California Rosé made the right way… he said.

2009 Rosé

I recently spoke about Rosé at a panel discussion for the Rhone Rangers.  It was videotaped, which means I’m able to review my take on Rosé.  It painfully reminds me of a weak imitation of Mr. Pink’s (Steve Buscemi) rant on tipping servers in Reservoir Dogs.

Essentially I argued — in my usual condescending manner – that the world’s best Rosés are from Provence.  Come to find out, not everyone agrees with me, as panel moderator Jon Bonné quickly opined.  So perhaps it is best to say my favorite Rosés are from Provence and Tavel in the Southern Rhone.  They are made from Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault, have a pale salmon color and, despite the light color, are dry and full-bodied.

 You can take the boy out of the South of France, but you can’t take the South of France out of the boy?

Sébastien Pochan, whose family resides in the South of France, has a deft hand at making Rosé.  He interned at Chateau Pibarnon, one of Bandol’s best wineries.  From our first “saignée” in 2001, to this beautifully balanced 2009, Sébastien has kept Unti Rosé firmly within “Camp Provence.”  But as good as our Rosé has been in the past, this 2009 represents a nice step forward.

Oddly enough, it was our experiment with making white wine that created the impetus for making better Rosé.  In 2007, we needed a new press for our white grapes, since our basket press was designed for making red wines.  We purchased a small bladder press and, at Sébastien’s urging, harvested some of our Grenache and Mourvedre at lower sugars than what we would for our red.  We then made the Rosé by directly pressing the grapes.  To obtain the lovely color of a classic Rosé, Sébastien had to keep the skins in the press for a few extra hours (sort of the reverse of the saignée technique).

Since then, we have increased the amount of Rosé made via direct press to over eighty five percent of the total.  This allows us to make a Rosé that is naturally lower in alcohol and correspondingly retains a higher level of acidity than when using the saignée (bleeding juice from a red fermentation tank) method.  The wine still features aromas and flavors that are beyond simple strawberry fruit because it comes from low-yielding Grenache Noir and Mourvedre. It is simply better balanced than our first efforts. Thank you, Sébastien.

 Stay thirsty, my Provence-style Rosé loving friends

By making a Rosé of this type, some might say we are simply living vicariously through our wine (contrary to the Dos Equis Most Interesting Man in the World, who lives vicariously through himself).  While this might not be too far from the truth, it really doesn’t matter.  If we make Rosé, why wouldn’t we use our favorite version as a model?  Furthermore, here in California we live a life as if we were living in the South of France:  celebrities, nude beaches, beautiful people, a bounty of locally grown specialty foods, fancy restaurants, and incredibly warm sunny weather.  Not to mention the odd amalgam of farmers, immigrants, and trustafarians here in H-town.  It stands to reason that the ultimate California Rosé would be Provençal in nature.

Our take on Rosé reminds me of a beautiful song recorded by two great guitarists, Jim Hall and Bill Frisell.  Both men are revered for their distinct styles and thoughtful improvisations.  Though I know their music well and think both artists are brilliant, even I was shocked upon hearing them cover Bob Dylan’s Masters of War.  To hear Dylan sing this blunt and biting condemnation of war, one couldn’t possibly imagine it ever sounding beautiful.  Yet, Hall and Frisell take this simple protest song to unbelievable heights without losing the emotional verve Dylan put into its lyrics.  Amazing.

So whether you love Rosés from the South of France (“where the ladies love to dance”) or you appreciate dry, flavorful and fun wine during a warm summer afternoon, this Unti 2009 Rosé is for you.

77% Grenache, 23% Mourvedre; 1,150 cases produced

 $19/bottle, or $15.20 when part of a case purchase.

Link to store 

Rosé Raves

Since I’ve clearly consumed the Provençal Kool-aid, maybe it’s best to hear why other folks, like some of our most ardent supporters, think Provençal-style Rosé is bomb:

Jenn Piallat, the affable owner of Zazie: “I can tell by looking at the color of a Rosé whether I’m going to like it or not.  If it is too dark, or bright pink, I know it’s going to suck.  I love the Unti Rosé because it is the most Provençal-like Rosé from California- both in light salmon color and on the palate.”

