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

Shannon Ridge Winery Current Releases

Shannon Ridge Winery, of Lake County California, recently sent me their new red wine releases to taste through. As someone just beginning to learn about the wines coming out of the Lake County AVA, this was a good chance to get to know one of the wineries from the area. I've reviewed a Shannon Ridge wine in the past, unfortunately a disappointing sauvignon blanc. On the other hand, it's rare that I find a California sauvignon blanc I like. That said, I'm always up to try new ones!

Lake County is located in California, north of the famous Napa Valley and inland from Sonoma and Mendocino counties. This American Viticultural Area is somewhat higher than other notable AVAs as well, and Clear Lake plays a major influence on how the vineyards ripen. You probably won't be surprised to learn that cabernet sauvignon is the most-planted varietal, merlot being a distant second.

These are the wines I was sent to review:
2008 Shannon Ridge Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon $19 suggested retail
2009 Shannon Ridge Lake County Zinfandel $19 suggested retail
2009 Shannon Ridge Lake County Petite Sirah $24 suggested retail

(img src: http://calicabs.eventbrite.com)

Each of these wines can be purchased at local wine stores and directly from the Shannon Ridge website.

First up was the 2008 cabernet sauvignon. This cabernet is actually made up of 89% cabernet sauvignon, 8% petite sirah, and 3% merlot. All the fruit comes from Lake County and the abv is a relatively (sad, I know) normal 14.5%. After fermentation, the 2008 cabernet spent 16 months in French and American oak barrels.

Aromatically this 2008 Shannon Ridge cab is all smoke and wood, with a bit of a boozy heat on the finish. A vigorous swirl session brought out some dark, ripe berry aromas too. I wrote down one word, then circled it repeatedly: "pleasant". That sums up the bouquet in this cabernet, it's nice and interesting yet lacks some depth. Above average, yes..but mind-blowing, no.

The way this wine tasted was a different story however. I loved how it was dry and dusty, with some firm tannin keeping a dollop of soft red fruit flavors firmly in place right in the middle of my tongue. There is some influence from the oak barrels too, a toasty sawdust note hangs out at the fringes of my palate throughout the sip and swirl. Unfortunately the finish did leave me wishing for more depth, but that could be a function of this relatively young wine needing some decanting.

For around $15 in the retail environment, this 2008 Shannon Ridge cabernet is good and veers away from the typically overripe, fruity cabernet's that $15 buys from Napa Valley. I'd love to pair it with a grilled steak and some garlic french fries. B and a BUY recommendation.

Next, I tasted the zinfandel from Shannon Ridge. One of the varietals (along with petite sirah) from Lake County that's getting some coverage in the blogging community, zinfandel can be a very structured, focused wine or an overripe, sweet, high alcohol fruit bomb. Guess which kind of zinfandel I like?

This 2009 zinfandel is again 14.5%, around the norm for what we see these days. A blend of 93% zinfandel and 7% petite sirah, this wine spent 12 months in oak barrels. 2,060 cases were produced.

I liked the spice and earth notes right up front, very dark aromas that set the tone for the wine. There's also some black cherry and fig creating a balance with the spice and earthy primary scents. If I had to pick one aspect of the bouquet that I enjoyed the most, I would choose the mixture of earth and black cherry. Imagine dark, dry earth and crushed cherries, inhale deeply and I think you'll get a sense of what I smelled with the 2009 Shannon Ridge zinfandel.

After tasting this zin, I wrote the following: "Plenty ripe but with nice balance between ripe red berry fruit and the tannin. Well built wine, my attention was taken by a dollop of spice on the mid-palate. Very enjoyable, especially for zin lovers!"

Good stuff, this is a very good zinfandel at a great price. Using wine-searcher.com I found it at $18, which compares favorably to zinfandels costing a lot more. This is a very high-quality wine with great complexity and for most zinfandel drinkers, atypical of what they usually drink. Upon some reflection, this might be a zin for cabernet lovers...B, STRONG BUY recommendation.

Finally, the "big daddy", petite sirah. Again, 14.5% alcohol, I detect a theme...This is varietally pure, 100% petite sirah and also spent 12 months in oak barrels. A relatively small 7,000 cases were produced, though the Shannon Ridge cabernet did see 12,000 cases making it the largest of the three. I did a quick check of wine-searcher.com and found this petite sirah at only $12 at a number of stores. That's half the suggested retail price. The question then is, how good of a deal are we getting?

