Tis the season to be buying in Northern California Wine Country, it seems. Elizabeth Spencer winery was also bought by Jean-Charles Boisset.
Edited for spelling
Anything should be an improvement over Treasury ownership.
Within the category of what they are [greater Santa Barbara fruit bombs, bordering on dessert wines], the Two Sisters Pinot Noirs are quite tasty.
We’re cellaring some of them, to see what might happen down the road.
Did they buy the brand orbthe winery? TWE moved CSJ production to Beringer in 2017. The CSJ winery was stripped bare akd I believe was just used for bbl storage rental.
The quote in the next tweet down in Mobley’s feed, about JCB’s purchase of Elizabeth Spencer, was a treat.
“Best quote from my conversation this afternoon with Jean-Charles Boisset (who is always a GREAT interview): that we might as well now call Highway 29 ‘the Boisset highway.’”
Are there [or were there ever] any actual vineyards which were part of CSJ?
If so, what is [or was] the quality of the soil?
There’s the Estate Vineyard, which always put out nice wines. Not sure what the dirt is like out there in Sonoma Valley. Other than that they either shared fruit sourcings from the rest of the TWE vineyard portfolio or worked with growers.
TWE has an impeccable vineyard team. That was never the issue. Money was always invested in vineyard health.
Back circa the mid-1990s, would the Cinq Cepages have been entirely sourced from that vineyard?
Or might they already have been using significant portions of purchased fruit?
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.Laube’s note only mentions the Cabernet Sauvignon, but I thought there were five [“cinq”] different varieties/varietals [cépages] in the wine.
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I dont know the answer to this, but I would guess at best that parts of the Estate made it to Cinq Cepage. They bottled their Estate Wines separately.
Agreed!
I don’t know about that, while the TWC leadership is suspect, their viticulture and vineyard holdings are not, Foley is no superstar owner he has already diluted Chalk Hill, Sebastiani, Merus, and Kuleto in CA, verdict still out on Ferrari Carano and Chalone, along with Acrobat and Three Rivers in PNW. None have seen a glimmer of their potential.
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How would that work?
I guess I could imagine at least three possibilities:
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The wineries in question were never making wine from their own dirt, and the new ownership decided to downgrade to cheaper contract fruit [but keep the flagship marketing].
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The wineries in question were making wine from their own dirt, but less fruit was pruned/dropped and the dirt was forced to produce higher yields than it could sustain.
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Nothing changed at the wineries in question, but their very best fruit was siphoned off to produce ultra-luxury cuvees under new marketing campaigns.
I liked the 14 and have another bottle I got for $30 when my friends from Big Top/Sid’s closed their doors a few years ago. 2005 and 2007 not very good.
2014 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages - USA, California, Sonoma County (11/5/2019)
Day 1: High hopes for this wine and got it at a stellar price! Pop and pour. Tight on initial opening with heavy spices and tannins. Poured another glass and this features mint, spice, dark fruits, oak and earth. A big wine with plenty of future left! Would not recommend opening this wine now but already did. 90-93 point potential. No rating right now. Will see what happens on day 2/3.
Day 2: Still tighter than hell. Coffee beans, black licorice, mulberries and spices. A little heat and tannic. Just not even close to ready. We will see on day 3 and 4 for this one.
Day 3: Still trying to open up but more flavor on day 3. Coffee beans, blueberries, sweet cherries, spice and oak. Medium finish. This is a bruiser still. Currently around a 90 point score.
Day 3.5: Wow this is finally opening up. Blueberries, spices, coffee beans, oak, Bing Cherries, menthol and pencil lead. This is concentrated. Medium to long finish. Will revisit this on day 4 and possibly 5. 92 points
Day 4: Excellent wine now. Nice oak, coffee beans, roasted meats, blueberries, plum, spices and menthol. Well balanced and good acidity. This wine needs some time. For now 92 with 94 potential down the road.
Recommendation: Hold for five plus years.
Day 5: Very nice with cherry, blueberry, mild spices, coffee beans and earth. Wow did this wine evolve from undrinkable to really interesting. 92 plus
Recommendation: Let this wine sleep for a minimum of 5 years. (92 points)
I have one bottle of 1994 Cinq Cepages left. Maybe time to drink up. ¯_(ツ)_/¯