I visited a small lot winery with some wineblogger pals and continued to cement my love for the persnickity grape that is Pinot. The story of C. Donatiello is that of taking the bull by the horns blended with timely opportunity as well as love for the grape. Partnering with Bill Hambrecht, who has an eye for success having previous ventures with Gary Ferrell, Ravenswood and Ridge, Chris acquired the old Belvedere winery, scaled down ops and focused on the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir they can find in the Russian River Valley. Chris told me “their main goal was balance,” which I found evident in spades in his aromatic 809 Clone Chardonnay that showed zesty citrus and slight minerality (who else hates this word?). It was aged in neutral oak and did not go through MLF… nice, clean and lean.
My favorites, however, were the 2007 Maddies Vineyard Pinot as well as the 2007 Floodgate Block 15. Maddies was bigger with full on cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit bowl and a medium spice on the finish. I did receive the 2008 Marie Pavic Rose as a complementary gift which I consumed later in the summer back home and was fantastic. A nice summer sipper with rose petals on the nose with sour strawberry on the palate.
Now, if the wines and the music weren’t just awesome to begin with, Chris has set up a nice musical series where he brings local and national acts to his courtyard that makes for a nice one-two punch to enjoy on a wonderful, sunny afternoon. I heard he recently even had the talented Sara Bereilles on stage. Can you say, Sha-wing!? (I know, that’s so ’90s Wayne’s World) And then finally, walk through his herb garden. My descriptions cannot do it justice, but he encourages visitors to stomp and walk all over the herbs on the steps. By doing so it releases the aromas that fills the air and adds to your sensory experience. It’s simply something you cannot miss.
I’ll be back to Sonoma and RRV next Spring and I’ll be sure to hit C. Donatiello again… and I’m bringing more friends! Enjoy this video:
you cast some hot actors in your videos.
Also, can I request some star wipes mixed in with the slow push transition?
Don’t be hatin’ on minerality.
Unlike, say, the word “Burgundian”, which has been overused to the point of meaninglessness, minerality is not only a real thing, but the only useful one-word descriptor that we have for a host of non-fruit aromas and flavors in wine.
Just like you might say a wine is fruity, then tease out that it is “full on cherry, raspberry and strawberry”, I might describe a wine as minerally, then tease out aromas of graphite (#2 pencil), or chalk (ever clean the erasers after class?), or wet river stone (go skip some rocks then smell your hands). Minerals may not be volatile, but decomposed granite in southern California smells different than limestone in France, and both smell different than the crushed oyster shells they use to make pavement in Savannah.
Matt… I’m with you on this and I do like to use the term minerality, though I admit there are times I could be more specific, and it’s a learning process. I thought the PalatePress article on minerals was an interesting take on the topic