2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
Tasting Notes
The rarest of the five main red Bordeaux style grapes, this Petit Verdot is earthy, rich, and complex. Its unique flavors and deep structure express both the variety and the site. After resting in barrels for over three years, this wine is approachable now yet worthy of extended aging.
Ishi Pishi Ranch is tucked into the northeastern corner of Humboldt County, near the hamlet of Orleans. The hillside vineyard sits just above Klamath River fog at 1,000 feet and borders the Marble, Siskyou and Salmon Mountains. The surrounding temperate rainforest and red volcanic soil support the Pierce Family’s dry-farmed, organic approach to grape growing.
Will be delivered in time for Thanksgiving
Specs
Vintage: 2015
Varietal: Petit Verdot
Appellation: Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
Alcohol: 13.2%
Production: 113 Cases
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
3x 2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
Case:
12x 2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
Briceland Vineyards is a small family owned winery offering distinctive, site driven wines made from locally grown grapes. Humboldt County’s cool climate is well suited for Briceland’s acclaimed Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The winery also makes Arneis, Zinfandel and Syrah. Newly released recent additions include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Noir d’Orleans (a Bordeaux Blend), and Dry Gewürztraminer, all from Humboldt Organically farmed grapes.
Since its founding by Winemaker Joe Collins and Maggie Carey in 1985, Briceland Vineyards has consistently won awards at prestigious competitions such as the California State Fair, the Orange County Fair, Dallas Morning News/Tex Som and the SF International Wine Competition. Among the awards at the State Fair are Best Wine of Region and Best in State.
As Humboldt County’s first 2nd generation winemaker, Andrew Morris had the unique opportunity to train and apprentice with his step-father, Joe Collins. Collins is considered a Humboldt wine pioneer and is widely credited with helping to establish commercial production of wine from Southern Humboldt grapes through his consulting and support of most of the early vineyards in the area. The winery continues its commitment to Humboldt grapes by working closely with the small growers in the area. Currently, over 75% of the wine produced by Briceland is from Humboldt grown grapes most of which are farmed Organically in tiny hillside vineyards including some dating back to the late ’70’s and early ’80’s & 90’s.
Hey! First time here as winemaker. Hope you all enjoy this. It is one of my favorites. The vineyard, Ishi Pishi Ranch is special. North of Orleans in the NE corner of Humboldt, it is 3.5 hours by car from our winery in So Hum. 2015 was a warm year and this wine is fairly rich for a Humboldt grown late maturing Bordeaux. Picked Oct. 26.
@StingingJ Oak is mostly neutral. New french oak = 1bbl out of 6. This wine, from my POV, will age and improve for at least 5 years, very likely much longer. My first vintage with it was 2012, so I can’t say from experience, but I can imagine it going 15 years for sure. It was in oak for 3 years.
I was delighted to receive a notification the other day that I was getting the labrat nod, but bowled over that it was going to be for Briceland’s first Casemates offering! Full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of Briceland and Andrew for several years, particularly their Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. @molarchae is always excited when we open up a bottle of Briceland Pinot for dinner, too. I’ve got a bottle of the 2012 Petit Verdot, but haven’t opened it yet and didn’t want to get to it too early.
TL;DR: Approachable now, should age a long time. Bright and fresh and lighter than most PV out there. If you’re looking for a bruiser this isn’t it, but neither is it light like some Pinots or Carignan. Nice with food and on its own. You can keep on sniffing this one for ages, it’s so enchanting.
On with the show, already, right?
2015 Briceland Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
13.2% alcohol
We opened this at the start of the kid dinner prep phase of the evening, a little after 6pm, poured two small tasting portions and poured the rest into the decanter. (I poured a little too vigorously, though, before checking for sediment. There is sediment. Oops.)
I’ve got some photos for those who like those, but I’ll put them in the next post so you don’t have to scroll through them the whole time.
Colour: the reddish end of purple, clear rim, no signs of the sediment I stirred up when decanting. Not as densely coloured as I might expect from PV, which can look as inky black as a Petite Sirah. But then again, this is a colder climate, and the Briceland style does tend toward lighter wines.
Aroma: red and blue fruit - cherry or red plum, maybe. Black pepper. The classic floral aromas in many a PV are not up front, but are there if you look for them. There’s also a savoury herbal aspect to the aromas I can’t quite place. Like so many of Briceland’s wines, I find myself captivated by the aromas.
