desire line (n): a path forged off the main trail; a path made by the one walking it.
“This is another set of exceptional wines from Desire Lines and proprietors Emily and Cody Rasmussen… the wines are done in a transparent style aimed at capturing the essence of site, vintage, and variety. Readers who have not checked out these wines yet absolutely should do so.” – Antonio Galloni, 2023
Hi everyone! We’re Cody and Emily Rasmussen of Desire Lines Wine Co., and we’re beyond thrilled to be here as Berserker Day newbies! While we’re maybe best known for our Rieslings (thanks to a business card on the Cole Ranch gate in 2016), we in fact started Desire Lines with the intention to focus on Syrah— so our Berserker Day release is all about those two directions. Offer #1 is a four-pack of 2019 Desire Lines red wines pulled from our personal library at original release price with tax + ground shipping included. Offer #2 is a three-bottle vertical of Cole Ranch (2020 - 2021 - 2022) for $75 with tax + ground shipping included.
Offer #1: Syrah Horizontal
2019 Syrah & Mourvèdre Horizontal
$175 (Tax + Ground Shipping Included)
Includes One Bottle Each:
2019 Desire Lines Griffin’s Lair Syrah, Petaluma Gap
2019 Desire Lines Shake Ridge Ranch Syrah, Sierra Foothills
2019 Desire Lines Belle Mount Syrah, Bennett Valley
2019 Desire Lines Bedrock Vineyard Mourvèdre, Sonoma Valley
2019 Desire Lines Shake Ridge Syrah
The 2019 Shake Ridge Syrah is absolutely gorgeous. Bright aromatics, finely sculpted fruit and bright acids lend energy and vibrancy throughout. The tannins are quite present, but they are also very nicely integrated within the wine’s fabric. This is such a distinctive wine. – 94 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2021 / 14% ABV
2019 Desire Lines Griffin’s Lair Syrah
The 2019 Griffin’s Lair Syrah is polished in its first impression, before all that Syrah fruit and tannin hit the palate. Cedar, tobacco and spice lift a core of bright red-toned fruit. This mid-weight Syrah will almost certainly blossom with more time in bottle. – 93 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2021 / 14% ABV
2019 Desire Lines Belle Mount Syrah
The 2019 Belle Mount Syrah is a dense, meaty, cool-climate Syrah. There’s plenty of textural depth, but also some rough edges. Iron, blood, game, tobacco, scorched earth and incense bring out the wilder side of Syrah. I imagine this will always be a pretty intense, feral wine. It’s classic Bennett Valley, that’s for sure. – 93 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, April 2023 / 14% ABV
2019 Desire Lines Bedrock Vineyard Mourvèdre
The 2019 Bedrock Vineyard Mourvèdre is bold, pungent and full of character. Dried cherry, smoke, tobacco and cedar notes bring out the earthy, feral side of Mourvèdre. This is an attractive and intriguing wine, although I have to say I am not sure Mourvèdre alone can carry a wine at Bedrock, as there are some elements of austerity that I don’t think will every fully resolve. – 90 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, July 2021 / 14.5% ABV
Offer #2: Cole Ranch Riesling Vertical
Includes 3 bottles of Cole Ranch Riesling
$75 (tax + ground shipping included)
Includes One Bottle Each:
2020 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
2021 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
2022 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
The Wines:
2020 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
"Desire Lines’ Riesling Cole Ranch is racy and rich in 2020. Lemon confit orchard fruit, jasmine and light tropical accents are front and center. I suppose the 2020 is perhaps a bit less varietal than it can be, but soft, creamy contours more than compensate. The 2020 is a delicious wine to enjoy over the coming years." – 93 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, June 2022 / 13% ABV
“Hard to resist this nose of spring flowers and ripe white peaches! Sleek and elegant, in spite of the ripeness, this is an ideal introduction to the new dry rieslings of California…” -Stuart Pigott, of the 2020 Cole Ranch Riesling (April 2022)
2021 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
“The 2021 Riesling Cole Ranch offers a beguiling mix of varietal notes and also a good bit of textural weight that I don’t recall seeing in this wine previously. Dried pear, spice, chamomile, mint and white flowers emerge with some reluctance, as there is so much fruit density. I would give this a year or two in bottle.” – 92 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, April 2023 / 13% ABV
2022 Desire Lines Cole Ranch Riesling
“The 2022 Riesling Cole Ranch is the most intensely mineral and focused of the three Rieslings I tasted. It offers up an exotic mix of orchard fruit, crushed rocks, mint, white pepper, citrus peel and salt. Beautifully sculpted but not at all austere, the 2022 is an absolute winner. I loved it.” – 93 points; Antonio Galloni, Vinous, December 2023 / 13% ABV
How to Order
We use an allocation system that requires a login to order. Any questions reach out to Emily – (707) 494-1667 or emily@desirelineswines.com
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Existing Mailing List Members: Log in here
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New Signups: Sign up here, then click “View Offering”
Shipping Details
Ground shipping is included in this offer. Wines will ship as promptly as possible, weather-permitting. If you would like a specific ship date, please let us know in your order notes. 2nd Day Air rates may apply if shipping to AK and HI. We cannot ship to DE, MS and UT. If you do not see your state listed at checkout, please contact us for assistance.
Our Story
The short version of our story is that we’ve known each other since childhood, growing up in rural Northwest Iowa. We started dating at 16, then fell in love with wine during Cody’s college study abroad in Rome. We moved to Sonoma in 2011 as 22-year-old newlyweds with the hopes of working in the wine industry. Now, Cody is the Associate Winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co., and Emily is the Executive Director of Historic Vineyard Society and runs her own wine communications business focusing on mailing list releases for a number of wineries that you know and love. We live in Sonoma with our sons Caleb and Drew and golden retrievers Maya and Murphy.
If you’re feeling scholarly, you can read in-depth about all of these wines on our website in truly exhausting detail (check out our old release letters on our wines page). But, in the interest of brevity on this day of celebration:
Our red wines are from vineyards that I think are truly remarkable and utterly singular, which is the sole focus and mission of Desire Lines - wines that speak of a place, and a time, and a farmer, from some of California’s most iconic vineyard sites. We’re obsessed with Syrah, and think it makes some of California’s most evocative red wines. It renders wines that are unmistakably Californian, suffused with sunlight and sea air and coast range garrigue, but with freshness and verve and a savory intensity that speaks of our Northern Rhone inspirations. 2019 was a lovely vintage for us in northern California - generally cool and moderate, and marked by late spring rains in May that led to larger than usual berry sizing, producing wines that are unusually succulent and approachable in their youth. We expect our wines to enjoy a lengthy and youthful life in bottle, but like to think that they drink well young too, especially with a long decant. That is certainly the case with our fun and friendly 2019s.
The vines were planted at Cole Ranch in 1973, making it one of the oldest Riesling vineyards in the country. As of this year, it’s now eligible for Historic Vineyard status. The vineyard sits in a narrow valley in the mountains between Boonville and Ukiah. The valley benefits from the cooling maritime influence of nearby Anderson Valley, and yet has a large diurnal and seasonal range of temperatures like inland Mendocino County. It snows in Cole Ranch once or twice a winter, and by October the nights are freezing cold. The vineyard is looking better than ever thanks to the care of new owners Mike and Jill Lucia, and vineyard manager Evie who lives on the ranch. Our Cole Ranch Riesling is generally made in what we’d describe as a GG style - intensely aromatic, phenolic and weighty, a little salty, with loads of freshness and zip to keep things balanced and feeling zesty. Residual sugars are generally between 3 and 4 grams.
Really happy to be able to backfill the older vintages.