Brewer - Clifton Wines

This spring newsletter symbolizes the second and final wave of releases from the spectacular 2007 harvest. As we mentioned last fall, the wines resulting from this year are of an unrivaled quality on both an intellectual and hedonistic level. Across the board they demonstrate a striking duality of powerful grace and structured tenderness. Such harmony has always been our goal through farming and winery execution, and working with fruit of the 2007 caliber truly feels like a professional privilege that we do not take for granted.

This season we are featuring two different chardonnays from Rancho Santa Rosa and Sweeney Canyon (our twelfth bottling of this very significant site with which we have worked since our beginning in 1996). With this varietal we have always adhered to a very strict approach and discipline highlighting the fruit and minerality which the Sta. Rita Hills appellation offers. Such protocol appears simplest from the outside, yet requires tremendous restraint where any intervention on our part is seen as a negative and is avoided at all costs. We rely on weight and viscosity from vineyard management and site selection, and then usher the fruit into wine with largely neutral cooperage, no stirring and minimal
malo-lactic fermentation.

We are also thrilled to share four special bottlings of pinot noir, each of which is planted along varying pockets and aspects of the Highway 246 corridor. Similarly as with chardonnay, we constantly seek to arrive at a point of suspended tension between divergent aspects of structure and fruit. With that goal in mind, our fermentations are largely carried out as whole clusters where the stem inclusion contributes tannin and savory notes from within the fruit. While potentially an esoteric concept, this approach is akin to cooking proteins in contact with their bones where the meat derives sustenance from its skeleton. Such cultural practice needs to be unwaveringly embraced as it is potentially more problematic than destemming which poses less risk of green bitterness and overt tannin. The reward far outweighs the risk in our eyes and we adhere to the discipline with the most devout conviction. We also feel that this approach demonstrates a more honest voice of place than one more reliant upon the use of
new oak to provide architecture to the wine.

In closing we also wanted to reiterate our excited sentiments towards the Sta. Rita Hills appellation chardonnay and pinot noir which were released this past fall. We thank you all for your overwhelming support of this new chapter of our evolution and are pleased that your response has been so favorable. We feel reinvigorated by these wines which allow us to tell a more comprehensive story of this very special place.

Thank you for all your continued support of our appellation and work.

For a printable version of the 2007 vintage notes, please click here.

Chardonnay, Rancho Santa Rosa

Chardonnay, Sweeney Canyon

Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills

Pinot Noir, Zotovich

Pinot Noir, Ampelos

Pinot Noir, Clos Pepe

Pinot Noir, Melville

2007 Sta. Rita Hills chardonnay
A combination of four select and diverse vineyard sites along the Highway 246 corridor in the heart of the appellation.
Aromas of lemon curd, lime, quince and flint followed by flavors of lemon drop, sage and bee pollen. Brisk, crystalline and driven in the mouth.
14,400 bottles produced

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2007 Rancho Santa Rosa chardonnay
This is the first of two offerings from this windswept property owned by Bill Foley. A combination of two diverse blocks planted to clones 4 and 76.
Aromas of apricot, honeycomb and yellow peach followed by less overtly fruity flavors of wet stone, hard cheese and brine. Assertive and structured in the mouth.
3,456 bottles produced

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2007 Sweeney Canyon chardonnay
2007 marks our twelfth bottling from this unique site with which we have worked since our inception. Planted on its own roots to a Wente selection and dry farmed in a combination of river silt and diatomaceous soils.
Floral aromas of night jasmine, gardenia and cherimoya followed by flavors of lime, shiso leaf and kiwi. Very elegant, noble and long palate impression.
1,440 bottles produced

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2007 Sta. Rita Hills pinot noir
Three significant and select vineyard sites from diverse pockets within the appellation comprise this inaugural release.
Aromas of black raspberry, dried rose petal and lavender followed by flavors of pomegranate, black cherry and dried orange peel. Firm, chalky and lingering mouthfeel.
12,960 bottles produced

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2007 Zotovich pinot noir
This diversely planted vineyard is owned by the Zotovich family and is comprised largely of sand and sandy loam soils.
Violet, lavender and pomegranate aromatics followed by flavors of cranberry and blood orange skin. Very clean and streamlined mouthfeel.
1,520 bottles produced

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2007 Ampelos pinot noir
This is our first bottling of this vineyard owned and farmed by Peter and Rebecca Work who custom planted a 1.7 acre parcel in west facing clay loam soil to clone 828.
Aromas of spearmint, roasted root vegetable and caramelized beet followed by flavors of rosemary
and rhubarb. Very tannic and firmly structured palate impression.
1,728 bottles produced

