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In a recent assignment to research and report on California-produced botrytis-affected wines, I started an extensive, thorough investigation of wineries making this luscious sweet wine. It wasn’t that difficult as there are more than I initially thought, including several rather famous producers of this liquid gold, most notably Beringer’s Nightingale and Dolce. Having an unabashed sweet tooth, I had been drawn to dessert wines early on in my wine drinking career, but there was always something special about those produced from noble rot.
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But I am getting ahead of myself. During the course of my investigations with both the monoliths of wine production and the smaller, family-owned wineries, one name was continually referenced. “Oh, Carolyn,” they would say, “You really should meet Jeff Sowells.” “You have talked to Jeff Sowells, haven’t you?” I inwardly confessed that I didn’t know who Jeff Sowells was and felt guilty by the omission. I even had a local retailer asking ME if I knew where to find Jeff. They had a customer who was looking to acquire some Topaz dessert wine, made by Jeff Sowells and did I know where to find him? All signs pointed to the illusive Mr. Sowells. I had gone from never knowing of his existence to four or five references within one week, all related to the golden elixir.
Jeff Sowells is like a giddy kid when he gets within earshot of anyone who is as excited about botrytis-affected wines as he is, and I was a rapt audience. Jeff got his start in the Napa Valley back in the early ‘80s as a cellar rat at Silverado Vineyards. A few winemaking classes later, he and Jon Engelskirger (now winemaker at Robert Pepi) started a partnership with an old mail truck as a makeshift bottling line and mobile winery known as Zymurgy. He started to learn and experiment with making wines from infected Sauvignon Blanc fruit in 1986 while helping at Macauley Vineyards in Calistoga. His own Topaz label was created in 1988 when Ann Watson, owner of Macauley Vineyards was tragically killed in an auto accident. Knowing he had created good wine for Macauley just a few years earlier, Jeff purchased the grapes from the vineyard and bottled it under his own label for the first time. The name ‘topaz’ has many meanings for Jeff. Yes, it is the color of the wine and epitomizes the golden tincture of the unctuous fluid, but it is also the birthstone for the month of November; the month of Jeff’s birthday AND the month that the grapes are usually harvested.
Jeff is quite funny about trying to explain how botrytis works because admittedly, he doesn’t know the technical jargon for what happens scientifically. It is entirely intuitive, and it seems obvious he was born to create this wine. “I can look at a cluster and know the brix level,” he confesses. He is humble in his skill and believes in divine providence. I asked him if he was a religious man, searching for a hint of celestial intervention. “However it happened, it is definitely spiritual. So, yes, I guess - there has to be a divine plan.” Jeff’s wife, Dawn, is a little more pragmatic – almost upset that he is not getting the recognition he deserves for these efforts. Jeff actually makes two wines, the Topaz and the DLX (get it? deluxe?) Like Arrowood’s creations, the different names actually signify different brix levels and the DLX is not made every year. Generally, for the Topaz, the brix level has to be at least 35. The DLX might be as high as 45 or 50. There was a sparkle in his eye as he explained this, as some of the raw juice we tasted was of the DLX standard, a full 52 brix. All the juices he had were from Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the Calistoga vineyards.
