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Clos de la Tech

The passion project of husband and wife TJ and Valeta Rodgers, Clos de la Tech produces six wines from three estate vineyards: Domaine du Docteur Rodgers (at 400 feet in elevation), Domaine Lois Louise (at 1,700 feet) and Domaine Valeta (at 2,350 feet). This is a primarily Pinot Noir house, except for a small production of Nebbiolo from the Domaine Valeta site. Valeta Rodgers makes these wines in a very deliberate style. They’re fully foot-trodden and fermented for 30 days with frequent bâtonnage. Aging takes place for 16-18 months in exclusively François Frères barrels, mostly new, followed by four years in bottle prior to release. I tasted the 2018s for this report, which represent the estate’s current offering. They’re big, dark, burly, extraordinarily tannic wines that wear a thick veil of oak, but they possess freshness of fruit beneath that imposing structure. These wines are certainly a stylistic outlier in the Santa Cruz Mountains, eschewing the lightness or delicacy readers may expect from the region in favor of sheer power. They are certainly not for everyone, but they are well-made within the context of the style. Of note, I tasted this range twice over the span of two days—once immediately after opening and again late the following afternoon. They had not budged an inch over that time, and I wonder whether they will ever soften. Don’t hesitate to give these wines an unusually long (read: multi-day) decant. Note: Antonio Galloni reviewed the 2017s prior to my coming on board.

From Santa Cruz Mountains – The Chameleon (Oct 2024) by Billy Norris

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2018 Nebbiolo Domaine Valeta Sunny Slope

Release Price: $45

Color: Red

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