Savannah-Chenelle Vineyards

[wondersofwine]

While others were watching the grammy awards (I like both U-2 and bluegrass) I was attending a special wine dinner at Butterflies Restaurant in Raleigh, NC.
Winery owner from Savannah-Chenelle was there. He purchased an old winery near Saratoga, CA in Santa Cruz Mountains and named it after his two daughters. Specializes in Pinot Noir but also makes small quantities of Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Syrah. The late harvest zinfandel (with chocolate cake) was port-like. The chardonnay was very pleasant and some at my table purchased a case of the syrah, but my favorite was the pinot noir. Savannah-Chenelle makes about 11 pinot noirs, a couple are blends and others are single-vineyard. We had the 2000 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir and it was one of the best California pinot noirs I've tasted. I think it retails for about $27. Both the pinot noir and the 1999 Savannah-Chenelle Syrah, Meeker Vineyard, Paso Robles had a long finish. The pinot noir exhibited cherry flavors and an attractive bouquet. The 1999 Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains is from the oldest Cabernet Franc vineyard outside Bordeaux--originally planted in 1923 with stock brought by Paul Masson if I got my facts down correctly. The old vines have a low production per acre. With the pinot noir we had monkfish, roasted fennel and sweet potatoes in a brandied cherry sauce. Monkfish is not a favorite of mine but the vegetables and sauce were very good. With the syrah we had duck risotto and a lavendar sauce and with the cabernet franc, roasted lamb with celery root mashed potatoes and baby beets in sweet blackberry sauce. Very tasty sauce.
If you like pinot noir, this is a CA vineyard to watch.

[winoweenie]

One of the 5 best Pinot Producers (IMHO) is Santa Cruz Myn. Vineyard. The proprietor Ken Burnap is a friend of mine and Curmy loved his stuff. WW