An intense blend of blackberry and blueberry are framed by baking spices and dry, dusty earth. I was intrigued by the restraint, even after running the wine through an aerator. There is a green, herbal component at work but it's very light and doesn't show up with every sniff of the glass. Even after being open for three hours, the bouquet remained a lot more muted than I expected.

Sipping this Shannon Ridge petite sirah is a different story entirely though. An initial smoothness full of ripe berries give way to a thick, tannic mid-palate that begs for a steak. I used words like "beefy" and "chewy" to describe how dry and intense that mid-palate sensation is. Balancing a ripe core of black fruit with a muscular, tannic sensation is a hallmark of good petite sirah and one of the reasons I tend to enjoy it so much. In that regard, the 2009 Shannon Ridge achieves notable balance and intensity. I suspect that given a few more years of aging, we'll see an even better wine.

Of the three Shannon Ridge wines I tasted, this was my favorite by a comfortable margin. An easy B+ and STRONG BUY recommendation, at $12 it's a no-brainer. Bring this out at the end of a Barolo tasting or when you're grilling thick steaks, I bet it'll wow your friends.

A successful tasting of three Lake County wines that showcase the high quality and low prices that create some outstanding bargains in that region. All three of these are wines I'd gladly purchase and indeed, if I spot the petite sirah around town, I'll be picking up a few to have on hand. If Shannon Ridge keeps pumping out wines like this, I think they'll become a very well known Lake County producer in a short period of time.

These wines were media samples for review purposes.


Beau Carufel

Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, Another Summer Sipper

Late last month I was sent an assortment of white wine samples, one box containing riesling and sauvignon blanc arrived at my doorstep. This is the first of the bunch that I tasted, the 2009 Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc "Ranch Collection" from the Lake County AVA. That appellation might not sound familiar, and for good reason. Lake County is not a big-name region like Napa or Sonoma, in fact, the most famous winery in the area might just be Guenoc, though Geyser Peak sources a ton of grapes from the area. The climate is cooler than Napa or Sonoma and there is less diurnal variation, which is the difference between the daytime high and nighttime low temperatures. This results in a different set of flavors than we'd get from grapes grown in other areas of the state. I'll explain below.

(img source: http://www.shannonridge.com/wines/2009_sauvignon_blanc.php)

I should state that I usually do not enjoy California sauvignon blancs as much as say, French or South American examples. Even New Zealand occasionally gets it right in my book, when those sauvignon blancs aren't soaked in bitter acid.. California has always meant overly ripe, tropical fruit laden sauvignon blancs that fail to express any minerality whatsoever to me. They've been like drinking guava/pineapple nectar mixed with white grape juice. Yuck! Not at all what I like in a white wine unless we're talking something stunning like a Moscatel from Navarra..But stay tuned for that!

Shannon Ridge's 2009 Sauvignon Blanc does a lot to defy the conventions of this state's primary style of sauvignon blanc. The question is, of course, does it do enough? Does the Shannon Ridge justify it's $16 suggested retail price? Let's find out.

In the glass, this wine is nicely aromatic and in a word, exuberant. There are a few primary scents; ruby red grapefruit juice with some lemongrass as well. While a bit simple, these aromas are very fresh and enticing, and most importantly to me, not overly sweet. There's a hint of white peach and tropical fruit, adding just enough sweetness to enhance the bouquet while preventing a sugar catastrophe.

This Lake County sauvignon blanc has a good burst of acidity too, it's light and crisp while retaining some sense of minerality and fruity flavors. Unfortunately that minerality just doesn't go far enough for me, leaving the passion fruit and pineapple flavors unbalanced and somewhat clunky. The finish descends through layers of Bartlett pear and a touch of perfume before vanishing entirely. Not exactly what I expected but not necessarily something that hurts the wine. That out-of-balance feeling stays with me though, which isn't a good sign.

The Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc is a solid wine that's priced just a bit too high for what you get. For me, the unbalanced palate detracted from what could have been a truly fine wine, one that would have showed a lot of non-California sauvignon blanc drinkers what this state can do. Now getting back to that price, the suggested retail is $16, but through the magic of Google I found the wine for closer to $10 at Beverages and More, making it much more reasonable. At the $10 price point, it is precisely what I expect in a sauvignon blanc. Still, I'd rather drink a Chateau St. Michelle or Geyser Peak sauvignon blanc because they consistently deliver beyond the price point. B- and a PASS recommendation at this point.

This wine was sent as a media sample for review purposes.


Beau Carufel