Wattle Creek Winery

The Wattle Creek vineyard in Yorkville Highlands is toward the eastern end of the appellation which means higher, dryer, and windier due to influence of Big Foot Mountain to the southwest. The first time I visited the vineyard, it was a very wet early spring day and I wondered how Pinot Noir was going to get ripe. I should have wondered how a transplanted Australian winemaker, Michael Scholz, was going to handle this oddly sited fruit in the winery.

No worries, mate. This does not have much “varietal accuracy,” as the university folks like to say, but who gives a fig? What it has in the aromas are black cherries and blackberries, black licorice, black olives, and black – er, no, lemon zest. The flavors are equally intriguing, due to some very interesting winemaking choices. On the one hand you have the dense, concentrated black fruit that the New Wave guys like (think Santa Rita Hills), but without the heavy toast and tannin they rely on for their oomph. Instead you’ve got really ripe fruit, made in a really interesting way. This wine also has some serious staying power. But most of all? It really, really wants to be paired with a roasted winged animal of some kind.

Note: This wine was also selected by our panel of winemakers as a Yorkville Highlands “Appellation Signature” wine in the Appellation Discovery Tasting conducted in April/06.

Reviewed August 16, 2006 by Thom Elkjer.

Other Awards & Accolades

AppellationAmerica - "Appellation Signature" selection

Sweet red plums, cherries and pomegranate flavors are warm on the palate and structured with good tannins that link the entry to the finish. (Yorkville Highlands Discovery Tasting: April 11, 2006)