Should Rochioli Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc be on your list? IIRC they claim this is the oldest Sauvignon Blanc in the state and this portion of the vineyard dates back 60 years.
Tom
I Block Mondavi may be older?..
Thanks for the excellent suggestion, Tom!! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I am looking for some detailed info online related to the Rochioli’s “Old Vine” Sauvignon Blanc plantings. So far, I am not finding very much.
To my recollection, the Rochioli winery homepage once provided significantly more data about the producer’s history, estate vineyards, cellar practices, and wines. The mobile site is very stripped-down and offers little in the way of history or winemaking details.
Wine Mizer
“J. Rochioli Russian River Valley Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc”
by Jim
April, 2018
“…This Sauvignon Blanc is from California. Vines are estate grown in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. I had tasted Rochioli’s ‘Estate’ (blend) Sauvignon Blanc before. (see Wine Mizer: ROCHIOLI VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2017 ). The blend is not of varietals, but separate plots (all estate) and 55% of that blend is harvested from the original 1959 plot from which this single vineyard (‘Old Vines’) Sauv Blanc is exclusively made…”.
The Rochioli winery website includes a map of the estate vineyard and details about each parcel. There are three separate plots of Sauvignon Blanc:
· Planted in 1959 - “Old Vines” (10 acres)
· Planted in 1985 - “Old Vines Selection” (2.8 acres)
· Planted in 2001 - Clone 376 (3.4 acres)
Rochioli Vineyards website:
https://www.rochioliwinery.com/
I have a few Rochioli OV SB and it’s always been super (almost an understatement) acidic and mineral driven.
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The “Aparicio Vineyard” is registered with the Historic Vineyard Society as a source of old Zinfandel plantings dating back to the 1880s.
According to Haarmeyer Wine Cellars (St Rey), the own-rooted Chenin Blanc vines in the “Aparicio Vyd” are from a 1973 replanting.
From Haarmeyer website’s “Aparicio Vyd” profile:
"Aparicio:
"Sutter Creek - Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel
"Aparicio Vineyard was planted to Zinfandel and Carignan in 1934 at the top of Ridge Road just outside Sutter Creek, CA, by Santos Aparicio. The soil is a remnant of a Mehrten mud flow, which is a volcanic conglomerate of iron rich clay and andesite cobbles. This deposit overlies slate and green schists. There is no water on the property whatsoever, so the vines were established by watering them by hand from a barrel that was filled in the creek below and hauled up to the vineyard by mule. In 1973, Joe Aparicio took over for his father and planted Chenin Blanc in the same fashion: own-rooted, head-trained, and watered by hand.
“Today John and Steve Murrill, Joe’s neighbors, farm the vineyard just as Joe and his father farmed it: naturally, sustainably, utilizing cover crops, and methodical pruning. We pick Zinfandel and Chenin Blanc from this his magnificent vineyard.”
Wine Berserkers forum
“St. Rey / Haarmeyer Wine Cellars Release - Chenin!”
by ChrisU
April 21, 2017
Historic Vineyard Society profile: “Aparicio Vineyard”
Man this stuff gets a little overly detailed at times, but I do like reading about the old vine stuff and how much of it has survived until now!
Been meaning to try out Haarmeyer Chenin for some time now…
You should man! If you like dry, high-acid chenin, you’ll dig em!
Don’t sleep on the reds either! No disrespect to Teagan or Harvey/D&R, but Craig’s Mataro is the best domestic example I’ve ever had.
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“Cat Canyon Vineyard”, dating back to 1978, is the source for a Santa Barbara County single-vineyard Chenin Blanc from Outward Wines. The property appears to be part of a giant Kendall-Jackson vineyard.
Outward Wines “2020 ‘Cat Canyon Vineyard’ Chenin Blanc”
“2020 was our first vintage working with Chenin Blanc and the ‘Cat Canyon Vineyard’, located just outside of the small town of Los Alamos. These vines were planted in 1978, and up until 2019, the wine from these vines was blended away into larger production wines. We are thrilled to make a single-vineyard expression from this site in 2020!”
The “Raffaini Vineyard”, a old Chasselas planting in the Russian River Valley, provided grapes for at least one bottling of Wertzberger Wine. My efforts to find out more about this vineyard have not been bountiful.
I tentatively followed Bill Wertzberger’s efforts in revitalizing tiny, neglected vineyards over the last decade. A few decades back, he was the winemaker for McDowell in Mendocino County, and helped tend the ancient “Gibson Vineyard”. He more recently served as winemaker for F. Teldeschi.
