We bottled this wine in January of 2016, and after letting the bottles rest, decided that it was nowhere near ready for release. Our Home Vineyard was in decline at this point, and we didn’t feel the need to rush the very tiny quantity of wine we were able to make in 2014 to the market. So we decided to sit on it for a while… Fast forward a decade and this wine is ready to go. Go things to those who wait, etc. It’s rather astonishing, actually, how much further this wine could go. For those who don’t know the back story, out little home vineyard, about 3.5 acres, was co-planted to Tempranillo, Grenache, Syrah, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon. All own rooted, all head-trained vines. We farmed them using a combination of biodynamics and Fukuoka “do-nothing” farming. Harvest was always fun - we would go through and pick any and all ripe clusters, regardless of the variety, and co-ferment them. We picked as many passes as required, and eventually blended all of the picks/ferments together into a wine which crystallized the essence of La Clarine Farm. This vintage is 5 years of drought, thin sandy soils and not enough water available for irrigation pretty much meant the end of our little vineyard. The last harvest was 2015 (still resting in bottle). In later years, we simply picked whatever fruit was out there and used it in various cuvées. There is also a (now large) wild vine, a spontaneous seedling of a vine, on our property. We had it DNA typed, and it doesn’t match anything in the UC Davis database. A unique crossing of some vinifera and some feral vines perhaps. We named it “Clarine Dorée” (it produces white grapes!) and this 2014 Home Vineyard was the first use of those grapes in our blend. Deep purple-red color. Spicy cherries in the nose, a bit of vanilla, warm earth, wild sage. Rich in the mouth, with bramble fruits and dusty earth notes. Long finish, light on its feet but very present, still a ton of life in it. Lotsa energy, and certainly one of the most unique wines of the Sierra Foothills. Only 120 bottles released.

We bottled this wine in January of 2016, and after letting the bottles rest, decided that it was nowhere near ready for release. Our Home Vineyard was in decline at this point, and we didn’t feel the need to rush the very tiny quantity of wine we were able to make in 2014 to the market. So we decided to sit on it for a while… Fast forward a decade and this wine is ready to go. Go things to those who wait, etc. It’s rather astonishing, actually, how much further this wine could go. For those who don’t know the back story, out little home vineyard, about 3.5 acres, was co-planted to Tempranillo, Grenache, Syrah, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon. All own rooted, all head-trained vines. We farmed them using a combination of biodynamics and Fukuoka “do-nothing” farming. Harvest was always fun - we would go through and pick any and all ripe clusters, regardless of the variety, and co-ferment them. We picked as many passes as required, and eventually blended all of the picks/ferments together into a wine which crystallized the essence of La Clarine Farm. This vintage is 5 years of drought, thin sandy soils and not enough water available for irrigation pretty much meant the end of our little vineyard. The last harvest was 2015 (still resting in bottle). In later years, we simply picked whatever fruit was out there and used it in various cuvées. There is also a (now large) wild vine, a spontaneous seedling of a vine, on our property. We had it DNA typed, and it doesn’t match anything in the UC Davis database. A unique crossing of some vinifera and some feral vines perhaps. We named it “Clarine Dorée” (it produces white grapes!) and this 2014 Home Vineyard was the first use of those grapes in our blend. Deep purple-red color. Spicy cherries in the nose, a bit of vanilla, warm earth, wild sage. Rich in the mouth, with bramble fruits and dusty earth notes. Long finish, light on its feet but very present, still a ton of life in it. Lotsa energy, and certainly one of the most unique wines of the Sierra Foothills. Only 120 bottles released.
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2014 Home Vineyard