Greetings and News from Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery! May 15, 2014
Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay in the transmission of this Newsletter. We have received a number of inquiries from our mailing list customers as to whether we had either lost their address or, alternatively, fallen into a wine vat. Neither is true! It has been a hectic year and in this annual mailer, we will be offering three new wines and giving our mailing list customers an opportunity to get special pricing on a previously released wine that we still have in inventory.
Two of the three new wines were bottled on April 24th and should be quite approachable by July 1st (we don’t filter at bottling which tends to lessen “bottle shock” of recently bottled wines). These wines, as more fully discussed below, are all available for ordering now and we will be giving special introductory pricing to our mailing list customers that return their order before July 1st. The wines can be picked up at our production facility or the vineyard by prior arrangement. However, if pick-ups do not work for you, we offer free shipping within California on one case or larger orders. Out of state orders will be shipped, and charged, at our cost.
New Releases
2012 Frostwatch Ophira Bennett Valley Chardonnay – We bottled our regular 2012 Bennett Valley Chardonnay in September of 2013. The wine rocked and our distribution partners snatched up the 350 cases we produced. While you might still be able to find some on shelves or on wine lists it might be easier to satisfy your desire for Frostwatch Chardonnay with our delicious Ophira. Prior to bottling last September, we tasted through all the barrels and selected several that showed special promise. Those barrels (all new and once used) were stirred and topped for an additional seven months and bottled on April 24th of this year. While the regular bottling was great (93 points and 2 puffs in Connoisseurs Guide), the Ophira Reserve bottling is really something special. The 18 months of barrel aging coupled with the beautiful fruit from the 2012 vintage give this wine incredible complexity along with an unctuous and silky mouth feel. As with the regular bottling, and prior Frostwatch Chardonnays, Clone 4 contributes a full mouth feel with loads of red apple fruit, while fruit from our Platt-Wente Block contributes vibrant citrus notes with a touch of minerality. The wine is drinking beautifully now and will continue to excel for several years at a minimum.
100 Cases Produced TA: 6.1 g/l PH: 3.35 Alc.:14.8%
Normal Retail $40/bottle; Introductory Mailing List Price: $32/bottle
2012 Frostwatch Bennett Valley Pinot Noir
The 2012 Pinot Noir, like all of our 2012’s, is a powerful yet balanced wine with the fruit and structure to age gracefully for years. However, the innate power of the wine does not overwhelm the more subtle aspects of the Pinot Noir varietal that we love. As with our previous Pinots, the Frostwatch Vineyard, planted to the Swan Clone, contributes excellent fruit with small clusters and berries leading to razor-like intensity and concentration. The sole downside of these tiny berries and petite clusters is an extremely low case production per acre. While this vintage was larger than the miniscule 2011 vintage, we still produced only 155 cases from two and one-half acres of Pinot Noir. We continue to hope, as the blocks mature, the availability of this wine will increase. In the meantime, if you are a fan of our Pinot and would like to secure an allotment for your cellar, it might be a good idea to act quickly.
155 Cases Produced TA: 5.4 g/l PH: 3.8 Alc.:14.8%
Normal Retail $40/bottle; Introductory Mailing List Price: $32/bottle
2011 Frostwatch Bennett Valley Merlot
Fans of our Merlot may recall that we did not release a wine from the 2010 vintage. 2010 was a very cool year and we never even picked the fruit. The 2011 vintage was also very cool, but we were able to achieve the desired ripeness by carefully managing crop levels. By cropping at only 1.25 tons per acre (about 1/3 the Sonoma county average), we were able to harvest fully mature fruit. We bottled this wine in September of last year, but we made the decision to hold it back because we believed it to be a little bit lean and tight. Our patience has been amply rewarded. While the alcohol levels are moderate (14.2%), the fruit profiles are ripe and generous. As an added bonus, the wine is ready to drink immediately. It exhibits ripe plum and cherry flavors, with subtle notes of cedar and tobacco.
80 Cases Produced TA: 5.85 g/l PH: 3.67 Alc.:14.4%
Normal Retail $30/bottle; Introductory Mailing List Price: $24/bottle
Previously Released Wines:
2012 Frostwatch Kismet
The 2012 Kismet is aging beautifully. It just received 92 points and 2 puffs in the last issue of Connoisseurs Guide to California Wines wherein they described it as “a wine of extraordinary richness and range that will not only serve brilliantly today, but has the stuffing and impeccable balance to hold up and improve in the bottle for many years to come.” Lastly, they designated the Kismet a “Good Value” further distinguishing this unique blend from the wide array of Sauvignon Blanc available on the market today. For people new to our wines, but as our previous customers know, Kismet was originally made in our garage from vines identified as “mis-plants” in our Chardonnay block. Later identified as Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, our mystery clones of these two varietals consistently mesh perfectly with Bennett Valley climatology and soils. The wines have vibrant bright fruit yet also exhibit opulence and complexity. The Semillon component lends richness to the wine’s mid-palate which differentiates this wine from most Sauvignon Blancs. This refreshing but complex blend is a perfect addition to any Spring or Summer outing.
485 Cases Produced TA: 7.05 g/l PH: 3.28 Alc.:14.4%
Normal Retail $24/ bottle; Special Mailing List Newsletter Price: $18/bottle
Please be advised that Vinoteca, our communal tasting room at Vinify has closed its doors. Of course, we are still available for tasting at the winery (and sometimes at the vineyard) with advance notice.
As always, we would love to meet you and taste thru our wines next time you make a trip to wine country.
All the best,
Brett Raven and Diane Kleinecke
