Wine Tasting At Elizabeth Spencer
At the urging of the Wine Wrangling Woman’s daughter, our next stop brought us to the Elizabeth Spencer tasting room. Housed in an adorable cottage style, red brick building in Rutherford, Elizabeth Pressler and Spencer Graham began making wine together in 1997. Prior to selling wines together, which they began executing in 2000, both Elizabeth and Spencer enjoyed long careers in the winemaking industry.
above photo borrowed from ElizabethSpencer website.
We were greeted inside the tasting room by Geremy, our wine educator for the afternoon. He began by pouring us a taste of the Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc. An impressive note about this particular wine is the back label carries the CCOF seal which guarantees the grapes used are organic! Captivating notes of grapefruit, lemon, white peach and apricot are complex and bursting from the glass. Mineral driven with a ripe sweetness, bright, citrusy and crisp – my favorite type of wine to enjoy on warm days.
This day was warm by summer standards but the shady patio, where we were seated, flocked in rose buses, herbs and succulents was a perfect intermission from the toasty day. After we were seated and enjoying our Sav Blanc, Geremy appeared with a bottle of Chenin Blanc for us to taste.
A young, 2015 vintage, the Chenin Blanc, a Loire variety grape, often under appreciated, is considered by many winemakers to be the most versatile. These grapes are chosen from a 40 year old vineyard block and hand harvested. Dry, bright, zesty and delightful – I’d forgotten how nice a Chenin Blanc can be.
The 2014 E x S Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast appellation, Block Seven was our final tasting of whites. Block Seven is marked as a special area of the vineyard that makes quite a flavorful, full bodied white. Sounds like Chardonnay to me! This reserve bottling of Chardonnay spends ample time in French Oak barrels and offers a delicious finish with notes of lemon custard (you know lemon is my fav), glowing and clean, this lovely wine offers a umami mouth feel – delicious!
At last, it was time to taste the wine my friend and fellow blogger, Vickie, aka Wine Wrangling Woman, had heard so much about and the principal motivation for visiting Elizabeth Spencer – the 2015 Elizabeth Spencer Rosé of Grenache. Rose, the perfect compliment to a warm afternoon and a seriously refreshing and succulent wine. A beautiful blushing pink, fragrant with hints of guava, apricot and just-picked, summer strawberries. Dry and lively with ripe fresh berry flavors – it goes down easy.
Moving on to the reds, we visited a bottle of 2013 Pinot Noir. Aged for 16 months in French Oak barrels, full and fruity forward with rich red fruits, strawberry and wild cherry, yet finishing with a balanced taste of rose petals, lavender and cherry blossoms.
As we reached the end of our visit at Elizabeth Spencer the air begin to cool and a light breeze began to whisper through the trees. Perfect timing to sample the 2013 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder. Dark brick red, hints of laurel and lavender-herbal notes with red plum and apple, spice and clove. Elegant, balanced and the ultimate finish to our time at Elizabeth Spencer.
Another fine time and our day came to an end. We spent the remainder of our afternoon relaxing by the pool and visiting – lots of girl talk – and maybe just maybe another glass of wine! Geremy was knowledgeable about the wines as well as the terriors in which the grapes are grown. I enjoyed his description of the areas where ES grapes are grown and how each, Rutherford, Mt. Veeder, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Atlas Peak and the Sonoma Coast all play an integral role in the quality of these special wines. When you visit ES don’t hesitate to ask for Geremy – he’ll greet you with a smile and plenty of expertise.
