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are owned by the husband and wife team of Yannick and Susan Rousseau. Yannick was born in the Gascony region of South West France (borders Spain) in a small town about 90 minutes from Bordeaux and about two hours from Saint-Emilion and Pomerol. This part of France contains some of the country's most well known wine regions. As in a number of Western European countries, when you grow up in a wine region, wine is well integrated into one's lifestyle. Yannick enjoyed his first wine early, he remembers at the age of 5, trying his grandfather's home made wine. Yannick became interested in how wine was made in his late teens. In 1998, he earned a Master's degree in Enology and Viticulture from the University of Paul Sabatier in Toulouse and worked for several years in the local wine industry. He then became interested in adding some International wine work to his resume. He immigrated to the United States in 1999 as a direct result of a meeting that was setup in Paris between he and Dr. Su Hua Newton, proprietor of Napa's Newton Vineyards. She interviewed him for a job at Newton which was to be a fairly short term position but ultimately after the meeting, was offered a much longer contract. After working at Newton Vineyard he spent 6 years years on Mt. Veeder with Chateau Potelle. When Chateau Potelle sold he decided to create his own label and Y Rousseau Wines was born. The focus of Y Rousseau's production in Napa is on Mt. Veeder wines. Currently Y Rousseau Wines produces two Napa wines - both from Mt. Veeder - a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay as well as several wines from Sonoma County including a rare Colombard. Colombard is an interesting varietal with origins in South West France (Gascony region) where Yannick was raised. There are currently only two Colombard vineyards in the Russian River in neighboring Sonoma County - when Yannick found the vineyard he currently sources from - it was from a grower that was having a hard time selling all his fruit. Yannick tasted some of the fruit and wine that was strictly being used to blend into another wine for the purpose of adding natural acidity. He immediately realized the potential that this wine would have with the proper winemaking style. Colombard is one of the most planted white wine varietals in the state of California - with large productions coming from the Central Valley where production is very high and is predominantly used in blending and jug wine. It is also often made slightly sweet. As a result its reputation has been somewhat tarnished in the "circles of fine wine". However, Y Rousseau's Colombard is not sweet and it is hand crafted and produced in small quantities. Many wine varietals originating in France of course do not have the name "French" associated with them. For some reason "French" became part of the Colombard name in the USA in the 1970's - and is more often associated with the cheaper wines made from this varietal. Yannick decided to simply call his wine Colombard which isn't as well known as "French Colombard" but perhaps helps to differentiate his wine from from a quality standpoint. 2008 was their first vintage - as a Napa producer, it took some guts to release a Colombard as your first ever wine! This, however was a varietal Yannick was familiar with as it is commonly produced in Gascony; he was also familiar with it from a winemaking perspective as he first made wine from this varietal a decade prior. The Colombard in this particular Russian River vineyard is very late ripening (for a white varietal). In recent years Yannick has picked it in mid to later October - which is unusual because by this time nearly all other white wines from Napa and Sonoma are typically already harvested and fermented. For the last several years, he has picked his Cabernet Sauvignon at nearly the same time as the Colombard. The 2011 vintage was only 500 cases; initially it shows some graphite on the bouquet along with aromas of citrus blossom. This wine has a nice complexity of aromas - some tropical notes are present including passion fruit. As the wine opens in the glass the bouquet becomes very elegant and floral in nature with pleasing aromas of Jasmine. The mouth watering natural tart acidity is clearly present on the palate - the crisp finish shows lingering notes of lemon. Influenced by fermenting with indigenous yeast through his work at Chateau Potelle - Yannick ferments his Chardonnay with yeast already present on the grape skins; this wine sees no malolactic fermentation. The 2009 "Milady" vintage is from a block that tops out at 1900 feet. This wine is golden in the glass with a bouquet of beautiful and layered aromas of baking spices, crème brule, browned sugar, hints of vanilla and honeydew melon. The palate is perfectly balanced with good integration of