Sep

29

P.B. Hein Trailblazer Syrah

Filed Under Reds

Paul Hein is a fifth generation Napa native with roots into viticulture and winemaking dating back to 1879 when his three times great grandfather PJ Hein had 29,000 vines on Mount Veeder.

Paul’s approach to winemaking is designed to produce an extremely small lot, 1 ton or so, as a test to prove out both the vineyard and the winemaking method prior to releasing any wine for production. The best technique can’t make excellent wine from less than excellent grapes. Given the right vineyard in the right terroir, the grapes will do most of the work of making an excellent wine. According to Paul, it is the job of the winemaker to do no harm, and allow the grapes to ‘do their thing’.

Paul believes strongly in old world winemaking: small lots, bin fermentation and as little mechanical intervention as is humanly possible. No huge stainless steel vats, no mechanical pumpovers. Being ‘hands on’ with each bin allows him to produce the highest quality wines possible, albeit in small quantities. The largest batch he has produced to date is only 400 cases.

And this brings us to a fabulous Syrah release from P.B. Hein:

PB Hein 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet

PB Hein “Trailblazer” Syrah Lyons Vineyard Napa 2005 Dark garnet color with youthful aromas of licorice, blackberry, leathery notes and dried fruit; Big, ripe, young, clean, slightly oaky, blackberry fruit flavors wrapped in a rich, medium to medium-full bodied mouthfeel. Good balance with firm tannins and a moderately long finish.

The Lyons Vineyard is located high in the slopes of the Wild Horse Valley and produces small berries in loose clusters similar to the cabernet grapes Paul is used to working with. It cosists of 3 blocks from 1,531 – 1,660 feet of elevation and the south-east facing provides a low yield, high quality fruit.

PB Hein Syrah 2005 Lyons Vineyard

This wine just took GOLD at the West Coast Wine Competion. We also poured this fantastic wine at the 2008 Sonoma Mountain Art & Wine Festival where it was a huge favorite with syrah-savvy patrons. If you consider yourself a true fan of the Syrah varietal, you won’t want to miss this champion thoroughbred offering from Napa. And with less than 400 cases to go around, this one could be easy to miss if you don’t move quickly.

Contact Jonathan Keller to acquire P.B. Hein Trailblazer.

Sep

23

Dark Horse Zinfandel

Filed Under Reds

Dark Horse 2006 Zinfandel
Dry Creek Valley ~ Treborce Vineyard

We recently poured this wine at the 2008 Sonoma Mountain Art & Wine Festival and it was a very big hit with the Zinfandel fans. In fact, it was one of the first reds we ran out of – and we really did bring quite a bit of this wine. I personally noticed a fair amount of black pepper on the nose, followed by loads of dark, jammy blackberry fruit richness. This wine can definitely hold its own with whatever spicy dish you decide to throw at it.

This was taken right from the Dark Horse’s mouth, so to speak: “Does eat oats and goats eat oats but the Dark Horse eats the competition. Let the little lambs eat whatever they want. Our 2005 Zinfandel was in the winner’s circle and our 2006 looks to be crossing to the lead for this vintage. Rich in jammy black cherry, intense wild berry, smoke and licorice. It has cinnamon and clove aromas followed by both white and cracked black pepper.”

Contact Jonathan Keller to acquire the Dark Horse.

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