Black Kite Cellars

The label says “Anderson Valley” but this is a true single-vineyard wine, from the 12-acre Black Kite Vineyard sloping up the hill on the southwestern side of the Navarro river. The vines are still under ten years old, but they are farmed cleanly and not over cropped. They’re also defying conventional wisdom by occupying a north-facing slope. (Perhaps they get inspired by looking across the river at the estate vineyards of Husch, Londer, and Roederer.) In terms of plant material, the wine is mostly Pommard with some Dijon clones (114 and 115).

Aromatically, you get exactly what you might expect from that combination: spicy red plumminess over intense jammy blackberry and black cherries. What you don't always get from a mix of older and new clones is sinuous interplay between the two clonal personalities; this wine goes beyond interplay to find intense harmony. Winemaker Jeff Gaffner also polished the tannins well, giving this powerful young red some finesse to go along with its cool, dense core of sweetness that runs deep into the finish.

Reviewed August 3, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.