2012 Schug Estate Pinot Noir
Carneros (California)
Retail: $45
Winemaster Emeritus: Walter Schug
Winemaker: Michael Cox
This wine review became more of a winemaker history as we researched the wine. The history and different approach to winemaking by Schug Vineyards is worth exploring. We believe that a wine is as good as it is because of the grapes, the appellation and the winemaker combined. This wine has all three!
Schug Estate has been in Carneros since 1989 but the winemaking experience has been around for over 60 years. You will be surprised to find out what a remarkable winemaker Walter Schug is. Walter Schug moved to California in 1959 from Germany where he was a winemaker in Germany. He studied two years at UC Davis and began working in the wine industry. He got a break in 1966 when Julio Gallo made Walter the Head of Grower Relations and Quality Control for Northern California. The wine tells us that in 1973, Walter was sought out by Joseph Phelps to establish Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley. Walter worked at Joseph Phelps where he oversaw 10 vintages as Vice President and Winemaker. If that wasn’t enough, Walter had also created California’s first proprietary Bordeaux-Style blend called Insignia (Joseph Phelps), involved in Backus and Eisele Vineyards, introduced the first varietal Syrah in the United States and helped pioneer late harvest dessert wines (Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Scheurebe). See our review on Hans Wirsching Scheurebe wine for more information.
Sometime around 1980, Joseph Phelps ceased production of Pinot Noir thinking there was no significant market for it. Walter as we are told wanted to continue working with Pinot Noir so he reached an understanding the Joseph Phelps that Walter would continue working for Phelps but Walter could create his own Schug private label. It took Walter three years to be successful enough to leave Phelps so he could further build his wine brand. As if Walter is ever done and thinking long term, in 1989 he purchased 50 acres in Carneros (Sonoma County) which they call it “the heart” of the business today. We have visited, toured and tasted. Quite a nice winery. This is the place we learned about why roses are planted at the ends of vineyard rows and large oak casks (800 gallons of vine divine).
Winemaker Michael Cox was kind enough to answer a couple questions we had. In describing the difference of aging in large oak casks versus barrel, Michael writes, “All red wines at Schug pass through the ovals. Following pressing off the skins wines are racked dirty to the ovals to undergo malolactic fermentation. Once that is complete the reds are racked to small barrels for further ageing. In this manner all wines spend roughly 6-8 weeks in the ovals. Lots destined for Sonoma Coast Pinot may be returned to oval and are aged until bottling there. Some white wines (Sonoma Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) are fermented in oval. They start in stainless steel and then about halfway through the fermentation are moved to oval. A small barrel is a more oxidative environment and wines there develop more. Wines aged in ovals retain much of their youthful fruit, but don’t have the body of a barrel aged wine."
We had to ask how old are the oak casks to which Michael says “The oldest are close to 50, the youngest under 10. The casks are neutral on purchase – not toasted in the sense that small barrels are. They do not have the impact on tannins like a small barrel. We have 12 whites (137-1107 gallons) and 14 red (346 – 1168 gallons) casks.”
You’ve read a lot about the winemakers, so “How does the wine taste?”. The wine has notes of forest woods, pepper and leather. The lighter bodied medium wine has cherry, blackberry, spice and black pepper on the taste. The wine hits richly on the front and mid-palate. The tannins were round and supple. We thought there was nice acidity that makes this a great food pairing wine as the acidity cuts through the food nicely. The finish was abbreviated. The wine overall is smooth and enjoyable that begs you to try more. I am collecting this Pinot Noir to someday do a vertical wine tasting of several vintages.
http://www.schugwinery.com
Cases produced: 546 (750 ml)
Food pairing: Lamb, grilled fish, spare ribs, roast chicken or sausage, roast pork with herbs and fennel, sweetbreads, mushroom risotto, and grilled lobster
Vineyard source: 36% Schug Estate Block 8 (Pommard); 32% Block 9 (Pommard); 22% Block 10 (Dijon clone 115); 10% Block 4 (UCD clone 13)
Vineyard certification: Not disclosed
Harvest dates: September 21th through October 6th, 2012
Vintage notes: ““Clonal diversity” is achieved by carefully blending several vineyard lots, each retaining its own unique clonal signature in the blend. The result is a complex wine with a rich bouquet of cherries, berries and hints of spicy new oak. It has flavors reminiscent of black cherry, currant and strawberry, followed by a rich, spicy texture and a long silky finish.”
Yeast: Not disclosed
Fermentation: Aged 16 months in 21% new and 79% in 1 to 3 year old French oak barrels
Aging: 2 months in 800 gallon oak casks (during malo-lactic fermentation) 9 months in 60 gallon French oak, medium toast barrels (20% new)
Alcohol: 14.1%
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