Tns: 2009 Flowers Chardonnay Sonoma, 2008 Flowers Chardonnay Camp Meeting Ridge

WINE TALK
1

Was recently able to taste some recent releases from Flowers Winery.
I know nothing of Flowers outside of having heard of them, but no real knowledge of their style or history.
They are not one of the talked about producers here, don’t really know what folks think of them.
In that sense, I tasted these blind, with an open mind.
I liked both of these Chards.

2009 Flowers Chardonnay Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/24/2011)
A nice surprise…green apple and spiced pear notes. Very Chablis-like on the palate. Clean, not overdone, and rather crisp. There’s a touch more heat here than I’d like, but a pretty solid-old world-styled Chard here that could stand some time in bottle. Solid wine.

2008 Flowers Chardonnay Camp Meeting Ridge - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (7/31/2011)
Smells like shells and hazelnuts. Slight hints of oak and vanilla. Palate is pure, but it lacks a bit of acidity for me to really get excited. There’s a steely quality here, but it’s slightly obscured by some oak. Drinking well now. A nice wine that I wouldn’t really track down, but I wouldn’t hesitate to drink if it was around.
Posted from CellarTracker

2

Jason Jardine is there now, formerly of Rhys as GM and winemaker now. They are out on the extreme Sonoma Coast (True) and he should fashion some fantastIc wines from their properties out in the middle of nowhere.

3

I think a winery to watch with Jason there. That said, I’ve been burned in the past, so I am waiting to see others post reviews before buying again.

A 02 Sonoma coast Pinot was my “ah ha” moment that cali Pinot was good.

4

Hugh Chappelle made great wines there in the past.

5

Thanks for the info, guys.
I suppose I could have used the google, but it was fun to drink without preconceptions of who/what it was.
Have a few of the new pinots to try this weekend.
Let you know how those turn out.

6

Flowers is one of those wineries that has more sentimental connections for me than just pure good wine, so I’m biased. But my opinion is they had a few years of pretty mediocre wines in the mid-2000s although the prices were at the relatively hefty levels that zoomed up after they became a ‘hot/cult’ winery in the 90s. They appeared to be riding their previous success… I think their most recent releases - like in the last year - are showing their ability/quality of fruit once again.

I’ve got a few in my cellar so we could always do a burg/Flowers tasting one afternoon…

7

Thanks for the additional info. Tasting sounds like a good idea.

8

Dennis,

Thanks for the great notes. Very similar to my thoughts on those two wines. Please continue to try Flowers as we are working hard to bring it back to an exciting and expressive place. Implementing new farming regime (Organic, BD, building soils, dry farming, etc…) and a more focused winemaking program. The soils and vineyard locations are amazing and unique so I am very excited about the potential. You are welcome to visit anytime if ever in west county Sonoma.

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Jason - have you been able to taste Hugh’s era from the library? Is this a style or quality level you plan on emulating?

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Yes Glenn. I have tasted every wine since the first vintage in '93 to get an understanding of the vineyard potential. Some have aged better than others and every three years or so Flowers had a new winemaker so individual style has influenced the wines greatly. I have enjoyed the wines during Hugh’s era and feel the quality was great during that period. Not sure we will try to emulate those wines but Hugh did a great job.

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Thanks, Jason.
I look forward to trying the other bottlings.
Thanks for chiming in here.

12

Thx Jason - as you clearly state the lack of continued stewardship has been a negative for Flowers. Can you give us a benchmark kind of example of what you are now striving for with each variety? Thanks again.

13

Hey Dennis, thanks for posting about these wines. I recently got to taste a number of the Flowers wines for a Twitter blogger tasting event and have been meaning to get my notes together. I agreed with you about liking the Sonoma chard and appreciating that it had some minerality and cut. I thought the Camp Meeting Ridge chardonnay was pretty darn delicious, especially on days 2 and 3. It was definitely California to me but compared nicely with a good village or 1er cru burg with some opulence, or the Rivers Marie Thieriot chard to compare to another Sonoma Coast wine.

During the Twitter tasting, I was surprised by and noted the very balanced alcohol level and cool climate feel (light, pretty cherry pomegranate flavors) of the 09 Sonoma Coast pinot and during the course of the discussion I discovered Jason’s Rhys connection and then it made perfect sense. In a way, though, it tasted to me more like a true Sonoma Coast answer to the Copain Tous Ensemble. The Sea View Ridge 08 pinot had more material for sure, and felt a tad overripe to me on night 1, but it showed really nicely and more balanced on subsequent nights. I had been somewhat down on RRV pinot for a while now, but these two wines and a nice 09 Bedrock Rebecca’s vineyard may be bring me around again.

I have tasted some Flowers pinots from the late 90s that I thought were good; I like the direction the wines are going now. If the wines were just a bit cheaper I would recommend them highly. I really like the Sonoma Coast pinot but at $40ish I’m not sure I’d buy it over Copain Tous Ensemble at $25-30ish and Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast at $25. Similarly, for the $60-70 you pay for the Sea View Ridge, you can be getting Rhys/Rivers Marie/Copain/Peay/Arcadian SVDs also, as well as quite a few village Burgs from great producers or 1er crus from good ones, or some top flight Oregon pinots. Nonetheless, nice job Jason - I was pleasantly surprised and look forward to tasting more of your wines in the coming years.

14

Sure Glenn. The goal of course is to capture as much from our location and soils as possible. 1.5 miles from the ocean, 1200-1800 in elevation, soils of schist, shale, sandstone and very shallow. For Chard, the idea is to express the seashell/minerality/chalky characters found along the extreme coast with substantial acidity, bright clean lemon/citrus aromas/flavors, and minimal oak to keep the wines fresh and focused. For Pinot, it’s all about exploring our different soils and locations to create wines that are complex, balanced, and unique. We will be using micro fermentations to keep every block separate, no pumps, native yeast, whole cluster, etc. and spend a tremendous amount of time in the vineyard. The Pinot should have the balance and structure to age but be focused and fresh enough to enjoy early. As a benchmark, I am a huge fan of the wines of Rhys and their philosophy… [basic-smile.gif]

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Thanks for the feedback Alan! Were you on the Tastelive broadcast?

Just to be sure to clarify, I joined Flowers in late 2009 and blended/bottled the 2009 vintage. 2010 will be the first vintage that I had full control of the viticulture and winemaking. How lucky was that??? One of the most difficult growing seasons I can remember! But, thankfully the 2010’s are looking great and I am very proud so far. Bottling the first wines in a few weeks…

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sounds right up my alley and what I have always thought was possible there. [cheers.gif]

love the thought of WC ferments on the pinots.

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Thanks for the clarification, Jason - I guess it’s good then that I liked the 09 Pinot more than the 08! Yes, I was on Tastelive, posting as ‘amateurwino’; you guys did a nice job with the real time Ustream broadcast. will be looking to try the first first wines that are entirely ‘yours’ then, for sure. I’m glad to see you guys are energizing the Flowers brand, I have to admit I went into the tasting prepared for lots of stewed fruit and cola flavors like ive gotten in some other Sonoma Coast pinots and was glad that wasn’t the case here. Keep up the good work.

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The 2010 WC ferments are really interesting from both Camp Meeting Ridge and Sea View Ridge. We still have a lot of work to do but these vineyards are showing promise.

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Thanks Alan. Good to hear the Ustream worked well. My first time on “camera” so it was a bit scary [wow.gif]

Also glad you were pleasantly surprised with the wines. I appreciate the encouragement! We are working hard to reenergize Flowers.

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What % WC you experimenting with?