|
Mount
Eden Vineyards
Pinots and Cabernets
This Pinot Noir was made from grapes planted more than 40 years earlier by
Martin Ray, right at our feet here atop Mount Eden. The rootstock was, again, brought back by Masson from
Louis Latour vineyards. The 7 acre old vineyard had the plants spaced 10 feet by 10 feet, with no trellising. And as with the chardonnay, the pinot ages well. Like the chardonnay, the 1997 pinot we were enjoying was balanced and tasteful.
Jeff makes 14 to 16 barrels of pinot annually, using techniques influenced by classic burgundian principles for crafting the wines. He uses 1/2 new oak and 1/2 year-old Burgundian oak barrels, with complete malolactic in barrel, no fining, no filtration.
The old vineyard from which this pinot was made has since been pulled up and replanted with chardonnay. The 1997 Pinot Noir from this oldest vineyard was the last. The age of the vines and inefficient vineyard spacing resulted in productivity of only 1/2 to 1 1/2 tons per acre. The resulting wine was characterized as being somewhat
"delicate" by Jeff. He recommends drinking the old vines pinot in 2 to 7 years, although he does say that, with proper cellaring, it can easily go much longer. How much longer? Well, I was talking to
Steve Lagier of
Lagier-Meredith a few days earlier, and he mentioned a
1979 Mount Eden Pinot Noir in his cellar that he thought he might want to get around to drinking sometime soon.
Although the old vines vineyard has been pulled out, Mount Eden Pinot Noir will not miss a stride. Jeff has 3 acres of pinot at 2,000 feet and a 4-acre vineyard of 25-year-old pinot at 1,600 feet.
A delivery of grapes arrived and Jeff hopped up to give instructions to one of the workers in a conglomeration of Spanish and English and sign language. He disappeared into the house for a moment, then returned, apologizing that he did not have a bottle of cabernet handy. So we poured another glass of pinot, but began discussing cabernet.
Jeff grows about 15 acres of cabernet (with a small amount of that vineyard space devoted to blending grapes
- cab franc and merlot). The oldest cabernet vineyard was planted back during the days of
Martin Ray, 45 years ago. The cuttings were from the old
"La Questa" vineyard that had been planted in the 1890s on
Margaux rootstock.
From this vineyard comes Mount Eden's Old Vines Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon. The grapes are punched down manually and macerated 6-10 days following fermentation, at which time it goes into new bordelaise barrels where it finishes malolactic fermentation. The wine ages 2 years in barrel and is racked 3 to 4 times per year. The wine is egg-fined, but then bottled unfiltered.
I write in the present tense, but the last Old Vines Reserve was the 1999 vintage, which is yet to be released, of course. As with the old vines pinot vineyard, the old vines cabernet vineyard was pulled out. Not because of disease, but because of low productivity and quality issues. The vineyard was producing only 1/4 to 1 ton of grapes per acre, and Jeff had reached the opinion that the quality of grapes produced by his newer vineyards (some now 25 years old) had achieved a level of quality equal to the old vines.
I related to Jeff my first experience with this wine. It was a blind tasting of heavy hitter, deep pocket wines:
Insignia, Stag's Leap Cask
23,
Quintessa, many others. I had never tasted the Mount Eden before. We had ample opportunity to spend time with the wines, to get to know them. At the end of the evening, when the wines were revealed, I was shocked to find the Mount Eden high on my scorecard. In fact, I had it placed 2nd. I started buying.
I've never stopped.
The Old Vines Reserve is 100% cabernet. The Mount Eden Estate
Cabernet, the
"regular" bottling, follows the same path as the Old Vines, but is blended with merlot and cab franc in a
bordeaux-style cepage. Most of this cabernet comes from 25 year old vines planted at 1,600 feet on 110R root stock. The Estate Cabernet is generally more accessible young than the Old Vines Reserve, but like all Mount Eden wines, it also ages gracefully.
Jeff is uncertain whether he will have a reserve cabernet after the 1999 Old Vines Reserve or, if he does, what characteristics he would want to isolate in that wine. My impression was that he really wanted to see what he has in barrel from the 2000 vintage before deciding. But, certainly, he is satisfied that the Estate Cabernet is very good. In fact, Jeff considers the Estate Cabernet just as good as the Old Vines Reserve, only different. So he could decide against a reserve.
During the many years of its history, from its origins as Martin
Ray's original vineyards through the succession of fine winemakers who followed, including
Merry Edwards, the wines of Mount Eden have exhibited the uniqueness of place. These wines will never be confused with cookie-cutter valley wines. Over the past two decades,
Jeffrey Patterson has crafted wines of exceptional quality and unique characteristics at Mount Eden. Much of what is special about Mount Eden can be attributed to the
terrior, but just as much, as is true in any location, is the fundamental philosophy of the winemaker. Jeff Patterson adheres to a purist philosophy of winemaking
- to let the wine speak for itself. He has explained that philosophy quite well on the
Mount Eden Vineyards
website.
 |
|
David
King preparing for a Mount Eden verticals tasting |
By this time, Jeff had given me 1 1/2 hours of his valuable time during harvest. At no time did he display any sense of undue urgency, and his graciousness seemed boundless. But my sense of gratitude increased immensely as the time wore on, not only at the amount of time he offered, but the level at which he communicated. There was no doubt that he loves this land and has a passion to make this wine. And as we drove down the mountain roads, the vineyards spread beside us and the valley laid out in patchwork far below, my sense of appreciation deepened.
Sometimes, you taste wine and you have a sense of what went into its making. Too often, what you sense is some sort of corporate mission. What I had always thought I tasted in Mount Eden wines was one
man's vision - something like "this is what wine must be, if it be true to
itself." I was glad that my guess was correct. But Jeff states his philosophy of winemaking much more eloquently than that:
"Nothing given, nothing taken away."
My thanks to Jeffrey Patterson for granting me the privilege of an appointment to visit Mount Eden Vineyards, and for spending so much time with us. And, of course, for the wines he makes!
David King
Amphissa
Previous
Page
 Link
to Gang of Pour Home Page
Link
to Gang of Pour Site Index (Table of Contents)
October, 2000 © David King
|
