I’m pleased to reconnect and give you a COHO update, including an introduction to some new wines. The last year has been full of change, and the latest is our new winemaking home. Starting with the fruit from this harvest COHO is, to paraphrase the TV show The Jefferson’s “We’re moving on up”. Moving up valley that is. Our new home is at a beautiful modern facility along the base of Spring Mountain, north of St. Helena. Our host is Cairdean Estate, and we are very excited to share their winery with them. This is a state of the art facility from both an environmental and technology perspective. Plus, I’m so excited that our wines will actually be aged in caves cut into the hillside.
Cairdean Estates has a wide variety of visitor experiences including restaurants, shops, and an art gallery. Currently we aren’t able to host you there, but hopefully that will change in the future. In the meantime if you don’t mind climbing a lot of stairs I’m happy to taste and talk COHO with you around my dining room table.
Our online wine shop is loaded with some really terrific wines, and as cooler weather is coming to most of the country, now is a great time to move some from our cellar to yours. Our two new releases are from two exceptional vintages: 2012 and 2013.
The 2013 COHO Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir continues to demonstrate why Los Carneros fruit can be so appealing. Rising up from the wetlands of the Napa River/San Pablo Bay watershed, the “Home Hill” vineyard of Stanly Ranch is where the three sections of COHO fruit are grown. Abundant fog cover promotes spicy aromatics and crisp black cherry flavors in the wine, while the gravel laden topsoil and clay/clay loam sub-soils contribute to the silky texture and earthy complexity that make this wine a knock-out. The last few cases of the 2012 COHO Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir are also still available.
Home Hill, Stanly Ranch
A few years ago a fellow Napa vintner came over to my table at a tasting in Los Angeles, looking to try our SummitVine Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. He thought the wine was very good, but was surprised that we were selling a single vineyard, estate grown, mountain sub-appellation, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for under $60.00/bottle. He half-jokingly said he wanted to buy all the remaining cases, re-package it with his label and sell it for what the price should be. I got his meaning, but the truth is my goal is to offer all COHO wines at prices where our customers can afford to enjoy them on a regular basis. I may not be the shrewdest businessman, but I’m really proud that COHO is making delicious wines that you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy.
My folly continues, I guess, with the release of the 2012 COHO SummitVine Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. 2012 was a generous growing season allowing our grapes to develop classic Napa Cabernet flavors of black berries and currants. The resulting wine has terrific depth, structure, and a persistent finish. It is everything you want and expect in an outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. And actually I did take my fellow vintner’s advice somewhat to heart as the price of the 2012 COHO SummitVine Ranch is now $62.00/bottle.
Last spring, the wine writer James Suckling visited Napa and tasted through all the COHO wines from 2012. He seemed to enjoy them all and awarded each with a score of 93 or 92 points along with his tasting notes. The 2012 COHO SummitVine Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon was one of the 93 point wines about which he wrote “A solid cabernet with black currant, mineral, and mint character. Full body, fine tannins, and a fresh finish.”
The 2012 COHO Headwaters also scored 93 points with notes that read, “Aromas of licorice and tar with black currants. Full body, round and silky tannins and a long flavorful finish. Gorgeous wine.” More about the others next month when I release our remaining 2012 Bordeaux varietal wines.
As always thank you for your continued support. I hope the fall finds you enjoying the success of the sports teams you follow, weekend getaways, and lots of time around the dinner table with family, friends, and a bottle or two of COHO.