At Medlock Ames, winemaking isn’t just about yeast and oak treatment. Winemaker Ames Morison said it’s also about deep soul searching.
Morison is behind our wine-of-the-week winner, the Medlock Ames, 2014 Bell Mountain Estate, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon at $48.
This is a serious cab, and a good value for high-end cab drinkers with bottlings that run $70-plus. What sets the Medlock Ames apart is its depth of flavor and its aromatics. It’s dense and generous, weighted to black fruit with notes of cedar and sage. It’s full-bodied, a powerhouse, and yet it manages to be supple. It’s striking.
“We had a sneaking suspicion that we had not gotten everything we wanted out of the fruit with our fermentation regime in the last vintage,” Morison said.
“This is a delicate balancing act. We always want to make sure we extract as much color and flavor as the grapes have to offer, without getting too much tannin in the process.”
In the 2014 vintage, the winemaking team experimented with a longer slightly cooler fermentation.
“The result was a bigger wine with firm but soft edges, and incredible aromatic expression,” Morison said.
“This is exactly the effect we had been hoping for.”
In addition to making the wine, Morison farms the vineyard.
““Farming this land for the past 20 years has given me a lot of insight into these particular grapes,” he said.
“Over the years I have learned a lot about how to coax the best flavors out of these vines.”
Morison’s dream to found a winery with his friend Chris James began over a bottle of wine.
“We were in New York City and I had an epiphany that we should be making wine,” he said.
“We have had many harebrained schemes growing up, but this one we stuck with. Within two months we had quit our jobs and moved to California.”
In 1997 Morison and James found the vineyard in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, and co-founded the Medlock Ames Winery.
Morison, 46, has been the winemaker from the beginning. He went to Tulane University and graduated in 1992 with a degree in history, but winemaking trumped antiquity.
“My personality is ideally suited to that 18-24 month timeframe,” Morison said.
“This is just enough time to allow me to tinker with the wine and feel like I’ve done everything I could before we bottle the wine.”
THIS WEEK’S BLIND TASTING
Cabernet Sauvignon
TOP PICK
Medlock Ames
Medlock Ames, 2014 Bell Mountain Estate, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.7% alcohol, $48. ★★★★
This is a serious cab, and a good value for high-end cab drinkers with bottlings at $70-plus. What sets the Medlock Ames cab apart is its depth of flavor and its aromatics. It’s dense and generous, weighted to black fruit, with notes of cedar and sage. It’s full-bodied, a powerhouse, yet it manages to be supple. Striking.
Tasty ALTERNATIVES
Rodney Strong, 2014 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5%, $20. ★★★1/2: A rich cab with a lush texture. Aromas and flavors of plum, cherry, toast and cracked black pepper. Well crafted.
St. Supery, 2013 Dollarhide, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5%, $100. ★★★★1/2: A gorgeous cab with an impressive range — cassis, blackberry, toasty oak and creme brulee. Nice oak treatment. Great complexity. Knockout.
Franciscan Estate, 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5%, $29. ★★★1/2: A tasty cab with red and black fruit and notes of black pepper and toffee. Nice structure. Lingering finish.
Husch, 2013 Mendocino Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.9%, $23. ★★★: An approachable cab with aromas and flavors of black cherry, anise and black pepper. Balanced. Nice length. A bit subdued but solid.
———————————–
Peg Melnik’s Tasting Room blog
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
