Alexis Soyer Cellars
These wines are dedicated to Alexis Soyer who was arguably the 19th century’s most famous chef. He was a man full of ideas, inventions and convictions which led him to be a great champion for the common man. When hearing of the plight of the Irish people during the “Great Famine”, he asked his employers for a leave of absence and went to work in Dublin constructing a soup kitchen that could feed 5000 people a day. Though he often cooked for the aristocracy, he wrote cookbooks for those less fortunate teaching them how to make nutritious food for small amounts of money.
“I made this wine as a tribute to Alexis Soyer who I admire as a Chef, Humanitarian and Inventor but more importantly a man who always seemed to help those less fortunate than himself”
Sincerely, Tim English
Wines available:
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
This fruit is sourced from three vineyards in Napa Valley; one in Oakville, owned by the Pelissa family that is grown organically, one interesting new property in Chiles valley and the other from a valley floor vineyard in the Yountville AVA. They were hand-picked between September 17 and October 20, 2017. We inoculated the must immediately after crushing and open top fermented the juice in small tanks. The wine was pumped over four times a day and then racked into center of France oak barrels, of which 25% were new and the balance were second and third use, for the malolactic fermentation. The wine was made with zero micro-oxygenization. The wine was aged in the barrels for 12-16 months depending on the lot. It was bottled without fining or filtration.
1232 cases produced
95% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon · 3% Napa Valley Malbec · 2% Napa Valley Cabernet Franc
The wine has a deep color with plum, cassis, rubbed herbs, cigar box, and a soft lingering finish that keeps revealing subtle layers. It is a Cabernet Sauvignon with classic flavors but still has the balance to complement the well stocked table.
Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir
“Life is a great circle and nobody know when it begins or ends”, just as I was beginning my career in the wholesale side of the wine business in 1995 I discovered a Pinot Noir from a small winery located in the Santa Maria Valley. It was the first California Pinot Noir that really jumped out at me with depth and acidity coupled with restraint and it happened to be from a small farmer vintner that has since been sold a few times. It is with great joy that I am able to offer a Santa Maria Valley bottling 24 years later that I hope you will find as enjoyable as I did the first time I tasted from the appellation.
Santa Maria Valley is mostly region I with a small bit of region II so it’s pretty “fresh” as we like to say with average September temperatures around 75 degrees (the warmest month in AVA). Lows during growing season are in the high 40’s to low 50’s which result in an average growing season around 125 days. That means you can get some hang time on those grapes without having to worry about acid levels dropping too low, overripe flavors, or alcohol levels fighting the table.
We harvested between November 12-19th during the early mornings and immediately went to a cold soak to pull some color and a little tannin for 72 hours. We fermented half with a proprietary yeast strain and the other half was “au naturel” in one ton open top fermenters. Those much stronger than myself punched down the caps 2-3 times a day for the alcoholic fermentation. We did not allow the fermentation to go above 85 degrees, and our patience was rewarded with a beautiful aromatic display. We went into seasoned (third and fourth use) center of France oak medium toast for the aging process and they spent 9-16 months depending on the barrel softening up. We bottled with no fining and just enough filtration to remove the chunks.
This is a wine that I think will complement much of what you put upon the table but as always, I look forward to dinner invitations to see your favorite pairing and to break some bread with you!
512 cases produced
