Last week Judith and I had a rare chance to get away by ourselves just for one night. so I booked a night at a quaint Calistoga hotel to enjoy their warm pools and planned to do a little hiking in one of the state parks. As long as we were heading to Calistoga in a few days, why not see if Ketan Mody was up for a visit to his mountainside vineyard?
Well, Ketan was not going to be home Thursday because he needed to be at the winery, which is located on the opposite side of the Mayacamas mountains, near Santa Rosa. Sure, come on up, he wrote.
We drove up from the SF Bay Area Thursday morning, just after the big storm that dumped 60-70 inches of snow in the Sierra Nevada had passed through. It was cold and windy, but no rain. We drove up from Santa Rosa into the Mayacamas. Ketan’s winery is in a concrete block building perched on a steep hillside, with a view of dramatic cliffs rising above and away from it. The building was designed for wine storage for the old Adler Fels winery, which has since burnt down in one of the epic fires that have come through in the last decade.
We walked in to the building and were greeted by Ketan’s friend Gabe. It was very cold for us Californians, with multiple doors open and the wind making the 44 degree weather feel even colder. Gabe immediately opened up the 2022 Sonaoma Coast Placida Vineyard Chardonnay, which had just been bottled. Ketan popped in while we were tasting this. After a few minutes he started explaining his philosophy on wine and winemaking.
This has been shared before on this forum, so this is a very brief overview: Wine and sharing wine brings people together and that is what Ketan loves most about it. Farming is the most important aspect of winemaking. Outside of farming and choosing when to pick, he tries to have minimal intervention. One of the decisions a winemaker does have to make is how to raise the wine. His preference is barrels with very light toast and reusing barrels to minimize wood impact. Don’t rush the release of the wine.
Back to our glasses - The Chardonnay was actually raised in a new 600 liter barrel, ironically enough. I could feel the imprint, though the oak was still just a very light touch. I was able to follow the evolution for a few days, which I will cover in my summary impressions below.
Then Ketan started pouring the Jasud from barrel, starting with 2023. I have the 2022 in my cellar, but haven’t opened one, so was looking forward to this. Holy crap, talk about being blown away. I have never smelled a Cabernet so floral and savory at the same time. The 2023 is already one of my all-time favorite reds and I hadn’t even tasted it! After tasting I tell Ketan, “Whatever my allocation is, I’m going to send you an e-mail asking you to double it!” I found this to be quite amazing on the palate.
Barrel tasting young wine is not my forte, but to me the quality was really clear. I found the 2024 to be excellent, but still so primary it was missing some of the fireworks. Ketan believes it will be even BETTER than 2023! 2025 was even more primary, but for me being able to taste the fine tannins present bodes really well for an excellent, balanced wine.
On to bottled wines - Ketan then opened a vertical of Beta Moon Mountain Montecillo Vineyard wines from the Sonoma side of the mountains. We started with the 2011, his first commercial release. You can tell this wine is related to the Jasuds, but speaks of a different vineyard. I am totally impressed with how Ketan coaxes the savory and aromatic qualities out of the grapes. 2018 seemed less effusive but similar. Finally we went back to the barrels and tried from two separate barrels of the 2024. One was being raised in a Mittelberger barrel, and the other I unfortunately did not make a note of. But it was clear the Mittelberger was more floral, and the 2024 in the other barrel highlighted the tannic side more. mixing the two made a nice middle ground.
After taking up too much of Ketan and Gabe’s time we adieu, in search of warmth and coffee. Ketan generously gave us the open Beta bottles, including the unreleased Placida!
Oh, we didn’t get any hiking in that day as all of the local state parks were closed due to high winds!
The Chard opened up nicely when I had a glass later on with dinner, and was even better the next night. The '11 and '18 Montecillo were fire the next night with a Costco ribeye purchased for the occasion. On day 3 I took the remnants of all 3 to the Bay Area Riesling Group’s off the reservation Jura tasting in order to share with fellow geeks who hadn’t had a chance to try these. The Montecillos showed very well. I didn’t taste the Chard since so little was left but reports from @SusieG are that it showed extremely well too. Below, if you look closely you can see a couple of Betas in the mix at this fine fine Jura tasting.
Summary Impressions
2022 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Placida Vineyard
Saline, lemon oil, chalk, apple. After being open some awkward oak. Integrates after a few hours and missing the next day.
2023 Jasud Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain
From barrel. Back up the truck. See @Adam_Frisch 's impressions on the '22. Beautiful floral and savory notes. Perfect tannin, no oak presence. Perfectly ripe fruit hanging out but not dominating. Reminds one of the great 60’s, 70’s and 80’s Napa cabs but a different beast.
2024 Jasud Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain
From barrel. Same cut as the 2023 but more primary and florals not as developed.
2025 Jasud Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain
From barrel. Even more primary but noticeable elegant tannin. Seems like it ought to be in a similar mold as 23 and 24.
2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain Montecillo Vineyard
More savory, less floral than the Jasuds. A distinct just-ripe italian plum note on opening. This fades and mineral and cassis tend to dominate. No discernable oak. Perfect with ribeye on day 2, reminding me more of Bordeaux than Napa of yore. Day 3 was very similar to day 2.
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain Montecillo Vineyard
Savory, Pencil, mild fruit, tannin forward. Fruit is present, but is not the thing with this wine. A happy animal on day 2 with ribeye. A bit kinder on day 3 too.
2024 Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain Montecillo Vineyard
Two separate barrel samples. One was from a Mittelberger barrel, the other different, but not noted. The Mittelberger had more floral notes, a little savory character and some primary fruit. The other barrel was more austere due to the presence of tannin, and lacked the floral character. Mixing the two roughly 50/50 the floral character shined through while the tannin was still present.That of course means nothing as to the final cepage, but both barrels show a lot of promise.