Topel Winery
2007 Red Table Wine
Red Blend
California: Mendocino County
Mission Briefing
Duncan’s Delight
The primary grape used in today’s wine is the winery’s signature varietal, Syrah Noir, a unique clone of Syrah. Cuttings of today’s Syrah Noir was rumored to be smuggled from a famous vineyard in Northern Rhone, where the varietal hails from. Syrah Noir is characterized as being bold and fruit-rich, with bright flavors and a rich complexity. Grown on Topel’s mountainside vineyard in Mendocino, today’s wine thrives in the Rhone-like environment of the vineyard.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Dark ruby red with a darker center of magenta. After swirling this wine, it takes a while to settle. When it does, it leaves behind tall, elegant legs that rocket down the glass wall. |
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| Smell: | Dried cherry, ripe blackberry, braised plum and raspberry juice are out in the forefront. After the wine breathes for a little while, aromas of chocolate, soft sweetwood, dark dried flowers and flint begin to emerge. |
| Taste: | Rife with ripe fruit, including big black cherry, blackberry, smoky plum, raspberry and red currant. Swirl the wine for a few minutes and be rewarded with brighter, more natural flavors. As the wine opens, it releases flavors of subtle spice, black pepper, subtle tobacco leaf and a hint of leather. |
| Finish: | Bright and juicy, with a very elegant, long and sustained finish that slowly moves from red fruit to black fruit to more earthy flavors. At the very end, subtle flint and black pepper persist long after the fruits fade. |
| Pairing: |
What the Winery Says
Blended red wines are now the fastest growing wine category across all price points, and our 2007 Topel Estate Blend is a perfect example of why. In short, it’s just magnificent — and competition judges agree. It was one of only three red wines from the 2007 vintage to win a Double Gold Medal at the Mendocino County Wine Competition and it also snagged a Silver Medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, which is the world’s largest judging of American wines.
Blending is the highest form of the winemaker’s art. Each variety is carefully measured and the blend is constantly tweaked until the winemaker finds the perfect combination. Our 2007 Estate Blend — aged 26 months in French oak — is predominantly composed of Syrah Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, balanced by small amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot, all grown in our mountainside vineyards that rise just above the fog line in southern Mendocino County.
Deep ruby and purple colors swirl in the glass and give way to flavors of plum and chocolate (a trait of Syrah Noir). The Cabernet Sauvignon provides copious tannins while the Petit Verdot adds brightness. Everything is rounded out with a splash of Merlot. We love it with just about any red meat — and it’s equally splendid with roasted chicken!
Technical Analysis
- Varietals
- 50% Syrah Noir, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot
- Barrel Aging
- 34 Months in French Oak
- Sugar
- 25.8
- TA
- 0.49
- pH
- 3.8
- Alcohol
- 14.2
- Production
- 225 Cases
About the Winery
The Goal of Topel Winery is Simple…to make absolutely the best wine that can be made from these grapes in this spot at this time, and to do it honestly. We literally capture a piece of time so that when we open a bottle, no matter when, it brings back the whole year. Every vintage is like a new child.
All Topel wines are lovingly handcrafted by Mark and Donnis, who employ minimalist techniques to transform simple grapes into world-class wines that are robust, yet balanced and elegant — soulful wines that perfectly reflect the soil and climate of their origin.
At Topel Winery, the art of making wine begins within 15 minutes after the grapes are harvested, with a “field crush” right in the vineyard. The grapes are then transported immediately to the winery to begin their transformation into wine. Topel Winery uses the highest quality fruit from our estate vineyards and from selected sites that grow grapes to our stringent standards, for making our different varietals.
Winemaker Mark Topel
Mark is the hands-on owner and winemaker of Topel Mountain Estate Winery, a “second career” that, to his delight, is consuming more of his time as years pass. While Mark was a connoisseur of wine for many years and spent a significant amount of time with some of California’s most prominent winemakers and growers, who became friends, mentors and supporters. Absorbing what he could from their extensive knowledge — and by auditing winemaking classes at the University of California-Davis — Mark became highly skilled in crafting wine.
A traditionalist by nature, Mark’s love of history led him to approach grape growing and winemaking from an intellectual perspective. He and Donnis planted the vineyards using tried and true techniques established by the Romans and the French — both of whom cherish hillside fruit — and adapted many traditional methods that have produced some of the world’s greatest wines for centuries.