Your favorite Cali Wineries... that are gone now?

So… I was thinking about this today while stuck in LA traffic coming home.

A few weeks ago I was on WineBid and came across a few bottles of Cab Franc that sparked my interest.

It was 2001 Guilliams Cab Franc

Price seemed right…
2001? Good Napa Vintage, right?
Cab Franc? I LOVE ME SOME Cab Franc!
Spring Mountain? OK… Wow, this is getting better.

So, I think "Hey, I’m not familiar with these guys but I think I need to be. This is right in my wheelhouse"

I look them up on Google and on the search function on WB… and Poof, Sold. Gone.

It got me thinking, we know the winery business is a rough one. This board has a ton of knowledge, experience and a great memory.

Plenty of wineries have gone the way of the Dodo… share with us a few wineries where you think, “Damn, I really miss that juice!”

I remember I had a few bottles of Kelham MacLean Cab quite a few years ago and I thought it was great. I know they’re gone. Roessler was bought up by the Halls and re-launched as “Walt”. Plenty others have been sold, whatever.

Discuss… share, etc.

Oakville Terraces. Though it may resurface with new owners.

Garretson was a fave for many . . .

Cassayre-Forni

Associated Vintners

Cilurzo

Paging TomHill. :wink:

+1

I think Guilliams is the first winery for me where I followed them before they sold. Great wines and great people, hope they’re enjoying life!

Havens.

And I mean the real Havens, not the oak-shake, spoof-fest masquerading as such on WTSO…

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More recently, Karl Lawrence.

Of course a lot of greats from the '70’s died and were reincarnated in Fred Franzia’s portfolio, as jug wines trying to live off the old reputations of once-good wineries–Hacienda, Grand Cru, and of course most (in)famously of all, Charles Shaw. In any meaningful sense, those original wineries are long gone.

A couple of older ones that I can remember are Roddis and Fretter, but as noted above, Tom Hill probably followed dozens of them from the very start–and to the very finish.

+1

The Merlot was really good, the Syrah better, and the Bourriquot was just great.

Dave Hauser

Match!!!

Yep, Havens. Did anyone else catch those $15 2001 Bourriquots from Envoyer?

larry schaffer wrote:Garretson was a fave for many . . .


+1

So why did Matt get out of the winery business? He ended up going to back to MN to work for a distributor and that didn’t go so well. Great guy and I believe he is doing something with spirits.

I loaded up on that havens sale maybe 5 years ago? Crazy cheap prices.

The old La Jota Anniversary ,don’t have experience with the new version.

Ritchie Creek-great cabs that could age like Bordeaux.

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Sawyer Cellars. The still sell wine but sold their vineyards to Foley Johnson a few years back. Heart of Rutherford off of 29, I buy them up whenever I find them. Great value.

San Permis. Found a bunch of this at JJ Buckley a year or two ago. Can’t beat a solid $35 wine for $8.

Gemello

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Laurel Glen and SCMV are not the same and are essentially gone from the wines I loved.

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Second the call for Gemello and Ritchie Creek (Pete Minor’s winery, I believe). Terrific wines that I enjoyed for years.