Mill Creek Vineyards
2012 Estate Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer
California: Dry Creek Valley
Mission Briefing
Tricky tricky
We absolutely love this exciting wine!
Something of an enigma, this wine is bone dry on the palate - but wonderfully sweet on the nose. Sweetness is not necessarily something that one would expect from a Gewürztraminer and so when we first lifted this wine to our noses, we were intrigued. And, we were expecting sweetness on the palate. We were delightfully surprised by the bright, elegant dryness in the mouth.
Highly recommended for those of you that have an appreciation for wonderful Alsatian wines, this is one wine that you really should not miss.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Pale straw yellow with perfectly even coloration all the way from core to edge of glass. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Very sweet, with orange blossom, jasmine flower, nectarine, white peach, lychee, |
| Taste: | Not at all what you you’d expect after a hearty sniff. Initially, the sweet aromas that you’ve just inhaled trick you into thinking that this is a sweet wine. It is not. Rather, it is divinely crisp and very refreshing, with flavors of pineapple, under ripe white peach, light mixed citrus and subtle blood orange. At the back of the palate, a light note of ginger adds a hint of zesty zing. |
| Finish: | Crisp citrus and dried white flower flavors linger on for a long long time. At the very end, a hint of flinty mineral persists. |
| Pairing: | We’ll be experimenting with this very bright and food-flexible wine, starting with Imperial rolls or a carrot and cumin soup. |
What the Winery Says
Gewürztraminer V. 2012 :Our rich and flavorful wines express the unique and distinctive qualities of our vineyards in Sonoma County. For a half century, the Kreck family has been dedicated to farming and crafting wines that capture the character of our renowned area.
- GRAPE SOURCE
- The Gewürztraminer block on our estate in the Dry Creek Valley is one of the oldest on the property. The vines are dry farmed and produce concentrated flavors in the small berries. Our location at the southern end of Dry Creek provides ample cool fog from our neighboring Russian River Valley.
- WINEMAKING
- Harvest is always very early in the morning and the grapes are delivered to the winery ice cold. From there, they are crush and pressed then fermented in stainless steel between 53°F and 60°F. The fermentation is stopped at 0.3% residual sugar. The wine is allowed to age on the lees for 3 months and is then bottled.
- WINEMAKER NOTES
- A very vibrant nose of lychee fruit, honeysuckle, and layered spices gives way to like flavors. Ample acidity adds a long and delightful finish. Nearly dry, with just a touch of sweetness on the finish.
- FOOD PAIRING
- Balsamic glazed duck with figs, Thai red curry, Ginger and green pepper marinated chicken
- Accolades
- *90 Points, Connoisseurs’ Guide
Statistics
- Blend
- 100% Gewurztraminer
- Production
- 410 cases
- pH
- 3.26
- TA
- 7.3 g/L
- Alc
- 14.5%
About the Winery
- About Us
- Welcome to Mill Creek Vineyards and Winery. We are a small, family owned and operated winery located in the southern end of the Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County. Three generations of the Kreck family have been involved in the winemaking process from the vineyards to the cellar and out into the marketplace. We invite you to try our award winning wines and experience a taste of why we have made this area our home.
Mill Creek wines have won many of the most prestigious awards possible including the Sonoma County Harvest Fair’s coveted Sweepstakes Award, the California State Fair’s Best Wine in the State award, and Orange County Fair’s Four Star Gold as well as dozens of Best of Class awards and hundreds of Gold medals.
Conceived in 1965 when the family first planted grapes, the winery was not actually born until nine years later with the first production of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Two years later we completed transforming an existing farming structure into a state of the art winery. In 1982, Mill Creek built its tasting room modeled after one of the many wood mills that were popular in the area around the turn of the 20th century.
Several members of the Kreck family currently work on the Mill Creek property. Current owners, Bill and Yvonne Kreck are involved in many areas of the production of Mill Creek’s world-class wines, from growing to bottling to selling. Their middle son, Jeremy Kreck, is now both winemaker and vineyard manager. Bill’s brother Bob and his wife, Elizabeth, are still involved in some aspects of the farming and harvesting procedures.
On this single property, you can visit a place that completes the entire process of growing grapes through selling wine. Unlike some properties where most, or all, of the fruit is purchased, or the wine is made off-site, Mill Creek is the complete package where one can experience the creation of excellent varietal wines from start to finish.