Sandlands Winter 2024 Release

WINE TALK
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Now onto the wines…

We are offering 6 wines in this release, including one that is new to the line-up. With the 2022 vintage, we bottled our first Assyrtiko from our friends, the Perlegos family, who grow Assyrtiko in their Stampede Vineyard in the Clements Hills Sub AVA of Lodi. A quick refresher on Assyrtiko: it is a Greek white grape variety that is indigenous to the island of Santorini. Assyrtiko has been in the USA for over 75 years, although it has only been cultivated commercially for the last 10 years. The grape appears to thrive in the deep sandy soils and Mediterranean climate of Lodi.

2022 Lodi Assyrtiko
Stampede Vineyard Assyrtiko is located in the Clements Hills of Lodi and is owned and farmed by the Perlegos family. The vines are planted in silica-rich, coarse sandy soils.
Sea salt, chalk, white peach and lime-zest. Mouth-watering, textured finish.
13.6% alc. 1 1000-litre foudre and 1 barrel produced.

2022 Sonoma County Trousseau
Planted at 1400 feet 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean, our section of the Bohan Vineyard sits in gravelly loam soils derived from sandstone and shale.
Rose petal, mint, smell me, drink me, love me, fine-grained, delicate tannin.
12.9% alc. 6 barrels produced.

2022 Lodi Cinsault
Planted in 1886 in the heart of Western Lodi by Joseph Spenker. Farmed for decades by Al Bechthold and now thriving under the watchful eye of the Phillips family.
Sun-dried cherries, black tea, lavender wax. Layered, suave tannins.
12.6% alc. 14 barrels produced.

2022 Lodi Red Table Wine
An intentional blend of three varieties and three vineyards in three equal parts, this wine is composed of Cinsault from the Bechthold Vineyard (1886), Carignane from Spenker Ranch (1900) and Zinfandel from Kirschenmann Vineyard (1915), our home ranch in Victor.
Black cherry, violets, sun-kissed peach. Persistent, supple finish.
13.2% alc. 40 barrels produced.

2022 Contra Costa Carignane
The vineyard was planted in the 1920s in what is classified as Dehli blow sand (decomposed granite that has been deposited by wind and water).
Plum, white peach, graphite. Energetic, structured, tannins.
13.4% alc. 6 barrels produced.

2022 Contra Costa Mataro
The vineyard was planted in the 1920s in what is classified as Dehli blow sand (decomposed granite that has been deposited by wind and water).
Violets, white peach, ripe plum. Bright, energetic and suave tannins.
13.6% alc. 5 barrels produced.

Just thought I’d share for those who aren’t subscribed. I’ve ordered a few times in the past and was offered 1-2 bottles of each, and 6 of the table wine for a total of a case. Came out to ~400 with shipping.

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I was super happy to get my shipment today. I seldom age these wines, because they are so good it’s hard to just keep my hands off of them. However, does anyone have any intel on how soon these might be ready to drink? Not sure when they were bottled, so don’t really have any idea when I should first crack one open.

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You should try one of those Assyrtiko now and let us know how it is!

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The only wines I’ve been hesitant to drink early have been the Syrahs and Nebbiolo. Everything from the winter release is very likely ready to go straight off the FedEx truck.

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I had a 2020 Lodi(?) Chenin Blanc recently and it was fantastic - it definitely improved with a bit of bottle age.

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Time flies…

2024 Spring release on 3/26
Wines to be released:

2022 Clarksburg Chenin Blanc
(1) 2000 liter foudre
~
2022 Kirschenmann Cinsault
4 barrels produced
~
2022 Lodi Carignane
5 barrels produced
~
2022 Sonoma Mencia
5 barrels produced
~
San Benito Mataro
3 barrels produced

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It’s now 3 offers per year? Thought it was only two… there goes more $ for shipping. At least the cost per bottle is very reasonable, just don’t like another shipment to deal with.

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I actually emailed the winery, and got a nice response from Jenn. She didn’t say when they were bottled, but did say they should all be ready to go.

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Catching me off-gaurd. Don’t really have the room, not sure if I will buy. I like the 2 times a year but of course there are wines in the release I want…

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I agree the Chenin improve with age.

