Monte Rosso Vineyard

(photo above taken from Mark Oberschulte’s site, sorry!, do not have any others for the time  being)

Back in late December I wrote a post called “The Search for Vineyards.” In it I outlined the different factors I take into account when looking at a prospective vineyard– soil, trellising, general vigor management, aspect, etc. At the end of that article I listed a short list of what I deemed “the dream team,” for vineyards. So far, this off-season has been good regarding the acquisition of killer fruit. First I signed a long-term contract for Wildcat Mountain Syrah– a coastal, mountain, vineyard with amazing potential. Second, Joe Votek told me that he could free up a couple tons of Bald Mountain Syrah– a dry-farmed vineyard sitting above Kistler Vineyard on the edge of the Mt. Veeder and Sonoma Valley AVA’s. Now, I am floored and overjoyed to report that fruit from the hallowed grounds of Monte Rosso vineyard will make its way into the increasingly cramped cellars of Bedrock Wine Company in 2008.

This morning I met with the personable Doug Wilson, Gallo’s Grower Liason, and the manager of Monte Rosso, Agustin Lammoglia. A glorious morning in Sonoma Valley is only made more wonderful by being in Monte Rosso Vineyard, “perhaps the most beautiful vineyard in California,” according to one 1890’s observer. Draped over the westward shoulders of Mt. Veeder, Monte Rosso’s 250 acres of grapes lie 900-1200 feet above the valley floor. Its brick-colored volcanic soils are loamy, well-drained, but provide enough vigor to grow a wide-array of varietals. Though the Green Hungarian and Burger that was originally planted in part of the vineyard during the initial 1885 planting have been ripped out– many twisted vines of Zinfandel, Cabernet, and even Semillon still remain.

Originally planted as the vineyard to accompany the Mount Pisgah winery, bonded for a whopping 250,000 gallons in 1885, Monte Rosso has benefited from consistent ownership and constant care throughout its life. In 1886, a mere year after its planting, the original owner died. The vineyard was subsequently taken over by the second principal in Mt. Pisgah Winery, a chap named Emanuel Goldstein. Incidentally, at this point the epic scale of Monte Rosso earned it the bragging rights of being the second largest vineyard in the United States. This is particularly epic given the difficulty of location– even today planting a mountain vineyard is hard and we have automated excavators, pile-drivers, not to mention trucks. In 1885 this task must have been downright Herculean.

Eventually, Goldstein sold the vineyard and winery to the ubiquitous California Wine Association, which also purchased my vineyard– Bedrock, then known as Madrone Vineyard– during the same time-frame. In fact, it is likely that the grapes grown at Madrone were processed 1000 feet up the hill at Mount Pisgah winery, which makes one feel sorry for the beasts of burden who had to lug the grapes of a very, very steep hill. The CWA held the vineyard until the ravages of Prohibition had passed. In 1938, a man named Louis Martini purchased the vineyard– afraid he was going to lose the source of his most prized fruit (and perhaps the last time in history a Napa winery has admitted that superior fruit might come from Sonoma!).

Monte Rosso was held by the Martini family for nearly 65 years until in 2001 Martini Winery, along with Monte Rosso vineyard, was purchased by the Gallo family. For the Zin lovers in the audience, Monte Rosso should ring a strident bell of desire in your hearts. Its old vines yield up some of the greatest examples of the varietal on the planet. For those of who have tasted the wines of Martini, Arrowood, and Ed Sbragia, through the years you will know the organoleptic pinnacles the Cabernet can climb.

I am absolutely thrilled– like I could not sleep last night thrilled–to be receiving Cabernet from the vineyard. Located at the top of the vineyard, at 1200 feet, lies little 2.2 acre block 51. The 10 year old vines are just reaching their top-quality period. In the past the block yield 2.5-3 tons per acre– a good balance for mountain grown Cabernet.

What is also so, so, exciting is the geological proximity of Monte Rosso to Bedrock. My Cabernet vines grow on the alluvial fan from Monte Rosso– it is the only spot on the valley floor that shares the same Red Lake Clay Loam soil series. The well-drained piles of red rocks that have drained down the Hooker Creek canyon from Monte Rosso and settled in my vineyard lie at an elevation of around 100 feet. We are under the thick blankets of fog that swirl over the coastal hills almost every summer evening. Monte Rosso, at 1000 feet is above the fog. In fact, Agustin said that sometimes it looks like you can walk above the valley on the layer of fog in the mornings. Thus, though the soils are similar and the vineyards are less than a mile apart as the bird flies, they are in completely different mesoclimates.

The grapes will receive the humble Bedrock Wine Company treatment. Native yeast fermentation, manual punchdown, manual basket pressing, malolactic in barrel and on lies, lots of sexy French oak. Winemaking is so easy when one gets such great grapes! Cooperage will be provided by Taransaud, Darnajou, Boutes, Bordelaise, Seguin-Moreau, Nadalie, Alain Fouquet, and perhaps some Saury– toast levels will range from Medium to Strong– as I will try to draw out the greatest kaleidescope of flavors possible. So pumped!

Somedays it is just too good to be me!