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Library Wines
Big White House 2002 Zinfandel
- Gonzalves Vineyard, Brentwood, California
Our 2002 Zin comes from the Gonzalves Vineyard in Brentwood, no longer in existence. We
hated to see this dry-farmed, half-century old, head-pruned Zinfandel vineyard turn into a housing development. That's why we have the Land Trust in Livermore Valley. Enough on
politics, let's turn to wine. The nose features ripe, rich, brooding, dark jam, plums and dried apricots, with higher notes of cinnamon and chocolate. The bold tannins in the fore and mid-palate are cleanly polished away by the impressively racy finish. Our family tasting panel concluded that this wine was "cromulently scumptrulescent". We hope you agree. While enjoyable now, this wine will benefit from cellaring. Serve a bit below room temperature.
Big White House 2000 LAPSUS
- A Rhone Style White Wine from Ripken Vineyards, Lodi, California
Our Lapsus has been a blend of Roussanne and Viognier, but, alas, the Roussanne scandal
is upon us! Apparently a good fraction of the Roussanne in California was actually a
clone of Viognier, and this was the case for our Roussanne. (Now replanted in true
Roussanne.) We were surprised. Between the two Viognier clones, this one ripened fully three weeks later, had smaller bunches, deeper flavors and produced a more structured
wine. Nonetheless, we'll go with the experts and call our Lapsus 100% Viognier, even
though it's a blend of two very different wines. One clone provides a fruity bouquet
to the wine and is fermented and aged in small stainless steel barrels. The second clone provides the backbone of this blend and is fermented and aged in Rousseau French oak
barrels. We combined these into our special blend Lapsus, a word used in France as we
use "Freudian slip", or a slip of the tongue. Serve slightly chilled.
Big White House 2004 LAPSUS
- A Rhone Style White Blend
In the Condrieu appellation of France, Viognier is the only allowed white wine varietal. A few miles down the Rhône on the opposite bank is Hermitage where Roussanne and Marsanne are the only allowed whites. Legend has it that when the Chevalier Gaspard de Stérimberg returned wounded from the Albigeois crusades in 1224, he cloistered himself within the tiny hamlet on the hill that now bears his description, Hermitage, and refused to speak for the remainder of his pious life. Surrounded as he was with spectacular vineyards he did some winemaking, and discovered the virtues of a unique blend of his local Roussanne with up river Viognier. Appearing to us in a dream, the garrulous Saint, though taciturn in life, revealed his secret in a Lapsus Lengua, slip of the tongue, and the blend, as well as the name of this wine was born. Raise a glass of Lapsus to the good St. Stérimberg.
Our love affair with the Viognier grape continues with our 2000 offering from gentleman
farmer Richard Ripken's vineyards near the Mokelumne River. It is always a pleasure to
walk with Rip through his carefully tended vineyards, comparing flavors and sugar levels. In 2000 the eastern end of the vineyard was riper and the fruit had the peach, apricot,
and melon flavors we seek. This Viognier presents you with apricots, pears, honeydew
melon, lichi nuts, lime, coconut, mango and anise. Wow! In the mouth, this full-bodied Viognier has a peachy, citrus flavor, with a crisp racy finish. This wine is best around cellar temperature.
This wine is produced from the grapes of a small vineyard on the floor of the Livermore
Valley. The vineyard team of Keith and Marilyn Fraser, their daughters and son in law,
John and Julie Howard and Jennifer Fraser, are producing terrific Chardonnay fruit for
us. The vines are planted in the vineyard soil just up the grade from the arroyo. Over the short history of the Big White House, we have been lucky to be the sole recipient of this wonderful fruit. The flavors are becoming more complex every year, starting at
harvest with a beautiful Granny-Smith apple essence, and developing through fermentation a fresh fruit profile and broad mouth feel. The 2000 Fraser - Howard is everything we
look for in a world class Chardonnay. The nose is fruit driven, with apples, nutty figs, tropical fruits, coconut and guava, cinnamon and vanilla. The mouth is rich and full
with tasty hazel nut, fig, and lemon. The finish lingers. We recommend you serve this
at cellar temperature to take advantage of the great fruity nose.
Big White House 2004 Chardonnay
- Fraser-Howard Vineyard
Livermore Valley, California
The Sblendorio Vineyard features classical Livermore Valley rocky soil that gives our Chardonnay a richness and intensity of flavor. We've been experimenting with fermentation regimes. We like the flavors from cold fermentation, but we like the body and mouthfeel that sur lees aging brings. Since we don't have a cold room, we fermented in a chilled tank until most of the heat of fermentation had diminished and then transferred to berrels while still actively fermenting. This allows us to retain the freshness in the fruit profile and still gain the benefits of fermentation in barrels. As a youth, the Sblendorio Chard had a distinctive grassiness. While still present, this has given way to a beautiful citrys and fresh fruitiness in the nose. Our special fermenation technique gives this a great mouth feel and a generous finish. While it is customary to serve Chardonnay chilled, try serving this at cellar temperature (65°) which accentuates the wonderful fruit in the nose.
