Day 3 in Sonoma Valley – Ledson, Loxton, Landmark, GunBun and Nicholson Ranch

Ledson: mock-gothic and different

Ledson

Today J & K had to head back home, so Mark and I set off à deux up the valley.  First stop was Ledson, a vast stark building just East of the highway, built 12 years ago, reached via a driveway winding up through newly planted Merlot and Petit Verdot.  We couldn’t work out the architectural inspiration – the bricks and roof tiles have a strange purple hue and it is mock-Gothic in style.  The interior is all oak floor and paneling – intriguing.  Anyway, we entered the tasting room to be greeted by Ali who was a very competent pourer.  Capacity is about 15,000 cases per annum, but Steve Ledson (the 5th generation owner, yet first to sell his wines to market) has vineyards all across the area, so the grapes that make Ledson wine are all his, but from lots of different lots.  He makes about 80 different wines each year, 80!  That’s 18 Zins alone.  The wines are sold only from the  Chateau or via the wine club and are made in their winery off-site in Sonoma itself.

We started with a 2009 Russian River Valley Riesling Dry, our first in California, lemon, crisp, clear and clean.  Their 2008 Russian River Pinot Noir Reserve was very good, nice long tannic finish, with herbal & pepper notes, a beautiful wine.  A 2006 Dry Creek Valley Old Vine Zinfandel was powerful, blackberry nose, oaky, dry, long finish.  Intrigued, we requested the 2007 Contra Costa Mourvedre, made from grapes grown 2 hours South of here, but it was too big and stark, lacking roundness – needs food.  A couple of Merlots followed, the first a 2006 Sonoma Valley Estate Merlot Reserve which was flabby despite 13% Cab Sauv, rather lacklustre (they no longer have these vines, this lot was ripped up after this vintage); the second a classic, their 2007 Knights Valley Merlot, long and smooth.  We didn’t much care for the 2004 Lake County Diamond Ridge Cabernet France, but this is a tricky varietal to bear scrutiny when standing alone.  We loved the 2007 Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon on the other hand, tobacco, hefty, tannin, wonderful cherry fruit.  Then onto two Rhone varietals, first their 2006 Lake County Diamond Ridge Petite Syrah which didn’t work, too light and rough, then a 2007 Sonoma Valley Estate Syrah which was divine, garnet hued and hefty.  Ali knew her stuff and we came away amazed that one place can produce so many hits, despite a couple of misses.

Loxton Winery

..says it all

Chris Loxton was very happy to explain his craft

At the other end of the production scale is Loxton Winery, just a couple of miles back down Highway 12.  Chris Loxton hails from Australia but has made California his home and he is a man of integrity and passion when it comes to crafting grapes into wine.  This is wine-making on a perfect, tiny scale, annual production averages 3,000 cases.  His Zins and Syrahs are legendary, as is the port.   His tasting assistant was a delight – she poured us 5 wines, starting with a 2009 Chardonnay from Parmelee-Hill, Sonoma Valley, which was oh-so-well-made, clean, crisp, buttery AND citrus.  Only 168 cases made, $28.  Then his delicious plonk, Sonoma Reds – Lot 5, $16, smooth, easy-drinking, sling another steak on the barbie-style, nice acidity, round, good tannin.  We loved the 2008 Zinfandel Hillside Vineyard, 100% Zin, but different, dark bramble fruit, not overly oaked or alcoholic, just good.  Next a 2008 Syrah Parmelee-Hill, smoky, big red cherry fruit, long finish – we liked it so much we bought a bottle to go with our picnic. And lastly two stickies, a 2009 Late Harvest Zinfandel, light, fresh, 16% alcohol, but the surefire winner was the 2009 Port, luscious and utterly delicious, very sweet, will age nicely.  Chris then appeared and we spent a very happy hour extolling the virtues of hand-crafted wine, physics, lab notes, leaking barrels, French ethics and law, etc. etc.  What a great place, what a passionate advocate of all that is good in the world of wine.

