Always a favorite.
“What you think you know forbids you from finding new answers – always try to learn and improve.” Anselme Selosse – June 8th 2024
Dear Friends,
As we reflect on the flow of time for the first 10 years of Kobayashi and prepare for our 2024 harvest season, it is difficult to find words strong enough to convey the gratitude we feel for your support.
This will be our only sales email in 2024, which means this is your only chance to get the wines directly. We’ll plan to have a tasting/party again sometime this winter for the folks who purchase these wines. And since we are celebrating our 10th vintage - we will make it extra special.
Last year some longtime customers missed out on the complete mixed case because a few of the wines sold out very quickly. This year we want to give the mixed case buyers a little head start so hopefully that doesn’t happen again. If you want a mixed case, please click the button below to purchase now. If you want to purchase individual wines, you’ll get a notification in 3 days when the store is open for individual bottles. Prices are the same at $65 for white wines and $85 for reds, and shipping/delivery is the same at $5/bottle – wines will ship in autumn when the weather cools off.
Our case buyers usually get a free hoodie with textile art displaying Mario’s Kobayashi family crest. Our back label art now changes every year along with the hoodie art. We wanted to do something different this year, so the gift of appreciation for case buyers will be a t-shirt and a handmade stoneware Kobayashi coffee mug (or can be used as a spit cup if you don’t drink warm beverages). We will also have a pickup option in Milton-Freewater (Oregon side of the border in Walla Walla) on Sunday November 10th during the [Grenachefest] weekend. We are not pouring (since we don’t make Grenache) but we will be attending all the events, so hopefully you can come enjoy the weekend with us in Walla Walla!
The art on our back label this year (and t-shirts) is the mythological and auspicious Minogame motif. Literally translated as ‘straw-raincoat turtle’, this creature appears hairy because it is so old that algae or seaweed has grown on its shell. Ten years of Kobayashi wines is a meager timeframe in comparison to the centuries and generations of wine farmers in the old world, but a milestone for us nonetheless, so we chose this art motif that symbolizes the gathering of wisdom over time, longevity which encourages patience and perseverance. It’s a reminder that we shouldn’t rush through life but rather pace ourselves, making deliberate choices, and staying focused on our long-term goals.
I feel like I have a lot to say, and a lot more to do. It would seem characteristically unusual to focus this letter on change when, in fact, we are only selling our usual base set of wines this year in 2024 with nothing new and no one-offs. Perhaps that is because I know what is already resting in barrel and bottle, I have glimpsed at both the continuity and change that is coming. I usually attempt (and fail) to keep these letters to a minimum. Luckily for you Mario insisted that I remove a mini-essay on wine criticism/writing (there is an important distinction), and our current philosophy on scores/ratings. So this will be a bit more brass tacks than usual. I’ll just mention that if you want to read any more about us, you can check out articles in Wine Enthusiast, Vinous, The Oregonian, Decanter Magazine (top 30 American Syrah), Owen Bargreen, and etc… The wines you have purchased in the past few years have had a lot of nice things written about them. Alternatively, this writeup on a website I had never heard of, especially in the context of the other wines being poured, and being tasted by someone who knew nothing about us, has a descriptive clarity I appreciate, Wine Disorder.
We started this journey in 2012 with a vague outline of what we wanted to do, and now looking back everything seems clear, yet the future is still cloudy and nebulous. Where do we go from here? While we plan to improve our classic set of wines every year, we will also continue to push boundaries and use our imaginations to create new and exciting wines. Consistency is something that historically Kobayashi has not delivered. We are not manufacturing coca cola or bud light and we welcome vintage variation. In our quest to make the most interesting wine we have, for example, sourced Cab Franc from 5 different vineyards, and we are down to 2 now - because we found that they amplify the sound we seek. Now that we have surrendered to the notion that nature is perfect and mysterious, I have a feeling the base set of wines will start becoming a little more consistent, while some of the small production wines could get more radical. We have a few things in the works already that are a vast departure from what you have come to expect from us, and I have some ideas of what we will do in the future. Changes are not always gradual. Ideas materialize, their roots go deep beneath the surface (sometimes for years) before a sudden action sprouts and changes our course. During the throws of harvest these decisions can seem rash and unconsidered, but when we look back from the future, the timing of seismic shifts always looks obvious and inevitable.
The wine business is a lot of work, filled with sacrifice and uncertainty, not always easy, but we try to focus on the bright spots; the relationships, experiences, inspiration, and pleasure it can bring to us, and to you. We have now reached our production goal of 1000 cases per year, with no current plans for expansion.
We appreciate that you are part of the Kobayashi Family and look forward to sharing excitement and pleasure in the coming years. You are the most important part of the equation to keep us going. Please continue to support small family wine producers. We also couldn’t exist without the help, guidance and generosity of our friends Todd and Carrie Alexander of Holocene / Beatus /Atelier Freewater, Paul and Susan McBride and the entire team at Force Majeure including Stephen Morina and Matt Moye, and our vineyard partners at WeatherEye, Red Willow and Corliss.
The uncertain future will be brighter if we travel there together. Thank you for joining us on this journey!
This letter is so long already I’ll keep the wine descriptions to a minimum. Even though this is our base set that we try to produce every year, these wines are not static. If we think we can do some improvements to make the wines better, we will make those changes. You might not be conscious of the details of the process of our production but will become conscious of the distinctive effect these wines have on your senses and hopefully your emotions.
2022 Viognier - We are very excited about our 2022.This is the first year that contains no new oak (it is 100% barrel fermented in used French oak barrels), and the first year I can appreciate more than a whispering aroma of apricot - which along with the intense floral nose, makes it a viognier that works for me. The zingy acid keeps it fresh and lively. I hope you like this as much as I do.
2023 Marsanne/Roussanne - You know we make this wine in an unconventional way, and the result is animated and bold. We are not making any big changes here, the first Kobayashi wine that has found its footing. Prefermentation skin contact, cigar shaped barrels, full aromatics and flavor, full body, full pleasure.
2022 Cab Franc - Our cab franc rests on a wavelength despised and avoided by other winemakers in our region - which makes me lean in even more. We want to preserve the ‘cab franc-i-ness’ we want fresh cut herbs, we want savory spice. Cab franc is one of the most distinctive grape varieties, why wouldn’t we want to embrace that? Slow cool fermentation and aging in foudre and large neutral French oak puncheons. Unmistakable natural beauty with no make-up and no photoshop.
2022 Syrah - 2022 vintage for Syrah was nothing short of magical. The fruit got ripe at a lower brix, so we have full flavor and savory herbal qualities at a lower alcohol level. In fact, this vintage of Syrah is so great, that I’m holding back a 600 liter demi-muid for a second extended barrel aged (blue label) Syrah. I opened a bottle of the 2019 EBA at Hospice du Rhone recently and it was how I remembered it (I only saved 12 bottles for the library, so I can’t open them often).
2023 Sans Soufre Syrah - This is still my favorite wine we produce. I feel like it has layers of complexity that are coiled up and waiting to emerge. When will that happen? I don’t know. Unfortunately (we apologize) people only get one bottle so it is not a wine you can follow over time - you just have to live in that moment with mostly joy and a slight twinge of melancholy with the knowledge that the experience is transient and unrepeatable. Not unlike gazing at a beautiful cherry blossom tree in full glory. Its beauty is heightened in part because of the fleeting nature. As is life. もののあはれ (Mono no Aware).
Thank you for traveling with us on this journey!
Travis and Mario
June 2024
Super easy purchase. Amazing wines.
