Cohn*
I will be drinking his Marsanne tonight! Sad to see them go. Loved his Syrahs.
It has looked like this has been coming for a year or two. I haven’t seen much of any white wines for sale in a while.
I’m headed to Healdsburg this Wednesday too. Tasting room is closed I’m told. I haven’t had any of his wines for quite some time. His price points always above my threshold, especially for zin.
I’ve been told the opposite - that in fact his tasting room is likely to be open for another year or more, as Jeff still has wines in barrel.
He was my client for both Rosenblum and his own brand. He finished first in his class at Fresno State…my stepson was in that class. He fit perfectly into the Kent Rosenblum style, high alcohol, lots of sexy wood, and the 5% current vintage blended back in. The wines were juicy and liked by many. We had a growers party at Eaglepoint many years ago and it was a blast. They would have a good sized group at ZAP and start the day with bloody Marys. I kind of thought 4-5 years ago that his winery was dead and didn’t know it. His price points were still climbing and the market wasn’t having it. Curious what a 50+ year old winemaker does when his brand died?
I had forgotten about Kent’s 5% back blend to give juiciness to his wine. I wonder if anyone else uses that technique??
Tom
Do you mean blending in 5% of a new Vintage engine an old one? Or something else?
Well, according to Jeff, he is hoping to do some consulting and some more collaborations . . .
During Covid lockdowns Jeff was selling much of his wine buy 6 get 6 free. It was a real bargain but since then the price points are a bit out of our range. I noticed on his web site he has wines for sale I have never seen before.
When Kent was ready to btl, he would blend in about 5% of the current vintage to give it that Rosenblum lushness.
Tom
Much more common than you might think - and quite legal too 
Cheers
What was your step son’s name? I was in enology program same time. Jeff was smart dedicated student maybe a little too serious at times
Serious? I guess Kent had a great impact on him then
Cheers
I liked the wines for the most part but didn’t routinely buy them. But even I, who am happy to have some “big” wines in my rotation, thought a subset pushed ripeness and concentration too far. I recall a particularly great St. Peter’s church vyd zin and of course the Rockpile syrahs could be amazing.
My stepson is Heath Dolan. Chris Lindeloff was in that class too.
Will miss his brand. Did not have them often but liked them when I did.
Syrah and Zin makers are getting crushed in this market. Their buyers are more sensitive to price increases and for the owners, the higher costs to produce have outsized effects on profits and sustainability when their wines sell under $90/bottle. Also, most owners of brands based on those varietals are winemaker-owner operations. There are less “ego” projects where tech money and other business riches can carry brands that are chronically losing money.
They’re still open by appointment! They have a lot of wine to sell!
Makes me wonder why when Postt took over the Lagier-Meredith vineyard and promptly significantly raised prices. The Mondeuse doubled in price and the Syrah and Zin went up at least 50% each. I was interested in trying them to see if there is a difference but not at those prices.