You still gonna be able to make the offline on 7/25 or are you gonna be booked up with the Be.Steak.A wine dinner in Campbell?
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Oops. That is 7/23 in Campbell.
Greetings-
We just put together a fun charity auction lot and wanted to share it here.
The lot:
- Any 4 bottles we have in stock (All Merlot? Done. Mini-Vertical of X? Youâve got it!) - Whatever you are feeling that weâve got.
- Plus, a tasting for 4 at our Sonoma tasting room.
Bidding starts at $200. If you lean into the Marianaâs wines, you can easily turn this into a ~$700 pack (including the tasting).
This is our second year supporting the Chacruna Instituteâs fundraiser. They focus on plant medicine, cultural preservation, and indigenous rights. They do important work, and we are proud to contribute and participate in the conference (I also am on site pouring for 2 fundraising dinners during the event)
If nothing else, treat it as a chance to build your dream 4-pack and come hang with us in Sonoma.
Hereâs the link if you want to jump in and bid:
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Just saw this, and coincidentally I drank another wonderful bottle of 2022 Figure Ground last week. This one was on my own and best on Day 2. It was a miracle it made it to Day 2. The three bottles I bought are gone now unfortunately. But if recency bias isnât clouding my thoughts, itâs been my favorite D&R/EWCY wine to drink young going back 8 years now. So so delicious.
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I will have to load the 2022 Figure Ground up for my next bottle! Maybe later this week
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Popped open a bottle of UFO last night. Wow! I thought that my partner liked this one more than me when we tried it at the tasting room, but I really loved this last night. Gave it a little bit of air before and it just sang.
My note: Aromas of just ripe peach and guava, plus cured lemon. Thereâs a subtle earthiness here too with hay, orange peel, and ginger. Super fresh on the palate with mouthwatering acidity that is still in balance with the fruit. This wine is playful yet surprisingly concentrated.
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Thank you @Jayson_Cohen ! The 2022 Figure Ground is really really tasty.
Thank you, Sam! This was by far the most popular wine in the tasting room this year.
Pebble Beach Golf Club / Resort picked up the last 2 cases of it. I look forward to drinking that on the deck of the lodge next month! âNoonan! Nnnnnnnnoooooonan!â
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So the UFO is gone?!?! Long live the UFO! I have a few bottles left and iâm confident they will not make it past this summer!
Send word if the 2023 Marianaâs Merlot is about to meet a similar fate!
Per the convo above I popped the 2022 Figure ground tonight
This is a blend of 40% Old Vine Mourvèdre, 30% Zinfandel, 10% Old Vine Carignane, 10% Chardonnay, 10% Primitivo RosÊ. Yeah!
Theres been some good reviews posted on this wine already and iâm echoing a similar sentiment, this is very alive and fresh; cranberry spray, orange zest and herbs meet that oh so subtle chardonnay influence of sea air and just a hint of orchard fruit. This is very Extradimensional in nature and absolutely crushable. My biggest takeaways are @H_Wallace_Jr is a blending wizard (but we already knew that!) and the acid on this wine makes the finish go foreeevveeerrrrrr. (94 Pts.)
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@Branson_G_Ropp Yes. The UFO has left this solar system. That was a special special one.
For even more sad news- After the buzz on here about the 2022 Figure Ground- that is now sold out, too.
Thank you! 
For those of you who love our blends, the next one coming down the stretch (4/13 = Spring Release) is the 2024 Heart and Hummingbird II. Saying this may leave folks 
- but at this stage in my winemaking and drinking life- if I could only make one wine for the rest of my life, the Heart and Hummingbird is it.
On paper, it might sound WTF? But in the glass it is pure WTF!!!
All Brosseau- 42.5% Chardonnay (white), 42.5% Chenin, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier (co-fermeted on skins for 2 months), and 15% Grenache. It looks like a sunset, drinks like the heart of Brosseau, and is refreshing, complex, and unlike anything else. For those in the Carmel / Monterey area, it should hit the Chez Noir list this weekend or next week.
