WHITE:

 “Sweeney” Chardonnay
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Situated in the flats south of the Russian River Valley, and just outside the town of Sebastopol, this 35-year-old dry farmed vineyard is low yielding and late ripening. The fruit is always harvested in October, allowing the vines extra time to develop flavors.

Harvest was on October 28, 2003. The sky was clear and the air was cool and crisp. The fruit was harvested by hand and sorted in the field.

During fermentation, winemaker Joe Otos cold fermented the Chardonnay, never allowing temperatures to exceed 68 degrees. This maximized fruit flavors, while keeping the wine lively on the palate. He used several different yeasts, each bringing out a different character in the wine, richness vs. aromatics, etc.

After fermentation, Joe barrel-aged the wine in 100% premium French oak, with 35% new barrels, principally tight-grained oak from Allier forest. The final wine is richly flavored with baked apple pie, aromatics, and spicy flavors throughout with a long flavorful ripe pear quality. The entry is sweet with a silky middle. Overall, the wine is richly flavored and offers explosive flavors of ripe pear and apple pie that jump out of the glass - unmistakably Chardonnay!

About 400 cases were produced. Alcohol content is 14.8%.

It is available in 375ml, 750ml and 1.5L bottles.

It won Gold Medals at the 2005 California State Fair and the 2005 Sonoma County Harvest Fair. It also won a Critics Gold Awardat the 2005 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition.

The Sweeney Chardonnay is a big wine with plenty of oak and buttery flavors. Because of this, it needed some bottle age. It has now come into balance and is a great Chardonnay. This wine recently won a Gold Medal at the California State Fair.
 

“Vineyard Select” Chardonnay
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This wine is a blend of two premium Sonoma County Vineyards, the Owl     Ridge Vineyard and the Sweeney Vineyard. The Owl Ridge Vineyard is located in the most Northeast corner of the Green Valley area of the Russian River Valley, just outside Forestville. The vineyard is low yielding and planted with Dijon clones that produce small intensely flavored grapes. The grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed and barrel fermented. We used a combination of yeasts to add to the complexity of aromas and flavors.

The Sweeney Vineyard is located just south of Sebastopol, it is a cold climate, high acid producing vineyard. To maximize crispness, the majority of the juice was tank fermented and keep under 65 degrees. This brings forward crispness and a hint of lemon rind characters in the wine. The resulting blend offers aromas of ripe fruit and oak, while maintaining a lively quality on the palate.

Harvest was conducted in the period from September 30 to October 16. The sky was clear and the air was soft and warm. The fruit was harvested by hand, sorted in the field and sorted again in the winery.

During fermentation, winemaker Joe Otos achieved maximum extraction of flavors, aromas and body while working to keep the wine balanced. The resulting wine is intense, but elegant.

After fermentation, the wine was barrel-aged in 100% premium French oak with 30% new barrels, principally tight-grained oak from the Allier and Bertrages forest. While the wine is enjoyable now, we think it will keep well for several years.

Only 304 cases were produced. The alcohol content is 14.2%.

It won a Double Gold Medal at the 2006 Florida State Fair International Wine Competition and Gold Medals at the 2006 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition and the 2006 North of the Gate Wine Competition.

Both components of this wine were proven outstanding vineyard designates, so we could have bottled them as such. However, during blending trials, we found that the combination was so astounding that we had to create the designation Vineyard Select for the 2004 Chardonnay. We decided to release it while we still had stock of the 2003 Chardonnay – Sweeney Vineyard because the characters of the two Chardonnays are so different and this creates a set of interesting choices for our customers.
 

RED:

Cabernet Sauvignon
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This wine is a blend of several premium Cabernet Sauvignons and a Merlot from different appellations of Sonoma County. The Cabernets come from the Alexander Valley, the Dry Creek Valley and the Russian River Valley. The Alexander Valley fruit offers a briary component with dark chocolaty fruit tones, while the Dry Creek Valley fruit contributes bright red fruits with hints of tobacco. The Russian River Valley Cabernet has characteristics of brambly Blackberry fruits. The Merlot comes from the Alexander Valley. It contributes dark ripe plum tones with a lovely fudge character, and adds great mouth feel.

The resulting wine is well balanced and is an outstanding combination of these fruit-driven flavors.

The flavors of the resulting wine are those of a classic Cab/Merlot blend, with rich red fruit aromatic and lovely black fruits on the palate and notes of chocolate, cassis and tobacco. It is ready to drink now, with well-developed tannins, but will continue to soften and develop for several more years.

Owl Ridge is in a special position to obtain small lots of premium wines that have been produced from the best vineyards in the region. We wait until we have the right wines in barrel to achieve the flavor profile that is characteristic of the best Sonoma County Cabernets. Then the wine is blended and bottled.

Only 350 cases were produced. The alcohol content is 14.3%.

Fifty cases are available with screw cap closures, the remaining 300 cases were closed with corks. We will ship wine with cork closures unless you specifically request screw caps.
 

