Wine Tasting Notes
Melville Vineyards and Winery
Businessman, Ron Melville, founded Melville Vineyards in 1989 in Sonoma county. There, he grew Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In pursuit of great Pinot Noir, Ron developed an 82-acre vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, where, in 1996, the Melvilles planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as well as Viognier and Syrah. Those 82 acres have grown to 139 with a large spectrum of clones of each variety. These are planted on low vigor rootstock in mostly sandy soils with patches of loam and shale-containing soils of the Estate vineyard which enjoys the cool microclimate of the Sta. Rita Hills.
While the estate vineyard (home to the winery facility) is in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, an additional vineyard in Cat Canyon in the Los Alamos Valley was purchased in 2000 and named Verna's Vineyard. Two miles from the town of Los Alamos, 56 of the 100 acre vineyard are planted to Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir and Syrah with a majority of the vines being Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The rows of vertically-trellised vines are planted in a north-south orientation and the canopy is managed very closely through the growing season. Laid out on the rolling hills of Cat Canyon, which snakes into the west side of the Solomon Hills, this vineyard is in a particularly cool part of the Los Alamos Valley, receiving cool marine winds. This area was once the ocean floor and once the water receded, the exposed sandy soil remained. Although it incorporated some loam elements over time, the soils here are generally sandy and well draining.
Ron's son and vineyard manager, Brent Melville, farms the grapes at Verna's by a "pounds-per-vine" formula to obtain a balance of optimal yield and grape quality. A stock broker in his previous life, Brent studied viticulture and enology at U.C. Davis combines his skills and experience with that of a number of consulting viticulturists.
The winemaker at Melville is Greg Brewer. This French teacher, musician, winemaker and apparent renaissance man (and judging by his writing, a thoughtful man) is also a terroiriste. While most winemakers agree that great wines are made in the vineyard, Brewer emphasizes the importance of terroir. In his words:
"...provenance of raw materials plays the most important role and is by far the most pivotal differentiating element between good and great."
Brewer gained experience (and no doubt much food for thought) as assistant winemaker to Bruce McGuire at Santa Barbara Winery and as winemaker and general manager at Sunstone Vineyards and Winery. He is also a partner with Steve Clifton in Brewer-Clifton Wines which produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills vineyards.
In general, Melville wines share commonalities of character: The Chardonnays, are bright, balancing plush but not overblown floral and tropical aromas with tasteful oak accents and mineral notes. The Pinot Noirs are composed, typified by balanced beauty, demonstrating finesse without compromising on expression of clonal character. The same can be said about Melville Syrahs. These are not bulky or gobby. Instead, their power lies in breadth not in piled-on extraction.
2004 Melville Syrah, Estate - Verna's, Santa Barbara County 90 Points
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