Category Archives: Estate
Today I am focusing on our single vineyard Lorenzo Chardonnay. In general California chardonnay doesn’t have a reputation for ageablity; however, I am prepared to change that misconception with this vertical tasting of Lorenzo Chardonnay. These older vintage Lorenzo Chardonnays are from stellar vintages which have helped their longevity.
2002 Lorenzo Chardonnay: This 10 year old California chardonnay can hold its head up high; from the “sensational” 2002 Sonoma vintage it still shows nice citrus, almond, mineral, and crushed stone flavors while slight sherry and petrol notes are present on the nose with one taster also getting a “popcorn” aroma. This wine is probably at its peak and should be consumed in the next 6 months.
2003 Lorenzo Chardonnay: Shows bruised apple and petrol on the nose with lemongrass flavors and strong mineral notes on the finish that also shows oak. This wine is probably at its peak … Read more »
Here at the estate winery, we have planted our 11 acres to Rhone varietals – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Viognier. This decision was richly researched. Winemaker Greg Stach knew our vineyard needed to be replanted. He was considering replant ingto Rhone varietals since our climate and geography is very similar to that region in France. Then in spring 2006, he took a research trip to the Rhone region in France. This trip sealed the deal. He loved the Grenche, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Viognier and knew it was a great fit with our terroir. We started the replanting of our estate chardonnay shortly thereafter.
Greg chose to partner with the Nursery at Tablas Creek Vineyard. They import cuttings of Rhone varietals from the well-known Chateau Beaucastel. Landmark purchased both the rootstock and budwood from Tablas Creek. At the estate, we planted the rootstock in the spring of 2007. Once … Read more »
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After a another cool, wet spring we worried that 2011 might be another tough vintage. Then about 3 weeks ago the temperature began to rise and the vines right along with it. We have seen significant growth this June, roughly 2 feet every 2 weeks. The estate vineyard looks healthy and primed for a banner year. Today I spent some time walking the rows, and wanted to share the experience with you. Hope you enjoy, and have a great Forth of July Weekend!
Cheers,
Mike Colhoun, Proprietor
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Thanks to the magnificent heat we are getting here in Sonoma Valley, the vines are flowering and growing at a rapid pace.… Read more »
Landmark Vineyards Review – Glorious Guesthouse amidst the Grapes
by Marilyn Anderson & Dennis L. Lanning
“Imagine having your own beautiful cottage in the middle of a vast winery. Then imagine yourself standing in your own private patio, overlooking gently sloping mountains dotted with rows and rows of bright green grapevines. The vista includes a lush pergola providing a shady place to relax and a picnic area, should you choose to eat outdoors. Nearby, there is a small fish pond, and even your own personal bocce court.”
Click here to read the full article.
Want to stay with us? Call Jane Rodgers at Landmark (707) 833-0224 to make a reservations. Rates range from $225-325 per night – includes bottle of Overlook Chardonnay in your room!… Read more »
Bud Break
On March 15th the sheep left our vineyard after a month of hard work. One more week would’ve been ideal, but the vines were beginning to swell. Three days later the buds began to break. First to break was Grenache, followed by Syrah. The Counoise and Viognier were roughly 10 days behind. The last to break was Mourvedre which just started this week.
Bud Break ushers in a new growing season, and the start of frost watch. Vines in their dormant stage can withstand fairly low temperatures. However, once the vines show signs of life we must be protect them from sub-35 degree weather. Freezing temps are common in the Spring, typically occuring between 5-7am. When our vineyard weather station sounds the alarm, our cellar master rolls out of bed and activates the sprinkler system.
Pruning
This year we changed our pruning technique to a form of Cane … Read more »
Technical Vineyard Report
by Viticulturalist, Mayacamas Olds
Vineyard Covercrop
The covercrop is primarily composed of Filaree, Minors Lettuce, Common Chickweed, Persian Speedwell, Mallow, Common Groundsel, some Bur Clover, oats and Calendula. Many of the plants are already blooming and seed will be set in some cases early. The “covercrop” is lush and performing well. It will produce a good amount of biomass for the soil.
Sheep
Sheep have been brought in to help control covercrop plants. With the help of a herding dog, they move through the vineyard “mowing” down the lush covercrop. The blocks the sheep have been in, look really good for the most part. They are not eating much of the Calendula, but they seem to be doing a really nice job of getting the cover crop down. This is great for frost protection issues.
The sheep are getting very fat off of the covercrop and both … Read more »
| In 2007 we started a new exclusive society – Friends of the Vineyard. The society is centered around our newly replanted estate vineyard. When the estate vineyard began suffering from phylloxera, we were presented with an opportunity to make a change. After a few years of careful thought, planning, and research, we decided to replant the estate chardonnay to Rhône varietals. Our Winemaker Eric Stern and Associate Winemaker Greg Stach traveled to the Rhône Valley to learn more about this region’s wines and viticulture. They found that the area surrounding Châteauneuf-du-Pape shares a similar climate to Kenwood. This trip sealed the fate of the estate vineyard.Our estate vineyard has been planted to 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre, 5% Counoise, and about 2% Viognier, just for a little added spice. These vines were sourced from Château de Beaucastel via Tablas Creek, a joint venture between wine importer Robert Haas and |
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