The Daily Ration, available for purchase EVERYDAY in the tasting room. Half Gallon of Goodness to set the weekend off right!
Some of you have expressed reservations about opening our wines for some of your friends who may have questionable palates. So we thought we would provide an option that everyone can sit around and enjoy no matter what day it is or how many other bottles have been opened.
Available for tasting on Thursdays & Fridays in the tasting room.
$25 Jug $20 Refills (Bring Your Jug Back and Save)
Winemakers Notes: Around the corner from the Rochioli’s illustrious West Block Vineyard, lies a small but sublime vineyard called Sweetwater Springs which features Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. We are excited to offer you our first release of this stellar section from what appears to be a...
In 2007, we explored fermenting a little warmer while keeping the fermenting juice in the cold room for longer periods of time to lengthen the fermentation. Then, we let it warm up at the end of fermentation to about 68-70 degrees. A little risky, but you just wait. This almost sounds like an...
I could go into all different stories of why this wine was made, but the truth be known, I get bored easy and I like to play, and play I did. A little from here, a little from there, just a touch from this vineyard and just a bit more from that vineyard! The blend is from select barrels and...
The opportunity for a winemaker to blend wines from different AVA's to create a wine that shows all the nuances of each, but without having any of them be the dominant is a true experience. The majority of the blend comes from Fess Parker's and Ventana vineyards. Both of these vineyards remind me...
In 2006 Mother Nature dealt some interesting cards in Santa Barbara with rain, cold, and no sun at times. Some might see this as a potential problem. I saw it as an opportunity to produce a wine that showed the more elegant, almost Côte Rôtie side of Syrah. I had a better hand of...
The opportunity for a winemaker to produce a wine from a grape varietal that has fascinated him for such a long time is one thing. But to try and produce a wine that shares characteristics with the great wines of amazing wineries such as Chave, Chapoutier, and Domaine Des Remizieres, from...
In 2005 we started to approach white wine production with a different thought pattern, due to the influence of our then harvest intern Xavier Gerard of Condrieu. As we were about to start fermentation of the 2005, he noticed that I wanted to ferment the juice cold and told me it will only make a...
Boules (bools) or Petanque (pe' tônk) n. 1. A light hearted game played between two players, whose main objective is to throw their boules closest to the cochonnet. 2. A wine created by François Villard and Jeff Cohn just for the pure enjoyment of working with friends who share the...
The majority grapes in this wine continue to come from the Coombsville area of Napa Valley. This vineyard produces wines that show richness, depth and dark fruits. To highlight more of the mineral component and smoked meat aspect of the wine we added Rockpile and Fess Parker Syrah to the blend....
Anisette, black currants, and Black Licorice stick all wrapped into one. Briery notes of roasted Herbs de Provence in a cherry-raspberry Liqueur chocolate that is sprinkled with freshly cracked red and black pepper flow with an unending abandoned. Deep in color, almost black as the abyss. An...
Always a new experience every year for us at JC Cellars, it's a chance to take wines we have produced and nurtured along the way and produce not just a wine, but a experience that represents the many aromatics and flavors of the different AVAs of California. This year’s blend has become my...
Layers upon layers of aromatics, textures and flavors that seem to flow from the beginning to the end and back to the beginning again. We have been producing wine from these vineyards since 1997 and with each year the fruit just seems to get better and more complex. With that said, the 2005...
Planted in 2000, Iron Hill’s “old vines” flavor profile belies its age. It contains a sweet, concentrated briery fruit component of cherries and raspberries. This “briery” effect is a term usually used to describe “old vine” Zinfandel’s of 75-100...
I love it when a wine draws you in; you become infatuated with its honey, golden apricots and floral aromas. The textures and flavors of this wine take you in many directions from silky honeysuckle with just a dash of apricots, peaches and bees wax to almonds and exotic spices.
Roasted earth, crème de cassis, black cherry liqueur, layered with plume pudding, dark chocolate, marjoram, tarragon, smoked venison, and the list can go on and on and on! Without a doubt this is the most exotic and mysterious wine we have ever produced. You feel the wine is going in one...
This big, full-throttle wine contains loads of extracted blueberries and black cherries with an elegant, spicy finish. A touch of oak helps to round out and complete the finish.
