Volker Eisele Family Estate

Volker Eisele knows what he’s doing in the backwoods, if you will, of the Napa Valley. He’s taken this Bordeaux white blend from his cool vineyard in Chiles Valley and made a voluptuous wine out of it.

The way he accomplished this was to co-ferment the wine in stainless steel, with four months in French oak – only 20 percent of which was new. The barrel treatment gives the wine a lushness and viscosity on top of the fruit’s natural herbal and Crenshaw melon aromas and flavors. The wine is perfectly balanced with wonderful acidity (at a pH of 3.31) giving it aging potential for about a half-dozen years.

First planted 33 years ago, Volker Eisele’s organic vineyard, at elevations of 900 to 1,100 feet, is in the eastern hills above Lake Berryessa. Soils vary from clay-loam to shale. The vineyard is mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, but three percent is comprised of Semillon, while only 2 percent is given over to Sauvignon Blanc.

The coolness of the vineyard site allows for this wine to finish at a relatively low 13.5 percent listed alcohol. There were only 421 cases produced.

Reviewed January 2, 2007 by Alan Goldfarb.