Bad Ass Reds
We’ve picked out four incredible wines for you to taste this spring! Come see what ‘Bad Ass Reds’ we have in store for you!
Marine Layer ‘Lyra’
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
Place: Sonoma Coast - California
Process: The 2021 Lyra Pinot Noir is a barrel selection from some of our favorite vineyard sites within the Sonoma Coast AVA. The 2021 blend is predominantly comprised of Pinot Noir from the Marine Layer Vineyard (44%) and the Dutton-Gravenstein Vineyard (39%), both of which lie in the Sebastopol Hills sub-AVA. The blend also includes small lots from the Whistler and Walala Vineyards from the north Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Annapolis, small lots of Grand Vent and Gap's Crown Vineyards from the south Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Petaluma Gap, and a touch of Dutton-Jentoft Vineyard from the west Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Green Valley.
We find diversity in the climate, soil, and clonal types from all of these sites, which allows us the freedom to explore and experiment with creative blending. All of these vineyards come together to represent the 4 corners of the AVA, illustrating the true beauty of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.
"Lyra” is one of the oldest and brightest constellations found in the California summer sky, arriving as the vines awaken back to life and departing at harvest. It presides with a watchful eye over the evolution of our Pinot Noir vineyards as they progress through their annual cycle from bud to flower to grape.
Fruit harvested by hand in early September. Hand-sorted and gently de-stemmed to keep whole berries intact, with 35% whole-cluster inclusion. Three to four-day cold soak under dry ice to preserve freshness. Native yeast fermentation in two 5 ton open-top tanks with gentle pumpovers and manual punchdowns at peak fermentation. After three weeks on the skins, wine was gravity drained overnight and barreled down for malolactic. Wine aged for 11 months in 25% new oak until gently racked off of lees, and the blend assembled. Bottled unfined and lightly filtered.
Family: Marine Layer Wines is a longtime dream of visionary Baron Ziegler. Through years of working with friend and winemaker Rob Fischer at Banshee Wines, Baron knew that Rob would be the perfect guy to help make his dream a reality. Together, their vision of creating a Sonoma Coast-focused brand, exclusively sourced from only the best vineyards in the region, came to life.
We are driven by discovery, precision and creativity. With an artisanal approach to winemaking, we craft wines that are both elegant and approachable. Sustainable farming, heritage clones, hand-harvesting, and an obsession for quality guide our path.
The distinctive name, “Marine Layer,” pays homage to the thick blanket of fog that pours in from the Pacific along the Sonoma Coast. Known for cooler temperatures and extreme conditions, growing grapes in this region is undoubtedly challenging, yet the most rewarding. Longer hang-time for the grapes results in nuanced flavors, bright acidity, and balance.
Bottle: $61 | Glass: $23
Luigi Giordano ‘Cavanna’
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo
Place: Barbaresco - Piedmont - Italy
Process: Maceration 35-40 days, controlled-temperature fermentation in cement tanks with regular pumpover. When fermentation is ¾ complete, for most vintages, submerged cap will be implemented for an additional 20 days for additional extraction of phenolic components.
The wines ages at least 30 months, a few more than the regular Montestefano bottling, in large 25HL,Slavonian-oak barrels that average 10 years old.
Cavanna is the subzone closest to the center of the village of Barbaresco. The exposure is west to southwest and the soils are composed of laminated Sant’Agata Fossili marls mixed with silt. Our vineyard, divided into three parcels, ends at the sheer dropoff of the cliffs along the Tanaro River, whose currents contribute to a unique microclimate.
Family: A stone’s throw from the village center of Barbaresco, the winery was established by Giovanni Giordano in the 1930s during a time of profound crisis in the Italian wine world. After a period of growing and selling grapes, Giovanni’s son, Luigi, made the bold decision to vinify his own fruit, bottling the first wine under his own label in 1958. For an independent grower like Luigi to bottle his own wine at a time when plans to establish an official appellation in Barbaresco were only in their infancy was nearly unthinkable. Today’s winery remains a spirited family effort, driven by the shared vision of Luigi himself, his daughter Laura, and his grandson Matteo. Together, they produce timeless wines from vineyards planted in some of Barbaresco’s most prestigious crus, including Asili and Montestefano. Another Barbaresco bottling from the cru of Cavanna showcases the winery’s elegant, hands-off style of winemaking and represents the only single-vineyard bottling of its kind.
