RECENT RELEASES

2007 COASTVIEW VINEYARD SYRAH
New to our portfolio is this Syrah from an extraordinary vineyard at 2300 ft in the Gavilan Mountains overlooking Monterey Bay.

2007 FRENCHIES RANCH SYRAH
Our first ever release of our Estate Reserve Syrah made from the three best barrels. We aged this wine a full 30 months in barrel.

2007 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH
Our six release of this Syrah from our Estate vineyard, the 2007 is arguably our best yet - the result of a great vintage, meticulous winemaking and 25 months in barrel.

2008 FAIRVIEW ROAD RANCH SYRAH
Year-in, year-out this vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands produces a Syrah with tremendous character, body and finesse.

2008 MANDALA SYRAH
Fruit from some fantastic vineyards went into our 2008 Mandala. We included 8% Grenache and 4% Cabernet in the blend to produce this mouthcoating and seductive wine.

2008 ALFARO FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
Tiny yields of about one ton per acre and very small berries produced a concentrated and complex wine.

CURRENT RELEASES

2008 ODEON SYRAH/CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Our 2007 vintage was an immediate customer favorite and the 2008 is a stunning wine. Aged 27 months in barrel. Intense, dark and opulent with beautiful texture and finish.

2008 COASTVIEW VINEYARD SYRAH
An intense and opulent wine from this extraordinary vineyard at 2300 ft in the Gavilan Mountains overlooking Monterey Bay. Aged 27 months is fine French barrels.

2009 HOMESTEAD SYRAH
We had new options to work with in 2009 including estate grown Grenache which makes up 46% of the blend. Syrah makes up 43% and Cabernet the remaining 11%.

2009 LESTER FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
Our first vintage from this beautiful vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The aromatics jump out of the glass and the wine delivers great intensity and complexity on the palate.

2009 COASTVIEW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
Our first vintage from this extraordinary vineyard site at 2300 feet in the Gabilan Mtns just south of Mt. Harlan where Calera has been producing incredible Pinot Noir for 20 years.

2009 ESTATE ROUSSANNE
We produced a single half barrel from the inaugeral vintage of our Estate Roussanne. The result is enticing and likely to improve substantially with extended cellar ageing.

UPCOMING RELEASES

2009 WOODRUFF FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
The Woodruff vines are over 20 years old and in '09 produced an exceptional Pinot. Yields were typically very light (around 1 ton/acre), so this wine will be a winery exclusivel.

2009 ALFARO FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
The '09 Alfaro is the darkest and biggest of our '09 Pinots. However, it still displays wonderful minerality and balance.

2008 GRIZZLY GRENACHE/SYRAH
A co-fermented blend of 68% Grenache and 32% Syrah from our estate vineyard - we only wish we could have made more than 34 cases!

2008 FRENCHIES RANCH SYRAH
Our second release of our Estate Reserve Syrah made from the three best barrels. We aged this wine 27 months in barrel.

2008 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH
Yields were very low in '08 and the '08 Rattlesnake Rock shows it with incredible intensity and concentration. The addition of about 6% Grenache adds an additional layer of complexity.

2011 GSM ROSE
Our latest Rosé includes Grenache and Mourvedre in addition to Syrah which we think makes it a better rosé. It is crisp and refreshing for those warm summer days and evenings.

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY

We believe in a style of winemaking that allows the fullest expression of the site and the particular vintage. To this end, we spend long hours in our vineyard to insure that the grapes we grow represent the fullest expression of the vineyard and vintage. We believe in and employ sustainable and organic farming practices. The steep hillsides, cooling ocean breezes and fog, and fractured mudstone soils promote the development of color and complex flavors. By keeping the yields very low and harvesting small sections of the vineyard at perfect ripeness, we strive to achieve the most important part of winemaking - great fruit.

Winemaker & Proprietor Bradley Brown
The winemaking then becomes the art of gently extracting what the fruit has to offer. We sort clusters, gently destem the fruit and then sort the berries which roll into small (1.5 ton) open top fermenters. The whole berries are cold soaked for several days before being heated up to help start the spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation. Pumping over the juice and then punching down by hand allows us to extract complex flavors and soft tannins from the grapes. When the wine has achieved the intensity, structure and mouthfeel we feel is ideal, we gently press off the skins. The wine then goes into French oak barrels where it grows in complexity and character over two to three years of aging time. Minimal sulfur additions and temperature controlled storage insure that the wine is able to achieve its fullest expression when bottled. By keeping our production small, we can give every vine, fermentation bin and barrel the attention it deserves. We hope you enjoy the results.

LISTEN TO THE KCBX INTERVIEW WITH WINEMAKER BRADLEY BROWN


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