Don't forget to duck!
Two years ago, we were the first ever (literally, the first) visitors to Mounts Family Winery. We had made an appointment that day for first thing at Michel Schlumberger, a close neighbor of the Mounts’ property. We finished up there and were heading down the road with no particular agenda, only to see some balloons flying in front of Mounts, though we weren’t really sure what was up that long gravel road at that point! What we did discover was a family owned and operated winery just producing their very first vintage.
We wanted to return to Mounts on last spring’s trip, but we were short on time last year and Mounts now mostly opens by appointment only. So sadly, we missed it. This year, Mounts is on Twitter, so I ran across owner Lana before we left for CA and scheduled us in for our first afternoon in the area. We moseyed on over and met Lana’s husband for our tasting around 2:30.
2008 Rosé: $16. Strawberry, blueberry, lime, cranberry, extremely dry, nice fruit. Two bottles made their way home with us.
2006 Zinfandel: $26. Black pepper, blackberries, perfumey, vanilla, dark fruit, cream, pie, nice structure. We took one bottle home.
2006 Syrah: $26. Cedar, dark fruits, plums, chocolate, dust, earth, pepper, long finish.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: $32. Milk chocolate, flowers, little red fruit, something herbal dark, tannic.
2006 Petite Sirah: $32. Blue fruit, chocolate, maple, big blueberries, pepper, dark fruit, red berries on the edges, tannic. We bought one bottle.
2007 Cabernet Franc: This one just got bottled, and isn’t really released yet, but they had a bottle open so we got to taste is and we loved it! That surprised me since I’m not a huge Cab Franc fan. Leather, tobacco, smoke, strawberry, herbs, dark, slight chocolate and vanilla notes, nice structure. While this one is just a baby, you can tell it will be great. We took home two bottles to live in the cellar for a few years.
Two years later Mounts wines are just as fabulous as I remember. While they now make a bit more wine (though not much, honestly, they started with 500 cases and are up to 2000 now) and are experimenting with some new types (I hear wonderful things about the Malbec in barrel), they are still a small family winery that is well worth your time to visit on your next trip to Sonoma.
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