Hello Everyone!
First, apologies for lurking so much. Haven’t posted for a while.
My family and I recently moved to Oxford, UK…which means I’ll be missing Falltacular…again!! Really bummed about this.
Good news, it looks like a label I’m REALLY excited about is going to be submitting wine and attending. Dan and Ellen own a vineyard and label named Kessler-Haak. I’ve been psyched for their project for a while. I’ve written some material previously, so thought I’d give you all a preview and background on the label. Thought I’d include all the tasting notes I have.
Disclaimer-Not an employee, or financially invested in any way…just a BIG fan of Santa Barbara wines
I was really excited for this visit. This vineyard shares a fence with Clos Pepe…Hilliard Bruce is on the right…and Gypsy Canyon is behind it. One of my favorite Chards (Liquid Farm) utilizes their chard fruit rather prominently. Met Dan at the house and he started the tour.
Kessler-Haak vineyard is a smidge under thirty acres, planted mostly to pinot noir. Chard is up a nice hill on the northwest parcel of the vineyard. The chard is located right next to the pond and is exposed to some elements. A lot of wind whips up there, and fights really low temps. This chard is pretty special. Trouble is getting a lot of it!
As we walked down the hill to the pinot plots, I couldn’t help but stop and just look around me. To the left, I could see Clos Pepe, across the street, Huber, to the right, the crazy manicured vineyards of Hilliard Bruce. Directly in front of me…Dan’s amazing pinot vines.
Dan’s vineyard has various elevations…but has some flats. From the hill, you can see where Dan has to fight off those frost warnings.
While we were walking around, Dan’s family was preparing an unbelievable feast for us. Sat down at the table in the backyard and went through the lineup.
Dan is an amazing guy. Worked most of his life in the tech market, specifically with semiconductor fabrication technologies. An engineer at heart. Dan fell in love with wine and had a small vineyard he planted at his old house. Growing tired of the tech bizz and the politics, he decided to jump in with both feet. Dan completed the UC Davis Distance Learning Program, and away he went.
First in the lineup:
2011 Kessler-Haak Dry Riesling Lafond Vineyard
This wine was PERFECT after a nice sunny walk. Acid was great. A lot of stone fruit with some lime citrus. When it warmed up a bit, honeysuckle all the way. Really pretty wine.
2011 Kessler-Haak Rosé of Pinot Noir
Medium bodied beauty. The color is crazy! Great red fruit with a cucumber/melon zing. Really nice.
2009 Kessler-Haak Chardonnay
Alright, so when Dan said barrel fermented, barrel aged, I was expecting a buttery chard. Sure, you get the oak, you get the mature tropical notes with meyer lemon…but there was a beautiful acid streak running through it. Great wine.
2009 Kessler-Haak Pinot Noir
Medium+ body. Dark, yummy pinot. This one is an absolute crowd pleaser. Riper red and blue fruit play quite nicely.
2009 Kessler-Haak Clone 2A Pinot Noir
This one is in my wheel house. Lighter in color. Lean & mean I think I said. Spice, young red fruit, some earthy/lome. Loved this bottle.
2009 Kessler-Haak Turner Vineyard Syrah
I’m a sucker for cool climate syrah. This one fits the bill quite nicely. White pepper, smoke, grilled meats. LOVED this as much as 2A.
2011 Kessler-Haak Riesling
This has some really tasting stone fruit notes. Honeysuckle and stones. This is soo refreshing.
Shortly before our last visit in Decemeber, Dan sent an e-mail announcing their sparkling program. There are four offerings, and we had the distinct pleasure to try two of them. First was the brut. Here are the specs on the bubbles from the K-H website:
The cuvee is 75% Pinot Noir/25% Chardonnay, fermented at 52F. 30% was held in barrel and received 100% MLF prior to blending. Second fermentation was via méthode champenoise with a 10 month tirage. The wine received a 12 g/l dosage.
Second was the brut rose. Here are the specs from the K-H website:
The cuvee is 100% Pinot Noir, fermented at 52F. Second fermentation was via méthode champenoise with a 10 month tirage. The wine received a 14 g/l dosage
These were such beautiful examples of what will most likely be the next wave in wines coming out of the Sta. Rita Hills. This AVA just has the mineral and acid to make sparkling wines. These wines were not over-the-top yeasty or toasty. They had pristine fruit notes. Brut had an apple/pear thing to go along with a hazelnut. The rose was just bursting with clean, acidy, pomegranate. Wow. Both beautiful in the flute. The bubbles were like fireworks. Kudos Dan…amazing.
On the still side…two wines really stood out to me. First, 2010 estate chard. Dan’s chard is arguably one of the best in the valley, in my honest opinion. Crazy lemon/lime notes with a solid acid streak to go along with oak notes that add layers, but doesn’t overpower. Next, 2011 pinot. I fell in love with this wine. This was a classy lady. Perfume, rose, delicate red fruit. Balanced and pure. This one will turn some heads.
Looks like the following wines will be their for your enjoyment:
2011 KESSLER-HAAK Lafond Reisling (dry)
2010 KESSLER-HAAK Estate Chardonnay
2010 KESSLER-HAAK Estate–Clone 2A Pinot Noir
2010 KESSLER-HAAK Estate–Pommard Pinot Noir
2011 KESSLER-HAAK Lafond Syrah
2012 KESSLER-HAAK Sparkling Brut
Some of these notes are above…
Really hope you all have a good time…can someone setup a Ustream camera for the event?! If you have a chance, check out the K-H wines.