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What's in a name?
Pronounced "FAY-la", our name comes from
the Italian island of Sicily, a melting pot of southern Europeans,
so it's often mistaken for Spanish or French heritage. Since we
launched our website, dozens of Failla's have joined our mailing
list, many during searches for ancestors and long-lost family members.
Few can resist the discovery of an eponymously-named wine.
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Drumroll
please… Failla has opened a tasting room on the Silverado Trail! I
heard that yawn and I know what many of you veterans are thinking: "If
you've seen one tasting room you've seen 'em all". Maybe: "A 'Salon' by
any other name is a stuffy tasting room". Or perhaps: "Belly up to the
tasting bar with 50 of your closest strangers". Fear not - we decided
to be different. With gaggles of wild turkeys taunting Ehren when
unarmed and the possibility of mountain lions every spring, the house
felt like a hunting lodge which inspired our nod to the venerable
Adirondack Camp. Think overstuffed chairs vs. overpriced pours; mounted
12-pointer vs. vaunted 88-pointer; Ornithological Society vs.
Oenological Society. We are open by appointment so call us at
707-963-0530, and Sarah Chironi will be happy to assist you.
2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, Hirsch Vineyard (380 cases produced)
We picked this fruit in two passes about 10 days apart in
mid-September, first the Pommard clone then the Mt. Eden. As always, we
destemmed the fruit into open-topped fermenters where it was handled
gently with daily manual punch-downs. We then aged the wine in all
French oak barrels, one-third of which were new. Aromatic undertones of
vanilla and baking spices add complexity to the "classic coastal Pinot
nose" of plum and black cherry. Marked by firm tannins and
well-balanced oak, this wine reveals itself with aeration, so decant to
drink now or cellar for 5-7 years.
2004 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Keefer Ranch (340 cases produced)
Ripe by mid-September, the fruit was whole-cluster pressed into French
oak barrels, one-third of which were new. Ehren prefers a more
Burgundian style of Chardonnay. The wine's long slow fermentation
produced a nuanced nose of citrus fruit and blossom, along with a
Chablis-like minerality which highlights a lean crisp mouthfeel. This
Chardonnay completed malolactic fermentation for well-balanced acidity
and a penetrating lingering finish.
Ripe by mid-September, the fruit was whole-cluster pressed into French
oak barrels, one-third of which were new. Ehren prefers a more
Burgundian style of Chardonnay. The wine's long slow fermentation
produced a nuanced nose of citrus fruit and blossom, along with a
Chablis-like minerality which highlights a lean crisp mouthfeel. This
Chardonnay completed malolactic fermentation for well-balanced acidity
and a penetrating lingering finish.
2004 Sonoma Coast Syrah, Estate Vineyard (175 cases produced)
After the fruit was picked in early October, three-quarters was added
to open-topped vessels as whole clusters and the rest destemmed, then
treated to daily punch-downs throughout fermentation before aging in
40% new French oak. Aging sur-lee until bottling imparts the Estate
Syrah with classic Northern Rhône aromas of black pepper, bacon fat and
hints of violet and dark berries. Chewy fine-grained tannins bely the
relative youth of these vines and create rich palette presence that
benefits from decanting. Expect this Syrah to cellar well for 10-15
years.
2002 Napa Valley Syrah, Phoenix Ranch (Library Offering)
Upon it's initial release, Ehren described his strategy for this wine:
[he] "split the fruit into two lots; one was 100% destemmed to round
out the texture and the other was only 1/3 destemmed to encourage more
complex aromatics". Today we can testify that the 2002 has lived up to
our expectations: meaty, flinty aromas play off concentrated dark stone
fruit and notes of cocoa and espresso. Maturing, evolved tannins have
rounded out to produce a silky mouthfeel.
Spring 2006 Release Newsletter
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