Received an email about the inaugural vintage. 2 750’s & 1 mag for $320. Seems like a no brainier. Decent price and recommended by Manfred in his last offering letter.
Got it too - agree it’s a no-brainer. Can’t wait to try it when it’s delivered in the fall
What is it, and why is it a no brainer? TIA.
It was recommended by Manfred (SQN) in his last offering letter.
That, I suppose, responds to the no brainer part of the question.
But what is the Hammel Wine Alliance, and what kind of wine is True Believer? Google doesn’t help. TIA.
From Chris’ letter he states that it’s a cool-climate GSM blend from Bien Nacido.
From Chris’s letter:
" I prefer extremely low yields. 2013 was a bumper crop for us. I harvested 5 tons off 9 acres, that’s about 7 hl/h for my Eurocentric friends…
I want fully ripe, concentrated grapes, without raisins, mean greenies or imperfections.
I like precise canopy management. I’m sustainably certified & proud of it, largely organic (not terribly important to me), and spiritually biodynamic – we have sheep, goats & cows and use Biodynamic Preparations taught to me by my friend, Philippe Coderey. I’ve read Steiner. He wasn’t a hippie and neither am I (but I do have some whom I count among my close friends). I compost & cover crop, and I drive my ATV & F150 to the blocks –they are DEFINATELY NOT biodynamic.
I see my vines as elite athletes training in a first-class gymnasium, with me as their stern coach, caretaker and guide. They are going to work, suffer, produce, survive, recuperate, and be lovingly tended, while striving for the ultimate glory of offering their fruit for your pleasure.
My winemaking is an extension of this and could be described as attentive, but basic.
If it’s not already pretty obvious, I consider the process of growing and winemaking one-in-the-same – arduous, yet fairly straightforward. Damn my Burgundian tendencies!
Describe your first release, True Believer 2011?
True Believer, my Flagship cuvee (and the only one at this point - a couple of more things are in the works for 2014), is essentially a fully ripe, cool-climate blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. I can achieve ripeness on these varieties at chilly Bien Nacido by combining VERY LOW YIELDS with minimal irrigation on sandy soils (especially as pertains to the Grenache). My goals for this wine are to achieve a seamless elegance, savory-ness, balance (structure, concentration and complexity to support the ripeness and extraction levels that I conceptually favor for this wine), ageability (MS Word tells me that’s NOT a word), spiciness, captivating herbal undertones, subtle (but not too subtle) fruitiness, and both intellectual AND sensory stimulation."
Curious whether anyone has even tried this wine yet? Also, what’s the price tag on it?
There’s some great syrah grown at Bien Nacido based on the wines of Jaffurs, Ojai, Qupe, Bonny Doon and others. Not much Grenache grown there at all, and I was not aware of any mourvedre, but obviously there’s at least a touch there.
Very interested to hear more - and a link to a website or sign up.
Cheers!
…what’s the price tag on it?
From the OP:
2 750’s & 1 mag for $320
Bob may be ignorant (in this case) but at least he can read!
FWIW Bob, another key fact here is that Chris is the long-time manager of the Bien Nacido vineyard.
Thanks Bob - still early here on the West Coast 
Chris has been doing a great job at BN for a few years now - obviously a great site for both Pinot and rhones. And I do believe Manfred continues to get grapes from there - no?
Still wondering if anyone has tried the wines yet . . .
Cheers!
Really looking forward to trying it. I’ve never read a release letter and had the vision of vines wearing sports jerseys pop into my head…sold on that fact alone.
Say whot, Larry?? As in RandallGrahm?? Wow…that would be a stretch.
At least, as of a month ago that would have been my reaction. But several weeks ago, I had Randall’s latest two Syrahs (BeinNacido X-Block
and Jesperson/EdnaVlly). They were sensational. My reaction was that BonnyDoon is back. Reminded me of his Syrahs from the '80’s.
TN will eventually follow.
The X-Block Syrah at BienNacido is the oldest block, down where the flats start to rise up towards the ridge-top on the southern end of the vnyd.
Tom
Anyone get confirmation back and a true believer # after replying to todays email?
I got #1. I’m cool.
So $80 a bottle before tax and shipping for a first release. Almost what a bottle of Saxum costs. We have different definitions of a “no brainer”.
Tom
I’m guessing Manfred wouldn’t be putting just any old plonk in his own release letter. If one of CA’s greatest winemakers telling you to buy it isn’t good enough, I don’t know how you’d ever buy an initial release.
Yep, Tom, Randall is rocking these days - truly getting back to his ‘roots’ . . . . and I dig it!!!
Cheers!
Yep, pricing seems pretty ‘aggressive’ compared to ‘known’ wines from our area that usually go for a lot less. Not saying it’s not ‘worth it’, but interesting that no one seems to have even tried the wines before - just going on a rec from someone else. Curious . . .
Cheers.
I got the pre- release letters, several, but not the release letter itself. Oh well.