Even though this vineyard was only planted in 1996, its gives the flavor profile of an "old vines Zinfandel" vineyard. It contains a sweet, concentrated briery fruit component of cherries and raspberries. This is complimented by a spicy, peppery finish. Not a wine I would call varietally correct since in blind tastings it's commonly mistaken for a Syrah. The volcanic rock soil, Cooke clone, organic farming, and cropping at one ton per acre combine to give this vineyard its "old vine" effect.
A perfect combination of California ripeness and the soul of the Northern Rhone are found in this Syrah. Our Caldwell Vineyard Syrah is sourced from 3 different sections, all containing various Entav clones. The wild blackberry and cassis fruit are laced with hints of smoked game, roasted herbs, vanilla bean and lavender. All clusters are hand-sorted, de-stemmed, fermented in ½ ton open top bins, punched down 5 times per day, then pressed directly into burgundian French oak barrels.
Every year we at JC Cellars we are given an opportunity to blend wines from mostly younger plantings of our various vineyards throughout the state. This is a wine for the table. Ready to drink now or to lie down for 1-3 years. The California Cuvee always contains a great spice backbone of white...
This perfumed, elegant wine comes from 2 different vineyards owned by Fess Parker in the Santa Ynez Valley. Seductive aromas and a fine, silky texture are the signatures of these vineyards. The wine is our most "Pinot Noir" like Syrah exuding red berries, blueberry, complex spice, and mineral. All clusters are hand-sorted, de-stemmed, fermented in ½ ton open top bins, punched down 5 times per day, then pressed directly into burgundian French oak barrels.
Sometimes the stars and planets line up just right, sometimes magic happens, and sometimes wines become less about the grape, soil, grower, vineyard, and the winemaker. Sometimes a wine transcends all this. The 2004 Frediani Petite Syrah Cuvée Speciale is a wine experience like none other that I have encountered since starting JC Cellars. This wine took nearly 24 months to finish fermentation in the barrel. Maybe this is why it's so complete, so intoxicating, so integrated, so powerful, yet layered…or maybe the stars and the planets lined up just right.
Planted in 2000, Iron Hill's "old vines" flavor profile belies its age. It contains a sweet, concentrated briery fruit component of cherries and raspberries. This "briery" effect is a term usually used to describe "old vine" Zinfandel's of 75-100 years old, with prickly black pepper-like flecks...
This powerful, yet elegant wine comes from the low-yielding Philary Vineyard located in the Atlas peak region of Napa Valley. Exotic flavors and a dark, rich color are what keep the demand so high for this limited-quantity wine.
The wine shows dark fruit flavors of plums, along with lavender, black olive, and smoke. All of the grapes are hand-sorted, de-stemmed, fermentation in ½ ton open top fermenters, gentle pressing by hand in a wooden basket press and aging in 100% new burgundian French oak barrels.
This lush exotic example of Viognier was harvested at 36 degrees Brix with just a hint of noble rot. The bouquet is reminiscent of ripe apricots with hints of peaches and honey. It has a long, smooth tropical aftertaste and is a perfect dessert all by itself. Residual sugar is 16.5% by weight.
This is the most powerful and intense wine to come from Rockpile Vineyard to date. We are now onto our fourth vintage of producing Syrah from this vineyard, with this being our lowest tonnage per acre yet. Red and black fruits, with a mineral backbone are the hallmarks of this wine and this up...
White wine is always served first, it sets the tone and emotions of the engagement. The first date is always a special time. It's the start of something special, your heart pounds; the spark of a new romance. You never know unless you go on that first date.
Extremely floral with apricot, peaches...
Zinfandel that dreams of being a blend of Cote Rôtie and Cornas, but can't help loving being in California. That is what happens when you put zinfandel on nonexistent soil and 60 degree slopes. It produces a wine that shows all raspberries, black cherry and spice that a zinfandel has but roasted earth components and spice that only can be found in the syrah of the Northern Rhone. One of the most compelling zinfandels I have ever made.
Another classic in the making. This is actually my favorite Caldwell Vineyard so far. I think it's Syrah purity and the roasted herbs de Provence / blackberry / raspberry combination in the aromatics and flavors that are so exotic and incredibly layered that it's hard to resist.
It's always interesting for us to blend together our different vineyards and see how the combination takes on a life of its own. Every year we select barrels from different cooperages and combine it with our different vineyard sources and every year the flavors profiles vary slightly, but always to make very complex wines with lots of extraction.
