We invite you to mark your calendar for the inaugural offering of our Palisades Canyon 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Chenin Blanc on Tuesday, October 8. Our offering will go live at 10:00 am PDT (1:00 pm EDT). The wines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and allocations are not guaranteed. With just 125 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and 24 cases of Chenin Blanc in this release, we anticipate that demand will outpace what we have to offer.
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After living in the canyon and tending to our vines for a decade, we are thrilled to be able share these wines with you.
Notes from Graeme MacDonald
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon: Showcasing high-toned brambly red fruit, balanced by fresh bay leaf and mountain sage. The influence of the gravelly alluvial soil glides across the palate, tightly wound, then blossoming into a compelling, age-worthy wine.
2021 Chenin Blanc: Beautifully balanced with layers of Comice pear, citrus blossom and honeysuckle, evolving into hints of flint and dried hay. Expanding across the palate with mouthwatering honeydew melon, lemon meringue and a lingering natural freshness on the finish.
Our next release will occur in late winter 2025 when we will offer our 2021 Petite Sirah and 2022 Chenin Blanc. Watch for details in the new year.
We are humbled by the outpouring of interest and grateful for your support.
Sincerely,
Palisades Canyon Wines
Felicia Woytak and Steven Rasmussen
Interesting that they use “Calistoga - Napa Valley” on their Petite Sirah and Chenin Blanc but just use “Napa Valley” on their Cabernet Sauvignon, despite them all being from the same estate.
Is the Calistoga designation seen as a marketing plus for “lesser” Napa grapes, but a negative for Cabernet?
Unpopular opinion-I’m on the fence here . While I’m sure the wines are high-quality and are reasonably priced for what they are, I hate being forced into three packs of new $100+ wines that I (or people generally) haven’t tried yet. You never quite know how a wine will hit your palate in particular.
I had the pleasure of tasting with Felicia and Steven 2 weeks ago with some friends. Started with an in-depth walk through the vineyard, changes they made, a focus on the soil differences, head-pruned spiral shape. Their passion and joy for the property, the vineyard, and the wines is clearly evident. The hospitality was top notch and my friends and I really enjoyed the time spent.
2021 Petite Sirah (kudos Patrick, not syrah) : a very well made wine,
Deep opaque purple in color, strong nose. plum, dark chocolate. black pepper, black tea, very dark,
Full Bodied, loads of tannins perhaps a bit overpowering of the acidity. I’m not the biggest fan of PS but could appreciate the quality of the wine. I think they mentioned Graeme only had skin contact for about 2 weeks or so.
2021 Cabernet:
Full bodied, dark, opaque as well. was decanted about 8 hours (bottle only). Cocoa, Black currants, cedar, graphite.
Balanced tannins and acidity. smooth long finish - A bit riper and decedent than I usually prefer but definitely has the aging potential. I am contemplating this
2021 Chenin Blanc
This was the highlight of the tasting in my opinion. What a wine!
Steven explained that Graeme made this in the “death/ resurrection” fermentation method akin to Kongsgaard.
Pale golden yellow in color. Lively acidity, notes of honey, pear, chamomile, quince, and a hint of wet stone/minerality. medium+ alcohol (i think label is 14.2%). Delicious mouthfeel. @Roy_Piper predicted this might be the first to sell out given the limited availability (they have planted some more which hopes to come online by 2027/28). I hope to snag a 3 pack of this.
My friends who joined are not winebeserkers but they could not stop raving about the amazing experience they had at Palisades Canyon all weekend. They signed up for the list and will be looking to grab some of both cab and chenin on the release.
Could you explained the “death/resurrection” method for me? Is that essentially allowing extreme oxidation and browning early on and then racking once those oxidized solids fall out?
I’ve preferred Corison, Roy Piper, Inglenook, Bella Oaks, Spottswoode in my short time drinking napa cabs. Having also enjoyed the 001 recently. The Palisades Canyon felt more tannic and ripe IMO relative to those…
This is from a great article on SF gate that summarizes the method. If I recall correctly, the Chenin Blanc spent about about 14 months or 16 months in barrel.
"It begins conventionally enough: Grapes are picked ripe and pressed, and at that point given a very small amount of the preservative sulfur dioxide - perhaps 30 parts per million, one-fifth what Kongsgaard learned to use in the 1970s. This keeps the juice healthy, but hardly stops what happens next: It typically turns dark brown from exposure to oxygen, a move that can diminish wine’s youthful exuberance but arguably gives it a longer life.
Soon fermentation begins, entirely from ambient yeasts. Nothing else is added. This is a complete reversal of standard white winemaking, with its heavy reliance on sulfur and commercial yeasts.
Now comes death - or at least deep risk. Kongsgaard’s fermentations can easily take a year, an eternity compared with modern practices that rarely last even a week. Barrels are stirred occasionally, but the wine often grows murky and dull.
Visited the vineyard on Wednesday and enjoyed all three offerings. The Chenin was quite viscous and hefty in all the right ways, and I’m typically indifferent to CB. The Cabernet is youthful and vibrant. Certainly more fruit forward in style. The PS was what really intrigued me. Far more approachable than I find with most PS. It’s not some brooding beast. Loved my time there.
Purchased a 3pk of both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc. Really looking forward to these wines down the line and $150 is a great price considering you know what.
Plethora of shipping options available and FedEx Ground shipping in CA for 6 bottles was only $39 ($57 for FedEx 2-day).
Before anyone asks, I got to purchase early because of a conflict of interest (I’m traveling in Japan and the release would have been at 2am for me). I let them know ahead of time and they understood my special situation (they didn’t want me to stay up late and lose sleep).