The Landmark tasting room

Landmark Winery

He recommended we retrace our steps to Landmark, but it was a strange place.  No-one else there, a perfectly cheery pourer, decent wines, but nothing really stood out.  We tasted 4 wines, then a couple of bonus wines, a Grenache (not correct) and a 2009 Steel Plow Syrah which worked, but somehow it was not a tasting that inspired or uplifted us.  So instead we had a game of bocce ball in the beautiful garden and moved on.  Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that they’ve recently been bought out by Justin (who also own Fiji water, which is pressed upon you at every opportunity) – are they trying to sell wine or water here?  It lacked conviction or feel.  disappointing.

The 'Gun Bun' tasting room was delightful

Gundlach Bundschu

Next stop was Gundlach Bundschu right back down South of Sonoma which has been producing wine since 1858, so one of the oldest.  Annual production is c. 25-30,000 cases, with all the grapes grown on the 320 acre site below Arrowhead Mountain – as the sun dipped in the sky, this was a magical spot.  The stunning tasting room, the oldest, stone-built building on the property, was about to close, so kindly Marina sped us through 6 wines, although sadly the Gewurtztraminer wasn’t available.  2009 Chardonnay was clean, crisp and the best of the day.  A 2009 Pinot Noir came up complex and large, big cherry fruit, long finish.  Their 2009 Tempranillo was intense, purple, vibrant and lush $37.  2008 Syrah delicious, and a much better 2009 Cabernet Franc, which restored my faith in this single varietal – lovely rich texture and fruit.  Lastly, their 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon which was choccy, concentrated and lush, loads of cassis.  $40.  I wish we had been able to spend longer here, it was a magical winery, tucked right up under the hill, dreamy long light.  We did walk up the hill behind to admire the view, but couldn’t linger.  A happy place, go there.

Nicholson Ranch

Marina’s top tip was to continue to Nicholson Ranch which she said stayed open longer than GunBun.  And there is was, bathing in late, long, evening sunshine just off the road to Los Carneros, open til 6pm.  The main building is stunning, an adobe-coloured, architecturally-pleasing winery which sits well in its landscape.  We spent 15 minutes just wandering round outside, meeting the resident dog and admiring the views and landscaping.  We moved inside and were cheerfully greeted by Lance, the winemaker and a colleague.  This is a man who just LOVES his job.  We spent the next hour or so happily chatting through his wines and beyond, plus a glimpse of his winery with gleaming stainless steel fermenting vats.  The owner was brought up here and she and her husband were persuaded to plant 31 acres of vines on the ranch back in 1995.  Valley Architects drew up plans for the tasting room, winery and underground cave, and her office is also here.  It is a glorious, impressive set-up, but not remotely pretentious.

Generous pourings and an impromptu tour given by a very friendly team at Nicholson Ranch

They produce 5-8,000 cases per annum and production is a small, family-run, intimate affair.  We ended up going off piste from the stipulated wine tasting as some wine members had been in earlier in the day and open bottles were just begging to be tasted…  First up was their 2008 Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay, luscious, rich, more buttery and more delicious than anything else we’d tasted that day.  $32.  Then the 2007 Estate Chardonnay, 10 months in new French oak, but not overly wooded, crisp, good length, excellent acidity, $30.  The 2007 Estate Pinot Noir was correct and honest, without being exceptional, $38.  We did however adore the 2007 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir Cactus Hill, smoky & leathery, but the overall winner was the 2008 Estate Pinot Noir Dry Farmed, a huge, gutsy, full, tannic mouthful.  Yum.  $60.  Also good was the 2008 Sonoma Valley Merlot, with good forward fruit and a big finish.  We finished with two good Syrahs – their 2006 Estate Syrah @ $40 was smoky, tannic, oak-heavy, then we took our glass of 2006 Las Madres Syrah to the winery building with us as the sun set.  It slipped down quite beautifully as we admired the state-of-the-art equipment it had once sat fermenting in – and could happily have sat chatting to Lance until midnight.  But time was marching on, so back to the tasting room for a final chat about single malt whiskies, specifically Highland Park, and a promise to be back.  You will enjoy a visit here – splendid surroundings, some great wines, and passionate people doing a job they love.