flavor. The mouth feel is rounded and smooth yet a decent acidity is clearly present. Yannick wants wines that will age but also be approachable in their "formative" years. He harvests based on taste and flavor and finds a balance between ripeness and acidity with hang time in the vineyard. He wants wines with good acidity - wines that will pair well with food. The 2007 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (Le Roi Soleil) is blended with 3% Merlot. Yannick is a managing partner in a small production French cooperage and uses barrels from his cooper to age this wine. The fruit is sourced from the same Mt Veeder vineyard as the Chardonnay. This is a dark wine in the glass with a ripe aromatic bouquet showing cassis, cherry liqueur and blackberry. While the bouquet showcases the fruit - it is not too ripe, rather it is more elegant in nature. With "mountain cab" the tannins start early - they are dry and dusty from mid palate to the finish and linger for some time. Their logo is a "plume" and is a tribute to D'Artagnan, a man born in Gascony in 1611 who became known as an ambassador of sorts for the Gascony lifestyle. A fictionalized account of his life was later presented in the book and subsequent multiple French and American movies, "The Three Musketeers". This plume is their representation of a feather that D'Artagan might have worn in his cap. Y Rousseau will also be producing a Tannat (another varietal historically grown in South West France) from neighboring Sonoma County and Lake County further to the north. You can find their wines locally at Backroom Wines in the city of Napa and St. Helena Wine Merchant in downtown St. Helena. For more information visit: www.yrousseauwines.com |
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As a testament to the vineyards and winemaking, some of their home made Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc from the cellar is tasting great more than 30 years later! More about the actual commercial wine in a moment. This part of Mt. Veeder historically was known as the Napa Redwoods, named after a large grove of redwoods similar to Armstrong Grove in Sonoma County. That is the name this winery took for 7 years (Napa Redwoods Estate), but for branding and marketing purposes, Yates Family was chosen as the new name. It is truly a family run affair. Today the grandson has returned to the vineyards and is the winemaker and his daughters are also heavily involved in the day-to-day operations. He has a degree in Agriculture, but for many years ran a construction company and is a self taught winemaker with a passion for wine. Production as of press time is merely 800-900 cases. The vineyards are in a spectacular location, with most of the blocks very steeply planted. On a clear day, a drive to the ridge top above the vineyards reveals 3-bridges in the distance; the Golden Gate next to San Francisco, as well as The Richmond and Bay Bridges. Mt. Diablo is also seen way in the distance. Their focus is on rich concentrated wines without the huge tannins. All their wine is made at nearby Hendry Winery located just before you start climbing into the hills. All vintages we tried were 2004, the last year they used the Napa Redwoods Estate label. They specialize in three wines, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. All their wines are rather dark in color and their Cabernet Franc is no different. We spotlight this because it was our favorite of the three wines. It is a superbly crafted wine. There is lots of fruit on the nose including cherry and the mouth feel is rich, concentrated and smooth followed by an exotic spicy finish, peppers, cloves and more that continue to evolve until the last flavors have run through your mouth. For Mt. Veeder grown fruit, the wines are priced quite reasonably by Napa standards. You can find their wine locally at the St. Helena Wine Merchants in St. Helena. Visit: www.naparedwoodsestate.com Michael Yates talks about his family winery: |
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York Creek Vineyards (named after the creek of the same name on the property) is owned by successful entrepreneur Fritz Maytag, whose family is synonymous with the Maytag home appliance corporation (no longer owners) and Maytag Dairy Farms. In addition their family developed and currently produces the famous Maytag Blue Cheese. York Creek Vineyards is one of those select Napa wineries who own all their vineyards in Napa but make their wine outside of Napa County. In this case their winery is located several miles south of downtown San Francisco in an industrial part of town, just down the street from Crushpad (a custom winemaking facility). York Creek was the first modern day winery to return to San Francisco. Their winery is across the street from one of Fritz's other long time successful ventures, Anchor Brewing Company.
