and French oak barrels! The extended barrel ageing has made this wine precociously appealing despite its youth. How long will it live? The 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2011 bottlings are still drinking beautifully in 2022. (Cab will do that.) February, 2022 |
Small Wonders, Petite Sirah and Petite Verdot
These two, nearly black wines qualify as anything but "petite" in a wine glass! Petite Sirah could, indeed, be used for ink...but it's charm lies in the berry fruitiness, black pepper aroma, and its sheer density of flavor. Petit Verdot is likewise intense, but with a different aroma profile. It has provided background "spice" for many of the most famous Bordeaux wines as well as our Coyote Cuvée, although it's rarely featured as a soloist (Salamandre has, of course!) We believed that a blend of these two would likely outlive the winemaker, but in the meantime, Wow, what a ride! We also wanted to mock the irony of designating either of these varietals as "petite" by calling it Small Wonders. We blended the two 2018 wines 50-50 in 2020, and gave them another year in barrel--a total of 3 years--to reconcile their long lasting partnership. It's purely delicious.
February, 2022 |
$46
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Pinot Noir 2018 | Arroyo Seco
Pinot Noir exalts delicacy over brute force...which is a clever marketing strategy from areas where the Pinot can cling to the virtue of “subtlety” in challenging years. The 2017 from Arroyo Seco...from the vines that yielded my first “Best of Show” in 2004...verged on the more forward personality of the spectrum of Pinots, and the 2018 has now confidently taken the helm. True, it offers the layers of gentility, kindness, intrigue, and fortitude that all of us senior winemakers considered to be our blended character traits when we were 32. But this one will make a pork loin dance, a salmon soar, and a filet sing bass...none of which I could do at 32. I would happily serve this to visitors from Burgundy, just to watch their eyebrows wrinkle. You too!
Pinot works beautifully with so many dishes, almost without fail, but if you stumble into some intense wild mushrooms—morels, porcini, or some of the agaricus delicacies—this is the wine for that special occasion. You will remember that day. March, 2021 |
$40
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Primitivo 2013 | Monterey County
Like his older brothers, this Calabrian arm wrestler is not a master of subtlety. However, it surely is the kind of ally you want when the chips are down…or the hiking day is done…or your daughter gets married. The 2013 joins the elite circle of our favorite vintages in our 20 year string of Primitivos from the toasty hills of Los Lobos Vineyard in sunny Southern Monterey County. These organically grown grapes make an inky black wine with berry flavors that spring out when you pull the cork and swarm into the room…or your campsite. This one also sports a memorable black pepper aftertaste that calls for a second helping of pasta. No, it’s not a weight loss wine.
Like its godfather 1999, it’s bone dry with a barrow full of fruit and plenty of tannins to last a solid 10-15 years. No need to wait, however. This one will give you a thrill ride in its youth…as long as you match it with something bracing on the table, preferably Italian inspired, or else a desert sunset. May, 2020 |
$35
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Primitivo 2014 | Monterey County
Primitivo, which shares a DNA fingerprint with Zinfandel, ripens a bit differently every year depending upon weather. This variation doesn’t range as widely as Pinot Noir, but then again, Pinot learned its vagaries in France where nasty weather can be a problem, while Primitivo hails from Calabria where it’s consistently sunny. The sloping Los Lobos Vineyard in Southern Monterey County definitely resembles the latter!
