Behind the Cork™ - Pfendler Vineyards Chardonnay

2018 Pfendler Vineyards Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($45)

This 100% Chardonnay comes from Pfendler Vineyards which is located in the hillsides of Sonoma Mountain in the Sonoma Coast region.

The Petaluma Gap is sub-region of the Sonoma Coast that has its own unique terroir.

This Pfendler Chardonnay is whole-cluster pressed, allowed to settle overnight before being racked off the heavy lees into barrels for native fermentation on its fine lees. It then undergoes light stirring while undergoing malolactic conversion. It is aged 14 months in 50% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

This winemaking process leads to this Chardonnay having unique flavors of peach compote, nectarine, green apple and lime. There also seems to be hints of straw and minerality along with just a bit of acidity on the finish.

This is a very limited production Chardonnay from Pfendler (250 cases). So, look carefully for this one and enjoy. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Anika Crone, Jarvis Communications

Behind the Cork™ - Pfendler Pinot Noir

2018 Pfendler Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($55)

Nestled in the hillside of Sonoma Mountain, Pfendler Vineyards is a small, family-owned winery. And this limited production Pinot Noir is a wonderful example of their excellence.

This is 100% Pinot Noir that underwent a five-day cold soak, followed by 48 hours warm-up to a spontaneous native yeast fermentation. Thus, spending 13 days on the skins for enhanced flavor. Native secondary fermentation is carried out in the barrel. It then spends 14 months in French oak, 50% of which was new oak.

Winemaker Erica Stancliff joined Pfendler just in time to complete the final blending of this 2018 Pinot Noir. She describes it as “Brilliant ruby in color, with luxurious aromas of black raspberry, plum, black tea, violets, herbs and tobacco. On the palate, flavors of blackberry, red apple, cherry, clove, baker’s chocolate are balanced by fine-grain tannins and long, layered finish.” Well said, indeed.

I found this Pfendler Pinot Noir to have aromas of cherry and raspberry with big, bright red cherry flavor, very soft tannin, noticeable acidity on the back-end and a very delicate, long-lasting finish.

This is a wonderful Pinot Noir from Sonoma’s Petaluma Gap that stands with the best. With only 250 cases being produced this may be difficult to find but well worth searching for. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Anika Crone, Jarvis Communications

Behind the Cork™ - Toad Hollow Rosé

2017 Toad Hollow ‘Eye of the Toad’ Rosé of Pinot Noir ($12)

This is certainly the time of year when a cool, crisp and refreshing rosé is just perfect. And this Toad Hollow Rosé of Pinot Noir is a good one. This ‘Eye of the Toad‘ rosé is made from 100% Pinot Noir from Sonoma County.

Toad Hollow picks their grapes at lower sugar levels which results in their rosé being lower in alcohol (11.5%) and bright, mouth-watering acidity.

And, while this rosé has flavors of watermelon, strawberry and white peach, its sweet flavors are all from the fruit with very low sugar (0.18 Residual Sugar).

So, when you’re looking for a nice refreshing wine to enjoy on a hot day, look for this Toad Hollow. Like all Behind the Cork™ features, this wine is widely available and affordable. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay

2016 Sonoma-Cutrer Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ($19)

This Sonoma-Cutrer is one that is easy to pass-by on the wine aisle. It’s from a big producer and it’s widely availability. But, this is a solid wine. Which makes it perfect for a Behind the Cork™ feature.

The Sonoma Coast is producing a lot of very good wines and Chardonnay is one of the stars. It’s a great growing climate for this grape.

Sonoma-Cuter hand sorts their grapes to ensure only best fruit get processed and the leaves, stems and damaged fruit are removed. The whole clusters are pressed avoiding any skin contact or seeds that result in bitter tannin. The fermentation takes place in a combination of French oak barrels and stainless steel tanks.

To get the creamy smoothness of this 100% Chardonnay, it undergoes Malolactic conversion and is then aged sur-lies in a mixture of new, one-year old and neutral French oak.

This results in a Chardonnay with soft flavors of pear and peach, hints of vanilla and just a touch of acidity.

It’s a really good one! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - PARS Old Vine Zinfandel

2016 PARS Old Vine Zinfandel ($8)

This was a recent unexpected fine. I really enjoy the wines of Amador County and that’s what caught my eye about this one. And, at $8, I had to give it a try.

The grapes of Amador County didn’t let me down. This is a nice Zinfandel, especially at the price. But it’s not typical. It’s not jammy or peppery. It quite light. Almost tending toward a Pinot Noir.

Unfortunately, there’s not much to be learned about this wine or the winery. The back label shows that it’s bottled by Avid Vineyard. And, the winemakers are listed as Robert Goyette & H. Namdar. Now, the fact that it’s “bottle by” Avid Vineyard would lead me to the conclusion they didn’t produce it. That’s Ok. Apparently, they bought the wine and put their own label on it. But, there doesn’t seem to be any trail to Avid Vineyard. Again, Ok.

But, a quick search for Robert “Bob” Goyette shows that he got started in winemaking in California in 1970 and, in 1979, he and noted winemaker Rod Berglund started La Crema Venera, known today as La Crema. Now, that’s a good label with a proven track record. Then, in 2005, he started his own wine brand, Robert Goyette Winery, producing wines from Sonoma Coast’s top Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Sonoma County’s top Cabernet Sauvignon.

Regardless of the origins of this PARS Amador County Old Vine Zinfandel, it’s a nice one and great value. If you happen to see this one, pick it up and give it a try. Cheers!