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library These wines are no longer available directly from ampelos cellars, although you may find them at your local wine store or restaurant, or even in your cellar! viognier, santa ynez valley, 2006 We are primarily “red focused” at ampelos but none of us can pass up a glass of crisp, refreshing viognier! We blend fruit from the Cuatro Vientos vineyard in Los Olivos with the small batch of Viognier grapes we grow on the ampelos estate to produce what we think is a mighty fine white wine. This wine has never seen a barrel and has not gone through malo-lactic fermentation. ampelos viognier will suit a variety of foods from artisan cheeses to lobster and poultry dishes. Just 103 cases produced. For maximum enjoyment, serve at 55°F. Please click here for printable winemaking and tasting notes. rosé of syrah, santa ynez valley We pick the syrah grapes in this rosé specifically for this wine – no saignée! We pick one third of the grapes and soak them like a red wine. Then, a few days later we pick the remainder and press everything together, this gives us our pretty pink color and unique flavor profile. Like our viognier, this wine has never seen oak and has not gone through malo-lactic fermentation. We love drinking this perfectly dry, refreshing rose on a warm day. Our rosé compliments spicy dishes as well as salads and a traditional thanksgiving turkey dinner. 300 cases produced. Best when served at 50°F. Please click here for printable winemaking and tasting notes. Rosé of Syrah, Quatro Vientos Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, 2005 We began to harvest Syrah on September 18, harvesting in increments as the fruit ripened to perfection. Our rosé was always meant to be a rosé, and so this first batch was destemmed, crushed and kept on the skins for two days to extract color and spiciness.. Two days later, we harvested the rest of the vineyard and placed it (whole cluster) into the press, along with the de-stemmed lot. Pressed until we were pleased with the taste, tannins, structure and color, the juice was then transferred to a cold stainless steel tank where it underwent a cool, long fermentation. Malolactic fermentation was inhibited. This process allowed us to retain the fresh aromas and fruit profile that we desired in this wine; let the fruit express itself and do not disturb it with ml or oak! The color is a pretty salmon with pink hints. This is a dry rosé– and not a sweet white zinfandel. It is an elegant wine that can stand on its own as an aperitif. The nose shows pink grapefruit and fresh strawberries and the mouth continues with a sweet pink grapefruit and some spicy flavors from the syrah grapes. Acids are well balanced which also makes it a very food friendly wine; try it with spicy asian cuisine. Please click here for a printable version of these notes. Viognier, Quatro Vientos Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, 2005 We harvested the Viognier in several picks to ensure perfect ripeness. We started picking on September 13, 2005 with subsequent picks a few days later. We harvested at dawn’s first light to ensure the fruit was crisp and cool. The first fruit was placed into the cold room, and then all put into the press upon delivery of the last harvest. The grapes where then whole-cluster pressed together and resulted in juice at 23.3 Brix, 3.5 pH and 6.8 TA – exactly what we desired. The color was light straw. We inoculated with epernay2 cultured yeast and kept the fermenting wine at cold temperatures in a steel tank. After a long fermentation we prevented malolactic (ml) fermentation to retain the fresh aromas which is our philosophy with this wine: let the fruit express itself and do not disturb it with ml or oak. Only 76 cases produced. A true representation of the grapes themselves – this is what we believe Viognier should be! The color is light straw with an apricot noise. The palate has nice characteristics of pineapple, pear and kumquats with a long and pleasing finish. No aging is needed for this wine! Please click here for a printable version of these notes. pinot noir, fiddlestix vineyard, sta. rita hills, 2005 2005 marked our third harvest from the fiddlestix vineyard. As was the case around the valley, crop levels were threatening to be high and we were getting nervous. Meticulously farmed by Jeff Newton and Kathy Joseph, Fiddlestix was worked into shape and our fears were soothed away. The crop levels fell right around 2.7 tons/acre, and we were very pleased at how Fiddlestix had once again provided us with fantastic fruit. Picked early the morning of 9/9/2005, we got 1.5 tons of clone 115 and 1.5 tons of clone 667 from two very different blocks of the vineyard. Just after crushing this fruit the bin had the most beautiful smell of fresh thyme. After aging and bottling, the flavors have morphed into a rich blend of cherries, lush strawberry pie and a hint of sweet tobacco. A glimpse of earthy musk and more cherries cap off the nose. Fiddlestix never fails to show us the beauty of what the other corridor of Sta. Rita Hills can produce. Please click here for a printable version of these notes. L pinot noir, ampelos vineyard, sta. rita hills, 2004 A day to remember - September 8,