There are a couple of Raffainis in western Sonoma County: one appears to work with a vineyard management company. The obituary of Eva Pieri, mother and grandmother to these gentlemen, states:
“Eva worked for Italian Swiss Colony and was invited to pour the first glass of wine to then Mayor Rossi of San Francisco the day prohibition ended.”
To the best of my knowledge, the location of the 6-acre old-vine Raffaini planting is near the corner of Eastside Rd and Old Redwood Hwy outside of Healdsburg.
The “Peugh Vineyard” is an old-vine planting of Chardonnay (and apparently some mixed red grape varieties) in the RRV. Anthill Farms’ sole Chardonnay is sourced from this vineyard.
Anthill Farms website: “Wines & Vineyards”
“Peugh Vineyard”, Russian River Valley
“This head-trained vineyard sits smack dab in the middle of the Russian River Valley, on the plains that make up the northwestern outskirts of Santa Rosa. The faded brown soils, known as Huichica loam, offer an excellent mix of low fertility and rapid drainage. Most notable about the site, however, is the age of the vines: we don’t know the exact age, but the best indication is that they were planted in the early 1940s, making it some of the oldest producing Chardonnay in the state.”
from Anthill Farms Spring 2021 Release:
“A Word about Old Vines: It would be easy to overlook the lone Chardonnay we bottle. We don’t make much and it’s our only Russian River Valley bottling. We hope you don’t make that mistake. These dry farmed, 75-year-old vines (head-trained on roots from 1857 that look more like small trees than grape vines), produce a naturally expressive wine of distinct briny, mineral and savory orchard fruit character that you only get in whites from vines this old…”.
The winery’s Winter 2021 Release Save-the-Date note states that a “Peugh Vyd” Mixed Blacks wine is to be available.
Anthill Farms website:
I just came across this post about older Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards and I thought I would clarify a question about the vine age at Le Boeuf Vineyard brought up by Drew Goin.
The vineyard was planted by Burney Le Boeuf in 1974 to heritage selection of Chardonnay on St George rootstock. In the 1990s, Burney wanted to experiment with Pinot Noir at the site, so he budded 12 rows over to Dijon clone 667 onto the original 1974 St. George rootstock. When we started working with vineyard in 2019, we made wine exclusively from the old-vine Chardonnay block. In Spring of 2020 we decided to bud-over the Pinot Noir block which had a large amount of Eutypa (a fungal disease common in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and also Leaf-Roll Virus which likely came in on the Pinot cuttings. With yields around 3/4 ton per acre and falling we made decision to bud those vines back to three heritage clone selections of Chardonnay (Mount Eden and two Old-Went variants). We made the decision of Chardonnay over Pinot Noir after tasting through many back vintages of the wines, discussing it with Burney, and noting in vintage after vintage there was a delicious and distinct vineyard character from the Chardonnay while the Pinot Noir showed a range of expressions but often burly and tannic most years. The vineyard is only a few acres, so from a practical perspective it makes more sense to have a single variety on the site.
So the 2019 and 2020 Le Boeuf Vineyard Chardonnays were made exclusively with the vines planted in 1974 and from 2021 onward the Chardonnay will be made with approximately 2/3 of the vines on old vine plantings along with the new selections grafted on the original 1974 rootstock. In 2021, the newly budded block yielded about a full ton of Chardonnay - more than double the amount of Pinot Noir from the same vines in their last harvest. The wine is already delicious in barrel, showing some the hallmarks for the site including a great frame of acid and mineral and delicious orange oil aromatics but with really great added concentration and aromatics that may be attributable to the new heritage-clone selections. Any Berserker who wants to come taste a vertical of the three at the winery should PM me - I’d love to share them with you.
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Thank you for the information. It clarifies things greatly!
Hi everybody-
I make what I call an “old vine” Chenin blanc up here in Washington state for my brand called Orr. I work with several vineyards in the Yakima Valley. All are own rooted.
Rothrock vineyard, Prosser WA Chenin blanc planted 1974 ripped out 2020 planted to apples instead
Upland vineyard, Sunnyside WA Chenin blanc planted 1979
Roza Hills vineyard, Zillah WA Chenin blanc planted “early 1980s”
Gresswell vineyard, Outlook WA Chenin blanc planted “early 1980s”
For sure the “old vine” story is cool and the vines themselves are gnarly and wild looking.
As to what exactly the old vines impart to the aroma and flavor - that experiment is real hard to do, especially since I don’t own the land. I don’t have “young vine” chenin on the same parcel to compare to.
