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What We Say 2006 York Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
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Mission Codename: King Carbonate
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Infiltrate Calcareous Winery, in Paso Robles, and retrieve their fabled 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon – from
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Calcareous Winery
Wine Subject: 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon – York Mountain
Winemaker: Jason Joyce
Backgrounder: The York Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is part of the larger Central Coast AVA, located on the eastern side of the Santa Lucia Mountains, west of Paso Robles AVA. Most vineyards in the region are planted at an elevation of about 1,500 feet. Just 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean, York Mountain is cooler and wetter than Paso Robles. York Mountain gained AVA status in 1984 as a result of a successful petition by the owners of the York Mountain Winery, which first opened as a commercial winery in 1882.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep and intense, with dark garnet hues that deepen at the core of the wine. Out to the edges of the glass, the color remains deep garnet. When swirled, slow skinny legs hang for several seconds before slowly descending to the surface of the wine.
Smell – Bold and dark, with an initial rush of mixed blackberry, black cherry and black plum. Beneath these sit raspberry, dark cassis, bakers chocolate, oak, sweet tobacco, soft spice and a hint of sweet fennel seed.
Feel – Smooth and rich, this full bodied wine instantly coats the palate with its finely textured tannins and minerality, creating a lush and chewy character. A balanced acidity and a touch of spice grips onto the tongue and drives the fruit toward a long and lingering finish.
Taste – Vibrant and flavor-rich, with juicy and jammy black cherry, blackberry and raspberry providing the initial rush of flavors. These lead the way to a more expansive palate of dark blueberry, cassis, black fig, plum and sweet tobacco. Underneath, subtle but complex notes of tobacco, earth and sweet oak are well integrated with white pepper and brown spice notes.
Finish – Extremely long with dark fruit that lingers and lingers, eventually yielding to earthen notes and spice.
Conclusion – The 2006 Calcareous Winery York Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is bold and juicy delight. The wine is classically Paso, with its extracted flavors and intense fruit. Our tasting panel found itself experimenting with the wine, enjoying it equally in small sips and large gulps. With a bright and balanced texture, this is a certain companion for your favorite grilled meats or a hearty enchilada. Supported by firm but finely textured tannins, spice, and minerality, this is also a terrific wine to sip and enjoy all on its own!
Mission Report:
WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER
SUBJECT: Jason Joyce
WINE EDUCATION: In the Vineyard and In The Cellar
WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Attempt as much as possible to maintain the integrity of the fruit the vineyard has supplied me with
WINEMAKER QUOTE: ”A job that makes you watch the sunrise and sunset each day is a keeper.”
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW
AGENT RED: Greetings, Jason. We are thrilled to be showing your 2006 Calcareous Cabernet Sauvignon today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.
JASON JOYCE: Thanks for having me – and giving me the opportunity to share my wine
RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?
JASON: As with most winemakers, it was the chance to physically produce something you can bring to one of your favorite environments of life, the meal table.
RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?
JASON: Daniel Shaw, the first winemaker I ever worked with. Taught me to just learn to be technically sound in your winemaking, then you are free to try whatever idea comes to you without fear.
RED: Who do you make wine for?
JASON: I make wine first and foremost for the farmers that produce the grapes. Grape farming is extremely difficult work in our vineyard with the steep slopes and challenging limestone soils. With all that work put in on that side, I owe it to them to produce a wine from those grapes that honors their work.
RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.
JASON: This Cab is from our Carver Vineyard in York Mountain. York Mountain is an AVA west of Paso Robles that is at the peak of the Southern Santa Lucia mountain range. At that high altitude and proximity to the ocean, the climate is much cooler than our estate vineyard here in Paso. It is an absolutely magical vineyard, planted amongst the live oak forest in 1968. I truly believe it to be on the greatest Cab vineyards in all of Central Coast California. This wine hopefully speaks to this place.
RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?
JASON: This is a powerful cab with firm tannins and a strong acid backbone. Here, 5 years after harvest it is finally starting to become truly approachable. A perfectly prepared medium rare dry aged steak is the key paring here. You want to have a range of flavors from the seared edges to the tender center to match the multiple layers of flavors in this wine.
RED: In your opinion, what makes the Paso Region so special?