Every year this wine seems to get better. In 2003 we started incorporating some of the new French clones that have become available, and the results are in the bottle. Smokey black cherry, roasted earth, hints of raspberry and just a touch of creamy cassis. Every time I try this wine, it causes me to contemplate how great it is to make wine. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Like a deep dark secret, this is a mesmerizing wine from the almost midnight black color to the aromatics of blackberry concentrate, wrapped in a caramelized vanilla bean. Although powerful and a bit broad shouldered, it still shows enough finesse that with a few hours of decanting, one could only be astonished by this wine.
Down the street from Arrowhead Mountain, this is also another zinfandel that dreams of being in the Northern Rhône. Grown also in nonexistent soils and 45-50 degree slopes, this wine is more in the line of a blend of Hermitage and Cornas, but screaming to show off its zinfandel heritage. Black cherry, plums, cola and crème de frambois wrapped in a mineral and smoky spice blanket. It's pure decadence.
This is the finest Philary that we have ever produced, although we have much less of it, only 34 cases. Yields were low and the intensity up. To describe this wine, it would have to start with smoky almost inky gamey wild blackberry liqueur that has been immersed with a touch of lavender and black olives. A streak of minerality flows throughout the wine that gives it just the right structure to carry it through one of the most outrageous finishes I have ever had in a syrah.
As with one's child, they change, they want to express themselves a bit differently, become more independent and show what they can do. Isabel is now five and as she has changed, we wanted to let the wine express this also. This year we decided to let the vineyard express itself and produce the wine thus not being held back to making this wine a Zinfandel. A blend varietals from the Rhodes includes old vine Petite Syrah, old vine Zinfandel and the introduction of Syrah has produced a wine that shows the darker side of the Rhodes Vineyard more then ever before. The wine still has that blackberry pie filling in a cinnamon crust, but just a touch more on the wild side. This wine is a true reflection of the wonderment of childhood.
The warm earth, with all its minerals, creates the beginning of an exquisite perfume that becomes immersed in blackberry and boysenberry compote, swirled in smoke and lavender. Full bodied and very intense, this wine show cases the Rockpile signature earth components and the take-no-prisoners black fruit basket. Although powerful, it does show a sense of finesse that carries the wine from the being of the journey to its incredibly long finish.
Amazing aromatics of lavender, violets, black and red fruits with fresh cracked white pepper that soars from the glass. Beautifully concentrated, this opaque purple colored wine is loaded with flavors of red raspberries, black cherries, smoke, olives, white pepper, and crème de cassis.
A perfect combination of California ripeness and the soul of the Northern Rhone are found in this Syrah. This will blackberry and cassis fruit bomb is laced with hints of smoked game, roasted herbs, vanilla bean and lavender.
It's always interesting for us to blend together our different vineyards and see how the combination takes on a life of its own. Every year we select barrels from different cooperages and combine it with our different vineyard sources and every year the flavors profiles vary slightly, but always to make very complex wines with lots of extraction. Our 2002 California Cuvée is no different.
This is definitely a cool climate Syrah. It shows many of the characteristics of Santa Ynez Valley that have made it famous for growing Rhone varietals. Black charries, blackberries, herbs de Provence, cracked black peppercorns and olives laced in smoke and vanilla bean. The aromatic and flavor profiles are the perfect combination for bistro style foods and great conversation.
Al Frediani has owned the Frediani Vineyard since, well, a really
long time. Somewhere between the Great Depression to the end of World
War II, we're just not sure. One thing we do know for sure is this, it
makes great Petite Syrah and has a lot of rattlesnakes.
Located just outside of...
This wine is hedonistic to the extreme, almost like a Late-Harvest Zinfandel. Loads of brambleberry, dusty raspberry, and black cherry on the nose. The palate is rich, with a long sweet finish.
Deep, dark and mysterious are only a few of the words one could use to describe this incredibly concentrated wine that has both the aromatic and flavor profile of wild blackberry jam, lavender, smoked game, rosemary, minerals, and olives.
Once again the most elegant Zinfandel comes from the Rhodes Vineyard. A beautiful dark purple appearance that is followed by aromatics and flavors of spicy black cherry, boysenberry, cinnamon, fresh vanilla bean, and subtle hints of lavender.
This lush exotic example of Viognier was harvested at 32 degrees Brix with just a hint of noble rot. The bouquet is reminiscent of ripe apricots with hints of peaches and honey. It has a long, smooth tropical aftertaste and is a perfect dessert all by itself. Residual sugar is 8.4% by weight.
