Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

wine / CALIFORNIA < viti

wine / CALIFORNIA < viti culture in Napa Valley, had made wine from parcels of To Kalon from the 1960s onwards. Owned by Constellation Brands today, the Mondavi brand is still going strong. Geneviève Janssens, chief winemaker at Robert Mondavi Winery, trained with the man himself and says: “Robert Mondavi knew that he had a treasure in To Kalon. It offers three important things: personality, resilience and a source of inspiration. Its beauty is also its resilience: whatever the vintage conditions, we always end up with great wine. “It was this passion and Mondavi’s pursuit of perfection at his winery that inspired so many to follow in his footsteps.” One of those he inspired was Will Harlan. He founded his eponymous estate in 1984 in the hills above Oakville. While Kronos and To Kalon speak of the Valley floor, others make different styles on the mountains that rise on either side of the Valley. Harlan is one of them. He deliberately went for hillside vineyards. Harlan’s Proprietary Red became one of Napa’s most sought-after wines, grown at 100 - 167m/325 - 550ft, renowned for its structure and longevity. Before buying the land for the original Harlan Estate, Harlan had eyed another property which finally came up for sale in 2008. This is the family’s Promontory Estate, and again, the wine is different from Harlan – because it is grown in very different conditions – despite being just 500m/550yds apart. Surrounded on all sides by woodland, winemaker David Cilli describes the land as “wild, very steep, rugged, untamed.” It lies along a geological faultline between two ridges on metamorphic rock. Motion sensor cameras have captured mountain lions and bears on the land. The wine is distinct from Harlan: where Harlan is velvet, Promontory is silk. Cilli says the surrounding forests “harvest the fog and moisture of the mornings and release it later in the day,” lending freshness to the wines. “Freshness is the opposite of gravity in the mouth, it gives you that tonic feel.” Today, freshness is as prized as power and even those who know Napa will find something new to discover – with a different style. “We feel there is a step change in Napa, too,” Cilli says. When Ann Colgin founded her estate in 1992, she also looked for mountain vineyards. Paul Roberts MS, president of Colgin Cellars, explains that the three Inset: A perfect bunch of grapes. Below: Vines in the To Kalon vineyard on the Valley floor with the Mayacamas Mountains in the background. Photos: Jamey Thomas, Timm Eubanks, Harlan Estate, Bob McClenahan 22 falstaff mar – jun 2022

The fermentation room at Harlan Estate, offering the possibility of fermentation in oak and stainless steel. THE IX ESTATE VINEYARD IS A LAVA FLOW WITH IRON-TINGED RED CLAY. MIXED WITH THE ROCKY BASE MATERIAL, IT ADDS A SANGUINE NATURE TO THE SITE. Corny perhaps but also iconic – the famous sign greeting travellers as they enter Napa Valley. single vineyard sites they farm are very different, resulting in distinct styles of wine: the historic Tychson Hill vineyard at 91 - 129m/300 - 400ft is on a rare volcanic formation, sitting between Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain. It is their hottest site during the day and the coldest at night, creating exquisitely elegant wine. The Cariad vineyard on Spring Mountain at 122 - 152m/400 - 500ft is on an ancient riverbed uplifted by geological movement and benefits from the cold air flows of Spring Mountain; the IX Estate vineyard, the highest site at 335 - 427m/1,100 - 1,400ft is also of volcanic origin, “a lava flow with iron-tinged red clay. Mixed with the rocky base material it adds a sanguine nature to the site,” Roberts says. Likewise, the four wines of Lokoya from Spring Mountain, Diamond Mountain, Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder are distinct and straight 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon expressions of these sites, fermented with native yeast and bottled unfiltered to underscore these differences. THE ONLY WAY IS UP But plush red wine is not just the preserve of Napa Valley. To its northwest, across the Mayacamas Mountains, in Sonoma County, there are less well-known but similarly compelling AVAs – at higher elevations. Vineyards in Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley and Knight Valley start at elevations of 150m/500ft and rise much higher. Altitude makes a difference because the fog layer that comes in from the Pacific burns off earlier, allowing more sunlight, while cooler temperatures mean a longer growing season. When the late Jess Jackson (1930-2011), the man behind the famous Kendall-Jackson brand, wanted to create a red wine to rival the world, he lured French winemaker Pierre Seillan to California and gave him the pick of his Sonoma vineyards. Seillan chose sites in these high-elevation AVAs. This is how Vérité was born in 1998. Three wines are made: Merlot-based La Muse, Cabernet Franc-based Le Désir and Cabernet Sauvignon-based La Joie. Seillan’s blends are created from what he calls “micro-crus” and he says: “My only goal for Vérité wines was – and still is – to capture the best message of the soils from my different micro-crus to elevate the Sonoma appellation to the highest level in the world, with the unique style and signature of Vérité.” His wines are yet another facet of California – different, elegant, distinct. < mar – jun 2022 falstaff 23