Day 4 – Russian River and Dry Creek Valley to Boonville

Balletto Winery

We left Sonoma on a grey and foggy morning, heading North West towards Santa Rosa along the back roads through Glen Ellen.  The road twisted and turned before flattening out onto the valley floor.  First stop was Balletto Winery in the Russian River area.  Chad greeted us into the tasting room which was small and intimate.  He explained a little of the history of the ranch, originally growing plums, prunes and peaches before owners John & Teresa Balletto diversified into vines back in 1995.  Their first vintage was 2001 and the tasting room opened in 2006.  Of the 600 acres under vine, only 10% of the 10,000 case p.a. production is kept for estate wines, the rest goes to other producers, including Domain Carneros.  We started the tasting with a 2009 Pinot Gris which had unbelievable citrus fruit and flavour, forward and lush, slight yeastiness, buttery, clean, steel-fermented, but ripe and rich @ $12.80 on sale.  We moved onto their 2010 Teresa’s Chardonnay, green apple, soft and gentle, crisp and tart.  Only 992 cases were made @ $20 per bottle.  The 2009 Gewurtztraminer was a treat – fabulous floral & tropical fruit aromas on the nose, though a slightly flabby follow-through, redemmed by well balanced tannins and a long finish.  This wine is crying out for food to accompany it, I would just love to try it with our next Thai Green Curry  On to the reds – a 2010 Estate Pinot Noir was a light and interesting blend of 5 vineyards, cherry, toast, complex, clove profile.  A great Pinot, $28.  The 2009 Winery Block Pinot Noir was even better, with good mushroom and cherry aromas, forest floor, better length and a great finish – this wine will run and run for some years to come.  $34.  The 2007 Zinfandel was all berry fruit forward, mellowing to clove and vanilla, not too jammy, soft, 13.9% ABV, on sale @ $16.80.  We finished the tasting with a 2008 Syrah, great deep colour, soft tannins, oak and smoked bacon, peppery, easy-going, likeable wine.  Only 205 cases were produced, $29 per bottle.  A great place to visit, heartily recommend you stop by here for affordable, quality Pinots.

Lynmar Estate

Next stop was Lynmar Estate near the tiny, picturesque town of Graton.  The setting was spectacular, rolling vine-clad hills and a long vista down to Santa Rosa Laguna.  The tasting room building was all chrome and wood, with floor-length windows revealing the vineyards surrounding it.  Peter, a world-class solo tenor when he’s not pouring wines, introduced us to their 2010 Laguna Ridge Chardonnay which was an incredible gold straw colour, big pear & apple on the nose, good acidity, lush and rich. 40% French oak used, 50% malolactic fermentation.  What an opener, and only $20!  He then back-tracked to explain that  owner Lynn Fritz inherited some vines when he first bought the property back in 1980, but winemaking only began in earnest in 1990, producing small amounts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  These are the varietals he has stuck with, and now he has 70 acres of estate vineyards, including Quail Hill and Susanna’s, with 15 PN clones, 4 Chardonnay and 1 block of Syrah.  Terroir, climate and sustainability are all important here.  The garden is a peaceful haven of herbs and colourful kales and cabbages, even in January.   Winemaker Bibiana Gonzalez Rave, Colombian by birth, is passionate about achieving perfection in each and every bottle.  And it certainly shows.  The three Pinot Noirs we tasted were exquisite examples of the 12 they produce.  The 2008 Russian River @ $40 is a big wine, with balanced cherry and blackberry fruit, mint and vanilla, and silky tannins.  Next came the 2008 Freestone Cuvee @ $50, black fruit, plummy, acid and tannins in balance, will age.  The 2008 Terra de Promissio comes from coastal vines in the Petalumya, massive deep garnet colour, grippy tannins, dark fruit, Burgundian in style, long and divine, will cellar for 5+ years. $70.  Truly a cut above the normal and a fabulous example of how terroir and passion succeed.

