Revised Reserve Line From Fetzer

Fetzer Vineyards in Mendocino County will release a line of reserve wines on May 1 that show a major change from the winery’s previous reserve program.

Featured in the line is a 1985 Cabernet that is a striking example of classical wine making and a wine that rivals the best made in California. It will be priced at $24 a bottle, the most expensive wine Fetzer has ever sold.

The new reserve line was created in 1985, said Dennis Martin, assistant to wine maker Paul Dolan.

“In 1985 we started buying French oak (barrels) for the red wine program,” said Martin. “All the Cabernet in the past was done in American oak.

“The second part of the reserve program was when we acquired fruit from some Sonoma County vineyards, and that allowed us to have better fruit to upgrade the reserve program.”

Martin added that the winery began to use more French techniques, including barrel to barrel racking and longer vatting time for the red wines.

The 1985 Reserve Cabernet, following on the heels of Fetzer’s spectacular 1985 and 1986 Barrel Select Cabernets, is the best of the lot. Loaded with currant/cherry fruit and complex notes from French oak aging, the wine will be better after more bottle age.

I wasn’t as much impressed with the 1988 Reserve Chardonnay ($17.50) because of the fairly awkward nature of the fruit and slightly short finish. Martin noted that the Chardonnay “isn’t much different from what we’ve always done.”

All the other wines, however, are excellent:

A 1986 Mendocino Zinfandel ($12) is slightly jammy-er than the more complex, toasty 1986 Ricetti Zinfandel ($12), but both are gutsy and spicy; a superb 1986 Pinot Noir ($17.50) is packed with deep cherry fruit; a deeply rich 1986 Petite Sirah ($12) is one of the best Fetzer has made.

The line also includes a 1988 Late Harvest Riesling ($10 a half bottle).

Only one winery in California does (a) French-method sparkling wine, (b) table wines and (c) hand-distilled brandy, and most people have never heard of it.

Jepson Vineyards Ltd. is a project of Chicago businessman Robert Jepson, whose Jepson Corp. is a half-billion-dollar, diversified company. His Mendocino County ranch, with more than 1,200 acres of land, is a gem sitting on Highway 101, 100 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Jepson has elected to stick with just the white grapes that were growing on the 108 acres of vineyard land when he acquired the former William Baccala property five years ago.

Wine maker Kurt Lorenzi, who once worked in California’s Central Coast, has a fine, delicate hand for the three different projects, and each of the ideas is handled with grace and is true to type.

The best value in the Jepson line is unquestionably the 1988 Sauvignon Blanc ($7.50), which offers stylish green apple fruit and melon notes with a faint hit of fresh olives. This is top-quality wine that is priced at least $2 less than it could fetch in the market based on quality alone.

Also of grace is the 1987 Jepson Chardonnay ($12.50), with its faintly tropical fruit aroma, excellent richness on the palate and creamy finish. Wines of this type normally run $3 to $4 more.

On the other hand, the 1987 Reserve Chardonnay, at $18, may be just a tad overpriced. It is a sophisticated wine with greater depth than the prior wine, with apple-pear aromas and a most complex, crisp finish. But the less expensive bottle is the better value.

The sparkling wine Jepson makes is also excellent. The 1985 Champagne ($16) is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes and rivals Scharffenberger and Schramsberg as California’s most appealing Blanc de Blanc-style wine.

A drop of brandy was added to the sparkling wine just before bottling and the result, with bottle age behind it, is a rich, roasted nut aroma, but with complex fruit/spice elements indicating it will improve in the bottle.

The brandy, at $22.50, is a bargain considering the fact that it is made by a time-consuming and costly process using an old copper pot still and aging in barrel for years before bottling.

Only a tiny quantity of this brandy (500 cases) was made, and it can easily be mistaken for Cognac selling for twice as much. The aroma has fruit and oak, and though not extremely complex, it offers a rich, almost smoky character and a firm, fruity taste.

There is a slight hotness in the aftertaste, a result of shorter barrel aging (just 5 1/2 years for this first effort) than Lorenzi would like. However, the brandy is rich and flavorful and worth the price.

Jepson’s Mendocino County neighbor Germain-Robin is California’s top pot-still brandy producer, but Jepson has made enormous strides with this first effort.

Elaine Mackie, former chief executive officer of the Dairy Council of California, has been appointed executive director of the Napa Valley Vintners, replacing Bob Dwyer.

Mackie, who earned a bachelor’s degree in human nutrition at the University of Massachusetts, has been involved with the Oregon Dairy Council and was a small food business owner.

Sonoma Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor has announced that its fifth World Championship Croquet Tournament and rare wine auction will be held this year on Saturday, May 19.

The event, which benefits Starcross, a Santa Rosa hospice, will feature some of the world’s greatest croquet players and concludes a week of competition.

The final day also includes a catered luncheon, wine tasting, oyster bar and the auction of rare wines in large bottles, most in the three-liter category.

Tickets to the event are $85 per person and all proceeds go to Starcross, a home that takes in children born with the HIV virus. About 90% of these children will develop acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

For details on the event, call Rebo at Sonoma Cutrer Winery, (707) 528-1181.