Occasionally the Primitivo vines pack enough natural sugar into those black grapes that even stalwart yeast strains surrender before they have fermented all of that glucose into carbon dioxide and alcohol and warm vapors. Indeed, the 2014 quieted down with a barely detectable residual sweetness. Nature determines this outcome, not the winemaker, and we do trust Nature! Reminiscent of 4 similarly sweet vintages in our 20 year experience with Primitivo, this wine just trumpets fabulous berry fruit…enough to rattle down the walls of any Biblical fortress or find redemption for any mythical temptress. It also sports the novel black pepper aroma from this unique vineyard, plus a generous garnish of vanilla from the rather young American and French oak barrels. This wine will work wonders after dinner, especially with representatives of dark chocolate hedonism, but it also comes into its own with any savory-spiced dish with a substantial tomato foundation. You know those, I’m certain! This wine will age nicely until 2028, based upon the trajectory of its impish predecessors. The 2014 is now my favorite wine to accompany backpacking jaunts into the Trinity Alps, the Sierras, Death Valley, and the deserts of Utah. Peachy rifts of snow catch the last rays of sunset while trout dimple the mirrored lake as Mars and Venus grin brightly above the horizon. We lift a cup to salute our celestial neighborhood, honor our best friends, elevate the amazing children growing before us...and punctuate lives well lived. May, 2020 |
$35
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Petit Verdot 2018 | Wiley Ranch, Arroyo Seco
The memorable Petit Verdot 2013 is gone, but in 2020, the 2018 started in the backfield as a freshman. Petit Verdot is probably the least well known of the five varietals in the classic Bordeaux red blends. The others are Cabernet Sauvignon, of course, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, all well represented in our Coyote Cuvée series from Wiley Ranch. Petit Verdot is certainly the blackest of all of these, and possibly the “spiciest” as well. Even in proportions as small as 10%, it influences the depth of color, range of aromas, and hardiness of tannins in the blends.
Naturally, as I’ve done with each of its companions, I was curious what it would do all on its own. I was really disappointed with the 2013…disappointed I hadn’t done this 20 years sooner! That wine is gone, but just wait. The 2018 spent 19 months in barrel, and made it clear it belonged in a glass in 2020. You’ll be happy to make its acquaintance now! March, 2021 |
$36
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Malbec 2017 | Wiley Ranch, Arroyo Seco
Malbec has been long regarded in France as a minority blending component of the classic Bordeaux blends. In Argentina, however, Malbec is a stand-alone national hero, perfect for a country that cooks its steaks on swords and catches large animals with bolas. Gaucho Marks! Along the cobbled, sunny benchland of Wiley Ranch above the ephemeral Arroyo Seco watercourse, Malbec develops a remarkably dense pigment…surpassing even Cabernet and rivalling the classic Knights of Darkness such as Petite Sirah. Beyond color, though, this vintage is absolutely packed with intense flavors that I find hard to characterize in staid wine terms. Plum, black cherry, yes some berry, a furtive hint of rose petal. It has moved beyond “adolescent promise” into the realm of really exciting wine. Decant and splash it if you have the time.
The Malbec 2016 has been a big hit, with its best days still to come. So, like an optimistic centerfielder, after stroking one home run early in the game, I came up to bat and swung hard again with the 2017. Sometimes that works! Remember Pablo’s three homers in one World Series game? Maybe we’re not even done yet! The 2017 Malbec, if possible, is a more rambunctious red wine than the 2016. There honestly isn’t any forward flavored dinner I wouldn’t match with this one. It’s black, intense, tannic, and complex, of course, but it just ripples its muscles and does parkour on the tabletop to show you how happy it is to join you for the evening. The tannins belong right where they are,, and the oak is unapologetically perfect. Do not leave your domestic partner alone with this wine. May, 2020 |
$34
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Petite Sirah 2018 | Wiley Ranch, Arroyo Seco
I made Petite Sirah in the very first year I made wine as an amateur...in the late 1970s. It is still one of the best cellar memories of this 43 year adventure...and it’s back! “Petite” Sirah, an adjective which is possibly one of the biggest oxymorons in the business, is a positively huge wine. Black as a desert night under a new moon, showing off full frontal tannins wearing only an infidel’s grin, it just bursts with the fruit that, along with Zinfandel, rescued California’s wine industry after prohibition. Some would suggest those accolades are possibly a little edgy, if not grandiose. That’s intentional!
The Wiley Ranch above Arroyo Seco was designed to produce heat loving Bordeaux varieties. It’s tended by people who know vines and grapes like pediatricians know giggles and tears. They planted Petite Sirah because of those same attributes, and it delivered! Bottled in May, 2020, after 19 months in barrel, this inky wine still won’t be ready for prime time for a while, with burly tannins defending all that black fruit and swagger. However, as we enter this new year with so many promises before us, the Petite Sirah will make your day. Just don't spill it on a white rug. Pasta Puttanesca, slow cooked ribs, Dutch oven lasagna, or just one of those days you feel preternaturally frisky...you’re up! March, 2021 |
$34
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