It takes a lot of work for Jeff to find the fruit every year. He has been lucky with a handful of vineyards that he can return to, but is always on the look out for new fruit sources. Much of it has to do with the canopy management in pruning. If too many leaves are cut away, the grapes will see too much sun and not rot enough. Don’t cut away enough foliage and the grapes will sour. The grapes themselves still need heat to create the humidity for the perfect combination of rot and spores. Even as I submitted this story, he called with the possibility of yet another new Semillon vineyard in the Lake District that seemed encouraging. In spending considerable time with Jeff, the most frustrating part (and now I know how Dawn feels) is that he is not a salesperson. Yes, he has been successful because those who know about the wine seek him out. He does not have a website (we are badgering him about that) or even a credit card machine to accept orders. He does everything as though we were still in the 1980s. The upside of this is that he has a fairly decent library of all his holdings still for sale. How to get this wine? He has an e-mail address (that his wife checks because he doesn’t know how to) topazlh@aol.com or even better, call: 707-252-2468. Tasting: 2002 Topaz; $35.00. 11.3% residual sugar, 14.3% alcohol. 30% Sauvignon Blanc from Calistoga, 70% Semillon from Napa. Very crisp, tight entry. Golden yellow with crème caramel tones. Picked on December 7th. Semillon provides the base notes and the crème caramel while the Sauvignon Blanc gives the higher tones of tropical – pineapple. Clean, pure and elegant. 2001 Topaz, $35.00. The grower from Potter Valley so wanted to create the rot that he turned the sprinklers on. Tropical, explosive nose that is focused. Intensely sharp clean entry. Tropical qualities, pear, melon. Dark, heady aroma in the back nostril. Caramel, brown sugar, and structure. 1994 Topaz (Call for price) – 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% Semillon, all from Napa. The color of a fine cognac, rich brown. Tad oxidized, but still showing surprising fruit, albeit dried. Heady, sherry qualities verging on musky. Very bright with toffee, cinnamon, and heightened acidity. Tastes fresher than it looks or smells. 1989 Topaz – $80.00. 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon. 13.7% alcohol. Served at the White House. Substantial tartrates on the cork. Fluorescent, glowing orange color. Pungent, heady aroma of orange blossom, honey blossom, and marmalade with layers of vanilla, cream, yellow flowers, and white spice. Multi-tiered. 2002 DLX – $80.00. 65% SB from Calistoga, 25% Semillon from Lake County. Picked at 40-42 brix. 5 barrels made. Does not use the botrytis word on the label because the TTB requires residual sugar levels, harvest sugar, on label. This wine is engaging with a clean entry redolent of crème caramel and crème brûlee. Honey and orange blossoms in the nose with a whisper of nuttiness. Depth and layers of dark, stewed apricot, peach, and plum tease with brown sugar, caramel, and toffee. Heady, exotic musky earth showing definite terroir. Dried flowers, dusty (all from the wood). Anise in the nose, “the bees were just down wind of a campfire.” Intensely erotic without being cloying. Core of pear and a finish of Moroccan spice. |
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Previously from Carolyn Tillie: Moroccan Fish Tagine and Seven Wines CAROLYN TILLIE'S HOME PAGE AND MAIN INDEX © Carolyn Tillie - 2005
© Carolyn Tillie
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I
think it is the alchemist in me that is drawn to these wines and the
concept that something which is putrefying and full of decay produces an
exotic, golden liquid that is so luxurious and rare. Its production is
far more complicated than simply letting the grapes hang on the vines
longer to increase the sugar levels, producing a mere late harvest wine.
And simply fortifying wine with a brandy or neutral spirit for port
production is child’s play in comparison. Botrytis cinerea is an
actual fungus – spores if you will – that infect the grapes; eating
their way below the skin, and attacking the fruit inside, turning them
into disgusting, moldy clusters. 
The
answer came from the winery where my initial interest had been peeked
and where, for me, the infatuation with the wine began. Earlier this
year I had lunch with Katerina Archer
at 
Within
a few years, he was not only making his own Topaz wine, but producing
another 500 gallons for Don McGrath
at the now-defunct Villa Helena winery.
Jeff made a special custom-crush arrangement with Don, producing both
Topaz and Villa Helena’s Dulcinea at McGrath’s winery. This leads to
the Arger-Martucci connection. When Rich and
Carol Martucci and Julie and Kosta
Archer purchased Villa Helena, they also acquired Sowells,
letting him continue the production of Topaz at the winery as well as
his assistance with the Dulcinea label. 
The
clusters of rotten grapes are a marvel to see. “The color of the mold is
very important,” Jeff explained. “Pink, gray, and purple are acceptable
– green and red are not.” Popping one in his mouth, he encouraged me to
do so as well. Like a creamy caramel, the dark rustic flavors were
already evident. Always looking for potential rot, he often has had to
convince an owner to sell him rotten fruit. This gives him an advantage
of obtaining fruit that growers think is bad (but have yet to just give
away) and still be able to produce his wine. He has a good, stable crew
who knows what he is looking for in rotten fruit. They will pick whole
clusters and separate out the rot later. He pays his workers double
because it is such laborious work. He figures it evens out, considering
he is paying less for the actual fruit. 