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2007 Clos Pepe pinot noir
This thirty-acre vineyard is owned and farmed by the Pepe and Hagen families. Our section is planted solely to clone 5 (Pommard selection) on a gently sloping knoll in the center of their property impacted by strong maritime breezes.
Red rose petal, fennel and brown sugar aromatics followed by wild blackberry, clove and smoked meat flavors. Rich and grippy on the palate.
2,106 bottles produced

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2007 Melville pinot noir
The Melville family planted this wind swept mesa in 1997 to clones 114 and 115. The clay-loam soil, cold winds and conscientious farming consistently deliver a wine which harmoniously delivers richness, power, structure and grace.
Aromas of bing cherry, rose water and sweet tan leather followed by savory flavors of umeboshi and plum skin. Very structured yet seductively pliant mouthfeel.
1,728 bottles produced

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The Fall Releases

The Santa Rita Hills appellation is an amazing place to make chardonnay and pinot noir. While this might sound like an obvious statement, we at Brewer-Clifton are reminded each year how blessed we are to produce wine in this area. As we hear each harvest about the cataclysmic weather of other regions, we are thankful for the opportunity to live and work where we do. While every growing season is unique and brings challenges, the conditions here remain quite nearly ideal. With the coolest, mildest and longest growing season of any appellation in California, it is no wonder that the Santa Rita Hills are experiencing a period of growth and evolution. Over the next three to five years, we anticipate the appellation doubling in planted acreage. We are both honored and proud to be a part of this time as our burgeoning region swiftly comes into the light.

With the Fall offering, we were proud to present a pair of chardonnays from Sea Smoke and Mount Carmel as well as a trio of pinot noirs from Rancho Santa Rosa, Cargasacchi and Mount Carmel.

As always we thank you all for the trust you have instilled in our wines and the support you have so graciously given Brewer-Clifton over the past decade.

Chardonnay, Sea Smoke

Chardonnay, Mount Carmel

Pinot Noir, Rancho Santa Rosa

Pinot Noir, Cargasacchi

Pinot Noir, Mount Carmel

2007 Sea Smoke chardonnay
We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the rare chardonnay from this prestigious vineyard that is planted predominantly to pinot noir. We have access to a three acre parcel from which we receive dijonnaise clones 76, 95 and 96. The block is Metz loamy sand and is situated on a small mesa immediately above the Santa Ynez river.
Aromas of yellow papaya, tangerine and fresh brie rind coupled with flavors of mango, cherimoya and yuzu. While rich, the wine maintains a well delineated mouthfeel.
2,880 bottles produced

2007 Mount Carmel chardonnay
This release marks the third growing season of this illustrious site under our complete
management. Originally planted in 1991 by Ron and Nancy Piazza (the current owners), this monopole vineyard is now overseen by our brilliant vineyard manager, Francisco Ramirez. Of the twenty acre parcel, six are planted to Wente clone chardonnay on a steep, wind-beaten slope of botella clay and limestone.
Pear, meyer lemon and fennel aromatics followed by flavors of asian pear, white fig and amaretto. Salty, gripping and powerful palate impression.
5,760 bottles produced

2007 Rancho Santa Rosa pinot noir
A steep, south facing parcel comprised of clone 667 planted in limestone-rich soil at the upper reaches of this estate owned by Bill Foley.
Cranberry, sour cherry and Darjeeling tea followed by raspberry, baker’s cocoa and yellow plum flavors. Very supple and long palate impression.
1,440 bottles produced

2007 Cargasacchi pinot noir
Peter Cargasacchi owns and farms this dynamic sixteen acre site planted in the late ‘90s entirely to clone 115. Very stark soil profile of predominantly diatomaceous earth on the western edge of the appellation.
Aromas of clove, black cherry and plum matched with flavors of black strap molasses, meat and quinine. Complete, refined and firmly structured in the mouth.
2,280 bottles produced

2007 Mount Carmel pinot noir
This spectacular and challenging site consistently delivers fruit that we find particularly compelling and difficult to describe. Very steep slopes of botella clay, diatomite and limestone planted to a quintet of pinot noir clones.
Black mission fig, dried strawberry and graphite aromas followed by flavors of black tea, plum and carbon. Maintains an incredible synergy of tender assertiveness in the mouth.
12,096 bottles produced