2004 - we had our first harvest from our own vineyard!!! The wine aged in 35% new oak (Sirugue, Boutes and TW Boswell coopers) and 65% neutral barrels for 17 months. The two different clones were barreled separately until the second racking when we created the final blend. The wine was bottled in March of 2006. Bountiful red fruit dominates – raspberry, black cherry, sweet strawberry – accented invitingly with hints of exotic spice, gingerbread and a warm earthiness. There is a long lingering, chewy finish with the fruit supported by cola and cigar box. This sumptuous extract is balanced with bright acidity and softly framed by fine tannins. Please click here for a printable version of these notes. r pinot noir, ampelos vineyard, sta. rita hills, 2004 Each year we will get together as a family and hand select the top pinot noir barrels from our estate fruit. For 2004 we chose 4 barrels to comprise our “rho”. Unlike L (our other estate pinot noir), r is aged 17 months in 50% new french oak. This inaugural vintage was bottled in 2006 and held for a year before release to make certain it was truly integrated. r is a correlation coefficient – each year we will make different blends of clones to optimize this wine. Due to the strong (yet soft) tannin structure this wine can cellar for 5-15 years. Enjoy with succulent pork tenderloin, Beef Bourgogne, or simply by itself with some good music and great friends! Please click here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
e grenache, harrison-clarke vineyard, santa ynez valley, 2004 This is one of the few pure grenache bottlings done in Santa Barbara County. Our grenache is from Harrison-Clarke vineyard, located in high elevations above the Stolpman and the Purisima Mountain vineyards off Ballard Canyon in the Santa Ynez Valley. The elevation and micro-climate of the vineyard provides rather extreme weather conditions, just perfect for the Rhônes in our program. Grenache is a temperamental vine that is starting to show its beauty. We picked the grenache grapes twice – first on Sept 13th at 26.2 brix and a second pick on Sept 27th at 26.4 brix. Our first pick was meant to be used for our “syrache” but the yield wasa little less than expected. Trying to compensate for this we got some more in the second batch – and now we had more than we needed! Based on this as well as the quality of the grenache we therefore decided to make this small batch – and we love it! The 2004 Grenache was aged in French oak barrels, 35% of which were new. Prior to bottling, the wines were racked twice. The color is a rich burgundy with a nose of ripe blueberries and figs leading to delicious creamy strawberry shortcake on the mouth. Chocolate and cinnamon resonate on the back palate for a deliciously spicy finish. (When the berries came in from the vineyard Peter kept eating them out of the fermenter – surprisingly something was left, they just tasted so good!) Please click here for a printable version of these notes.
The grapes for the For this wine we selected one French Sirugue barrel and one TW Boswell hybrid barrel which has American staves and French heads. Combined with two good neutral barrels we now had the first-born syrah ready for some rest. We racked the wine twice before bottling. Dark purple hue with good color separation. The nose alludes to raspberries, dark chocolate and sweet almond. Combined with cracked white pepper, cloves and more dark fruit on the palate – a signature of Sta. Rita Hills. The tannins are balanced for this young wine and the oak is supporting. Something reminds us of a walk hand-in-hand in a forest after the rain… Please click here for a printable version of these notes. syrache, sta. rita hills, 2004 Our “syrache” is a Rhône style blend of syrah and grenache. The grenache is from from the Harrison-Clarke ranch, located in high elevations above the Stolpman and the Purisima Mountain vineyards in Ballard Canyon in Santa Ynez Valley. The vineyard has extreme weather conditions and is in an excellent place for Rhône grapes in our program. We picked the grenache grapes twice – first on September 13 (26.2 Brix) and later on September 27 (26.4 Brix). The syrah is from two sources – Harrison-Clarke (picked September 13) and Alisos in Cat Canyon (our last pick, on October 2) – both picked at 26.4 Brix. We added about 250 lbs of estate viognier to the Harrison-Clarke syrah for co-fermentation. The four batches were kept separate but went through a similar process: two days of cold soaking, about two weeks of fermentation with two daily punch-downs. We