Taste: Quite a lot going on here. Plums are the first thing I can identify. Cassis. Herbs and something a bit woodsy, similar idea to, but different from, the sous bois character of a good Pinot Noir. Asian long pepper. Tannins are clearly present - slightly “rough” in character but low to moderate in amount, at least for a Petit Verdot.
Finish: Quite a lot of zip and minerality, and quite savoury. Vanilla, more of the primary plum, the black pepper reappears here and there, and the finish lasts a good long while.
Balance/overall: The acidity is right where I like it - bright but not overpowering. Keeps everything lifted and fresh. Despite the relatively young age of this wine (I rarely drink reds as young as 5 years old) it can either be laid down for another decade or consumed any time. The mid-palate is a bit lacking, but it took molarchae mentioning it for me to notice.
Tried this with some Touma cheese (a salty fresh cheese that we love having with wine), and it paired very nicely. It took the edge off the tannin without stomping on the flavours of the wine. I suspect this will go nicely with the Flannery beef back ribs we’re cooking on the grill, although it’s possible they’ll overpower the wine.
45 minutes later, out of the decanter, the aromas haven’t changed much, and it’s perhaps slightly more closed down than right after opening. The palate, however, somehow seems more open. The stonefruit is more apparent (and more complex, bringing in peaches), and the tannins have smoothed out even with that little bit of air. Finish remains long and savoury.
What happened next always weirds me out, but it’s common enough: the wine went to sleep. The aromas closed down a bit, the palate became much more one-dimensional, and the tannins were more obvious and rough. I find this happens with many wines, and the only answer is to wait and see what emerges on the other side.
Another hour later, with vigourous decanter swirling and small pours from a foot or so up to help aerate (I don’t like what the Vinturi does to wine) it begins to show itself again. The flowers come back, and so do the fruits along with some added bramble. Thankfully the wine was starting to wake back up in time for dinner, around 8:30 one the rug rats are down for the count. (FWIW, the older one got a sniff and said it smelled like peaches.)
This worked quite well with (dry aged, USDA Prime) Flannery beef back ribs done low and slow but with no smoke. The funk of the meat enhanced the wine and vice versa, but what really stood out to us was that the vanilla characteristics of the wine came out a lot more with the beef.
We saved the final glass for after dinner, now after about 3.5 hours in the decanter. This has opened back up, at least somewhat, and I’m now getting more bramble fruits, sticks, earth, and the flowers are back. The black pepper is, too. We probably should have planned on a 6+ hour decant to follow it for longer, but so it goes. Good wines don’t usually last this late in the evening anyway.
OK, so what do I tell all you potential purchasers?
If you’ve never had a varietal Petit Verdot, you must try this. It’s light, it’s interesting, it evolves.
If you’re a veteran of deep and dark Petit Verdot, you need to try this to see a different take on the grape.
If you want something big and jammy that’ll stick to your teeth, this isn’t likely for you, although it does have a lot of bright fruit to enjoy right now.
Drink it alone or have it with food. I think this would actually be a rather nice, if unusual, pairing for American Thanksgiving. (My homeland’s Thanksgiving was a month ago.)
@klezman
Wait!? I thought you said pic’s are not good for a rat me thinks you’re wrong, very nice and I’m in. Great wine from what I hear and I know a fantastic winemaker.
@ScottW58 I don’t think they’re helpful, but some people seem to really like them. Shrug.
That’s why I put them in a reply, because I don’t need to keep scrolling through them.
Klezman already covered most of my inputs, but I wrote some stuff so here it is.
Happy to be next to Klezman for this bottle tonight! I love Briceland pinot, so I am happy to branch out and try something different. For those who don’t know, I tend to be a whites and light reds person, so this is a bit out of scope of my typically preferred wines.
We don’t often drink red this young, so to me it seems very young and tannic. I expect this to change over the night and be a better drinker in a few more years.
The nose has black peppercorn, floral and spice notes, with green bell pepper and vegetal qualities. I was surprised at the moderate alcohol level as it seemed a bit hotter on the nose.
