2003 Clos Mimi Hommage a Henri Bonneau

I am pleased to announce the release of Clos Mimi's first Grenache. I have dedicated this wine to Monsieur Henri BONNEAU, a traditional "vigneron" who lives in Châteauneuf du Pape. Back in 1998 Mimi and I were fortunate to taste thru the 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1995 vintages alongside Monsieur BONNEAU. I remember being amazed at the concentration ("plus confiture" explained Monsieur BONNEAU) of each "cuvée" in barrel. Monsieur BONNEAU is one of the few French winegrowers to age his wines longer than Marcel and Philippe GUIGAL.
Monsieur BONNEAU is a true mentor of mine.

In 1997 Clos Mimi produced its first ever "vendange tardive" Syrah. I intentionally brought a barrel sample of the 1997 "étiquette rouge" to France to taste the likes of Gérard and Jean-Louis CHAVE, Alberic MAZOYER and Michel CHAPOUTIER and Henri BONNEAU. In fact Monsieur BONNEAU commented the wine was interesting but "çe n'est pas Grenache." More memorable than Monsieur BONNEAU's comments about the 1997 "étiquette rouge" was the expression on Madame BONNEAU's face when her husband retrieved a bottle of the 1990 "Cuvée Spéciale" for us to taste together. I gathered this was Madame's favorite wine.
The four of us tasted the bottle inside the dining room next to the very warm fireplace. I was smitten with late harvest Châteauneuf du Pape instantly! For the record I had been enamored with the 1990 Domaine Henri BONNEAU "Cuvée Spéciale" ever since reading Robert Parker's multiple reviews on this special wine. Based on Monsieur BONNEAU's generosity that wintry day in Châteauneuf du Pape, I promised myself that I would produce a late harvest Grenache from California one day. This extremely limited production wine is also dedicated to the late Mark Estrin (creative genius for Red Car) who adored barrel tasting this particular wine and who always challenged me to produce great wines. Everytime I smell this wine, I think of a dear old friend.

A "très petite" 0.61-acre block at Alta Mesa Vineyard (located in Santa Barbara County at 3200 feet above sea level) yielded Clos Mimi with 0.62 ton of Grenache (0.99 ton per acre) in 2003. The grapes were hand harvested by Dave Corey and myself on the 31st of October before the first rains of the season. The tiny clusters registered 33.3° Brix on the hydrometer and 3.94 on the pH meter. I remember being amazed at the small clusters and the lack of shrivel in the berries! I have never witnessed a harvest in Châteauneuf du Pape, but I would bet these currant-sized clusters were similar in size and weight to those of Château Rayas. While I never met Monsieur Jacques REYNAUD myself, I would guess the late "vigneron" would have approved of Alta Mesa's special "terroir." Bordering the Los Padres National Forest, the vineyard is west of Highway 33 and south of Highway 166.
Thanks to its proximity to the San Andreas Fault and the Cuyama River this uplifted bench has well-drained soils composed of decomposed granite, basalt, gneiss, quartzite and schist. In the winery I decided not to destem these grapes thanks to an enlightening conversation with Manfred Krankl about Grenache stems only a couple days before harvest. Nevertheless, I had a gut feeling that 100% stems would add some old world aromatics and Burgundian tannins to the wine. I have never fermented Syrah with whole clusters. Still, I was intrigued by the fact that Rayas takes on a very Burgundian character with age. Per tradition the grapes were 100% treaded by foot and the wine was fermented with 100% indigenous yeasts. No water. No yeast nutrients. No enzymes. No tartaric acid. No grape concentrates. No "saignées" or bleeding the tank to concentrate the solids. No pumps from the vineyard to the bottle. The wine was macerated for 20 days (since I forgot to ask Monsieur BONNEAU in 1998 about his maceration times I decided on a shorter maceration based on my communication with Madame Lalou BIZE-LEROY in 1999). Malolactic fermentation was unable to finish based on the high alcohol level after maceration, thereby giving the wine a little more natural acidity. In celebration of the summer solstice, the wine was racked barrel-to-barrel on the 17th of June 2004. Inspired by Monsieur BONNEAU's "Cuvée Spéciale" the wine was aged for 48 months (note this is the longest "élévage" for any Clos Mimi produced to date). The wine was aged in a seven year old Seguin Moreau "Château Margaux" 225-liter barrel purchased directly from Château Margaux. No fining. No filtration. 33 grams per liter residual sugar. 100% bottled by hand via gravity. Alcohol content is 18.5%. 100% Grenache. Total production is 25 cases (375ML).