With my chenin, I want subtle fruit flavors and a clean refreshing mineral feeling and I can craft that from these old vines.
Interesting discussion!
Erica
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The Daminico family owns the surviving acreage of the “Carter Family Vyd” in North Prosser, Washington. They began their own winery using some of the old-vine fruit from this site.
Domanico Cellars website: “Our Vineyard”
“Our vineyard is a small historic vineyard that was planted by George and Dennis Carter, both legends in the Washington wine industry. George began planing Cabernet Sauvignon here in 1975, and a large portion of this vineyard was planted before 1980…”.
According to the winery website, the old-vine white cultivars include: Chardonnay, Riesling, and Early Muscat. A few red grape varieties also date back +44-years.
Wine Business
“Domanico Cellars Launches New Winery and Tasting Room in Prosser, Washington”
August 8, 2016
“…In 2012 Domanico purchased the 8.66 acre Carter Family Vineyard in North Prosser. ‘Purchasing the Carter Vineyard, now named Domanico Vineyard, sealed the deal on our move to Prosser. There is so much history in the vineyard. Many vines are over 40 years old…Brian Carter and Dr. Walter Clore experimented with different varieties and growing methods on the property. This particular area in North Prosser is where we were previously sourcing fruit that made up our favorite wines – it was a no brainer that we purchased a vineyard in the same area’…”.
Domanico Cellars website:
According to Neyers Vineyards’ blog, a small planting of +50-year-old Chardonnay vines continue to grow in the “Shot-Wente Block” of “Yamakawa Vineyards”.
This property is located in the northern Carneros Valley AVA, on West Watmaugh Road. Over the past 25 years, the Yamakawa family’s Chardonnay grapes have been sold to Acacia, Benziger, Neyers, and other wineries.
Neyers Vineyards Blog
Vineyard Tales:
“Remembering Jim Yamakawa”
by Bruce Neyers
April 16, 2021
“…All of us at Neyers Vineyards were saddened last week to learn of the recent death of Jim Yamakawa. Jim was a long-time grape supplier to Neyers Vineyards, and he passed away on March 24th at age 92. We began to buy grapes from Jim in 2000, and over the past few years he was the single largest supplier of fruit to Neyers Vineyards. His block of old-vine, ‘Shot-Wente’ selection Chardonnay was often 50% or more of our Neyers Vineyards Carneros District Chardonnay bottling. Our arrangement with Yamakawa Vineyards will continue with his son Del, who has spent most of his adult life working with his father in the family business…”.
Neyers Vineyards Blog
Vineyard Tales:
“A Well-Developed White from Heirloom Shot-Wente Selection”
by Bruce Neyers
June 5, 2020
Neyers Vineyards Blog
Vineyard Tales:
“The Perfect Wine for a Grilled Vietnamese Pork Dish”
by Bruce Neyers
August 31, 2021
Neyers’ Carneros District Chardonnay is sourced from between three to four sites owned by the Yamakawas or the Sangiacomo family (“Home Ranch”, "Green Acres ", & “El Novillero”).
Napa Valley’s Larkmead Winery estate vineyards include an old-vine parcel of Tocai Friulano, planted in 1893.
Larkmead
Wines: “Tocai Friulano”
"The vines that comprise this wine come from a heritage parcel that harkens back to earlier history at Larkmead and Napa Valley, when the valley was planted to more white varieties than red.
“These old vines have shown their age in recent vintages but when the conditions are right, they produce a unique, graceful wine that transports you not only to the early part of the last century, but also to the northeast of Italy where the variety originates.”
Image: “Our century-old Tocai Friulano vines in the A Block.”
“Vineyards: Larkmead’s vineyard is bordered by Selby Creek and the Napa River at the conjunction point of two colluvial fans that extend from the Mayacamas and the Vaca mountain ranges. The main difference between this site and others bordering Napa waterways is that most of the finer material has been ‘washed out’ and carried down the valley. The result is that nearly 300 feet of ancient riverbed gravel lies directly beneath the topsoil. This well-draining environment provides the valley floor location of Larkmead with a rare character typically found in hillside vineyards.”
Napa Valley Register
“A Rare Wine, Tocai Friulano, Still Produced by Larkmead”
by John Lindblom
November 13, 2008
Alternative Link: here
“…Those fortunates invited to tour the property will see the history in a one-acre block of Larkmead’s 113 acres in vines. A precious few will taste the wine produced from the 125-year-old Tocai Friulano fruit harvested from the single acre. Of the 5,000 to 7,000 cases of all varietals that come from Larkmead annually, only 142 cases contain Tocai Friulano…”.