Mazzocco

We then headed North across the Russian River into Dry Creek for a lovely picnic alongside a field of mustard with views across vineyards and back down to the river.  A twisting road took us along the west side, past several wineries, but we were headed for Mazzocco and their famed Zinfandels.  This is not a varietal I am particularly familiar with, so I wanted to parallel taste some well-made examples to form an opinion for myself.  Joe Vaughan welcomed us into the state-of-the-art tasting room and poured the first of 8 Zins.  The problem was, he was so busy extolling their virtues as Double Gold Medal winners at the recent San Francisco Chronicle tasting that we were quite unable to form our own version of the truth.  Each bottle is vineyard-designate, with a small % of Petite Syrah in each blend.  The Estate covers 500 acres, was first planted with vines in 1988 and is part of the Wilson empire whose labels include Wilson, SodaRock, Matrix, de Lorimier & Jaxon Keys.  This is big production stuff, but Mazzocco, bought from Dr Mazzocco in 1995, is concentrating on Zins.  Antoine Favaro is their winemaker, ex-GunBun and Sebastiani, originally from the Champagne area of France.  Owner Diane Wilson is also a winemaker, but not here.   All the wines showed flair, well-made, the 2009 Sullivan was softer and lighter than most of the others, 2009 Warm Springs Ranch too dry and tannic for me.   We found the tasting confusing and rushed, with little real explanation of the ethos and passion behind each bottle.  But if they are winning prizes, and perhaps that is what matters when you’re selling on this scale, then good luck to them.

Sbragia

We needed our faith restored in Dry Creek Valley, so continued Northwards to seek inspiration.  The Valley is stunning, all rolling hills, small wineries dotted about, small shacks and wooden barns, grazing horses and acre after acre of vines.  Only 30 years ago, this was a prize prune-growing area, sending fresh fruit into San Francisco by train and truck.  Intrigued by the fact that their winemaker is ex-Beringer, we headed to Sbragia Family Vineyards at the head of the valley, right up by the dam across Sonoma Lake.  The first vintage made here by Ed Sbragia was in 2005, although vines have been here since 1880, and his father and grandfather were grape-growers.  They make 8-9,000 cases per annum, all from their own grapes, some from the family ranch near Healdsburg, plus more from lots throughout Sonoma & Napa County from coast to Carneros.  We started with the whites, a 2011 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc @ $20.  Citrus & apple, grapefruit, floral and lively with a slight spritz which will probably mellow with age. Newly released, this is young, but its acidity will see it good.  Next a 2009 Schmidt (Ed’s high school friend’s place) Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, which had crispness and depth, more minerality, bright.  Next a 2008 Gamble Ranch Chardonnay made with grapes from the Beringer estate over in the  Napa Valley, 18 months on French oak, luscious, apple, lush.  Sally our lovely pourer then squeezed in a 2008 Home Ranch Chardonnay, on sale at $20 for 3 bottles, this is everyday, cheerful, floral, apple, 50/50 old/new oak, softer.  Then we started on the reds, and there was no stopping us.  2009 Gino’s Vineyard Zinfandel was full of intense black fruit, dried cherries and a peppery finish.  This is his everyday red, made for drinking with pasta, with a small % of Carignan and Petit Syrah in the blend.  Next a 2009 Andolsen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, named for the family’s GP, 19 months on new French oak, deep purple in colour, big black cassis, herbal, great finish, $38.  4 more Cab Sauvs were to follow, each produced from grapes grown at a higher elevation to the one preceding it, each containing a small, average 4% Cabernet Franc.  So the 2007 Monte Rosso Cab from mid-Sonoma Valley was intense and spicy; the 2007 Rancho del Oso from Napa full of power, cherries and berries, 94 by Robert Parker.  The 2007 Cimarossa from Howell Mountain, Napa was our absolute favourite, truly a great wine, with the wow factor that would keep you coming back for more, even @ $75 per bottle.  Well-structured, it is packed with dark fruits and exotic spices, truly good tannins and a long finish.  By the time we got to 2006 Wall Vineyard way up on Mount Veeder, Napa were couldn’t take any more, this was too oaky and tannic for me, it truly packed a punch, definitely needs food.  As a bonus, Sally kindly uncorked a 2007 Merlot which at $30 reminded us of the Beringer Merlot we know and love.  With 5% Cabernet Franc, 95 % Merlot, this is heaven in a glass, affordable, great colour, rounded with a great finish.

We loved this place – did it show?!  We arrived at 4pm just as the sun was dipping in the sky, and left long after the tasting room was closed for the day, having met Ed and his wife Peggy and talked long into the early evening on many far-ranging subjects.   Which meant that our drive North to Boonville was entirely made in the dark, thus missing out on the stunning scenery that loomed darkly around us.  Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.  The Boonville Hotel was a welcome sight, and a quick supper across the road in Lauren’s gave us the chance to mull over an incredible day in a whole new area.  Mendocino and the Anderson Valley, here we come.