Hawk and Horse Vineyards, a Lake County Producer

Every so often I'm sent samples that truly pique my curiosity  No grocery-store red blends or cheap California plonk, but real, small production wines from tiny producers in up and coming regions. Hawk and Horse Vineyards is one of those, hailing from the Red Hills AVA of Lake County. Currently there are 18 acres under vine with the majority being cabernet sauvignon planted in 2001. The property is situated on the rolling slopes of Lake County, at elevations ranging from 1,800 to 2,200 feet.

Hawk and Horse Vineyards has been Demeter Certified since 2008 and California Certified Organic (CCOF) since 2004. Both new and used French Oak barrels are used, and production hovers around 1,150 cases of cabernet sauvignon.

Confession: I was sent the 2007 Cabernet and 2006 Latigo a long time ago, but they became lost in the samples shuffle and move to Oregon. I dug them out for our July 4th celebrations (last year), figuring that the cabernet would pair well with Becky's ribs and the dessert wine would be a pleasing accompaniment to the fireworks. The cabernet did pair quite well with Becky's ribs, by the way.

Some months later, I was sent the 2008 Cabernet to taste, and decided to post up a review of all three wines at once, in order to better offer a view of this producer.

2007 Hawk and Horse Cabernet Sauvignon Red Hills: Smelling this makes me picture dry, hilly vineyards full of green-leafed vines stretching to the horizon. The day is cool but carries with it the scent of the land. Moutain herbs, black fruit, and soil all show themselves almost reluctantly on the bouquet. Unfortunately there's a touch of ethyl acetate at play too, manifesting as nail-polish. Once past that, I found this to be wound up very tightly on the palate. The firm, integrated tannin holds within it a beautiful savory blackberry and spice flavor. Roasted coffee mixes with cassis and dried rosemary in the background, bowing before the impressive tannic strength. I think this cabernet has 5-10 years before the tannin settles down. If you choose to drink now, a healthy session in a decanter will loosen the strings. SRP: $65. 14.1% abv.

2006 Hawk and Horse Latigo: This is the dessert wine - made with cabernet sauvignon grapes - that Hawk and Horse produces. According to the label, these are biodynamically farmed organic grapes. I'm not sure what that means though. The Latigo smells like oxidized cabernet sauvignon. Maybe a comparison would be Madeira from an old bottle you've had open for a few months. Don't let that turn you off though, because taken in context, this is an interesting wine. Roasted nuts, dried red cherry, and dark chocolate make up the expressive bouquet. I liked the intense mix of cherry, spices, and chocolate that compose the flavor palette. It's at once sweet yet balanced, and doesn't show any of the 16% alcohol. If you can get past the nose, you'll be doing just fine, and I suggest pairing this with an after-dinner cheese course. $45 srp (375ml).

2008 Hawk and Horse Cabernet Sauvignon Red Hills: Another big, tannic beast of a cabernet sauvignon. That's not a bad thing though, as this wine has a lot to offer if you give it time to settle. Plenty of dark fruit, dusty soil, baking chocolate, and oak make up the complex bouquet. The tannin is firm and drying across the palate, delivering a wave of bittersweet chocolate, dried herb, and ripe black fruit flavors. The most glaring fault was how hollow this wine felt on the mid-palate, but luckily that fills in when you have it with food. If you must drink now, several hours in a decanter will work wonders, as will a thick, medium rare cut of steak. $65 srp. 14.1% abv.




Hawk & Horse Vineyards produce a cabernet that I think you should try, if solely to understand what kind of cabernet is possible outside of Napa Valley. Then again, trying a wine solely for that reason strikes me as missing the point, especially the point of wines like this. They're wines of the land, baring their souls as rugged, strong wines from a distinctly rugged place.

The impressive structure and sheer age-worthiness of these wines excite me. They're a bit rustic around the edges to be sure, and I think could benefit from maybe a bit more intervention in the wine-making process, but there is also a sense of beauty to each wine. Both the 2007 and 2008 beg for more time in bottle, and if you grant them such time, you'll be rewarded.

Even the Latigo, that strange beast of a dessert wine, offers a peek into the Hawkins' philosophy of life and vitality. I can't help but be impressed with this.

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Live Tasting With Paul Dolan Wines, Biodynamic in the House!