“Brigden Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County)
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93 Points - Wine Enthusiast, September 2006

“The wine is 100% Cabernet, sourced from a vineyard in the Mayacamas. It’s very tannic and dry at this point. Such is the massive fruit core, of cassis and cherries, and the overall balance, that the wine must age well, even though it has no history of doing so. Hold until 2010 and try again.” Cellar Selection – Steve Heimoff
 

The Brigden vineyard is situated in Sonoma County in the hills between Napa’s Spring Mountain and the northern Sonoma Valley. It is high in the mountains and experiences cooler days and warmer nights than its valley neighbors, allowing the fruit to ripen evenly and slowly so the skins develop full flavors and soft, well-developed tannins.

On the morning of the harvest, September 28, the sky was clear and the air cool. The fruit was harvested by hand, sorted in the field and sorted again in the winery.

Fermentation was carried out in a manner designed to achieve maximum extraction of flavors, color and body with the right balance of tannins. After fermentation, the wine was barrel-aged in 100% premium French oak, with 40% new barrels, principally tight-grained oak from the Nevers and Bertrages forest.

This wine in many ways resembles an elegant Bordeaux blend than typical Napa/Sonoma Cabernets, even though it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is a great balance between the two counties, bringing forward the fruit and aromas of Sonoma Cabernets while offering the dark tones and structure of some of the more balanced Napa Cabernets. While the wine is enjoyable now, we think it will cellar well for many years. To promote this long aging potential we have selected a heavy bottle and sealed it with an extremely long cork (54mm).

It won a Gold Medal at the 2006 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Only 340 cases were produced. The alcohol content is 14.3%.

It is available in 375ml, 750 ml and 1.5L bottles. In addition, we have some beautiful etched and painted 6-liter bottles available with the 2002, 2003 and 2004 vintages. Therefore, it is possible to have a vertical collection of impressive size.

Joseph C. Otos, Winemaker

 

“Passalaqua” Cabernet Sauvignon
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Situated in the western hills above Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, the T. R. Passalacqua Vineyard produces some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in Northern California. This vineyard receives full daytime sun with cool night air, an ideal combination to develop the intense fruit flavors that characterize this wine.

Harvest was on October 21, 2003. The sky was clear and the air was cool and crisp. The fruit was harvested by hand and sorted in the field.

During fermentation, we achieved maximum extraction of flavors and soft tannins while minimizing harsh tannins associated with the seeds. The resulting wine is intense, but balanced.

After fermentation, we barrel-aged the wine in 100% premium French oak, with 40% new barrels, principally tight-grained oak from the best French forests. The final wine is richly flavored with black currant and blackberry flavors and hints of cocoa, cured tobacco leaf and anise. The entry is sweet with a silky middle. Overall, the wine is rich, seductive and well structured. The tannins are balanced. While the wine is enjoyable now, we think the wine will hold up well for many years. To promote this long aging potential we have selected a heavy bottle and sealed it with an extremely long cork (54mm).

About 600 cases were produced. Alcohol content is 14.3%.

It is available in 375ml, 750 ml and 1.5L bottles.

It won a Gold Medal at the 2006 West Coast Wine Competition and received a Critics Gold Award from the 2005 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition.

This wine has come along remarkably. It is a big wine, but the last year has made this wine very drinkable. The fruit has intense berry flavors, quite different from the Brigden. We recently poured this at a major trade event and the response was remarkable.
 

“Vineyard Select” Cabernet Sauvignon
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This wine is a blend of two premium Sonoma County Vineyards, the Soper-Wheeler Vineyard (85%) and the T.R. Passalacqua Vineyard (15%). The Soper-Wheeler is located in the most Northwest corner of Sonoma County about five miles from the coast, at more than 2000 feet in elevation. This vineyard, which is above the fog line, receives excellent sun and has a growing season that is at least a month longer than its Valley kin. The fruit is intensely flavored with great color, good acidity and ripe soft tannins. The resulting wine has amazing mouth feel and abundant amounts of fruit. We made the decision to bottle the wine after only one year in barrel to maximize and preserve its intense flavors.

A small amount (15%) of the 2004 T.R. Passalacqua Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was blended to add complexity and structure to the finished wine. The resulting blend offers aromas of ripe fruit and anise with lively flavors on the palate and a long finish.

Harvest was on October 21, 2003. The sky was clear and the air was cool and crisp. The fruit was harvested by hand and sorted in the field.

During fermentation, winemaker Joe Otos achieved maximum extraction of flavors, color and body while working to keep the wine balanced with minimum extraction of harsh green tannins from the seeds. The resulting wine is intense, but elegant.

After fermentation, both components of the wine were barrel-aged in 100% premium French oak with 40% new barrels, principally tight-grained oak from the Nevers and Bertrages forest. While the wine is enjoyable now, we think it will cellar well for many years. To promote this long aging potential we have selected a heavy bottle and sealed it with an extremely long cork (54mm).

Only 304 cases were produced. The alcohol content is 14.8%.

It has won Best of Class and Gold Medal at the 2006 Los Angeles County Fair, Best of Class and Double Gold Medal at the 2006 California State Fair and Gold Medals at the 2006 San Francisco International Wine Competition, the 2006 Grand Harvest Awards and the 2006 Lone Star International Wine Competition.

This wine has hit a resonance with wine buyers. Even though it is a 2004 Cab, it drinks like a well-aged wine. This has been rewarded by an excellent collection of Best of Class and Gold Medals.