Larkmead website:
Over a couple hot days, I had a few cold goblets of the 2017 Neyers Chardonnay [Carneros] which has some of the aforementioned old growth vineyard in the cepage. It’s barrel fermented, with all French wood (plenty new), and gets lees aging/stirring. That builds a nutty flavor and golden color which make it feel more Old World, and more mature, than it’s true age/AVA might suggest. There are some bitter citrus pith notes on this medium bodied blanc. There is some discrepancy with the abv, but whether its in the 13 or 14 handle, that aspect feels aligned with the other elements. I had expected to like this more, but its more in the zippy apple flavor zone than butter/lactic. In my area these are top shelf chardonnays, i.e. anything over $20ish but I thought it was only ‘ok’, let’s say a B in my ledger, and would not repurchase. My tastes in the state’s flagship blanc varietal are popular/commercial – even shameful – according to Mrs. AKR.
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In August of 2019, Christina Rasmussen began working under the guidance of esoteric winemaker Abe Schoener at Scholium Project and LA River Wine Co.
“The Alley” is a Palomino wine from the “Bridgehead Vineyard”. Ms Rasmussen acquired 1/2 a ton of Contra Costa County grapes from Megan Cline, as mentioned in her profile of grower Alan Lucchesi and the nearby “Walnut Meadows Vineyard”.
Christina Rasmussen website
“The Alley 2019”
“…The vineyard in question is the historic ‘Bridgehead Vineyard’, in Contra Costa, California, owned and farmed organically by Cline Cellars. The vineyard is predominantly planted to Zinfandel and Mataro (Mourvèdre) - the latter of which used to be a Ridge cuvée - and there is also a small amount of Palomino and Muscat found here. All the vines are own-rooted massal selection. The Palomino vines are believed to have been planted in 1935, although it is possible that they are even older. The vines are incredibly healthy and bear an astonishing amount of fruit, and the climate and health of the vineyard means it only needs to be sprayed with sulphur once a year. My wine is the only Palomino from the vineyard to have been made solo.”
Images of Rasmussen & Megan Cline in the “Bridgehead Vyd”: (Link)
"The once-rural region of Contra Costa has, in recent decades, become a hotspot for developers. With the value of land having exploded due to the area’s proximity to San Francisco (on a good day, just an hour’s commute), it is down to a small number of incredibly dedicated growers, such as the Cline family, that these vines remain in the ground today. ‘Bridgehead’ is now nestled between new builds, a road, and an old trainline.
"When emailing Megan and Charlie Tsegeletos (the now-retired winemaker of Cline) about the vineyard, Charlie said:
"‘I hope you cherish that old Palomino as much as we do. It was planted back in 1935 and it’s watched a lot of trains go by. You’ll see what I’m talking about when you see the vineyard!’
“It’s true: the vines sit quietly watching train after train trundle by, like elderly people sitting on a park bench in the afternoon sun as buses honk, kids scream, and the world continues its busy pace around them…”.
Christina Rasmussen website:
https://www.christinarasmussen.co
Christina Rasmussen’s Instagram page
https://www.instagram.com/christinarasmussen_/
Picuki mirror: Link
Linktree website:
Websites for Christina Rasmussen
We just threw back a bottle of the 2021 Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc [Russian River Valley] which the back label notes is 64% old vine, 21% Clone 376, and 15% hillside. I assume these are all well known vineyards to their mailing list, but it’s new info for me. This 14.5% abv, medium bodied blanc is one of the better examples of this varietal that I can ever recall trying. The fruit is lush without being cloying, ponderous and it has the right touch of lemons and stone here as well. Great verve, and a food wine that pairs well with lighter grilled fare, like the satay chicken and marinated eggplant I made. Solid A grade blanc. It’s an easy wine to drink too fast and deserved more contemplation for consumption.
Chicken was trimmed/deskinned and then soaked in a home made coconut milk satay-esque seasoning for a day (excluding lemongrass, since I didn’t have any) and the eggplant got a few hours in herbs, salt, oil and vinegar. It was hot while grilling but the blanc hit the spot!
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Agree, Arv,
It’s a fun wine. Some of the “better” (i.e. fancier) but also staid restaurants here in IN have it on their list, alongside a lot of sludge that I won’t drink, so it’s become my go to, when I find myself in one of these and also their Pinot. Not the most complex wines, but what is there can be distinctive and enjoyable.
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