Our 2004 Mourvedre is different from any Mo we've made in the past. When the grapes arrived in the middle of September, some of them were so ripe that we had to hand sort the whole lot in order to separate the ultra-ripe from the merely super-ripe. The super-ripe grapes turned into the yummy wine in this bottle. We love Mo because of its spiciness. You'll get the cloves and cinnimon you're used to in wine but then some more exotic spices like cardamom and cumin. Fruit-wise this wine is a real winner. It's slightly off-dry which makes the raspberries, cherries, plums, and blackberries really pop. This combines with the spiciness to make it pair wellwith Indian or Thai food. Try it, you'll like it.
Our Kurtzer Syrah was harvested late in the 2000 season and had a huge tannic mouth feel when it was young. How do we tame this delightful wine without robbing the fruit? Due to our unique circumstances, we were able to age this for over four years in new French oak barrels. Compared to bottle aging, barrel aging gives a much more rapid rounding and softening of the tannins. As a four year old, our Kurtzer retains its regal nose which is well supported by mature French Oak. The oak influence actually peaked in year three and is now calmed down to playing a supporting role to the rightful star - jammy berry fruit. One of the things we like best about making single varietal, single vineyard releases is that after a time we recognize specific characteristics of each vineyard. The smoky bacon element, typical of this vineyard from our earlier vintages is evident, but as a reserved element. We think this wine is remarkable, four years in barrel has given a wine of beautiful round character that typically only comes from a big wine that has aged for 15-20 years in the bottle. Unfiltered and unfined, the Kurtzer may still throw sediment.
The 2000 Mourvedre from Texiera's vineyard in Contra Costa County has a spicy fruit that continues to shine brightly through the extended aging. The Mourvedre spice reminds us of Northern Africa, cumin, cardamon and tumeric. This is distinct form the peppery spice character we often associated with Zinfandel. This Northern African spice character makes Mourvedre a popular choice as a blending element in Southern Rhone wines such as Chateau Neuf de Pape. The extended barrel aging, over four years in French oak barrels, has had a dramatic effect in softening the tannins. In the mouth our Mo has a beautifully round balance with lingering finish. Presented here as a single varietal, single vineyard, extended barrel-age release, we offer you a unique experience. Since this wine has already aged for over four years in the barrel, it is ready to drink now, or in the next several years.
Harvest Brix 27° Residual Sugar 10%
The Viognier for our Ice Wine comes from the carefully farmed vineyards of Richard Ripken near the Mokelumne River. We selected the ripest fruit, having the ripe peach
characteristics we love in Viognier, to make our ice wine. In the nose, the peach, dried apricot, pineapple and pear flavors dominate. The buttery mouth precedes a lingering
clove honey finish. Enjoy with dessert, or chilled as an aperitif.
This old vine Carignane vineyard from near the Mokelumne River is farmed to a tiny yield that allows the normally large diameter Carignane grape to develop beautiful varietal character. We pushed to extract all we could and were richly rewarded by this structured, aromatic Rhone styled wine. The perfumed nose reveals red delicious apples, rhubarb and pepper. The mouth is full and rich, with up-front tannin that resolves to chocolate, red apples and black pepper. Drink now or reserve for up to five years. Enjoy!
Big White House 1999 Zinfandel
- Beyer Ranch Vineyard
Livermore Valley, California
This carefully tended vineyard produces only about 3 tons per acre. We pick from a
special block of the vineyard that is further up the rolling hills than the lower valley vineyards. This fruit shows more of the ripe flavors we prefer in our Zinfandel. We use these ripe grapes to produce a big wine. The winemaking processes include peak
fermentation temperatures targeted for 82 degrees F, extended pre and post fermentation
maceration, and frequent punch down of the skins. The nose reveals broad ripe black
berries, cinnamon and vanilla, with an overtone of white pepper and cardamom. In the
mouth, this full wine fills the palette with jammy blackberry. Youthful tannins dominate the finish. What else could one need? The Beyer zinfandel will benefit from cellaring.
Big White House 1999 Syrah
- Kurtzer Vineyard,
Livermore Valley, California
This Kurtzer Syrah is harvested from an old Livermore vineyard, planted in vines since the 1880s. The vines lie in a gravelly creek bed, which we have found to be ideal for Syrah. Year-to-year two consistent elements of this vineyard's terrior are a smoky bacon character that emerges from deep dark jammy fruit. These qualities are why our Kurtzer Syrah is compared with the grand Cote Rotie Syrahs from the Northern Rhone Valley in France. The berry jam heightens in the full mid palate with a balanced finish. This is another example of one of our special small vineyard designated wines from the Livermore Valley. 100 cases produced. This wine will benefit from cellaring. Serve at room temperature.
Big White House 1999 Petite Sirah
- James Concannon Vineyard
Livermore Valley, California
From the fabled old vines of the James Concannon vineyard, from which the first Petite Sirah was bottled as a varietal in California, comes this deep rich Petite. Harvested later than most varietals, we destem but do not crush this fruit. After extended maceration, in tiny lots, we gently press our Petite and store it in French oak barrels from the cooperages of Saury and Cadus for 20 months. On the nose this rich wine reveals plums, dark jam and some smoky characteristics. The big mouth and significant structure resolve to a substantial and beautiful finish. Cellaring will aid in taming the significant tannins. Serve at cellar temperature.
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