On the palate, I found it tannin-forward in the absence of food, which isn’t really my thing. I would give this more time before having it by itself. When paired with our beef ribs, however, I was smacked in the face with a sweet, woody vanilla experience that was unexpected yet delightful. This really paired and contrasted nicely with the meal as a result.
@molarchae My wife is not much of a red drinker either, but she likes this one, particularly with strong cheese, rich meat or both. We had one with a rare burger with blue cheese the other day. Outstanding.
We were pleasantly surprised to receive notification that we had wine inbound from Casemates. We were even happier when it turned out to be a Petit Verdot from Briceland. We have had an occasional bottle of Briceland in the past, but have never had their PV.
We drank the bottle over 2 nights to see how it evolved. The first night we had a Flannery California Reserve Strip and on the second night we paired it with homemade pizza. We both were surprised that it paired better with the pizza.
The color was dark ruby in color. Dark fruit predominated on the nose. The first taste on the palate was one of violets, pencil lead and a hint of clove. It was quite enjoyable. The tannins were already well integrated and didn’t stand out. It, however, had a very short finish which caught my wife and I both by surprise. It had an amazing front end and all of a sudden it stopped. We decided to save 1/2 the bottle for the second night to see how it was doing. We had the same experience. It was amazing on the front end, but it ended abruptly. It is truly an enjoyable wine but I think it’s a drink sooner rather than later bottle…
I definitely think that the QPR is quite good, especially at $25/bottle.
I missed out on Wednesday’s Epiphany offer, even as a rat, so I am not making that mistake again. I have been wanting to try Briceland, especially being in Northern CA and supporting my fellow statesmen. I’d love to try your Pinot Noir’s, my favorite varietal! Will need to find a way up to Humboldt, as I have friends in Philo. @winedavid49, a 3 bottle offer that is an age worthy varietal always has space in my cellar, thank you!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot - $60 = 16.65%
I never used to get it when people say “I have no room”. Well after moving and seriously downsizing, well, I have no room. However, always room to squeeze in a 3fer and the temps are finally moderating.
A funny co-incidence. When I was a child (1970s) we would go on camping trips and one of my parents’ favorite destinations was Standish-Hickey state park in Northern California along the Eel River. For whatever reason my father would call it Ishi Pishi park. I didn’t know that was a real name; maybe he had seen it somewhere on our trips or maybe he just made it up as fun-sounding term that sounded like the campground name.
@AndMo I was wondering how much influence you have over the farming at Ishi Pishi. What are you looking for in selecting your harvest dates and/or in assessing grape maturity/ripeness? Is it different for the Bordeaux varieties compared to Pinot or your white wines?
The farmer at Ishi Pishi Ranch, Joaquin Pierce, is a grape whisperer. So, I could have some influence, but I don’t often feel the need. He farms 7.5 acres and a dozen varieties BY HIMSELF, except for picking. He may as well have named each vine. When you walk through the vineyard, he says things like "there is a rock under that one, so throw a handful of fertilizer on it from time to time. Pick dates: Yes and no. A lot of pick date choices are made based on waiting for acids to come down and pHs to come up here in Humboldt. My first PV from IP ranch in 2012 the pH was 3.09 at harvest. The BDX stuff we also strive to get a good amount of hang time which allows tannins to ripen and soften to a degree.
@klezman The grapes here on our property are limited. We have a small plot of PN that usually goes into rose. We have a little larger plot of SB that goes into our Humboldt Sauvignon Blanc. Not surprisingly, since we are talking about a zone 3 grape variety grown on a zone 1 site, we typically pick in mid Oct. after waiting for the pH to come up to an acceptable level while hopefully not sacraficing to much to the birds, raccoons, foxes, bears and bees.
@AndMo oh, so Rhonda’s and Phelps aren’t yours. Didn’t realize that.
When are you going to get Cabernet Franc? That seems like a natural extension of the cool climate growing region.
@klezman well… we think of them as our vineyards too. No other winery has released a wine from those sites since our founding winemaker, Joe Collins, helped design and lay them out in 83 and 93 respectively. Frankly, there are only a handful of people who could find them.
@AndMo As I think we discussed once, I’m from near Niagara, so the Canadian cool climate regions next to Lake Ontario are pretty influential in my preferences. A place that can grow top notch Riesling, Syrah, Cab Franc, and make icewine is, to me, a great wine growing region.