Fritz is one of the modern day vineyard pioneers of Spring Mountain having first acquired his vineyards in 1968. Today 125 acres of vines containing a number of different varietals are located near the ridgeline of the Mayacamas mountains in the Spring Mountain district. Most of their vineyards are on the Napa side with a small amount of their "port varietals" coming from the Sonoma side. Their uppermost vineyards are among the higher vineyards on Spring Mountain and are located at about 2100 feet. As a result of their elevation and location harvest typically runs several weeks later than the valley floor and can run all the way from September into the first few days in November. Fritz also planted olive trees on the property and presses them for his own oil (never been sold commercially). They were planted near the riparian zones on the property and as a side benefit they seem to form a barrier against the glassy winged sharpshooter which when feeding often carry's Pierces disease (harmful to grapevines). Fritz has been a grape grower for over 40 years and initially sold all his grapes to other premium producers. Even today they still sell the majority of their crop to other producers including to Ridge Vineyards. Fritz made home wine for a number of years before starting York Creek. The wineries' first vintage was in 1994 (made at other Napa wineries) and Cathy Corison who now has her own winery just south of St. Helena, was their winemaker. In 2000 they moved the winery operations to San Francisco and truck down fruit at select times during harvest. Today Fritz is the winemaker along with Tom Holmes (who we met with). By focusing on small lots York Creek has been able to enjoy a fair amount of experimentation and testing over the years on the winemaking side of things. York Creek owns some of the more interesting tanks we've seen on this project. Fritz designed them from scratch - they hold just over 1.5 tons and are extremely customized to handle a number of aspects during harvest (various macerations, temperature, and pump-overs). Often winemakers will make the types of wines they enjoy to drink and there are two wines in particular that are close to home for Fritz. One is their Bordeaux blend - Fritz has been drinking Bordeaux wines since the 1960's - and the other is Port. We do not often get to sample high end Ports from Napa and it was a real treat to try this wine (tasting notes below). Having a barrel room in say, San Francisco versus somewhere up valley in Napa, is much easier on the electric bill. With the persistent fog that San Francisco is known for this is an ideal location for a winery and barrel aging room. Also having your own brewery right across the street has its advantages. For one, during certain years they take the pressed pomace from the winery across the street where they make a grappa. In addition their port uses non aged brandy made from their own grapes and then is taken to the winery when needed. York Creek Vineyards currently produces about 3000 cases. However unlike many small wineries who produce just a few wines, each vintage typically sees up to 15 or so different wines, some produced in quantities of merely a barrel or two. They also produce a number of small lot Cabernet Sauvignon wines each year - these are typically made from unique blocks on the property. The 2005 MXB (Red Wine Zinfandel Blend) is named in tribute of "Mixed Black" a term that used to refer to vineyards with multiple red wine varieties. This is a unique blend that is very fruit forward both on the nose and palate. Aromas of ripe blackberry and black cherry lead to a palate with a big juicy mouth feel. Rich tannins form a well structured finish. Their flagship wine is the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon which is always blended in smaller percentages with several other Bordeaux varietals; we tried the 2004 vintage. This wine strikes a nice balance between elegance and richness - and is a good representation of their terroir as a number of blocks from various locations on the property are used to create the final blend. The bouquet shows a mix of spices including white pepper with nuances of toasted oak. As this wine breathes the nose opens up releasing additional fruit aromas. There is a nice dusty or earthy quality on the palate with a slightly smoky finish. This is a good wine to pair with food. As with all the red wines we tried, their wines have excellent color and are very dark in the glass. The 2004 Port is the darkest of the wines we tried almost hinting at the complexity of flavor to come. This wine includes three major Portuguese varietals (Touriga Nacional, Tinto Cao and Tinta Roriz) as well as a "California twist" with small percentages of Petite Sirah and Zinfandel added. Its hard to find Portuguese varietals growing in the Napa Valley and we are aware of just several vineyards in the area growing these. This vintage is high in alcohol and sugar but does not have overly ripe prune-like flavors and is certainly not overly viscous. The fruit flavors are concentrated and rich but in balance and in our opinion that is a sign of a well made port. A slightly higher acidity content is also not a bad thing for this wine. The bouquet is well layered with spices and a ton of fruit followed by a rich palate again full of fruit including flavors of dark cherry, almost a fine cherry liqueur, blackberry jam, dark chocolate, hints of vanilla and a nice smoky finish that is full of concentrated fruit of great length. There is definitely a good tannin structure to this wine. Note the label on each of their bottles - 24 trees are pictured as a tribute to all the native trees that have been identified growing on the property. You can often find their wine locally at Cal Wine in the town of Napa, Groezinger's Wine Shop in Yountville, the St. Helena Wine Center in St. Helena and the Wine Garage in Calistoga. You can also purchase directly through their website and a real benefit to the consumer is York Creek also has older vintages for sale from their library collection. For limited production wines from an artisan producer who specializes in small lot wines, their prices are set very reasonably. Visit: www.yorkcreek.com |
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