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He founded Carneros Creek Winery in 1972 and has worked with UC Davis extensively over the years in regards to developing Pinot Noir clonal research. In 2001 he made a switch to farming his 160 acre vineyard in the Carneros. The two primary varietals planted here are Pinot noir and Syrah. Francis has always been an experimenter - while Pinot noir is the varietal he has spent his life focusing on he's always explored Italian, French and Spanish varietals. He's been fortunate to develop another large vineyard - on the Sonoma side of Carneros where a number of these old world varieties now grow. Francis has long touted the varietal expression in wines - making balanced wines that pair well with foods, rather than wines heavily oaked. He prefers wines that are terroir driven - varietals best suited to certain soils and micro-climates. While Mahoney makes a number of wines under their own label - the amount of fruit sourced from his Carneros vineyard is just a fraction of what he grows. Most of the fruit is sold to a number of premium mostly Napa producers. Even in Carneros with its proximity to the San Pablo Bay there are a variety of micro-climates on their own vineyard. Parts of the vineyard are more windy, parts are more sheltered and parts are warmer (where the Syrah grows). He has founded several wineries and wine brands over the years. You come here for their Pinot noir's of course as that is what they are most known for; when we visited 4 of the 5 wines on their tasting menu were Pinots. Our favorite is the Las Brisas with various fruit flavors, mostly cherry, a little spiciness and a beautiful long finish. They also make an excellent very dark in color "cold weather" Syrah from their Mahoney Vineyard in the Carneros region. It is ready to drink now, shows a little pepper typical of this type of wine and has lots of berry flavors on the palate. In addition, Mahoney has several Italian & Spanish varietals which are very obscure for Napa - the Vermentino (a white grape prominently grown in Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and Liguria Italy) - their wine shows pleasing aromas of peach and other fruit flavors on the palate and ends with a taste similar to a pear. Their Montepulciano shows berries and black pepper spice with decent acidity. Try finding these varietals at other Napa wineries! Note, they have moved out of their tasting room across from Oxbow Public Market. Tastings are now by appointment. Visit www.mahoneyvineyards.com |
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