Hanzell-
I am going to begin a
small series on wineries I have visited. I thought I would start with one of my
most memorable ones. Hanzell.
Hanzell was started in 1957 by Ambassador Zellerbach. The
ambassador was a key figure in the development of the Marshall
plan and was asked by President Truman to travel to Europe
and execute it. During that time he was living in Rome. This allowed him opportunity to explore Burgundy’s Domains in
great depth. During his time in Europe he purchased land in the Mayacamas Range
overlooking the town of Sonoma
and began to plan out his vision at home;
Hanzell’s first
release was in 1961 and has since then only produced top quality Pinot Noir and
Chardonnay. When I say top quality, I am (personal bias) talking about the
worlds finest.
We were in Sonoma last fall and I
was so excited to have the opportunity to visit this winery. To get to the
winery you have to pass the world famous gates and drive above Sonoma to the top of the range. We had rented
a convertible mustang and we certainly scraped the bottom of the car on the way
there. Don’t tell the rental company!! Ha
We pulled up to
the winery and met with our ‘Ambassador’ Zack and he gave us a tour of the
vineyards. We climbed into his car and drove up the hill even higher to the top
of the range. The view was amazing. They even had picnic tables set up to enjoy
the view from. He showed us individual
plots of land and you could see the clone number and names tagged on the end of
each row.
The next stop on
our tour was the wine cave. We drove back to the main building area and began
to walk down a flight of stairs into the side of the mountain. The addition of
this cave barrel cellar was a more modern one but still carried the feel of the
whole place. “Quality” The tunnel was impressive and bright. The barrels neatly
stacked along the sides of the wall.
As we emerged out
of the tunnel we ended up in the open air crushpad. There was a de-stemmer,
sorting table and below was rows of temperature controlled fermenters. Just as ambassador Zellerbach was a leader and visionary, this spirit
remains. The fermentation tanks are an amazing marvel. They are not only
temperature controlled but the temperature is constantly recorded and sent to
the winemakers mobile phone so that 24hrs a day the wine is being monitored to
ensure the correct temperatures can be maintained.
Next stop- Wine
Library. Wow, I could have spent hours in this room. They have bottles of every
single vintage they have ever made, catalogued and organized. Good thing they
didn’t leave me alone in this room. J
Moving upstairs in
the old winery building you could see that back in 1957 this was a gravity fed
winery. They were green before it was even cool to be green. You can still see
the old fermenting tanks and the bottle filling invention that was the first of
its kind. Hanzell was the first winery to use inert gas to fill the bottles
before filling them with wine. This is to minimize the amount of oxygen that
can get at the wine at all times. This is now common practice world wide and we
can certainly thank Hanzell for this.
The last stop on
our tour is to the tasting room which was the old lab for the winery. The room
is filled with momentos of the past. Photos, documents, maps, and laboratory
equipment are all well documented. We
tasted the Sebella Chardonnay and the current release of the Hanzell Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir. Though it is unfair to judge these wines so young as they are
not intended to be opened so early you could still enjoy the quality and care
that is evident. In some words you can taste how the wine will develop over
time.
Notes on the
wines:
2009 Sebella
Chardonnay – Bright clean citrus with a bold minerality are balanced by a rich
creamy texture. Acidy is vibrant (medium plus) with notes in the mouth of lemon
peel and crisp apple. This balanced wine would rival a Cru Chablis.
$36.00
2009 Hanzell Chardonnay – Brilliant Gold in color with glints of green make
this wine look electric in the glass. The
nose comes across as more floral in character and then transitions into the
lemon zest and melon. Youthful and
tightly wound the bold minerality is backed by lemon, pears and tropical
fruits. Hints of coconut remain. What captured my heart was the texture. Rich
and full. This is a wine that if given enough time to develop will be a show
stopper. Decanting two to three hours
before serving is recommended.
$75.00
2008 Hanzell Pinot Noir - Red fruit aromas of cherry and pomegranate are
enhanced by scents of pipe tobacco, woodsy forest floor. With time, the wine
unfolds to reveal orange peel and cardamom. Surprising tannins and balanced
acidity sustain the persistent fruit through a long finish. The concentration
of the characters show the time needed to fully integrate the wine as a
whole. From the first sip to the last
the wine had developed into a new entity. This wine will require 5-10 years to
fully be appreciated. Decanting one to
two hours (or the night before) is recommended.
$95.00
