JC Cellars News

February 2nd, 2012

HdR 1:  First wine ever made?

JC:  Elderberry wine from a kit.

HdR 2:  Do you have a name for your press? If so what is it?
JC: No name for the press.

HdR 3: If you had to choose another region to craft wines in what would it be?
JC:  Martinique

HdR 4: Favorite color?
JC: Purple

HdR 5: Choose another winemaker to form a winemaking partnership with.
JC: Isabel Ferrando of Domaine St.-Préfert or Julien Barrot of Domaine La Barroche

HdR 6: Cork or screwcaps?
JC: Cork

HdR 7: Favorite food/dish?
JC: Anything chocolate. Anything pizza related. Snicker bars and cassoulet.

HdR 8: Favorite grape variety to play around with?
JC: Mourvèdre and Semillon

HdR 9: Activity/Hobby/Pastime other than winemaking?
JC: My kids, exercise and eating.

HdR 10: How many countries have you traveled to?
JC: 22 different stamps in the passport!

HdR 11: What is your favorite beer?
JC: Sierra Nevada

HdR 12: Peanut Butter or Nutella?
JC: Can’t we all get along together, forever?!

HdR 13: What is the most reoccurring dream or nightmare you have during harvest?
JC: Who has time to sleep, let alone dream.

HdR 14: Favorite vintage from your winery?
JC: 2003 and 2005

HdR 15: HdHWhat snack gets you through the day?|
JC: Diet Dr. Pepper, roasted almonds, Snickers and popcorn.

HdR 16: When you take a vacation, where do you go?
JC: Cabo, baby!

HdR 17: What is that one bottle in your cellar that you are most looking forward to drinking one day?
JC: A 1990 Henri Bonneau Cuvee Speciale.

HdR 18: What do you never leave your house without?
JC: My keys and my cell phone.

HdR 19: What was your favorite subject in school?
JC: Physics and lunch.

HdR 20: If you couldn’t make wine anymore, what would you do?
JC: Be a stay at home Dad and let my wife work at a CPA firm.

HdR 21: What is the one thing you wish someone would have told you before you entered the wine industry?
JC: That being on the road selling wines was stressful.

HdR 22: Name and breed of your favorite dog?
JC: I had an Airdale when I was a kid but now have a Welsh Terrier.

To learn more about Jeff Cohn and his wines of JC Cellars be sure to visit his table at the 2012 Hospice du Rhône – 20 Years.

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2007 Time Capsule 91 Points

Rockpile Vineyard Syrah, Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah, Eaglepoint Ranch Vineyard Petite Sirah

A rich, extracted, expressive effort, with smoky-toasty oak, cola and beet root earthiness that picks up dried berry and espresso, gaining depth and traction on the finish. Syrah and Petite Sirah. Best from 2014 through 2024. 125 cases made. —J.L.

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Here is Tim Fish of the Wine Spectators latest blog post.

Posted January 11, 2012

Winemaker Jeff Cohn was the man behind Rosenblum’s stellar Zinfandels during that winery’s heyday, so when he launched his own winery, JC Cellars, he focused almost exclusively on Syrah and other Rhône varietals.

“I wanted some separation,” says Cohn, who launched his winery with his wife, Alexandra, in 1996 and departed Rosenblum in 2006. “But I missed Zin, and I feel like the water has cleared enough that I can do what I want to do.”

The sluggish sales of California Rhône wines played a role no doubt, but I’ve always thought Cohn had a gift for Zin, so I’m glad to see him returning to his roots. And his new releases from the 2009 vintage certainly prove the point. All five of the wines are outstanding.

Two of the Zins are new additions to Cohn’s lineup. The bottling from Dusi Vineyard ($35), in Paso Robles, is that rare mix: ripe and briary yet still focused and complex. At Rosenblum, Cohn used to work with St. Peter’s Church Vineyard in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley, and it shows with his big, distinctive St. Peter's Church Vineyard bottling ($45), loaded with flavor and personality.

The 2009 Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard ($38) is Cohn’s third Zin vintage from this Russian River Valley site, but this time he tried a new approach, fermenting and aging 60 percent of the wine in cement tanks before aging the final blend in large-format French oak barrels.

“I wanted to bring out more of the vineyard’s minerality,” Cohn said. “Landy is in an area known for Pinot Noir, so I thought I’d try to bring out some of the elegance of the Zin.” I don’t know if I’d call the Landy elegant, but it is certainly rich and crisp, and an appealing loamy element adds vibrancy.

Cohn’s two other 2009s are love ’em or hate ’em wines; for me, they are wonderfully exotic and flamboyant and altogether different beasts from the three other Zins.

The 2009 Zinfandel from Iron Hill Vineyard ($35), in Sonoma Valley, recalls a Côte-Rôtie, with smoky black raspberry and zesty, complex flavors of peppered beef. If you’ve tasted any of the other Zins made from Iron Hill over the years, you know that’s simply the nature of that vineyard.

The Impostor California 2009 ($35) is Cohn’s Zinfandel blend, and at 1,200 cases it’s also his largest-production wine. Blending in Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Viognier, Cohn creates an idiosyncratic red with smoky cherry, Asian spice and date bread notes.

Cohn, who makes his wine in an Oakland warehouse, hasn’t given up on Syrah and other Rhône wines, but he seems happy to be back in the Zin saddle again.

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Meet our winemaker & owner Jeff Cohn at EBGB Wine Bar Thursday Dec 22nd, from 7pm - 10pm.  $10 flights of wine plus appetizers and wine available for purchase by the glass.  1203 Pine Street, Oakland.

For more info click here

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Fri Nov 25^th Black Friday  - we will be open

Fri Dec 2nd Wine Club Winter Party - appreciation party for our wine club members. 5pm - 7pm

Sat Jan 21st 2012 Annual Crab Feed - open to all

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