My great-aunt, Nancy, began our family's journey into wine by purchasing the old ghost winery, El Molino, in the late 1930's with her husband, Van Haven. My father, Reg, took the leap into winemaking by transforming the historic El Molino from dormancy into active production after he purchased it from my aunt's estate in 1976. Pinot noir and Chardonnay were the only varietals he pursued passionately as those were the wines that he and my mother enjoyed. Many trips to Burgundy fueled the fire and today we grow all of our Pinot noir and Chardonnay at the family vineyards, Star, in Rutherford.
Four vintages after Reg's passing, Jon and I feel honored to continue on with his legacy. Our insight and intuition in the vineyard and cellar continue to grow and we are excited to offer you two wines with contrasting styles from two very different vintages. The 2006 Pinot noir would remind Reg of old-school Burgundies – transparent, pure, full of black cherries, English tea and a lithe texture that masks firm tannins – a wine that will reward cellaring. The 2007 Chardonnay, on the other hand, shows a more modern profile: ripe, rich and forward. This wine is drinking superbly already and will continue to do so for the next decade. We have appreciated your support over the past 20 years and we remain firmly committed to producing wines that you will enjoy at your table tonight, tomorrow, and many years from now.
The two Pinot noir blocks thrive in our Rutherford vineyard, where cool nights and warm days allow the fruit to reach exceptional phenolic maturity. Following extended whole cluster fermentation, with manual punch-downs, the must is basket pressed and gravity fed to barrel. The wine spends 16 months in 70% new and 30% two year old Francois Frères cooperage. The wine is bottled by hand via gravity and then rests for a year in bottle to further enhance complexity and to ensure silky tannins.Our 30 year old Chardonnay vines produce complex aromatics and flavors that only older vines can. We are passionate about retaining these components and the naturally high acid levels by eschewing malolactic fermentation. The wine is fermented in 50% new and 50% once used Francois Frères barrels where it matures sur lie for 12 months. Following bottling the wine spends 9 months in bottle before release.
Average annual production continues to hover around 900 cases of each. All wines begin in the vineyard. We farm first and then exercise restraint in the cellar. We attempt to have the courage to do nothing while striving to strike a balance between the over-done and the under-done.
Please see the below links for additional information and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
