2008 Cuvee Caritas White Wine
Sonoma County
Yes, I have joined the ranks of winemakers who cannot resist naming a wine after their dog. When it came to naming the first white wine to be made at Bedrock—a barrel fermented blend of Sauvignon Musque and ancient vine Semillon—my mind naturally wandered to my big, beautiful, Great Pyrenees Caritas.
Caritas, “Tas” for short, came to us the same summer that Bedrock Wine Co. was prepping for first harvest. The name in the Latin as it is spelled means charity; the Greek, spelled “karatas” means “to build a community.” The name seemed appropriate for a dog that would age with the winery—an undertaking that needs both the charity of mother nature (not to mention the bank!) but also a solid community around it.
However, enough about the name and more about the wine!
Some of my favorite white wines in the world are the exceptionally complex whites based on Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon from Graves and Pessac-Leognan in Bordeaux. At their best these wines combine exotic, almost tropical fruit elements, with beautiful spice and a pure mineral expression. These wines are rarely attempted in California, but after being given access to a couple wonderful sites I decided to give it a go. I am thrilled with the resulting wine.
The fruit comes from two remarkable locations. The Sauvignon Musque (a particularly exotic and aromatic clone of Sauvignon Blanc) is grown on a steep hillside high up on Kick Ranch on the backside of Spring Mountain. The Semillon element comes from 100 year old vines growing at 1800’ above Sonoma Valley in the incomparable Monte Rosso vineyard.
In 2008 I whole cluster pressed both varietals and fermented them separately, each in 40% new French oak from Tonnellerie Bordelaise, Nadalie, and Damy. The Semillon was allowed to go through malolactic, to richen even further its broad, pliant mouth-feel and rich, spicy, fruit. The Sauvignon Musque was not allowed to go through ML in order to keep its bright, lithe, structure and perfume of asian pear, apples, pumpkin pie spices, and florality. Both lots are still “sur lattes” and are stirred once a week for the time being. The final blend will be assembled in the late spring just prior to bottling.
As the name might indicate, a portion of the proceeds will go to charity.
$35 | SOLD OUT
Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 09
($35; a blend of 55% semillon and 45% sauvignon musque) Green-gold. Deep, intensely perfumed aromas of smoked meat, lees, orange, fig and truffle, with a suave floral underpinning. Fleshy pit and orchard fruit flavors are firmed by juicy acids and complicated by dried mushroom and citrus pith qualities. Offers the complexity, nuttiness and power of a serious white Graves, with excellent finishing breadth and spicy precision. The semillon vines for this wine are planted at an elevation of 1,800 feet, according to Morgan Peterson, who runs this operation with his father, Joel, of Ravenswood.