"There are places that take hold of you and won’t let go. They possess a certain charm, like an old friend who calls and it’s like nothing ever changed. The first time I stepped foot in Chelle Mountain Vineyard, on top of York Mountain, I knew it was a special place. A place with spirit. Where the stubborn old vines aren’t generous but produce fruit with a bold personality. Where for years I’ve dug in, gotten my hands dirty, and brought forth some of the best wine I’ve ever tried – Chelle Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. This is its story.
Chelle Mountain Cabernet will only be produced in
the finest vintages and is available now to you -
my friends, my confidants, my loyal club members."
Seems pretty cool, anyone biting?
Inaugural Release, $300 3-pack
His wines are usually punch-you-in-the-gut with a bag of fruit and if he says it’s concentrated, woo boy.
I’m very interested to hear how this is, but I think his wines are priced fairly as is and I’m not sure I’d be convinced to pay $100/bottle for a Herman Story wine.
I got the email and ordered 2. I think HS is priced extremely fair, and if this is $100, then I believe it’ll be worth that and more. Also, Russell said it was his favorite wine and best wine he has ever made, so that alone is worth the price of entry! Excited to give it a shot.
The price does seems optimistic, but this vineyard is rather deep into the Templeton Gap with a hilltop exposure. I don’t know if it’s the case here, but there are vineyards in the area that have limestone and/or calcareous substrates. Of the potential vineyard sites in Paso Robles, this is a rather auspicious location.
In contrast, large swaths of Bordeaux are drained swamps, with wine grape monoculture, on clay or gravel soils, where rolling hills might be an overstatement of the topography. Merlot is dominant in some areas of Bordeaux not because it is a superior grape, but simply because it can tolerate the soggy clay-heavy soils with poor drainage better than most.
Would I pay $100 for a Paso Cab? No. But the site itself could be just as interesting as a well exposed vineyard with limestone soils in Bordeaux. (I also would rather spend $40 or $50 on a top Chinon from a top producer with limestone teroirs in a strong vintage, than 2x as much on a Bordeaux from an average vintage, from a good but not great producer.)
Could not resist, bought a three pack and just tried a bottle. Only 3 days after it arrived.
Here’s my dilemma, Russell is one of a kind, a very special person and a dear friend. Do I tell the truth, do I prop the wine, do I soft pedal so I can buy more?
This is another interesting discussion. This site includes the hands of a winemaker who chooses to show ‘more restraint’ in their winemaking practices compared to Russell would make a totally different finished wine from this site. With Russell, you get what you expect with him. To each their own . . .
Here’s the verdict (yes, successfully generated some intrigue)
We really enjoyed the wine a lot. Yes it was big, fruit forward and very young. It was not rough, it was not huge and no bite. Was young for sure, but smooth, very long finish and as the evening passed it relaxed and evolved. This wine needed a good 3 - 4+ hours or more. It is Russell at his best.
I will definitely buy at least another 3-pack but exercise some restraint and put some way to settle down.
It was clearly a Cabernet no question. It was definitely neither Napa, Sonoma nor Washington state -Walla Walla/Red Mountain.
Without really really really digging deep into my memory banks and tasting notes I’m not sure what I will compare this to. In someways it was definitely a Russell wine in that it was big, it was fruit forward but it was not hot and to me has tremendous potential for aging.
I had basically given up on buying new Cabernet as my palate has changed. Plus I have plenty of the great name cabs. This was somehow irresistible to me and I’m glad I took the plunge.