Also- Though we had sold out of seats for our 4/25 Shulgin Farm Winemaker Dinner, the Shulgin team are going to open up 1 more table for 6. Jump on it if you feel called to 
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All Brosseau- 42.5% Chardonnay (white), 42.5% Chenin, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier (co-fermeted on skins for 2 months), and 15% Grenache
Love me some Brosseau. How similar/different is the Heart and Hummingbird to the Full King Crab?
The varietal makeup is close (Chenin, Chard, Rous, Mars, Bio) but then with 15% Grenache, and the %s and the fermentation are very different. This is only 42.5% white while the rest is orange and red. It doesnât drink like an orange wine, or a white,
Though this is not a ârosĂŠâ it would be closer in profile to a Chateau Simone (grounded, deep, yet refreshing) vs any other red or white.
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A tangent, but thought Iâd ask here for the benefit of the crowd - @H_Wallace_Jr - Iâm opening a 14 D&R Shake and a 24 EWCY Shake side by side for my son and his friends to show the impact of 10 years on a wine (from the same grape, vineyard, makerâŚ). Any advice on decanting and any thoughts on things to call out for them to look for (beyond the obvious) when comparing the two??
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Just opened this and popped it into the decanter. The aromas perfumed the room. My wife walked through the kitchen and asked what the beautiful aroma was.
I have to add that this is the most beautifully aromatic wine I have had in years.
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Will a 2024 100% chenin make an appearance this release?
Amazing! That will be a fun side by side. For comparison, Iâd decant the 2024 a couple of hours (3 ish), the 2014 just needs about 30min ish. There will be some sediment in the 2014.
Vineyard blocks are the same. A big difference will be vine age. 8 year old vines vs 18 year old vines. Ann has always been great at keeping yields low, but the younger vines were more vigorous.
Overall, 2014 was a pretty spectacular vintage. The wines had good concentration, bright fruit, and were âsnappyâ at the time. 2024 was a bit of a wild year- hot spring and early summer and then relatively moderate during harvest. Though on paper, the 24 vintage isnât as exciting, I love love love the 2024 and put it up with the 13 and 18 as the best Shake RR.
Another difference is maceration. In 2014 we were doing standard 10-14 day-ish (pressing at the end of primary fermentation) macerations. Starting with EWCY we moved to longer macerations and the 2024 is in the low 20 day zone.
There is also the difference of blend vs no blend. D&R was 100% Mourvèdre, EWCY has been usually 92-96% Mourvèdre depending on vintage (always all Shake Ridge Fruit)
2014 is 100% Mourvèdre.
2024 is 95% Mourvèdre (3% of that is Mourvèdre rosÊ) and 5% Barbera
Let me know how it goes! I want to try that, too!
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Whoa! Thank you.
I am staring at a 2019-2024(24 not released yet) vertical of Bro Syr that I was going to open last weekend in the tasting room but we got so busy I didnât get around to it. That 21 has blossomed into a stunning bottle. Looking forward to cracking this one again.
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Yesssssir! It is a doozy. It has a bit more body and higher acid than the 2023. It is a heck of a wine.
Spring previews will be coming out next week and the release will be 4/13.
Here is the full lineup. It is a crazy release.
2024 Brosseau Vineyard Chenin Blanc
2024 Heart and Hummingbird II (Brosseau Vineyard)
2024 Indie Bookstore Light Red III (Dry Creek Zin)
Drinks like Zin planted in Fleurie
2024 Brosseau Vineyard Grenache
At least as good as the 23. A tiny bit more power (13% vs 12%)
Iâm writing the tasting notes now.
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Amazing, great insight, thank you
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I often think of your wines in these terms! I did a quick search in my CT, and I mention (high-quality / serious / best) cru Beaujolais as a reference point in my notes 4 times out of 48 notes on reds. 
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Thank you. I often see those a the closest relatable wines. This is one rhymes with a pristine bottle of Foillard Fleurie yet with Zin flavors.