Complant Beller Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Complant produces rock star wines from the father-son team of Daniel and Sam Baron. Daniel started at Chateau Montelena in 1973 and then moved on to study with Dr. Harold Olmo at UC Davis. In 1981, he left California for France, and spent a year at Chateau Petrus. This association with Christian Moueix, then owner of Petrus, led him back to California and resulted in a twelve-year stint at Dominus, eventually as GM. In 1994 he became the winemaker at Silver Oak Cellars, where he remained for twenty-three vintages, along with helping found Twomey Cellars. His son Sam received his degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis in 2012, and has done internships in Napa Valley, Burgundy and New Zealand. Sam’s day job is making wine for one of Northern California’s most forward-thinking wineries – but Complant represents his passion and an opportunity to work with his lifelong mentor. The Barons’ skill with wines of restraint and elegance is evident in these four bottlings. The Pomme-en-Main Rose´ is from organically grown Zinfandel grapes from Benguerel Family Vineyard in the heart of Kenwood, in Sonoma Valley. Grapes are picked at relatively low brix and foot-stomped at the winery, then fermented on their native yeast. The wine is juicy with a slight saline quality and flavors of wild strawberry. Chardonnay is from Steve Matthiasson’s organically farmed Linda Vista Vineyard in Napa. Grapes are fermented on their natural yeast and aged on lees for six months before bottling without filtration. Complant’s Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from eight rows of vines planted with the Pisoni clone on a bench adjacent to the renowned Garys’ Vineyard. The wine is fermented with natural yeast and aged in neutral burgundy barrels for one year. The Beller Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the top of Mt. Veeder and is a coferment of Cabernet Sauvignon (86%) and Cabernet Franc (14%). The wine is aged in thin-staved Bordeaux barrels (22% new), with racking through the heads every three months. This is a method that Daniel learned working in Pomerol in the 1980’s. It is labor intensive and requires artisanally made tools imported from France, but it has a magical effect on the wine. High toned aromatics are preserved, while the tannins are smoothed and integrated into the fabric of the wine.