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Dear Wine Club Family,
If you've been with us for awhile, you know that our releases change a bit from year to year based on the discovery of an exciting new vineyard source or our desire to expand our horizons with different varieties, styles or blends. This upcoming shipment contains several such expressions of our passion that we're eager to share with you!
Our 2017 Viognier is the first of our wines both fermented and aged in our new terra cotta amphorae. Made in Italy, clay pots like ours have been used in wine production for thousands of years; the slightly porous nature of the amphora imparts a unique texture and intriguing minerality to the wine.
Two years ago we made the decision to graft Grenache buds onto our Syrah vines at the estate vineyard, believing that our terroir is better suited to Grenache. The first vintage resulting from these new buds has exceeded our expectations - you'll find it vibrant, elegant, and food-friendly, with bright fruit flavors and a hint of spice.
In 2015 we began exploring a new frontier of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, producing a wine from the Stagecoach Vineyard, high atop the Atlas Peak appellation. This site yields a powerful wine that can be enjoyed now with some time in the decanter (and a ribeye steak!) but will reward your patience with up to a decade or more in the cellar.
That said about our new offerings, when we find something that works, we keep doing it - this shipment also includes new vintages of three of our favorites. The complete list of wines in your Spring 2019 club shipment is below, along with a few more notes to give you a better sense of each one.
Please review these few details about the shipment:
- Your wines will ship the week of April 1st and tracking numbers will be e-mailed to your address on file.
- If you'd like to make any changes to the standard shipment, please respond by 3 pm PDT on Thursday, March 28th.
- Standard shipment is one bottle of each of these six wines (or two bottles of each for 12-bottle members). Red-only members will get two bottles of each of the three red wines (4 bottles of each for 12-bottle members).
- Be sure to notify us if your shipping address or credit card information has changed.
We hope to see you all again at the winery soon, and as always, we thank you all so much for your support.
Best Wishes,
Palmer Emmitt & Michael Scorsone
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Wines In Your Shipment
This Sauvignon Blanc expresses the unique character of the mountain vineyard where it is grown, balancing layers of bright tropical fruit with fresh, crisp acidity. Fermenting and aging in 45% neutral French oak and 55% stainless steel give it just the right amount of weight and complexity. Only 177 cases produced.
Domenica Amato 2017 Viognier
Salomon Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
$37
Texture-driven due to the skin contact fermentation and aging in clay amphorae, this Viognier has a soft, pillowy mouthfeel and balanced, integrated acids. Lovely aromas of apricot and orange blossom jump from the glass while the palate adds bright flavors of beeswax and green banana with some underlying savory hints. Only 63 cases produced.
From perhaps the most famous Chardonnay vineyard in the new world, the Bacigalupi family has been growing amazing fruit since conquering the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting. Rich and creamy with well-integrated oak character, it will delight all palates. Only 147 cases produced.
Plummy blueberry, black cherry and black currant wrap around a softly layered core of toasted oak in this elegant take on the oft-hearty variety. Smatterings of vanilla and dark chocolate tease on the finish. Only 61 cases produced.
Dripping with sun-drenched black-plum and cherry flavors, this is an elegant expression of pure Grenache, marked by refined layers of black tea, crushed clay and spice. Its freshness, soft tannins and juicy constitution make it ready to drink now, but it should gain depth through at least 2025. Only 113 cases produced.
$92 for club members (regularly $115)
A mountain vineyard in the Atlas Peak area of Napa Valley, Stagecoach is known to produce some of the most powerful and age-worthy Cabernets in California. Recently rated 93 points by James Molesworth from Wine Spectator, who described it as "very distinctive and not for the faint of heart." Only 63 cases produced.
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My grandfather James Palmer was a small town man who kept things simple. From his childhood picking peaches and pears in my great-grandfather’s orchards, to building his electrical contracting business Palmer Electric, to serving four terms as judge in the Placerville Justice Court, he lived his life by two simple credos – if you want something done right do it yourself, and don’t put up with any bullshit.
Our approach to winemaking echoes the lessons I learned from my grandfather Judge Palmer – simple, straightforward, and honest. My business partner Michael Scorsone and I learned winemaking the hard way, paying our dues with long hours of hard work in the cellar. We make the wines ourselves at our small artisan winery outside of Healdsburg, and launched and operate the business with no investors, no consultants, and no employees.
Judge Palmer produces Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varietal wines from grapes grown in both Napa Valley and Sonoma County. We maintain collaborative and long-term relationships with growers who share our commitment to quality and sustainable winegrowing.
All of our wines across both labels are fermented naturally with native yeasts and no additives other than the minimum necessary sulfur are used during production.
We believe that the honesty and passion with which we make our wines will shine through and resonate – but you can be the judge of that. Try a bottle with a jury of your peers.
– Palmer Emmitt, Owner & Winemaker
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The wines we make under the Domenica Amato label, named for my paternal grandmother, are sourced from small, family-owned vineyards and hand-made with passion and authenticity using old-world methods.
Growing up as the son of an Italian immigrant, food and wine were an important part of our family life. My father and uncles would make wine every year in our garage, and the extended family would regularly gather for Sunday dinners featuring my grandmother’s freshly baked bread.
Literally translated, my grandmother’s name means “Sunday love” – each bottle not only honors her memory but also expresses my passion for food and wine that was first stoked at those Sunday dinner tables and developed along my journey from culinary school to my winemaking career.
Domenica Amato focuses on the Rhône varieties Grenache and Grenache Blanc, as well as blends featuring those grapes, with additional offerings from year to year that may change based on the discovery of an exciting new vineyard source or the desire to experiment with different varieties, styles or blends. As part of our constant exploration of both old and new methods to make unique and distinctive wines, we ferment and/or age some of our wines in clay amphorae and concrete egg, and make some of our white wines with skin-contact.
Crafted to be food-friendly and elegantly rustic, I hope you will enjoy our Domenica Amato wines with your loved ones around the Sunday dinner table.
– Michael Scorsone, Owner & Winemaker
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