1560 visitors
Ancien Wines are made by Ken and Teresa Bernards. Their combined experience is moving into its 3rd decade, having made acclaimed wines for other producers prior to focusing on their own label, Ancien. They possess a passion for the Burgundian varietals, Pinot noir and Chardonnay, with an emphasis on capturing the essence of terroir. Ken continues to expand his range of experience as a consulting winemaker for wineries in California and in Chile. | Napa, CA Phone: (707)255-3908 Website: http://www.ancienwines.com Appellation: Carneros (Los Carneros) |
Pinot Noir
|
2005 Pinot Noir Carneros
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the Napa side of the appellation. It sits on a cool, southern facing knoll with spectacular views to San ... morePablo Bay. It was planted for us in 1998 to two clones of Pinot noir: Dijon 115 and the Swan selection. The Swan selection possesses deep, juicy black cherry, blackberry, and dark chocolate flavors with great structure. The 115 clone overlays pretty aromatics of spice, violets, and cola and bright fruit. The union of the two produces a densely flavored wine of exceptional complexity for near term enjoyment or medium term aging. | |
Pinot Noir
|
2005 Pinot Noir Sonoma Mountain
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, northwestern slope, the Red Dog Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The combination of elevation and exposure make this no ... morermally our coolest location. In geological terms, Sonoma Mountain is an ancient site with weathered soils that have been leached of nutrients over the eons. In this site, the vines are greeted in the Spring by the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range through before thriving in the more mild summer conditions. The resultant wine rates as the most complex, nuanced and ageworthy of the Ancien Pinots. | |
Chardonnay
|
2005 Chardonnay Carneros
Our Chardonnay represents a culmination of many years of clonal evaluation and plant selection." We have been selecting cuttings from the most flavorful plants from the vineyards ... morewe had sourced - with the idea of making our own “super” selection. The vineyards were planted to “Old Wente” or “Robert Young” selections, so we were already starting with some of the most revered cuttings in California*. Even so, we were intent on making a good thing even better. We had these cuttings planted for us at the Toyon Ranch on the Napa side of Carneros and they produced their first juice in 2001. This blends with the Old Wente selection from Sangiacomo’s Vella Ranch.
The wine has layers of forward fruit, complex nuances of yeast and barrel, and a striking minerality that is seldom seen in California Chardonnay. This combines with structure and balanced acidity that promises further development over time.
| |
Updated on March 17, 2008
CrazyAboutWine recommends contacting Ancien Wines at http://www.ancienwines.com or calling (707)255-3908 to verify the winery's location.
|
|