2020 Ancient Grenache
Old Hill Ranch

2020 Ancient Grenache; vines established 1885 ($44)  (only 84 cases produced)
          The Ancient Grenache is a select harvest from the Ancient Field Blend and includes a pinch of Syrah, Carignane and Alicante Bouschet.  The vines grow on the valley floor on the fertile, deep, clay-loam soils and are among the oldest, biggest and most beautiful on the vineyard. 
          This may be my favorite vintage since 2007! The color is on the darker side with a generous fruit forward aroma I would describe as raspberry with some green mint.  The tannins are drying and young and will certainly benefit with age. The fruit character is what really stands out to me, both quantity and quality, it is a very generous wine.

2020 Otto’s Grenache
Old Hill Ranch

2020 Otto’s Grenache; vines established 2010 ($40) (only 60 cases produced)

Otto’s Grenache was planted to honor our Step Father Otto Teller.  Opinionated and cantankerous, Otto believed grapevines were too coddled and needed great stress to produce the best wines. 

Located on the far east side of the Ranch on a warm hillside sloped towards the warm setting sun.  The soils are hard and rocky with a shallow and almost impermeable volcanic tuff (ash conglomerate) that limits root depth.  These vines are the lowest yielding and least vigorous on the ranch. The vineyard is a true field blend, and is similar in varietal make up to the Ancient Grenache blend as described above, while also including Mourvèdre, Counoise and Clairette Blanche.
          Surprisingly (to me) the Otto’s color is a little lighter and the wine more delicate than the Ancient while the fruit intensity is comparable, although dominated by cherry.  Yet there is a pronounced earthy component that I find mesmerizing because there is something familiar about it that I can’t quite identify.  At first, I was thinking sarsaparilla but now I am going with cedar wood.  The tannins are modest but the acid is bright with a tongue smacking sweet/tart finish.

Alc. 14.7%

2020 Anne’s Field Blend
Upper 5th Vineyard

2020 Anne’s Upper 5th Vineyard Field Blend ($32) (only 40 cases produced)
          Anne’s Field Blend comes from The Upper 5th vineyard that was planted in the 1940’s and is located across the highway from Old Hill Ranch on Oak Hill Farm.  The field blend is 67% Zinfandel, 19% Peloursin (closely akin to Petite Sirah) 8% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane and 3% French Colombard.
          The 2020 Anne’s was a bit of a problem child. My winemaking philosophy has always been to walk softly but carry a big stick.  At the risk unfinished fermentations, we do not add yeast or nutrients to grapes (walking softly.)  In this case the yeast quit early leaving the sugar for the bacteria to feed on. The by-product of the bacterial fermentation was an elevated volatile acidity. This is much less desirable than the yeast by-product of alcohol so we removed it via reverse osmosis (big stick.) It is not a particularly gentle process but it does the job.
          The extra processing seems to diminish the characteristics of the place. This is most evident on the palate where the finish is short and succinct. Regardless, I find it quite charming with violet, perfume and strawberry aromas. Perhaps I am underselling it, but there isn't very much of it so sell.

Alc. 14%

2020 Mixed Whites Field Blend
6 bottles maximum please, comment if you wish more.

Our Mixed White block was established on Old Hill Ranch in 2011 as an ode to the unheralded white grape varieties found in many of Sonoma's historic field blends. Muscat, French Colombard, Chasselas, and Clairette Blanc cuttings came from Old Hill Ranch,  Gewürztraminer, Trousseau Gris and Riesling came from Compagni-Portis Vineyard, Muscadelle from Casa Santinamaria, Malvasia and Grenache Blanc from Rossi Ranch and Chenin Blanc from Carlisle. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed, fermented cool in Stainless and then aged in neutral barrels sur lees for 6 months. The wine is quite delicate with a hint of muscat spiciness with a bright natural acidity.

2019 Bambino
Old Hill Ranch

2019 Ancient Field Blend
Old Hill Ranch

2019 Mixed Blacks

2019 Cabernet Sauvignon
Old Hill Ranch

alc. 14.2 %