Current Releases
The vintage of a wine is a story in a bottle; the story of the growing season from bud break to harvest, with the last 30 days before harvest being the most meaningful. However, the weather during flowering has a larger effect on quantity and is often the first indicator for quality. Every year I try to capture the voice of the vintage. Knowing my sites well, I use my tools wisely, from crop thinning to irrigation, to bring out intensity and grace.
Ideally the wine is made in the vineyard. This means that as the fruit comes in, our job is to destem and ferment the juice. We make sure the process runs smoothly until the young wine is finally aging in hand selected oak barrels. However, in some years the cellar work is our last resource to bring out the best of the vintage. That is why the full journey from vineyard to bottle is so meaningful.
2016: We were blessed us with another near-perfect growing season. The vintage was eerily reminiscent of 2014: an early season starting with an early bud break and flowering. The vineyards brought the goods and we were able to capture them. I think the 2016s are accessible and serious. They are elegant and structured.
2017: The defining features of the vintage were the tremendous rainfalls we experienced in the winter and, on October 8th, some of the worst fires in California history broke out in Napa and Sonoma counties. A mild start to the year brought early bud break on March 15th. Flowering was also early, getting underway the first week in May, which pointed us to an early harvest. However, the summer growing season was not without surprises as we had several heat spikes in June and July. August, however, was gloriously even with a beautiful cycle of cool marine air in the mornings to help modulate the temperature. Come harvest we had healthy crop yields and the grapes produced wines that are lively and delicate. This was similar to 2016, with some of the concentration reminiscent of the 2015 vintage.
Enjoy these unique vintages now and see the site through the lens of the growing season. Cheers!
–Anne Moller-Racke
2017 Pinot Noir
Anne Katherina Vineyard, Carneros
366 casesBlue Farm takes its name from the farmhouse at Anne Moller-Racke’s home and vineyard in Carneros. In 2001, Anne planted seven acres of pinot noir divided into three blocks dedicated to the Swan clone and two Dijon clones. The Dijon 115 contributes perfume and power; the Swan fills the wine’s middle, adding body and textural layers, and the Dijon 667 lends structure. Together they produce one complete wine from the Anne Katherina Vineyard.
2016 Chardonnay
Laceroni Vineyard, Russian River
238 casesLaceroni vineyard is nestled in the deep southwestern part of the Russian River Valley close to the town of Graton. The 45 acre vineyard was planted in the early and mid-2000’s. The cool climate and the typical Goldridge soil give this wine its character. Soft rolling hills, protected from direct sunlight, allow for slow ripening. This Chardonnay, meticulously farmed on a great site has it all: good structure, nice fruit profile, great balance and layers.
2016 Pinot Noir
King Ridge Vineyard, Fort Ross-Seaview
257 casesKing Ridge vineyard is tucked away on the northwestern reach of the Sonoma Coast. The AVA is Fort Ross-Seaview. At 1100 feet elevation and 5 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, King Ridge Vineyard is worth a journey. We are excited to be working with 2 acres of this spectacular vineyard. Tightly spaced vines on Goldridge soil, superbly farmed, create wines that have tension and richness, balance and edginess.
2019 Rosé of Pinot Noir
70 casesThe 2019 Rosé is a pinot noir saigneé sourced from our estate Anne Katherina Vineyard in Carneros. It was inoculated with Montrachet yeast, barrel fermented and aged in neutral french barrels for an additional five months. The color is a delicate light peach, on the palate the wine has a beautiful acidity and minerality with aromas of stone fruit, wild strawberry and fresh watermelon.
2017 Pinot Noir
1861 Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
49 casesThe 1861 vineyard is planted on a plateau in the hills, a thousand feet
above the Sonoma Plaza. Less than half an acre, the small site divides
itself naturally into two blocks, one rockier than the other. The site is
planted to the Pommard clone on 101-14 rootstock with a narrow spacing of 4' x 5'. Marine influence from both the Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay, combined with foggy mornings, allow the delicate pinot noir grapes to thrive in this rugged hillside setting.
2017 Pinot Noir
Anne Katherina Vineyard - Farmhouse Block, Carneros
101 casesBlue Farm takes its name from the farmhouse at Anne Moller-Racke’s home and vineyard in Carneros. In 2001, Anne planted seven acres of Pinot Noir divided into three blocks dedicated to the Swan clone and three Dijon clones. In 2008, Anne grafted one of her favorite clones from the Donum vineyard onto the 777 portion of her vineyard with the goal to make a special bottling. 2017 is just the fourth vintage ever made, with 2013 being the first offering of this wine. It speaks of the Anne Katherina vineyard, with great structure and bold expression. The philosophy: site determines quality; clone offers personality. This clone adds finesse and layers to the structure the site offers.