The
Wines
The first two years of production (2002 and 2003) were devoted to learning about
the fruit, and experimenting with how it should be turned into wine. Even though
the variety is the same, California Tempranillo is different from Spanish
Tempranillo. As it turns out, the best method seems to be the gentlest. They
handle it like Pinot Noir, even though the grapes are quite different.
Tempranillo can be quite tanninc, but it has intriguing fruit qualities that
they try hard to emphasize. They don't pump over much during the fermentation
and run the wine off the skins pretty early. The idea is to get the tannin
balance right from the biginning, so the wine does not need a lot of racking and
handling during the aging. In general the wine is racked only once during its 16
months in barrels. They think it is a worthy expression of the rooky ground
where it grows.
While they are obviously inspired by the great wines of Spain, the goal is to
make the wine the best expression possible of the place it's from.
|
|
Download tech sheet
|
#C0EE217000TPM
UPC code: 7 84585 01116 2
2005 Tejada, Tempranillo, "Little T" 12/750ml
Made from 58% Tempranillo, 42% Garnacha.
Unfiltered. No fining, just tacking.
Aged in French Oak, approximately 40% new, combination of
several coopers and wood types. Mostly burgundy style barrels.
Racked just once, during the early spring following vintage,
and bottled after about 16 months in barrel.
Medium color, raspberry and earth aromas.. Lively mouthfeel
with moderate tannins.
2005 was a rare season, long and mild and mercifully free of
late season heat, resulting in wines of great ripeness and
color but with bright acidity and freshness. This wine, which
we sometimes call “little T” is, like the Reserve, deeply
colored and full bodied, although it is about half Garnacha.
The Garnacha from the Tejada vineyard is always juicy and
bright, with red fruits and spice. Adding the Tempranillo
gives it depth and color but the wine remains approachable and
easy to drink, even it its youth. As always, the “little T”
is meant for enjoyment, not necessarily contemplation. It gets
the same highbrow treatment as the Reserve, the same French
oak barrels (with a slightly lower percentage of new oak) and
is bottled at the same time as the Reserve.
"Celia Tejada - a senior creative executive at Pottery
Barn- and her brother Ibo have a worthy homage to their native
Spain that also shows off Lake County's potential for these
warmer-climate grapes. With help from winemaker Byron Kosuge
(B. Kosuge, Miura), they've found a raw, intense expression,
filled with scents of Bing cherry, dry earth and paprika, and
bolstered by lots of structural tannins from the Tempranillo.
A leathery presence balanced by lots of bright fruit brings to
mind the new-wave style of Spanish reds, offering plenty of
ripeness but not at the cost of earthy complexity."
- Jon Bonne, with Lynne Char Bennett - SF Chronicle
Magazine, Dec 2008
TOP 100 WINES 2008
National
Retail Price: $35.95
/ bottle
|
|
Download tech sheet
|
#C0EE217001TPM
UPC code: 7 84585 01115 5
2005 Tejada, Reserve, "Big T" 6/750ml
Made from 87% Tempranillo, 13% Garnacha.
Average production is 1,500 cases - 6 packs.
The Reserve is a lot and barrel selection. It usually
comes from the upper section of the vineyard where the vigor
is lower and the soil is more rocky.
Aged in French Oak, approximately 60% new, combination
of several coopers and wood types. Mostly burgundy style
barrels. Racked just once, during the early Spring following
vintage, and bottled after about 16 months in barrel.
2005 was a rare season, long and mild and mercifully
free of late season heat, resulting in wines of great ripeness
and color but with bright acidity and freshness. The Reserve
is deeply colored and full bodied, with notes of chocolate,
india ink, brown spices. "We’ve gotten a better handle
on the sometimes aggressive tannins of Tempranillo and the
2005 is fleshy with a tannic backbone—it is a big red wine,
after all—but not harsh or “grippy.” The character of
the ranch is coming into better focus with each successive
vintage and now I think I can say with some confidence that
what I see coming from this rocky patch of ground is an
intriguing combination of savory, sometimes earthy notes along
with more typical new world style ripe, grapy fruit."
National
Retail Price: $45.95
/ bottle
|