Sam Magonnam, nicest guy in the world and owner of BiRite Market in SF: “This 2009 is the most Bandol-like you’ve ever done.  It’s your best one yet.  Everything okay with you, man?  How’s George?”

Rob Hunter, owner of the now defunct restaurant Pangea and North Coast Guerrilla Chef:  “I like some of the other notable California Rosés made from Pinot Noir, but I prefer yours.  It is made from the right grape varieties.  I think it’s #*%#ing great! And it goes great with the pre-eminent cash crop up here.”

David Lynch, former Sommelier at Babbo, now Wine Director at Quince in San Francisco, and author of Vino Italiano: when I introduced myself to David at a recent Quince dinner he said, “Oh.  We need more Rosé.”

Arnie Plowe, wine guru at Whole Foods Market Oakland: “Your Rosé is delicious.  I think it may be the best domestic pink ever made.  We kind of have a bad Rosé addiction around here.”

Pushing Tin… out

You’ll notice our 2009 Rosé is so immersed in Provençal culture that it is topless.  Contrary to some of the beach patrons in Cannes, this is actually a good look.  Even if it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, not using a foil is also a good thing.

Truth be told, tin foils are useless. Bottles contain wine, corks provide a seal, and labels tell you who and what you are drinking and how it is the best thing since sliced bread.  But the entire “raison d’être” of a foil is based on a very subjective sense of aesthetics and an arbitrary urge to hide the cork.  No other reason.  It’s just tradition, history, and our fear to stray from wardrobe correctness.

In the old days, bottles were often sealed with poor quality corks.  So wax was used to provide extra protection from bugs or a dry environment.  In the early 1900’s, lead capsules replaced wax. Once lead was deemed toxic, tin became the foil material of choice.  By then cork or alternative closures were completely capable of keeping wine in the bottle. Foils then became solely decorative.

We decided to try bottling our Rosé sans capsule for a few reasons.  We’ve always struggled with finding a capsule that works with our Rosé bottle size and color.  Often times our capsules made the bottle look like it’s wearing inappropriate shoes.  In fact, most of the problems we encounter when bottling wine are directly attributed to capsules not fitting on the bottles properly.  More importantly, our Rosé poses an elegant simplicity and humble forwardness that calls for a more natural and unpretentious look.  So it was an easy decision to expose our 2 inch cork.

2008 SEGROMIGNO

Hello Rosso Piceno

Sangiovese and Montepulciano are seamless dance partners in Le Marche.  There, they call the wine Rosso Piceno. Like any great partnership, the two grapes complement each other.  Sangiovese brings bright fruit and acidity, while Montepulciano has dark color, full body and a chocolate earthy character.

2008 is the second vintage we have blended Montepulciano into our Sangiovese to make Segromigno.  Obviously, we like the results, which is why these grapes will comprise Segromigno in vintages to come.  Why?  As many of you know, the Sangiovese we use for this blend tends to be more fruit forward and less structured than the grapes used for our 100% Sangiovese.  As such, the Montepulciano naturally rounds out the Sangiovese with color, depth and richness.

In 2008, blending Montepulciano was especially necessary.  A late spring frost disrupted the grape set in the Segromigno section of our Sangiovese vineyard.  This caused a bit of uneven ripening.  Montepulciano helps with some of the green tannins that come from uneven ripening.  But our Montepulciano is a big boy, so this Segromigno is a little more full-bodied and tannic than previous vintages.  It should really be hitting its drinkability stride in a year or so.

We made 640 cases, which seems like a lot.  But seeing as how this Segromigno is the “House Red” for Delfina Pizzeria in San Francisco, it won’t be around here for long. 

