Dear Cellar Club Members,
Scotty and his fabulous crew have finally finished with the
2013 Crush – well done! It is still too
early to tell for sure, but it looks like a great vintage so far. In the tasting room, Lucinda and her amazing
crew have also done a great job, which was highlighted by our first ever
Witches’ Ball to celebrate Halloween.
Lots of great costumes, music, food, wine and fun! Every one of these special parties has sold
out early, so stay tuned to our newsletters, website and Facebook page often to
get a ticket for the next one.
Coming up in December, we have our annual Cellar Club
Holiday Party on December 7th and 8th at the winery in
Carlsbad. If you have never attended one
of our awesome Cellar Club parties, make sure that you attend this one if you
can. It is just for our Cellar Club
Members and their guests and features great food, wine and lots of fun-loving
people. This is guaranteed to get you
into the Holiday mood.
This month’s wines are the 2011 Tempranillo and Dave’s Pretty
Good Red. Jancis Robinson says in The Oxford Companion to Wine that
Tempranillo is Spain ’s
answer to Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine variety that puts the spine into a high
proportion of Spain ’s
most respected red wines. It is also
used in Portugal
where it is known as Tinto Roriz, but there it is primarily used in the making
of Port. It is being grown more and more
in California and Australia.
Our 2011 Tempranillo is grown for us by Heringer Vineyards
in Clarksburg ,
in the Sacramento River Delta, a bit south of UC Davis. It has turned out to be a great microclimate
for Tempranillo, and the wines that we have made from this area have been big
favorites with our Cellar Club members.
The fruit has also worked out very well in blends such as “Dos Amigos”
and in our Port. This latest 2011
vintage of Tempranillo is a worthy successor to its predecessors.
Esteemed wine judge and critic, Rich Cook, has these
thoughts to share on this wine:
“Here's a lighter bodied Tempranillo that hits my markers -
The nose shows cherry, vanilla, dill and mild cedar spice. The palate is all about the bright cherry and
tobacco, with food friendly acidity and a supple mouth-feel that keeps you
sipping. As the oak integrates with age,
this will improve, although I find it very enjoyable right now. It'll elevate simpler meat dishes or a red-sauce
lasagna nicely.”
I am in complete agreement – loving it now, but looking
forward to trying it in a few years.
Our next offering is our latest “Dave’s Pretty Good
Red”. This bold blend in the style of a
Super Tuscan has been our most consistent medal winner over the years,
including several golds! Super Tuscan
style wines are inspired by some of the greatest wines of the
Rich Cook shares these tasting notes with us on this wine:
“If you stop into one of Witch Creek's tasting rooms, ask
for the bottle with the benevolent warlock on the label. They'll likely pour you up a sample of this
Super-Tuscan styled red blend that bears the founder's portrait. This wine has a long run of nicely made
vintages, and this is no exception. Aromas of blackberry, cherry, leafy dried
herbs and tobacco are joined by touches of damp earth, leather, black tea and
fall spice. The palate shows mild tannic grip and a full, balanced delivery of
the nose elements, with some sweet oak coming forward in the medium long
finish. This might be the best
"Dave's" yet - and it'll improve with some bottle age.”
Right on!
If you try either of these wines in the short term, they
will benefit greatly by decanting, followed by aeration for a few hours. I recommend that you consider investing in a
few extra bottles of either of these great wines, so that you can enjoy it now
and even more in the future. I hope to
see you at the Holiday Party, so that I can say this in person: “Happy
Holidays!!” Please celebrate
responsibly.
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