2012 Syrah Kick Ranch Vineyard

My annual March trip through California's North Coast rarely syncs with the schedule of the globe-trotting Paul Hobbs, who is knee-deep in projects in South America as well as new ones in Cahors and New York's Finger Lakes district, which isn't far from where he grew up. So it was a pleasant surprise that our paths crossed in March and we were able to sit down with his winemaker Megan Baccitich and go through his latest set of releases. One point that Hobbs wanted to make about the 2012 chardonnays was that "they fermented very slowly and retained their acidity as well, so you can get tension as well as complexity in the wines." In fact, I was reminded of the cool-vintage 2011s as I tasted through the 2012 Hobbs chardonnays, which are wines that I believe will be good cellar candidates. It has been discussed to death by now but Hobbs said that ripening of red grapes was so tough in 2011 that almost all of his cabernet was harvested at about 25 degrees Brix, which is pinot territory, and people who let their fruit hang had late-season rain to contend with as well. Some of those who were willing to roll the dice came out nicely, he said, pointing out that his team was able to pick their Stagecoach cabernet at 27 to 28 degrees Brix on November 1st, which is insanely late.

Paul Hobbs is always in motion. In late 2012 Hobbs acquired a new property in Coombsville, Napa Valley's most recent AVA. Just recently, Hobbs announced an ambitious new venture to make Riesling in New York State's Finger Lakes region with Johannes Selbach. That is of course in addition to the many wines Hobbs already makes in Sonoma for his own labels and with his many consulting clients in California and Argentina. Fortunately for Hobbs, he can count on the talents of winemaker Megan Bacitich, who takes care of the day to day at Hobbs's Sebastopol winery. I tasted a number of terrific wines on a recent visit. Overall, the 2012 Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are a little bit softer and rounder than the 2011s. Sugars were slightly higher, while fermentations proceeded at a slower, more leisurely pace. Readers will also want to make note of the Crossbarn wines (reviewed separately), which offer terrific value and quality.