4949 Grange Road • Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Tel. (707) 586586-9391 • Fax (707) 586586-1367
www.westerholdwines.com • [email protected]
Our Vineyard
We believe that everything starts in the vineyard and that
we’re extremely fortunate to have a very special one.
Located in the Bennett Valley AVA of Sonoma County, our
vineyard is planted exclusively to the Alban 1 clone of
Syrah. Farmed meticulously by Glenn Alexander’s Bacchus
Vineyard Management, our site gets the first morning
sunlight as the sun peeks over the Mayacamas Mountains and
is cooled late in the day by the breezes which flow through
the Crane Canyon wind gap. This great combination gives us
the long, cool growing season that Bennett Valley is known
for, but also allows us to achieve a level of concentration
and flavor intensity that makes our wine unique.
Our “Rock Star” Winemaker
As many of you know, our winemaker is Russell Bevan. In April, Russell was
selected to pour wines from his portfolio (including our 2007 Syrah) at the
“Atelier” tasting event at ACME Fine Wines in St. Helena. Over 150 wine
aficionados paid $175 per person to taste more than 60 wines from the
portfolios of a veritable
“who’s who” in the world of
winemaking. The list of
those pouring included
Russell along with
winemakers Heidi Barrett,
Andy Erickson, Sarah Gott,
Mark Herold, Mike Hirby,
Celia Masyczek, Craig
MacLean, Philippe Melka,
Robbie Meyer, Dave Phinney
and Pam Starr. That our wine was poured alongside the wines made by these
luminaries was an incredible honor for us. It was also a testament to
Russell’s winemaking ability and proof of something we already knew – that
Russell is in the top echelon of winemakers in California. Called a “rock
star winemaker” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Russell is truly one of the
best in the business today and we are proud to say that he is our winemaker
and our dear friend.
Our Wine
Anyone who has tasted the 2006 Bevan Cellars “Hanna’s
Cuvée” Syrah (which has already sold out) has experienced
first-hand the amazing wine produced from our vineyard.
Hanna’s Cuvée – named for our daughter, Hannah – was made
by Russell for his Bevan Cellars label, exclusively from
grapes from the Westerhold Family Vineyard.
For the 2007 vintage (and going forward), Russell made the
wine for our Westerhold Family Vineyards label, exclusively
with grapes from our estate vineyard. Here’s Russell’s
tasting note for our 2007 Syrah – From the minute we
started pressing this wine it has always spoken to the fruit’s
pure blackberry and boysenberry flavors. Aromatically the
wine shows an initial wave of dark fruits and white pepper, but
underneath, lies hints of spice and a gentle kiss of mocha.
While the flavors and scents come from the vineyard, the
textures are reminiscent of the wine’s Northern Rhone ancestry. Even
though the wine is very rich and seductive, it never comes across as heavy or
syrupy. On the palate it is lively and has the verve to compliment even the
heartiest dishes.
Vineyard:
Appellation:
Varietal:
Clone:
Harvest date:
Westerhold Family Vineyard
Bennett Valley
100% Syrah
Alban One
October 26, 2007
Barrel aging:
Cooperage:
Winemaker:
Alcohol:
Production:
18 months, new French oak
Remond, Gamba, Leroi
Russell Bevan
14.5%
245 cases
Suggested retail price: $42.00