92% Sangiovese, 8% Montepulciano, 640 cases produced.

$24/bottle, or $19.20 when part of a case purchase.

Link to store

E-mail Alex to RSVP

Gabe from DrinkDryCreek.com recently blogged about his visit to the winery on Passport weekend:  

Visiting Unti Vineyards During Passport 2010

April 29, 2010

One of the places I’d never been before for Passport was Unti Vineyards. I’ve enjoyed their wines over the years and I was eager to see what their Passport event was like. The thing that has stood out to me over time about Unti is their varietal selection. At times you go from one winery to the next and taste the exact same grape types over and over. At Unti they make a few you may not be as familiar with. Zinfandel is featured to be sure; but it’s joined by the likes of Barbera, Sangiovese, Grenache, Mourvedre and more to form a distinct portfolio that will take your palate on a trip off the typical beaten path.

It turns out Passport to Dry Creek Valley is serious fun at Unti, just like their wines. Music was provided by Tim Vaughn. The band’s sound was a blend of rock, jazz and blues all with a vibe that alternated between searing and mellow.

The lineup of wines being poured started with the 2009 Unti Rosé. This wine is a classic example of dry Rosé that landed right in my sweet spot.  It was followed by the 2007 Grenache which is one of Unti’s best releases vintage after vintage. There are a few people in Dry Creek who make top shelf Grenache, count Unti in their number.  

The featured food item at Unti was sliders. Not only where they delicious they also paired wonderfully with the 2007 Zinfandel. There are certain things that are meant to enjoy together. Grilled, tasty meat and Zinfandel are two of those things. Several other wines were also poured during Passport including a couple of Syrahs.

What’s most impressive about the Unti wines is that they’re incredibly well balanced in a style reminiscent of the old world. While Unti is very much a California producer, their traditions, methods and style assure that they bridge the gap and provide elegant, food friendly wines at reasonable prices. So whether it’s over the next few weeks or at Passport 2011, Unti is a fun and tasty stop we heartily recommend.

Posted on http://www.drinkdrycreek.com/?p=3137

Basically we are offering “futures pricing on presents.” How’s that for a clever double entendre. FIF

See February, 2010 Newsletter post for more info on the new releases. We are a little excited about them.

Mick

It’s Winter Wineland Weekend and we are celebrating by listening to Bob Dylan sing Walking in a Winter Wonderland from his new Christmas cd (Ouch! Hurts my ears and throat just thinking about it!) and drinking our latest release, the 2006 Syrah.

It seems like we don’t give Syrah the love we used to. What with the likes of Barbera, Grenache and Montepulciano around, who can blame us if our attention has strayed from “the one who brung us.” Our 2006 Syrah is more than a worthy reason to re-focus.

As you know, we have been incorporating some of our newer plantings of Syrah into our “normale” bottling. In 2006, we didn’t get the structure we expect from these vineyards. The cooler nature of the ’06 vintage limited ripeness and phenolic (tannins) development of our winery block Syrah, so we took it old school, and used only fruit from our original Benchland Syrah block to make this wine.

That means this 2006  is a “Mini-Me-Benchland Syrah.” Similar to our 2001 Syrah, which, BTW, is drinking beautifully these days, our 2006 really shows the deep blackberry smoked meat character of this vineyard. Because most of this wine was slated for the Benchland bottling, our ’06 received the royal treatment and was aged in a higher-than-normal amount of our best new French oak barrels. It all adds up to a wine that will certainly please long-time fans of our Syrah.

The weekend of October 3rd and 4th, there will be a fantastic music festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park called Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass. The list of performers includes: The Chieftans, Dave Alvin, Emmylou Harris, Boz Skaggs, Billy Bragg, Nick Lowe,  Steve Earle Del McCoury, Jorma Kaukonen and many others. Wouldn’t you know those are not fruit days, which means no crushing, which means Unti Vineyards Field Trip! I love this natural winemaking stuff!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we resume crushing grapes until our facility is full.