California Heirloom Wine#3: Abbastanza Vineyard formerly known as Marchus

Abbastanza Vineyard

Sonoma Valley

California Heirloom Blend #3

Grapes: Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and many more

Clones: Who knows, who cares!

Rootstock: St. George

Vineyard Established 1932

Owned by Krissy and Brian Marchus, farmed by Sunbreak Vineyard Services.

The Little Experiment

When I told my dad that this was the “experiment” for harvest he responded “the whole F***$%ing winery is an experiment!”

Dad 1, Morgan 0.

So I suppose this is the little experiment in the midst of the big experiment.What is funny about Marchus vineyard is that I have driven by it no less than 48953895 times in my life without ever realizing it was there. Granted, the vineyard is maybe, MAYBE, 1.5 acres large, but still…

It is wedged into the corner of Sonoma Valley, forming one point of a triangle also including Bedrock and Old Hill vineyards.The vineyard, we think, was planted in 1935 as part of what is now called Chauvet Vineyard (once made by Coturri and now goes to Ravenswood). However, when Highway 12 was rerouted through the vineyard, Marchus was cut off. The resulting vineyard has been dry-farmed from day 1, and the resulting fruit is of unusual intensity.

Across the highway at Chauvet the old vines are exclusively Zinfandel, which most likely means that the Petite Sirah, Carignane, Tempranillo, and others were ripped somewhere along the way. In contrast, Marchus is a true field blend. The vines to the left of the driveway are a blend of Petite Sirah and Tempranillo. The old vines to the right are a mix of Zinfandel, Carignane, Cinsault, and some crazy white table grape varieties. If we get a ton (approximately two barrels) out of the vineyard we are going to be lucky.

The wine will be fermented in a redwood open-top vat using natural yeasts. This is not Cabernet or Pinot Noir, and as a result, demands less new oak. Since I do not have any one year old barrels, I will put the Marchus in one new oak barrel and one old oak barrels. However, I will gently rack it out of the new oak after a few months to ensure the oak does not overwhelm the wine. My hope is to get some of the vanilla bean smoke aromatics and a little sweetening of the mid-palate, but to not dominate the entire wine with wood.

 Marchus Large Version: Download