Unusual Suspects

2002 GRENACHE  ·  2002 SANGIOVESE   ·  2002 BARBERA

No one has ever accused me of being a sophisticated marketer.  The closest I’ll ever come to a focus group is group therapy.  If anything, I have a perverted attraction to “anti-marketing.”  Our simple approach to marketing Unti wines is either “insanely courageous” or “naively honest” (as anyone who has visited with George Unti, the Garrison Keillor of Dry Creek, on a Saturday afternoon can attest).  This newsletter’s focus will surely test the validity of our ignorance or bravery.  Allow me to stand on this box of Tide to explain...

Other than a few quixotic exceptions, California wineries have a dubious track record in making high quality Grenache, Sangiovese or Barbera.  To understand why, we may have no further to look than the winemakers themselves.  I think most Cal-Ital or Rhone Ranger winemakers lack genuine knowledge of, or appreciation for, Chateauneuf du Pape or Brunello di Montalcino wines.  If you’ve read any of our propaganda, you know we (George, Sébastien and I) are winemakers who believe in “knowing the classics.” 

Our experience drinking Chateauneufs, Chiantis and Brunellos provides us with ample inspiration toward making interesting wines from our own Grenache and Sangiovese vines.  And, as dedicated students of Rhone and Italian wines (we’re not really that scholarly, but we certainly drink a lot of them) we’ve learned that these varietals have less margin for error in the vineyard than Chardonnay, Cabernet or Merlot (poor Merlot, it seems we can’t get through a newsletter without bashing it).  If you aren’t careful, these varietals can make very ordinary wines.  Limiting Sangiovese crop yield or harvesting Grenache at maximum ripeness can, as Tom Waits would say, “…turn a sandwich into a banquet.”   My Dad wouldn’t have even pursued finding the best clones, or used low-vigor rootstock, or farmed with an itchy finger on the pruning shears had it not been for his interest in the classics.  I’m pretty sure the best domestic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers have similar sentiments toward Corton Charlemagne or Musigny.

Despite our state’s Mediterranean climate, which is ideal for Grenache, Sangiovese and Barbera, few producers in California are crazy enough to produce any as varietal wines, let alone all three.  It’s probably too risky for anyone other than us fanatics.  Here at UV, where illogical thinking is a way of life, we’re releasing all three unusual suspects in the month of March.  So if you think this newsletter is beginning to seem a little like “Apocalypse Now,” you might as well know now:  I love the smell of garrigue1 in the morning.

Admittedly, our timing may not be as foolish as it seems.  For one, it’s not easy being a French wine lover in these less than enlightened political times (Oops. Did I say that?).  Even worldly Americans have embraced boycotting French wine (for ludicrous reasons, but hey, who am I to complain?).  Furthermore, regardless of your political bias, the dollar’s current performance versus the Euro is starting to resemble the 2003 Oakland Raiders.  I can just hear Al Davis now:  “The dollah must go down, and it must go down hawed.”  Prices for the best Rhones and Italian wines have never been higher, which might encourage some wine goofs to give us California folks a try.

Ultimately the real explanation for our cavalier attitude toward this newsletter’s release is simple:  these 2002 wines are off the charts.  They’re “sick”, as my daughter Esther would say.  They have all of the qualities I revere in wine from anywhere:  dark color, big fruit, complex aromatics, juicy flavors and terrific balance.  Like most of our previous releases, these wines are New World with a Euro-attitude.

So here goes...  Pretend you’re seeing one of my favorite bands of all-time, T.J. Kirk (consisting of three young jazz guitarists and a drummer, who play the music of Thelonious Monk, James Brown and Rahsan Roland Kirk in frenetic fashion) at Zebulon’s Lounge in Petaluma.  They are different wines, but they all have that same irresistible groove.

                                                                                                                            Mick

1Garrigue refers to bushy vegetation and wild herbs that grow on the arid soils of Provence.  It is often used to describe certain aromas found in Grenache based wines from Southern France, specifically the Rhone.  In deference to the wine industry’s most articulate newsletter writer, Bonny Doon’s Randall Graham, I include our first footnote.  Graham’s newsletters regularly average 30 or more footnotes.  I promise not to be so annoyingly academic.

2002 Grenache — How Does It Feel to be a Stollin’ Rhone?

Last May I retrieved a voice-mail message from John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards Winery, that almost caused me to drive into a ditch alongside Highway 101.  He was complimenting us for producing one of the best California Grenache reds (our 2001) he had ever tasted.   High praise from the man responsible for making the state’s top Grenache (not to mention some awesome Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne).  It may be too much to expect a repeat phone call this year, but all the same, this wine deserves a ring because it does not suffer from the “sophomore blues.”  It is even more Rhone-like than the 2001.

