December 23, 2022 – Anyone familiar with the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard philosophy of winemaking, which can roughly be described as maximum effort on the part of the winemakers to ensure that the grapes are disturbed as little as possible, knows the wines are built for the ages.
Once acquired, they are best left to themselves in a cold dark cellar, to sort themselves out, slowly shaking off their shaggy rusticity and becoming deeply engaging, with rough edges planed to satin.
It’s akin to watching redwoods grow. You want them to get at least a foot or so in diameter for good redwood board, when the shaggy bark to heartwood ratio begins to shift in the phloem’s favor. And that takes about 20 years. That’s roughly the calculation Emery is using when deciding which of his many library wines are ready to drink, or getting close.
“I had this idea of being able to release some larger amounts of Cabs and Pinots, from 1998 to mid 2000s,” says Emery. “They have some age on them now, but they are still for the most part not ready.”
Exactly what “ready” means in the context of wine is a complex equation, with the variables of acid, age, origin (site) and the specific chemistry of the vintage. And throw in patience: without it, the rocket never makes it to the launchpad to hurtle skyward on its way to discovering the secrets of the past. Because that is what drinking an older wine is: exploring the sands of time through the lens of a liquid recording device.
Emery’s patience level is on a par with the hardness level of diamonds. “Many of the wines in my cellar will likely outlast me!” he says, echoing a sentiment I’m hearing more and more lately from my collector colleagues in the wine business.
Which is precisely why Emery has decided to release some of those “middle-aged” wines, about halfway or more through their lifecycle, to allow the curious and connoisseur alike, the chance to dip into a time capsule.
“During the pandemic, we pulled them out and tried them and inventoried them,” says Emery. “There are lots of wines and they are in different degrees of readiness, but I just thought I would see who wants stuff.”
Among the highlights of these cellar treasures is the 2002 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir I had the pleasure of trying in the place of its birth: the vineyard on Jarvis Road which Ken Burnap purchased from David Bruce in 1974 and then sold in 2004 to the folks who frankly turned it into a bit of a circus as they tried to at once preserve and elusive identity and at the same time broaden the appeal of a stout Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains. You might recall the days of Vine Hill Vineyard and Gatos Locos.
Clocking in at 12.5%, with a TA of 7.7 (Emery thinks), this beauty in the glass is redolent of red currant, crabapple, mushrooms, iron filings, bubblegum and a hint of sanguinity (not unusual for a wine that has exacted a toll of blood, sweat and tears from its makers). Overall, I found it quite autumnal, generous of cranberry and pomegranate, with distinct sour cherry, crab apple, dried figs and a hint of soy. There is so much hidden in this wine. We only perused it for 10 minutes or so, as we were in the middle of tasting other wines, but in that time, it displayed a profound change from tight to accessible: a novel with a most intriguing opener.
Emery describes this wine as “unbelievably nice and wonderful.” A bottle can be yours for $275. “I figure if Napa can charge that much for a Cab you can’t even think about drinking yet, why can’t I charge that for a wine that’s not only drinkable now, but has another 8 to 10 years on it?” Talking with Marty Mathis has given Emery the confidence that there is a market for wines of unique provenance that have stellar staying power.
Among the Pinot Noir lineup are a few gems from the Santa Lucia Highlands, Branciforte Creek and Bailey’s.
He’s also particularly fond of the 2006 and 2007 Luchessi Vineyard Cabernets, which he says are, “Everything you want in a Bordeaux: black olive, cedar, cassis and spice.”
He also loves the Mendocino Grenache from McDowell Vineyard and has a few Rhone blends, which are showing well. Some of the wines were previously released only to the Wine Club, and there are a few cases or bottles remaining.
Here is an excerpt from the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard “Middle-Aged Cellar:”
2003 Vine Hill Reserve: $275.00— Long decant – aging potential. Many complex layers
2003 Branciforte Creek Pinot Noir (Wine Club): $250.00—Great now or 5 to 8 more years. Fruit and graphite.
2005 Wine Club Pinot Noir: $225.00—Great now or 5 to 8 more years. More extracted, quite complex
2006 Finesse Cuvée (Club release) Pinot Noir: $185.00—Drink now or 2 to 3 years. Nuanced complexity
2007 Wine Club Release Pinot Noir: $185.00 —Long decant – aging potential. More extracted, rich fruit – spice
2012 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir: $50.00—Drink now or 2 to 3 years. Elegant, nuanced complex fruit
1999 Estate Pinot Noir: $275.00—Long decant now or 8 to 12 years. Darker elements, graphite, earth
2000 Estate Pinot Noir: $275.00—Long decant – aging potential. Sour cherries, some darker nuances
2001 Estate Pinot Noir: $265.00—Long decant – aging potential. Sour cherries, bright
2001 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir: $295.00—Long decant – aging potential. Black cherry, darker complexities
2002 Estate Pinot Noir: $275.00—Long decant now or 8 to 12 years. Very complex; sour cherry, youthful (Note: the one described above)
You can peruse the entire inventory list on the website: SVMLibrary
Emery does want to warn consumers that these bottles are sold as “as is.” He can check for cork taint with a Coravin for a small fee. This is definitely an adventuresome gambit, but you can be fairly sure the wine will provide endless hours of discussion and enjoyment as the past unfolds in your glass and becomes part of the ever-fleeting present.
Emery provided some cool photos to accompany this piece, among them a shot of harvest when he brought in the Bates Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon in 2017. This was the first time he’d gotten the fruit since the 1994 vintage. A happy circumstance occurred as they were picking the beautifully blue fruit. “We had the forethought to take a picture of an old Bates Cab on top of the grapes. One year only did we have a labeled ‘Library Selection’ and chose that bottle to photograph.”
This is a rare chance to experience something few will: well-aged Santa Cruz Mountains wines made with primitive equipment, elbow grease and dedication.
Cheaper than a day in Disneyland and genuine snapshot of history, straight from the earth itself.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
