I recently had the pleasure of sharing lunch with Blackstone winemaker Gary Sitton at the
Modern Restaurant in Manhattan. This was my second wine lunch at the Modern (attached to
the Museum of Modern Art). The meal was of such superb quality, that I feel impelled to
give it mention before I write about the excellent Blackstone wines. I started with a superb
“Chilled Maine Lobster Salad seasoned with Tahitian Vanilla, Granny Smith Apple
and Shiso” followed by an equally superb “Pennsylvania Duck Breast with
Black Trumpet Marmalade, Fleischschneke, and Banyuls Jus.” Gary, I recall, enjoyed
the “Fine Herbs Braised Vermont Suckling Pig with Parsnip Puree, Roasted Pineapple,
and Natural Jus scented with Cardamom.” Having tasted five wines with all this, the
entire table opted out of dessert, though the offerings looked to be museum quality.
I have known winemakers who are serious about what they do yet shy about expressing
themselves. Gary is as ardent a winemaker as they come and also about as affable and
communicative as is possible for someone who needs to spend a lot of time thinking about
grape skin contact, fermentation temperature, and yeast. “My philosophy is essentially
quite simple,” he tells me. “Above all, I want these wines to be varietally
correct.” Gary glows when he says this, but then again, he's an outdoor type, a former
professional soccer player, at home in the splendor that is Sonoma. After earning a degree
from UC Davis, he worked mostly in Sonoma wineries, first at Sommer Vineyards, then at
Ravenswood before coming on at Blackstone. “I am one of those
wine-begins-in-the-vineyard winemakers,” he says, “so the most important
thing is to develop good relationships with Sonoma growers.” Of course, I say to
myself, they all say that, but the idea hits home that Gary really means it, given the admirable
balance and integrality in all five of the wines we tried that afternoon.
The 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay, $17, is 97% Chardonnay with 3% Muscat
“to lift the fruit” as Gary puts it. The grapes are sourced in the Sonoma
Carneros, Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast AVAs. The Chardonnay is a greenish gold
in color with aromatic notes of apple, pear, pineapple, and vanilla, and some rather forceful
acidity. “It's designed to be a food wine,” Gary tells me. “I wanted to
finesse the oak contact, neither too much nor too little oak, so we barrel ferment this, do malo
for about half, leaving the wine on the lees with lees stirring only during the malo.”
This wine spends 10 months in French oak. It had just that balance of creaminess, acidity,
fruit and oak elements (more a feel than a taste, as it should be) to work its elegant way into
my heart. I am always wary of tasting “yet another” Chardonnay. This one
shows the varietal character it is supposed to.
The 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Pinot Noir, $20, is sourced largely in Russian River
Valley and Sonoma Coast, with 13% from Sonoma Valley. Syrah makes up 7% of the blend,
“to add complexity and texture” Gary says. The juice is cold soaked five days
before fermentation, fermented in stainless steel to maintain flavor integrity, and aged 14
months in French oak. In color I found this wine on the tawny side, with garnet edges. The
nose gave me baking spice and licorice with dried cherry and cranberry. The mouthfeel is
silky soft and elegant, with balanced red fruit, a bare hint of tannin, more spice on the
mid-palate and some toast and candied fruit on the finish. I found this wine rather
sophisticated, not fruit-forward, with a good touch of earth and an interesting mix of flavors
and textures. I'd like to revisit this in two or three years.
The 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Merlot, $20, brings with it a great deal of math: 85%
Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Ruby Cabernet, 2% Petit Verdot. The largest portion of
the grapes comes from the hot climate Alexander Valley, then Dry Creek, Sonoma Coast,
Carneros, and Sonoma Valley with a small foreign component from San Joaquin County.
After crushing, the grapes are cold soaked three to five days, fermented in stainless steel and
aged in wood for 20 months. In color a deep ruby, the Merlot is dry, with medium acidity,
rather full body, a soft mouthfeel, and a long ripe finish. Toast, sweet oak, black cherry and
cocoa make up the well balanced flavor and aromatic profile. You have fruit, other elements
to complement the fruit, structure and delicacy.
The 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $18, is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon
with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Dry Creek and Sonoma Valley Cabernet make
up the core. This wine is a deep ruby, with excellent clarity. The nose brings a stimulating
mix of clove, cassis, cardamom, basil and chocolate. My adjectives for the palate (directly
from my notes) are dry, ripe, balance, structure, and grip. Good Cabernet blackcurrant shows
on the palate, with plum and black cherry. Tannins are palpable but round. The finish shows
sweet oak nicely balanced by a bit of licorice bite. A nice well conceived mix.
The 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric, $23, is that daring-of-daring phenomenon in
American wine circles, a blend: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec, 8% Cabernet Franc,
8% Petit Verdot, 7% Tannat, 5% Merlot, and 3% Petite Syrah. As to geography, it will
suffice to note it is 59% Dry Creek, rounded out with Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Valley and a
final 6% contribution from the Alexander Valley. This wine sees 20 months of oak. Color: a
deep ruby. Nose: black fruit, clove, licorice, orange rind. Palate: black and red fruit,
chocolate, vanilla, burnt sugar, pastry crust. The entire experience is characterized by
ripeness. This is an unctuous wine, with a meandering, tannin-filled finish.
Verdict:
Very well conceived
