Our 2006 Ivywwod Pinot Noir hails from a small 1 acre plot in the mountains above the Russian River Valley just a few miles from the ocean. The vineyard, farmed by the Robbins family, is planted to Dijon clones 115, 777 and Pommard Clone 4. The nose of black cherry, spice and a sent of roses, gives way to a richness in the palate. A perfect match for seared Ahi tuna with a beurre blanc sauce.
"This wine is too good for toast-drinking, my dear," declares Count Mippipopolous in The Sun Also Rises. "You don’t want to mix emotions up with a wine like that." Could Hemingway have anticipated Eric Ross Feeney Ranch Zinfandel? Our 2006 Old Vine, Feeney Ranch Zinfandel, has a nose of fresh tobacco, cedar, blackberry, and chocolate, with well integrated tannins. Sweet oak, dark fruit, create a wine with soft and balanced flavors in the mouth. Make it the centerpiece of a holiday meal surrounded by stilton and walnuts, grilled portobello mushrooms and prime rib with Yorkshire pudding.
Our 2006 Russian River Pinot Noir from the Saralee Vineyard, a past Bronze Medal winner at the Orange County Fair, has a nose filled with black cherry and plum with subtle French oak in the background. The mouth has a nice complexity with silky smooth tannins and a soft long finish. The grapes for this Pinot came from Saralee's Vineyard in the Russian River Valley near Forestville. Low yields and a long cool growing season, produced grapes with great complexity and finesse.
2006 marks a new release of the Eric Ross Old Vine Carignane. A smooth rich wine, similar to a Syrah in smell with wonderful fruit that carries through the palate. Blueberries and ripe fruit in the nose and a softness in the mouth that lends itself to many types of food. Grapes for this wine come from a vineyard located in Lodi. Rauser Ranch is a 9 acre vineyard that sits next to the Mokolumme River that lends cooling to the vines that date back to their original planting in 1907.
When Eric Ross Winery was founded, Eric Luse said to John Ross Storey: "Why compete with Portugal? Not many people make a Zinfandel Port; let’s be two of them." They took their fiercest Zin & Syrah grapes, halted fermentation, added a touch of brandy from St. James distillery and got an aromatic dessert wine with a smooth finish. It’s a "good time" sipping Port, great with chocolate truffles or poured over berries or ice cream--heck, pour it over your self. The fun is just beginning.
Eric Luse and John Ross Storey tasted through all of the Pinot Noir barrels from the 2004 vintage to assemble the blend for this Poulet d'Or. Our 2004 Russian River Valley Poulet d'Or Pinot Noir has a smokey nose with hints of sweet toasty French oak, as well as notes of cola and roast coffee. The mouth has a nice complexity and flavors of bing cherry and rhubarb with mouth coating tannins, and a full rich lingering finish. If you were wondering, Poule d'Or means golden hen in French, clever huh!
Our 2006 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is a medium bodied wine from a very cool vineyard a few miles from the Pacific Ocean. You'll encounter a nose of apples and a note of French Oak. In the mouth you'll discover a touch of butterscotch and crisp acidity in the finish. This choice is perfect to accompany any type of shell fish or light pasta or chicken dish.
A nose of fresh apricots, and tree fruit seduce the mouth to this tropical and luscious wine. Our Viognier has a richness that finishes with crisp acidity, making it a perfect wine for fish dishes. Grapes for this wine come from Saralee¹s Vineyard in the Russian River Valley near the town of Windsor. This wine sings out for Oysters on the half shell or grilled shrimp with lime ginger beurre blanc.
2006 was the first year we made Syrah. Eric and John love making new varietals, and Syrah seemed to be a unique challenge. We wanted to make an elegant wine that defined our style. As it turns out we used two grapes to make one wine. During harvest, Joannie, the growers rep from Saralee¹s vineyard called to offer us some extra Viognier. We jumped at the chance! Most of the Viognier was made into a luscious white wine, and a tiny bit was added to our Syrah during fermentation. This co-fermentation technique produced a wine with beautiful fruit in the nose and an elegance in the mouth rarely matched in red wine.
Bright fruit flavors with hints of stone fruit highlight the nose of our Marsanne-Rousanne giving way to a touch of orange and minerals in the mouth coupled with a crisp finish. Serve with oysters, roast chicken or maybe that picnic on the beach with pate and cheese.
Our Trenton Station Zinfandel is sourced from a tiny 1.7 acre block of Zinfandel planted on a 30% slope that struggles to get ripe in the cool Russian River Valley. Yields are very low as the soil is very thin on this steep hillside which creates an intense wine of complexity and grace. A perfect complement to grilled lamb marinated with rosemary, garlic and olive oil.
