As a pioneer of the Russian River Valley (in Sonoma, CA), Gary Farrell kicked off his wine career in the late 1970s with an emphasis on cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Working along with fellow vintners including Davis Bynum, Joe Rochioli and others, together they helped put this (now) prestigious area on the map.
The Gary Farrell label itself was launched in 1982, with the first wine produced with fruit from the Rochioli Vineyard. This set the stage for what was to follow – crafting wines from other people’s grapes. In fact, to this day, Gary Farrell doesn’t own any of its own vineyards; all of the fruit is “contracted” from various vineyards throughout the Valley – many with a simple handshake agreement. In this regard, Gary Farrell Winery has worked closely with many winegrowers for decades, currently sourcing grapes from about 36 vineyards, most (if not all) of which practice certified sustainable farming.
Sold in 2004, the winery is presently owned by Bill Price and a group of industry investors, keeping the same focus on pure expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since 2012, the winery’s winemaking has been under the direction of Theresa Heredia, a California native with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Heredia initially sought to leverage her love of science and her desire to share her knowledge through the pursuit of a Ph.D. However, during her graduate studies, she became fascinated about the research being conducted on the chemistry of wine by her fellow grad students. With a love of drinking wine already firmly entrenched, the discovery of wine science now called to her, and she transferred into the enology program three days later. She eventually left U.C. Davis to become a winemaker.
Over the next several years, Theresa gained experience at Saintsbury and Joseph Phelps’ Freestone Vineyards and also
developed a Burgundian approach through her work at Domaine de Montille. Thus, she came to her current role with a solid background in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as single-vineyard wines.
Thus, it is not surprising that upon Heredia’s arrival at Gary Farrell, the company shifted focus from one, single vineyard wine to 36 single vineyards, with the intention of showing the full expression of the Russian River Valley’s various vinous neighborhoods. In this regard, Heredia tailors her winemaking to the vineyard at the time of harvest. As she notes, her philosophy is to always respect the fruit.
A recent tasting provided an in-depth look at several of Gary Farrell’s single vineyard wines in an effort to compare and contrast the differing “neighborhoods” within the larger Russian River Valley. And, while the vineyards are not technically sub-AVAs, they do act as such, with distinct soil compositions, microclimates and clonal types, all of which impact the style of the resulting wine.
The wines tasted were all from the 2017 vintage, which sport new, blue labels to more easily distinguish these single vineyard wines from the company’s Russian River Selection wines. More specifically, the blue label designates a single vineyard. Two of the single vineyards have national distribution; the others are only available through the winery.
TASTING NOTES
CHARDONNAYS
All of the Chardonnays are 100% malolactic fermented, thereby converting the sharper, malic (think apple) acid into the creamier lactic (think milk) acid. The wines were barrel fermented in lightly toasted barrels about 30% and then aged for 8 to 9 months in oak barrels, 35% of which was new oak. The puncheons undergo a long, light toast, which imparts creaminess and richness, while minimizing oak influence. The overall goal is to accentuate the fruit, not mask it with wood.
Gary Farrell Winery Olivet Lane Vineyard Chardonnay 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $45.00
The Olivet Lane Vineyard is situated within the Santa Rosa Plains a unique, flat area with cold air that settles at night yielding wines with concentrated fruit, texture, and vibrant and juicy acidity. The vineyard was planted in 1975 with the Wente clone, which clone produces small berries.
The wine offered up aromas of apple and well-integrated oak, which persist on the dry palate, along with baking spices. The elegant wine displays medium+ acidity, medium+ body and long length.
Gary Farrell Winery Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $60.00
The Ritchie Vineyard hails from Laguna Ridge, which is located in the center of the Valley, thereby taking on characteristics of each adjacent area. The wines are generally packed with flavors, tremendous intensity and are more opulent and less acidity driven. The legendary Ritchie Vineyard was first planted in 1972. The selection of Chardonnay planted here develops hens and chicks (grapes of uneven sizes in the same bunch), which requires careful pressing. Aromas of apple, citrus, smoke and oak greet the nose. The dry palate shows medium+ acidity, medium+ body, and flavors of golden apple, citrus/orange and very long length.
Gary Farrell Winery Rochioli Vineyard Chardonnay 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $65.00
The history between Rochioli Vineyard and Gary Farrell dates back 38 years, a vineyard found within the Middle Reach area. This northern part of the Russian River Valley, up near Healdsburg, is adjacent to the Russian River, which pulls fog and keeps nights cool. Meanwhile, the days are much warmer. Consequently, the resulting wines are typically riper with more tropical fruit. This wine provides notes of citrus and stone fruit on both the nose and dry palate. Richer and riper than the other two, this wine displays juicy acidity, fuller body, with flavors of citrus and wood, culminating in very long length.
PINOT NOIRS
Gary Farrell Winery Bacigalupi Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $65.00
Also found within the Middle Reach area, the Bacigalupi Vineyard was established in 1964 when Helen and Charles Bacigalupi planted it to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and later claimed fame as the growers of the grapes used by Chateau Montelena’s winning wine in the Judgement of Paris in 1976. Pinot Noir from Middle Reach usually offers up notes of cherry, rose petals, floral, raspberries, and a general supple expression of fruit and earthiness. With aromas of red cherries, smoke and dried flowers, this wine is dry, with medium+ acidity, medium body, and flavors of spice, earth, cherry, giving way to long length.
Gary Farrell Winery Hallberg Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017, Green Valley/Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $55.00
The Hallberg Vineyard takes its name from its previous owners and sits within Green Valley, which is actually an official sub-AVA of the Russian River Valley. Thanks to the Green Valley’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean, it is drenched in fog from the afternoon until the following morning. Resulting wines most frequently display an earthy backbone with bright acidity and darker fruit such as cassis and huckleberry. Aromas of black raspberry, blackberry and earthiness persist on the dry palate, along with bracing acidity, medium body and very long length.
Gary Farrell Winery McDonald Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $70.00
Situated within Sebastopol Hills, the McDonald Mountain Vineyard is at the southern tip of the Russian River Valley, with exposure to the Petaluma Gap. Known as the “heartbreak vineyard,” yields are very low and there is natural desiccation due to lots of wind, fog and cool weather. Additionally, the clonal selection results in tiny clusters. The key characteristic of these wines is an acid backbone, with less fruit, more earth character.
The nose offers up notes of earth, black tea, cassis, raspberry and exotic spice, with a dry, angular palate, vibrant acidity, medium body and long length.
Gary Farrell Winery Martaella Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017, Russian River Valley, U.S. (CA), $65.00
Another vineyard who calls the Santa Rosa Plains home, the Martaella Vineyard is planted similarly to those in Burgundy with vines trained low to the ground to keeps the vines warmer overnight. The vineyard is planted to a blend of an heirloom selection of grapes.
An opulent wine with high acidity and good fruit concentration, it is elegant, rich and complex, with dark fruit flavors of blueberries, cherries, floral and spice, culminating in long length.
Maps courtesy of: https://russianrivervalley.org/discover/neighborhoods
Photographs courtesy of Gary Farrell Winery