You may recall our 2001 Grenache included 15% Syrah.  Conspicuous in its absence was the other major varietal component to great Southern Rhone wines:  Mourvédre.  We made our first Mourvédre (from 500 vines grown alongside the Grenache), but it was too light and simple to use in the blend.  Not so with the 2002 Mourvédre; and it’s one of those contributions that “doesn’t always show up in the box score.”  Mourvédre, originally from Spain where it is called Mataro, is a dark, thick-skinned grape used in Chateauneuf du Pape for color, tannin and, most importantly, complexity.  In our 2002 it lends some smoked meat, black cherry and pepper elements to rambunctious Grenache fruit.  This 2002 has a certain savoir-faire (ugh, did I really say that?) that might be lacking in the 2001.

The Grenache itself came from very low-yielding vines (6 pounds per vine).  Due to the ideal harvest weather, we harvested our Grenache at extremely ripe sugars in mid-October, which seems to be key to Grenache showing its best side.  The Syrah, which came from our new plantings of Northern Rhone clones, is included as a chaperone:  for color and tannic backbone.

It’s simple.  Making a wine like this juicy, complex 2002 Grenache is the reason I got into this mess (starting a small winery) in the first place.  

2002 Sangiovese — In the Tradition of Nate “Tiny” Archibald, Doug Flutie and Chi Chi Rodriguez

Just hearing my Dad say Sangiovese (san-joh-VAY-zeh) tells you that this is his wine.  After all, he was the guy who had the you know whats to plant the stuff in 1992.  And our success with this varietal is uniquely George Unti.  Dad has always had a thing for the underdog.  Whether we’re talking sports (not an uncommon conversation around here), music, or politics (that is especially interesting when it includes Sébastien), George has a magnetic attraction to the unlikely hero.   Our  Dry Creek Sangiovese, which is one such saga, has to be considered the Earl Boykins2 of the wine industry.  Most California producers have a hard time making dark, full-bodied Sangiovese, even after blending it with Cabernet or Merlot.  We’ve managed to make serious 100 percent-varietal Sangiovese in four out of our first five vintages.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard wine buyers tell me this is not your average California Sangiovese.

Our 2002 Sangiovese tastes like the black sheep of a prominent Brunello di Montalcino family who one day woke up and decided to make a go of it as Hollywood actor.  It has the power and complexity of Brunello with the fruitiness of a Dry Creek wine.  The grapes came almost exclusively from an eight-row section within our benchland Sangiovese vineyard.  Over the years we’ve noticed that this section, located at the crest of an East-facing hillside, ripens much earlier than the balance of the vineyard, and produces our most intense lot of Sangiovese.  This 2002 has deeper color and tannin structure than any previous Unti Sangiovese.  Don’t be fooled by the baby-fat fruit here; this wine “plays big”, meaning it has the tannin to age well over the next several years.  The only downside to using this selected batch of Sangiovese is that it limits the quantity we produce to 630 cases.  I wouldn’t expect to buy this wine in August if I were you.

2002 Barbera — “Big Mouth Strikes Again”

This, our first ever Barbera, represents the way things go for me around here.  It comes from the first crop off of a vineyard planted in 1998.  My Dad used low-vigor rootstock (420-A), which did not provide normal leaf canopy.   Subsequently, we had one side of the vines with bunches that were scorched due to extended sun-exposure.  By the time this vineyard was ready for harvesting, much of the fruit looked decrepit.  To complicate matters, Dad delivered more fruit than we expected (a breakdown in communication between he and I—imagine my surprise).  So, I calmly pointed out to George that we weren’t too happy about this situation (yeah, right… remember who’s telling this story, Dad’s version is probably much different).

Anyway, a month later Sébastien and I were tasting this wine out of a barrel and were completely blown away.  It was dark, juicy, zippy (Barbera is naturally high in acid), and wildly fruity.  I had never tasted a Barbera like it anywhere, let alone from California.  A Barbera d’Alba on acid...and I don’t mean tartaric, it had richness without any tannin.  Good thing I opened my big mouth.  Since this is our first effort, we didn’t really do much to the wine other than age it in French oak barrels, twenty percent new.  It was bottled unfined and unfiltered in November.  Unfortunately there are only 220 cases, so it will be gone by April.

Needless to say, we crushed more Barbera in 2003.  I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop

Can I be Honest with you?

You’ve probably noticed I just haven’t been myself lately.   Over the past two years my world seemed like it was coming apart at the seams.  I felt like I was trapped in a living hell; afraid to disclose my embarrassing problem to anyone else.  Well, I’ve decided it’s time to come clean and face the truth about my destructive personal issues.  I bet on wine competitions.  Not only that, I placed bets right from the winery office almost daily.  It should be noted that I never bet on Unti wines to receive anything but gold medals, contrary to prevailing speculation among wine pundits.  I’m truly confident that the worst is behind me now and I can move on to a more fulfilling life; free of the ghosts of my past.  Thanks for your loyal support.  As Lou Reed once said, “You need a busload of faith to get by.”            MU      

4 2 0 2   D r y   C r e e k   R o a d  -  H e a l d s b u r g  C A  9 5 4 4 8          -         t e l  7 0 7 -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 0  /  f a x   7 0 7  -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 1

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