Bottle: $53 | Glass: $21
Chateau Haut-Segottes
Grapes : Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Place : Bordeaux - France
Process : Tradition reigns at Château Haut-Segottes. Harvest is manual; fermentation takes place in cuve; wines are rotated into barrel for an élevage of 18 months; approximately 20% of the barrels are new; wines are bottled unfiltered. Although the majority of the vineyards are planted to Merlot, the ultimate cuvée bottled as Saint-Émilion Grand Cru features a majority of Cabernet Franc. This dominance of Cabernet Franc, frequently on the order of 65%, produces a wine of considerable structure and is exceptionally age-worthy.
Family : The Château Haut-Ségottes is owned and operated by Danielle Meunier. Mme. Meunier, “vigneronne extraordinaire”, is the fourth generation of her family to oversee this nine hectare estate situated in the heart of the Saint Emilion appellation. Mme. Meunier’s great-grandfather purchased the estate around 1860 and had earned gold medals for his wine as early as 1912 at the Concours Agricole in Paris. In 1959, the estate began to bottle its wine in earnest. In 1972 Madame Meunier took the reins of production and we can proudly stake our claim as one of her first and most loyal clients: we have been purchasing her wines since the 1977 vintage. The 9 hectares Château Haut-Segottes are all planted within the St. Emilion Grand Cru appellation. The vineyards are planted 60% to Merlot, 35% to Cabernet Franc, and 5% to Cabernet Sauvignon. The position of the vineyards within the appellation is outstanding. Parcels are found within the “lieu-dits” of Fortin (across from La Dominique and 300 meters from Cheval Blanc); Chauvin; and the highly regarded “Plateau de Corbin”. Production levels average 45 hectoliters per hectare. Haut-Segottes bottles between 30,000 to 40,000 bottles per year.
Bottle: $53 | Glass: $21
Olivier Riviere ‘La Vallada’
Grapes: Tempranillo
Place: Rioja Spain
Process: La Vallada is a 2.5 hectare enclosed vineyard – Vallada meaning enclosed – at an elevation of 950m from which Olivier sources young vine Tempranillo for this cuvée. Olivier considers this cuvée to be his Covarrubias Village wine. Because of this site’s youth, Olivier gently destems the fruit destined for La Vallada, keeping the whole berries intact. The fruit is then carefully layered in a fermentation tank, with any overflow being fermented in small bins. The weight of the grapes and the native yeasts causes fermentation to begin naturally. Extraction and macerations are very gentle, resulting in a small percentage of the fruit fermenting by carbonic maceration.
Family: With about 25 hectares of rented and owned vineyards in Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja, Rioja Alavesa, and splitting his time between his own wines and consulting with other producers, it would be an understatement to say that Olivier Rivière is busy. Originally lured to Spain in 2004 by Telmo Rodriguez to convert his vineyards to biodynamics, Olivier came to appreciate the rich history of Rioja and the diversity of its soils and grape varieties. In 2006 he started his own project, and owing to the high cost of land in Rioja, he traded his farming talents for access to grapes from the best sites he could locate.
Olivier was born and raised south of Bordeaux in Cognac. He later studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, focusing on biodynamic farming, followed by practical experience there, and later in Burgundy. The list of estates where he has worked is impressive by any standards, from the most dedicated fans of natural wines (Elian da Ros & Domaine de Chassorney) to ultra-traditionalists (Domaine Leroy.) When his plans to set up a Domaine in Fitou fell through, Olivier decided to spend a few years consulting in Spain, and he’s never left.
Coming from France, Olivier has an innate sense of terroir. Unlike many of his peers in Rioja, he bases his cuvées not on political boundaries or the length of barrel aging but on terroir. He believes in a quality hierarchy inspired by Burgundy with generic Appellation and Village wines at the base and Premier and Grand cru wines at the top. This is how to understand best what Olivier is doing in Rioja, rather than the traditional Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva model or traditionalists versus modernists. Despite a couple of challenging vintages with short crops, rising prices, and the loss of some vineyard leases, Olivier has somehow managed to expand his production of distinct wines while refining their sense of place.
In keeping with his education and advocation, nearly all of Olivier’s vineyard sources – whether owned or leased – are farmed organically with biodynamic practices. The fruit is harvested by hand, and each variety is fermented separately. Depending on the source, it may be partially destemmed or fermented whole cluster. Fermentations are with indigenous yeasts. Macerations are gentle and short. Aging takes place in stainless steel or cement tanks, foudre, and barrel with each container chosen to benefit the expression of the terroir. SO2 is kept to a minimum, usually added only before bottling. There really is no precise recipe, only the guiding principles of minimal intervention and taste. These are not your grandparent’s Riojas, nor are they your parent’s. These wines represent a novel approach that relies almost entirely on the specificity of site and the transparency of winemaking necessary to capture it.
Bottle: $69 | Glass: $29