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2022 Assyrtiko with dinner tonight. Bright sweet tart nose that quickly turns more savory instead of fruity. Plenty of acidity while still having a creamy/balanced feel to it. Picking up more of a waxy profile as it warms up, better as it warms up than at fridge temp. A completely different take on white wine from Sandlands and I like it. Feels like a baby right now, just keeps getting better in the glass. Not a showy wine, this one is class all the way. I don’t have much experience with this grape but I hope they made a 2023 of this, better than I was hoping for!

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NVM! Just opened a 21 Cinsault - will find the space.

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I’m usually in the minority on this, but I think that all of the wines add intrigue at a few years after release. I’ve found the reds especially to retain the youthful freshness while adding depth and stuffing on the palate. So I am just wrapping up 2017s now in general and the 18s have been across the board great at this point too… just moved the box of 2019s closer to the top of the pile as the 22s came in.

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Just drank this last weekend. No notes, but it was fantastic.

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I’m guessing we’re talking Lodi right?

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Yeah, that’s an important clarification. I drank the Sonoma Cinsault.

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Concur…it’s beautiful!

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Thanks. The next release is Kirschenmann, so I though we were talking Lodi. Might need to do a side by side!

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Me too, mine was the Sonoma

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New release is live. I expect the email to come shortly.

We are offering 5 wines in this release, including two that are new to the line-up. With the 2022 vintage, we bottled our first Cinsault from our home vineyard Kirschenmann in Eastern Lodi. Planted in 2019 and grafted in 2020, this is the first commercial release of our Cinsault. I recommend doing a side-by-side tasting with the Bechthold Cinsault from the winter release as it helps illuminate the differences in wines from the east vs. west side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA. In 2022, our Amador Chenin vineyards experienced a devastating frost event. I was lamenting said frost event to someone who was doing some development work on the vineyard I am planting in upper Amador County outside of the town of Volcano. He mentioned that his family was the first to plant Chenin blanc in Clarksburg in 1960, and his father, John Baranek, who wrote the Clarksburg AVA, still had a small block of Chenin blanc planted in 1985. A deal was made, and Sandlands was fortunate enough to purchase 3 tons of this magical fruit. The resulting wine has everything that is great about Clarksburg Chenin blanc (fruit, salinity, texture, and acidity). Also in the offering is our second and last vintage of the Sonoma County Mencia. Don’t miss out on this stunningly beautiful wine.

2022 Chenin blanc - Clarksburg
Our first Clarksburg Chenin blanc. The Baranek/Herzog vineyard was the first of modern vineyards planted in what was to become the Clarksburg AVA. Vines planted in 1985 in sandy, silty loam soils by John Baranek, who wrote the Clarksburg AVA.
Bosc pear, sea salt, and ginger. Bright, textured finish.
12.4% alc. 1 2000-litre foudre and produced.

2022 Cinsault - Lodi - Kirschenmann
Inspired by the ethereal beauty of the Bechthold vineyard, in 2019 I planted 1 acre of 140r rootstock in the Kirschenmann vineyard, grafted in 2020 to Cinsault. Here is our first wine from that planting.
Violets, dried cherry, black tea, lavender, wax. Suave, layered, and structured.
12.3% alc. 4 barrels produced.

2022 Carignane - Lodi
This own-rooted vineyard was planted in 1900 in Lodi’s Tokay fine sandy loam on the west side of Lodi’s Mokelumne River AVA.
Plum, elderberries and violets, bright, seamless tannins.
12.5% alc. 5 barrels produced.

2022 Mencia - Sonoma County
Located 1 mile southwest of the town of Graton, the MacIntyre estate is the source of our Mencia. Excessively drained Gold Ridge sandy loam soils and impeccable farming tell the story of this beautiful wine.
Blackberry, licorice, violets, dried herbs, and graphite. Balanced, textured, and concentrated.
12.4% alc. 5 barrels produced.

2022 Mataro - San Benito County - Enz Vineyard
Planted in 1923 in a mix of granite and limestone-rich soils, this head-trained, basket-pruned, dry-farmed, own rooted vineyard is one of California’s treasures of viniculture.
Plum, white peach, graphite. Energetic, structured, tannins.
13.4% alc. 6 barrels produced.