drained the free run (~80%) and gave the remainder a light press and racked into oak barrels where malolactic fermentation was started. We also added about 5-7% estate syrah for complexity. We used 35% new French oak barrels (Sirugue, Remond, and TW Boswell) supplemented with a few hybrid barrels that are a combination of French and American oak. The wines were racked twice prior to bottling. Very dark red/purple, inky hue. The nose promises dark berries and chocolate with a hint of sweet tobacco and the palate continues with flavors of cracked pepper, chocolate and bubble gum (the grenache influence). The tannins are strong and balanced and the oak is supportive. We believe this wine will age very well and love how the different components compliment each other. Please click here for a printable version of these notes. Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills, 2003 On Sept. 11, 2003, we harvested a ton of Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir clone 667 (the same block we had good success within 2002) and on Sept. 17th a ton of clone 115. After de-stemming and crushing, we cold soaked for 3 days and then began fermentation by inoculating with two different yeasts (RC212 and BM45 -- keeping them separate). We fermented for 12 days with two daily punch downs in small open top fermenters - each with the different yeast. When the wine was completely dry we pressed in a classic basket press and carefully hand bucketed the wines into 50% new and 50% aged French oak barrels where it under went malolactic fermentation. The wine aged in barrel for approximately 14 months. We bottled at the end of March, 2004 and released it early July, 2005. Only 110 cases produced. The wine shows crisp fruit, deep garnet color with vibrant, sappy plum and blackberry fruit, accented with hints of cola, warm spice, and white flowers. The nose has the aromas of fresh cherries and a deep spice cabinet. The palate is creamy with the hints of exotic spices, balanced tannins and a smooth finish. Syrah, Santa Rita Hills, 2003 Following our prior year's focus we started looking around for some good Syrah in the area. We wanted to be able to express the fine characteristics that a cold climate (similar to our own estate vineyard) brings to the Syrah grape as well as to get a better feel for what our vineyard will provide. We were able to buy Syrah clone 7 from Gainey's Evans Ranch located on Santa Rosa Road and just a couple of miles away from our estate. On Oct 17th, we picked the beautiful, small berries and after a day in the cold room we crushed and de-stemmed the grapes. After two days of cold soaking we started fermentation, inoculating with RC212 yeast. When the wine completed fermentation, we pressed it and racked it into a combination of new and neutral French oak barrels. The wine was bottled at the end of March and was released early in July. Only 48 cases were produced. The wine is very dark with hints of mint, distinctive white pepper and earthy characteristics. The aromatics are reminiscent of bright red fruits, such as red cherries and raspberries. Syrache, Santa Barbara County, 2003 The "Syrache" name is a blend of Syrah and Grenache. This wine has been designed for those who like to explore beyond the traditional varietals; if you are this type of person then this is the wine for you! The wine is blend of 55% Westerly Syrah, 25% Evans Ranch Syrah and 20% Harrison-Clarke Grenache. The Westerly Syrah provides a core of opaque, black fruits and grilled meats livened by high-toned spice and violets from the Evans Ranch fruit and rounded by the generous, open knit, friendly, red berry and strawberry shortcake qualities of Grenache. As they say, the sum is greater than the parts. The wine is very smooth yet lingers on your palate causing you to ask “Is there any more???” Syrah Rosé, Santa Barbara County, 2003 We inoculated with BM45 to start the fermentation in neutral French Oak. We inhibited malolactic fermentation and believe that the best way to show the fruit is to have no new oak addition. The wine was released in June, 2005. Only 56 cases produced. The wine is showing big fruit with characteristics of pink lemonade both in the color, nose and palate. It still has the refreshing tones of strawberries and tropical fruit as the 2003, including the pretty pink salmon color. |
syrah,
sta. rita hills, 2004 
syrah were picked on October 4 2004, the first harvest from our
own vineyard – this is the Estrella clone planted on 1103P
rootstock. Brix: 27.4 pH: 3.27 and TA: 5.97. We kept it in a cold
room for two days followed by de-stemming and crushing into two
small ½ ton open top fermenters. We then inoculated with
bm45 and after 17 days and two daily punch-downs our first estate
syrah was a reality! We drained the free run (~80%), gave the remainder
a light press and racked into oak barrels where we started the malolactic
fermentation.
