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Stephen Goldman, winemaker
2004 Pinot Noir
This medium bodied Pinot’s aroma of cherries and hints of eucalyptus, mint and other herbs with a smooth texture and complex finish make this beverage wonderful for any occasion. I like it with leg of lamb and sweet potatoes. Stephen Goldman, winemaker
Rocky's Lot III
Stephen Goldman, winemaker
2003 Pinot Noir
Stephen Goldman, winemaker
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2002 Claret
Stephen Goldman, winemaker
For a young Pinot, the silky finish backed up with nice fruit aromas makes this a very food-friendly beverage. Winemaker, Steve Goldman
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2001 Pinot Noir
The grapes were handled the same way as usual, by destemming the clusters and transferring the must to open top fermenters with no pumping. I added some whole clusters to the pot for complexity, as a chef would season food. The must fermented without a cultured yeast addition for 10 days with manual punch downs throughout its time in the pot prior to pressing. The wine was transferred to barrels directly from the press. The French barrels used were 1 and 2 years old. The wines were nitrogen gas-pressure racked in the Spring after the completion of the malo-lactic fermentation barrel to barrel. With 16 months of aging, the wines were assembled and bottled in the Winter of 2003. The Cain Vineyard has always given the imbiber loads of cherry and rose petal aroma, as with no exception here. The oak component adds some mellow toastyness for a nice compliment to this medium bodied beverage. I enjoy this Pinot Noir with oak-grilled lamb, buttermilk garlic mashed potatoes, and carrots sauteed in olive oil. Oh boy, that's good! Winemaker, Steve Goldman
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This vintage inaugurated a change in style for my Chardonnay. In the previous 32 years in making Chardonnay, traditional Burgundian techniques were used. I changed to a more modern and personally preferred method. The fruit came from our neighboring MacBride Vineyard. After receiving the cool early morning picked grapes September 22, they were whole cluster pressed. Most of the juice was transferred to a tank and refrigerated down to 55*F with the balance transferred to new, one and two year old French and American barrels. In years past, all the juice went to barrel and no refrigeration was used. The tank and barreled juice was inoculated with CY3079 yeast. After 10 days in tank the 12* brix juice was then barreled. The barrels’ lees were stirred occasionally for a couple months then allowed to sit undisturbed until racking and fining in April. In August the wine was filtered and bottled. The change in technique retained more fruit aroma and crispness. I think this beverage is more food friendly rather than an oak, butter and alcohol concoction. This wine’s aroma of citrus and tropical fruits enhanced with a touch of toasty oak make this beverage wonderful for any occasion.
The Moore Vineyard is located on the eastern lower slope of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range about 2 miles south east of Stephen’s Cellar. Clone 115 on 5BB rootstock was planted in 1999. The grapes were picked and destemmed with some whole clusters and 35ppm SO2 added to the fermenter on September 7. The must was chilled to 60 degrees Fahrenheit with dry ice. After 2 days an inoculum of Assmanshausen yeast was added. Hand punch downs were done 2-4 times daily for 17 days of initial fermentation. The must was pressed at 3 brix and the juice was transferred to 2 to 4 year old French barrels with free run and press wine kept separate. The first racking with inert gas pressure was done the following spring with two more prior to assembling, filtration and bottling, June 2006.
This blend, third of a series of seven, was fun putting together. The concept of the series is to create a unique wine by blending, with each cuvee totally different. By the way, the brand Rocky is named after our dog, a boxer with a unique personality as does this fine wine. Rocky’s Lot 3 is comprised of about 50% Sangiovese, 25% Barbera, 15% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, and a spot of Alicante Bouchet. It is full-bodied, rich with ripe dark fruit aromas and a fulfilling flavor. One of my favorite choices to compliment this beverage is BBQ’d red meat along with spicy Pinto beans and red cabbage salad. Oh Boy!.
This fine pinot was grown by the Encell Family located on the eastern slope of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range about 2 miles from Stephen’s Cellar. Clone 115 on 5B was planted in 1999. The grapes were hand picked and destemmed on September 18th. The must was handled gently via gravity and inoculated with Assmanshausen yeast after two days of cool soaking. Hand punch-downs were done two to four times a day during her eight days of initial fermentation. After pressing, the wine was directly transferred to two to four year old French barrels. The first racking was done the following spring with two more prior to filtering and bottling in August 2005.
Claret, an old British term that can be used for a Bordeaux red wine is used by me for this fine blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc (both from the Carver Vineyard atop York Mountain) and 30% Merlot from the Radike Vineyard grown in the Templeton Gap. I harvested the Merlot in late September. The fruit was destemmed, transferred to an open-top fermenter via gravity and went it’s own course with indigenous yeast. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc were harvested in mid-October. This fruit was handled in the same manner. After fermentation to near dryness, the musts were lightly pressed, the wine transferred to new and one and two year old French and American barrels. The wines were racked 3 times and bottled unfined & unfiltered in August 2005. The rich aroma of ripe dark berries intermingled with toasty oak combine with full-bodied complex flavors and smooth tannins to make this beverage wonderful for any occasion.
This Central Coast blend is made from grapes from the William Cain, Lauphney and Carver Vineyards. Having worked with these vineyards for many years, I consider this cuvee one of my best. I received the grapes at the winery in mid-September where they were destemmed and transferred to small open-top fermenters via gravity. This particular year I added back a small portion of stems. I decided to use indigenous yeast due to vineyard age. The must cap was manually punched down up to three times daily. After 7-10 days, the must was pressed and the wine pumped directly to 2-5 year-old French barrels. After malo-lactic fermentation was complete in the Spring, the wines were racked barrel-to-barrel with a nitrogen gas pressure devise. The wines were racked once more before being assembled, and bottled without filtration on December 10, 2004.
This Pinot Noir, a blend of mostly the Cain and a tiny bit of the Carver vineyards was made at my friend's winery while I was constructing my own.