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Anyone had Wine from these Vineyards?

March 22, 2007
I received several emails from my mother in law today about some wine she is shipping me (yay! Thanks Mary!).

She recently attended her high school reunion and it turns out that several of her classmates own vineyards. So she ordered some wine from each of them and sent it to me. It's on it's way, and I'm really excited. No one has ever sent me wine before! I'll also be excited to try it as the wines are not from vineyards I'm familiar with.

These are the vineyards, anyone know anything about them?

Buehler Vinyeards (Napa)

Domaine Dujac (Burgundy)

Chatom Vineyards (Calaveras County)

In any case, look for reviews coming up soon after the wines arrive!

18 comments:

  1. John Witherspoon said...

    Buehler is great, good quality cabs and Zins, you should be pleased.
    I don't know about the other two.

    See ya
    JOhn
    :)

    3/22/07, 6:08 PM  

  2. Sonadora said...

    Thanks John! (That was a quick response!) I don't have a lot of experience with Napa wines, so I'll definitely be happy to try it out.

    3/22/07, 6:11 PM  

  3. Ben Bicais said...

    Hi Sonadora, I agree with John about Buehler; they have vineyards near Conn Dam in the Eastern Hills of Napa, which is a great place for Cab and Zin. I believe they also make some Chardonnay with purchased fruit from Russian River Valley.

    3/22/07, 7:25 PM  

  4. Dr. Debs said...

    I've only had their chard, which was one of my party wines a bit back. If you like oaked chardonnay you'll find it a good wine! Nice in law...

    3/22/07, 10:26 PM  

  5. thomas said...

    I know Buehler makes good cab's at relatively good prices. Chatom I've heard of too but havn't been exposed to any of their wines as of yet.

    3/23/07, 1:50 AM  

  6. Anonymous said...

    Lucky you on the Dujac. His bottles are held in very high esteem by Burg hounds, and they tend to be very expensive. Which wine, I wonder will you receive? He makes village wines, 1er Crus, and at least 5 Grand Crus. Enjoy it!

    3/23/07, 4:32 PM  

  7. Barrld said...

    Brooklyguy said the magic words, the Dujac will be the star of the mix though the Buehler is drinkable too. Don't know the Chatom . . .

    3/23/07, 4:43 PM  

  8. Barrld said...

    Brooklyguy said the magic words, the Dujac will be the star of the mix though the Buehler is drinkable too. Don't know the Chatom . . .

    3/23/07, 4:43 PM  

  9. Sonadora said...

    Hello all- I appreciate all the comments! And welcome oovas and Ben! I really look forward to getting the wines!

    Brooklyguy and Barrld, the Dujac showed up today (wow, that was fast) and it appears to be a 2002 1st Cru from what I can find about it on the internet. The Dujac website doesn't appear to think it's ready to drink, but my mother-in-law was really interested in what I thought...I've also never had a Burgundy before! Eep!!

    Dr.Debs, yes this was a very nice surprise!!

    3/23/07, 5:05 PM  

  10. Anonymous said...

    OK, I can fill in a little about Chatom. It's about two miles up the road from Twisted Oak in Calaveras County. It's named for owner Gay Callan's son Chatom (I do not know who son Chatom is named for, however!)

    Chatom is one of the original wineries here in Calaveras. They are especially known for their excellent Sauv Blanc, Zin, and Syrah. I "stole" their previous winemaker to start Twisted Oak...!

    And their "Our Owner's Gay" t-shirts are almost as coveted as Twisted Oak's "Are You Twisted?" shirts.

    Now please, tell me that your mother in law did NOT go to high school with Gay Callan!

    3/23/07, 5:32 PM  

  11. Sonadora said...

    Oops, looks like the Dujac is not a 1st Cru (I know not much about French wines), I think it must be a village wine. Someone want to educate me on the difference?

    El Jefe, thank you for the info! I figured they must be near you, given the location. I believe she went to school with his wife :) She attended an all girls school as far as I know!

    3/23/07, 5:42 PM  

  12. Anonymous said...

    um, Gay is actually a woman, so that applies...!-)

    3/23/07, 7:20 PM  

  13. Sonadora said...

    Oops, pardon my mistake! I've never heard that as a female name before!! Then it must be her.

    3/23/07, 7:38 PM  

  14. David said...

    wow, sounds like a good first burgundy to try!!!

    3/23/07, 9:02 PM  

  15. Anonymous said...

    What does the Dujac label say, exactly? regional wines are labelled Bourgogne, or Cotes de Beaune or Cote de Nuits. Village wines, like Vosne-Romanee or Beaune, for example, are made from grapes exclusively from that village, and all things considered, are usually more complex, finer wines than their regional counterparts. 1er Cru means that within a specific village, the grapes come from a specific vineyard that produces consistently fine enough wine to be granted 1er Cru status (although the classifications are old). An example might be Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Malconsorts. Grand cru is same idea, but a vinyard that produces the finest quality wine in the region. These are called, confusingly, by the name of the vineyard. Like Romanee St. Vivant or Musigny, for example. Curious to hear more about the Dujac, although depending on the wine, it might be infanticide to drink it now...

    3/26/07, 11:47 AM  

  16. Sonadora said...

    Brooklynguy, it says, from top to bottom: Mis En Bouteille Au Domaine; Morey Saint-Denis; Appellation Morey Saint-Denis Controlle; 2002; Domaine Dujac; Domaine Dujac SA Morey Saint Denis France; Grand Vin De Bourgogne; Red Burgundy Wine; Product of France; 13% alcohol by volume; 750 ml.

    Would you like to make any sense of that for me? I have never had a Burgundy before and this one kind of scares me, I'm afraid it's way out of my palate experience....

    Thanks for your help!

    3/26/07, 8:39 PM  

  17. Brooklynguy said...

    Mis en...etc just translates to "bottled at the Domaine." You have a village level wine by Domaine Dujac (fantastic producer) from the village of Morey St Denis in the Cote de Nuits (the part of Burgundy famous for red wine). This is a great vintage in Burgundy, and should be a beautiful wine. To read more about the producer and maybe this specific wine, go to Burgundy Report (link at my blog) and use his producer search. Also, type in Dujac in cellar tracker and see what the folks are saying about this wine.

    Don't be intimidated by this, its just wine, and you're going to love tasting it. If I might generalize, compared to the Cali Pinots you have been writing about lately, the Dujac will be lighter in color and all about elegance and silk, more floral and fragrant, less weighty (lower alcohol). See what you think...

    3/26/07, 10:24 PM  

  18. Sonadora said...

    Thanks again Brooklynguy! I appreciate all the info!

    3/27/07, 5:19 AM  

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