A wine of dense purple color followed by aromatics of sweet, wild red and black berries intertwined with the intoxicating perfume of smoked game, vanilla, minerals and roasted herbs. Rich, lush, and concentrated, and compelling best describes the amazing texture profile of this full-bodied wine.
The 2002 is the finest Syrah we have produced from this vineyard to date. Amazing aromatics of lavender, violets, black and red fruits with fresh cracked white pepper that soars from the glass. Beautifully concentrated, this opaque purple colored wine is loaded with flavors of red raspberries, black cherries, smoke, olives, white pepper, and crème de cassis.
This fruit comes from the sloping hillsides of John Caldwell's vineyard in Napa Valley that overlooks Napa. We are proud to be releasing our second vintage of this flamboyantly aromatic and enormously concentrated wine.
A special blend of Syrah from vineyards located in many of the top syrah producing regions of California. A dark plum color, with aromatics and flavors of black fruits, white pepper, smoked game, cassis and cinnamon.
Last year I spent time in the Rhône working with Pierre Gaillard and came up with the crazy idea to do a blend of American and French Syrah, a collaboration of winemakers and vineyards. Our goal was to produce a wine that showed the best of both worlds
Black cherries, blackberries, herbs de Provence, cracked black peppercorns and olives laced in smoke and vanilla bean. The aromatic and flavor profiles are the perfect combination for bistro style foods and great conversation.
Full-bodied and oozing with blackberry pie filling in a cinnamon piecrust with hints of cassis, dark chocolate and subtle hints of smoked game. This opaque purple wine is a truly decadent experience.
This is our third year producing wine from this vineyard. This steep hillside vineyard on Atlas Peak Road overlooks Napa Valley and will remind you of the Northern Rhone. A beautiful vineyard that is surrounded by olive trees, herbs de Provence and lavender. This wine was aged in three new heavy toasted Burgundy shaped barrels.
Once again the most elegant Zinfandel comes from the Rhodes Vineyard. A beautiful dark purple appearance that is followed by aromatics and flavors of spicy black cherry, boysenberry, cinnamon, fresh vanilla bean and subtle hints of lavender.
Located in the Rockpile Appellation planted at a 2000 foot elevation on rolling hillsides, one can feel that this is the perfect place for growing Syrah. This beautiful vineyard produces one of our most fascinating Syrahs.
Opaque purple in color with aromas of roasted herbs, smoked game, blackberries, cassis, black pepper, lavender and violets. A bit of the Northern Rhône with a twist of California and a little touch of JC Cellars, this elegant wine is perfect with braised meats, smoked game and triple cream cheeses.
This fruit comes from the sloping hillsides of John Caldwell's vineyard at the 500 ft. elevation in Napa Valley. We are proud to be releasing our first vintage of this flamboyantly aromatic and enormously concentrated wine.
A special blend of Syrah from vineyards located in many of the top
Syrah producing regions of California. A dark plum color with aromatics
and flavors of black fruits, white pepper, smoked game, cassis and
cinnamon.
Full-bodied and oozing with blackberry pie filling in a cinnamon piecrust with hints of cassis, dark chocolate and subtle hints of smoked game. A truly decadent experience.
A powerhouse wine that will mesmerize all your senses - Incredibly exotic and very seductive. The aromas and flavors are a blend of concentrated blackberry jam, smoked game, olives, cassis and roasted herbs de Provence.
Amazingly dark purple appearance and aromas of black cherry, hints of lavender, cinnamon, vanilla and roasted herbs. An elegant Zinfandel whose flavors echo its aromas, but with a level of intensity and richness that will tantalize your palate.
Golden yellow in color with an aroma of honeyed apricots and peaches lightly laced with cinnamon and vanilla. The truest expression of Viognier. Enjoy as an Aperitif or as a dessert on its own.
Opaque black/purple in color with aromas of blackberries, licorice, olives, roasted herbs and smoked wild game. A full-bodied wine that is perfect for a night by the fireplace with a bowl of hearty stew.
Straw yellow in color with aromas of honeyed apricots, creamy peaches
and subtle hints of grapefruit. This wine is exotic, decadently rich,
full-bodied and oozing with flavors which coat the palate. There really
is nothing more seductive than a Viognier. A perfect match for seafood
and...
Opaque purple in color with aromas of roasted herbs, smoked game, blackberries, cassis, black pepper, lavender and violets. A bit of the Northern Rhone with a twist of California and a little touch of JC Cellars, this elegant wine is perfect with braised meats, smoked game and triple cream cheeses.