JASON: Three things make Paso Robles so special One, the soils here, with their limestone bedrock right at the surface is extremely rare and perfect for wine grapes. Two, the daily swing in temperatures which during the ripening time swings from high 90’s in the day to low 40’s at night give us exceptional ripening yet great acid and tannin. Third, the people here are not tied to any specific style or varietal, so daring and experimentation are encouraged here, thus it is perhaps the most forward thinking wine region in the world.
RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?
JASON: Bottling the next vintage is now the daily grind. Tasting, blending and perfecting are the simple goals.
RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?
JASON: Always with food, always with friends and family, always with an open mind that each drink can be a learning and sharing experience.
RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
JASON: Wine is a consumable, it is meant to be drunk, not stared at. Enjoy!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Calcareous Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Calcareous Vineyard
About This Wine:
This Cabernet retains the abundant dark red and purple vibrancy of youth yet enjoys the complex palette and integration of maturity. Mountain top Manzanita aroma’s lead to blackcurrant, cherry and layered mocha chocolate flavors. Extensive pre release bottle age ensures a silky soft texture and a full lingering finish. Very rewarding now, cellar for up to ten years.
Vineyard Notes: The 2006 Cabernet comes from our enclave on York Mountain. We have had a long term association with this vineyard; farming and managing it ourselves in a way that makes it feel part of our estate. It is truly one of the old vine jewels in the San Luis Obispo County area.
Production Notes: 2006 was a real year for the microclimates. Favored spots such as our sheltered slopes shrug off the frosts and the downpours and soak up the warming rays. Midday ridge top breezes rustle through the vines drying off any remaining moisture from the cool morning fog. This is a vintage that will be seen as real testament to the foresight of our founders.
Winemaker Notes: The fog bound York Mountain produces very distinctive cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon, which is characterized by a deep vibrant color profile, excellent natural acidity and superb structure. These are all the classic components of wine with wondrous aging potential, hence the late release date. By merely topping the barrels with Malbec and Petit Verdot (3% each) we integrate early and add a different dimension to the fruit expression and a layered complexity to the nose. All our wines receive ultra gentle, hands on, classic boutique winemaking. The wine only differing by its 18 month maturation, receiving 40% new French chateau barrels from the finest Bordeaux coopers. This is followed by a full 18 month bottle age prior to release. The wait is certainly worth the reward.
About The Winery:
The vision of three motivated people helped make Calcareous Vineyard a reality. Lloyd Messer sold his wine and beer distributing business in Sioux City, Iowa, to search for the ideal growing region for his vineyard sites. He recognized Paso Robles, California, as an emerging premium wine producing area. Daughter Dana Brown sold her Iowa wine distributing business to partner with Lloyd and shape the dream with her passion and classic style.
We hope you will join us as we embark on an adventure into the wonderful world of wine. Calcareous Vineyard possesses all of the ingredients necessary to reach our goal of producing one of the highest quality wines in the state. We have the land, weather, sunshine, vines, and winemaker, creating the optimal conditions for the development of the best possible wines. Most importantly, it is our pleasure to offer you what the ancient Greeks called “the gift of the gods”.
Calcareous Vineyards is located on Peachy Canyon Road in the Westside hills of Paso Robles, California. Established in 2000, Calcareous Vineyards is a 442-acre estate that begins about one mile to the west of town and stretches for several miles towards the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
The expanse of this land offers many opportunities for optimal vineyard sites and varietal selections.
The benefit of the Westside of Paso Robles is that the terrain allows for the production of Bordeaux, Rhone, and Burgundy varietals virtually side-by-side. The limestone soils were derived from the sea-life once covering these hills in pre-historic times; creating the foundation for a great vineyard. The hills emerged from the depths of the ocean by the colliding forces of geological plates and volcanic eruption; this has created varied microclimates on the sides of the hills, due to the different exposures to sun, wind, and rain.
Our search for the perfect combination of terroir, climate and varietal selection brought us to the Central Coast of California, and more specifically to the rare and unique calcareous soils of West Paso Robles. Our goal is to produce the finest Rhone and Bordeaux blends and distinctive Burgundies this region will allow.
Technical Analysis:
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: York Mountain
Vineyard Designation: Carver
Acid: 6.7 g/L
pH: 3.67
Residual Sugar: Dry
Alcohol: 15.8%