Last Wednesday I took part in a live tasting with Paul Dolan of Paul Dolan Vineyards, my first semi-formal exposure to biodynamic wines. Paul Dolan Vineyards and Parducci Wine Cellars fall under the umbrella of the Mendocino Wine Company. Set up in 2004, the company has focused on organic and biodynamic farming and winemaking.


I was sent some samples of the Paul Dolan wines in cute little 50ml bottles, from a company called TastingRoom. The premise is that a full bottle is dispensed into the smaller bottles, in a controlled environment, to ensure there's no spoilage or taste changes. One of the benefits I can see is that for the cost of shipping (by weight) one or two 750ml bottles, you can send out more samples of more wine, allowing a more comprehensive tasting of a winery or winemaker's work.


The downside is that for me and others (yes you, @1WineDude), 50ml just isn't enough to properly taste a wine. Call us lushes or drunks but I and other wine bloggers like taking a large sip, swirling it around, spitting, then taking another one to confirm our impressions. Still, the concept rocks, I'm excited to sample more wines using this method.

Thanks to the awesomeness of the interwebs, anyone who signed up was able to see and interact with Mr. Dolan via Ustream, a site that allows users to interact with live video feeds while simultaneously porting their comments their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Check out his Biodynamic 'stache! Pretty rockin', I must admit. Mr. Dolan exuded a calm, passionate confidence about his beliefs. Biodynamics is controversial and at least within the wine blogging community, is part of a contentious debate.

Personally, Biodynmaics speaks to the side of me that wants all things to live in harmony, a utopian vision of the earth as one giant, interconnected organism. On the other hand, the analytical side (the side that got me a Finance degree) wants some serious scientific study of the the claims made by Biodynamicists.

(img courtesy Joe Roberts @ http://www.1winedude.com)

So with that aside, the wines, all made with organically grown grapes save for the last one, are as follows:

2008 Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc: I enjoyed the bright, citrus notes and accessibility of this wine. Wonderful on a hot summer day because of the great acidity but also felt a touch un-integrated, like some flavors were fighting to the surface. A good effort though and hits the price point nicely. B-. $18 SRP

2008 Mendocino County Chardonnay: You know me and most California Chardonnays. Generally they do not like my palate and vice versa. This one was well structured with some great acidity woven throughout the flavors of passion fruit and green apple. Still buttery and with hints of oak for those of you who dig that style. Nice balance, very well put together. I really enjoyed this wine, it's a QPR winner. B+. $18 SRP

2007 Mendocino County Pinot Noir: Hooray for Pinot! I think Paul Dolan did a good job crafting a more traditionally oriented Pinot with lots of sour cherry, spice and using oak as a supporting flavor. Hints of smoke and tobacco on the finish left me a bit curious though, not what I expected. B. SRP $30

2007 Zinfandel Mendocino County: My favorite wine of the night and one of the better Zinfandels I've had this year. I was absolutely impressed with the tannins and acidity that integrated so well with the dark berries and bakers chocolate. What an effort! I'm gonna buy some of this stuff and taste my friends on it, I bet they won't even know it's Zin! It also managed to kick the QPR in it's ass. A-, Strong BUY. $25 SRP.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Mendocino County: Not bad..But just didn't quite grab my palate the way I'd hoped. I think though that with some time in bottle, this wine would be delicious. Good tannins, under-developed fruit, some smoke flavors but really interesting fresh-cut oak too. I did like the sense of place, the expression of terroir here, this ain't no Napa Cab, that's for sure. Dare to be different!  B-. $24 SRP.

2006 Deep Red Mendocino County: The evening's most expensive wine, and also the only  Biodynamic wine of the evening. A blend of 57% Syrah, 31% Petite Sirah and 12% Grenache. Big, dark and brooding. I liked this one a lot actually, it had character and complexity which made me sit up and take notice. Perhaps my second favorite wine of the night. Lots of spicy blackberries and black cherries, earth, tobacco, tar all showed up to the party. I'm going to give this wine a BUY rating and a B++/A-. It's the good stuff, $42 SRP

Of the above wines, you should buy the Zinfandel and the Chardonnay, and splurge for a bottle of the Deep Red. I was impressed with the quality of the wines as much as I was impressed with Mr. Dolan's clear, honest speech. I'd love to meet the man and talk more about organic farming and biodynamic farming. While it may be controversial, there's no doubt that this way of farming and winemaking produces wines of at least equal quality to those using more conventional methods.


These wines were sent as samples for review purposes

Beau Carufel