Newsletter October 2011

Fall Release 2011

Dear friends,

It’s that time again – that time when you hear about the newest releases from PATZ & HALL and then (hopefully) buy them! I’ll get to the new releases in a few more lines, but first a note about the 2011 harvest that is coming up. The table has been set for (yet another) sensational Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vintage in Northern California. Weird weather (rain & cold) just as the vines flowered this year cut the crop significantly, and those clusters that remain are often tiny with equally tiny and very concentrated grapes on them. As I write this letter, what we don’t know is how this harvest will finish. If we are given an ordinary September and October – just a little rain, or better yet no rain – and fine dry, warm weather it will be a spectacular year for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Let’s all hope that’s what we get to ensure more great PATZ & HALL wines to drink in upcoming years!

Today we are offering four new wine releases: 2009 Hyde Vineyard – Carneros Chardonnay, 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 2009 Chenoweth Ranch – Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and 2009 Hyde Vineyard – Carneros Pinot Noir. Hard to believe we are sharing only one Chardonnay on this release, but it’s true.

2009 Hyde Vineyard – Carneros Chardonnay
You’ve heard all the excitement and hype about the 2009 vintage and it’s all true. For me, 2009 Hyde Vineyard is Chardonnay perfection. A brilliant vineyard site coupled with Larry Hyde’s exacting growing standards equals great grapes, and then James does his magic in the winery. This is quite simply an exquisite wine of depth, complexity and balance that will impress the most intractable Chardo-phobe and delight rational Chardonnay drinkers of any experience level. A great wine for now, or for your cellar – if you have some patience give it up to 10 years in the deep back recesses for a real surprise.

2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
It’s a very early release of this wine but… we are sold out of the 2009, and you want to drink something good this fall. For me, the greatest thing about Pinot Noir is its seductive aromas. I like its beautiful ruby red color and the silky taste, but the aroma of pure Pinot Noir is just sublime. This wine is loaded with deep, dark, pure wildflower and sandalwood complexity, wrapped in juicy black-cherry cola. As our representative of the Sonoma Coast AVA it has plenty of early appeal, but it is also just begging to be savored a year or ten from now. Oh yeah – and check out our cool new bottle with the 2010 vintage!

2009 Chenoweth Ranch – Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
I did the calculation. I can’t actually drink this whole vintage of Chenoweth Ranch by myself (even with some friends to help each night) so I am forced to share some with you. If you have been buying our wines for a few years you know Chenoweth Ranch. If you haven’t been, then you should know that this site on the western edge of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County is a superstar vineyard. Four clones of Pinot Noir are grown exclusively for PATZ & HALL by Pinot Noir legend Charlie Chenoweth and his crew. I beg you to bury this in your cellar for at least five years (drink some Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir while you wait) - unlimited potential for Pinot Noir pleasure is at hand. I am ordering extra magnums for my personal cellar.

2009 Hyde Vineyard – Carneros Pinot Noir
Everyone with a taste for great wine knows that Hyde Vineyard is a brilliant Chardonnay site – Pinot Noir is the surprise. Larry Hyde grows a number of exotic clones of Pinot Noir and over the years we have worked closely with Larry to get his best blocks (and clones) under contract for PATZ & HALL. 2009 is a stellar vintage for Pinot Noir and what makes it great is fully on display with the 2009 Hyde Vineyard. This wine is charged with the characteristic perfume we know and love so much. What a fun wine to share side by side with the 2009 Chenoweth Ranch as a comparison. Drink now, or for the next ten plus years.

Thanks for your interest in our wines. Everyone at PATZ & HALL is grateful for this chance to share our wines with you. We know that they are enjoyed sometimes with simple meals and sometimes with very special ones, and we are honored to be a little part of your life. We love to hear how you have shared our wines with your friends, so drop us an email, or say hi on our Facebook page.

Have a great fall!

Cheers,
Donald Patz