@browncj7 Note that the shipping window estimates are usually conservative. There’s a decent chance it’ll ship out next week and a really good chance it’ll ship by Nov 16. At least that’s been my experience.
Either way, happy birthday!
@klezman
Nice note. I have a note on Cellartracker from earlier this year. It’s a very good wine now and it will continue to improve with age. If you’re drinking today, I recommend that you give it some air. Briceland puts out some wonderful, lower abv wines, the anithesis of big, jammy wines.
@Arsephin Are you CMN or Elpaninaro? Either way, I wholeheartedly agree with both the notes on the 2015.
I’ve never had a red from Briceland that I’ve not enjoyed immensely. The only semi-miss was a Chardonnay (I think it was) that had a bitter component to the finish that I was lukewarm on and my (very sensitive to bitterness) wife did not enjoy.
Old purchase revivification: So far the bottles I have had are all vinegar, with tons of sediment. The only flop so far, but still disappointing. (Stored just like all the other wines, out of direct sun, on its side in a wine rack.)
2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
Tasting Notes
Specs
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $600/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 30 - Wednesday, Dec 2
Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot
3 bottles for $89.99 $30/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot
Splitz?
This was $50/btl when I last got it direct.
@rjquillin Can you pseudo Rat this based on prior experience?
@sammypedram
Got two each '14 and '15.
Not opened either yet, but did taste, years ago which is why I paid the price.
I’ve got over 70 bottles from Andrew in the cellar from '10 forward. Only two have CT below 90.
Good palate Ratting this, hopefully soon.
@rjquillin got it. Thanks!
Humboldt County in the house!!!
@tercerowines Nice to see you here!
@AndMo @tercerowines How does Larry know everybody??
@AndMo i am everywhere, my friend!!!
@AndMo @klezman I work hard at it!
Briceland is one of my all time favorite. We served them at my daughters wedding, and received a lot of compliments.
@ncw168 Nice to see you here!
Finishing up the rat bottle in the next 20 minutes or so.
Yum.
Hey! First time here as winemaker. Hope you all enjoy this. It is one of my favorites. The vineyard, Ishi Pishi Ranch is special. North of Orleans in the NE corner of Humboldt, it is 3.5 hours by car from our winery in So Hum. 2015 was a warm year and this wine is fairly rich for a Humboldt grown late maturing Bordeaux. Picked Oct. 26.
@AndMo welcome! Very happy to have you here!
@AndMo
Welcome Andrew, working now getting you your
Can you chat us up a bit on how this differs from other vintages?
@klezman Thanks. From talking to David, I got confused and thought it opened up at 10. I sat down to write a note or two…
@rjquillin Thanks!
@AndMo welcome!!! My favorite varietal! Are you able to elaborate on the oak treatment? Also what do you think the aging potential is for this wine?
@AndMo @winedavid49
He tends to get confused with that other site…
@StingingJ Oak is mostly neutral. New french oak = 1bbl out of 6. This wine, from my POV, will age and improve for at least 5 years, very likely much longer. My first vintage with it was 2012, so I can’t say from experience, but I can imagine it going 15 years for sure. It was in oak for 3 years.
@AndMo Awesome!!! Looking forward to how this evolves! In for a case!
/giphy loving-late-bed
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
@AndMo @rjquillin old habits…
@AndMo Picked up some Briceland Pinot a couple of years ago. Quite like them. Might we see more Briceland coming to Casemates?
@AndMo @WdkPanda I suspect that will depend on how beneficial it is for him…so BUY ALL THE WINE!
I was delighted to receive a notification the other day that I was getting the labrat nod, but bowled over that it was going to be for Briceland’s first Casemates offering! Full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of Briceland and Andrew for several years, particularly their Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. @molarchae is always excited when we open up a bottle of Briceland Pinot for dinner, too. I’ve got a bottle of the 2012 Petit Verdot, but haven’t opened it yet and didn’t want to get to it too early.
TL;DR: Approachable now, should age a long time. Bright and fresh and lighter than most PV out there. If you’re looking for a bruiser this isn’t it, but neither is it light like some Pinots or Carignan. Nice with food and on its own. You can keep on sniffing this one for ages, it’s so enchanting.
On with the show, already, right?
2015 Briceland Petit Verdot, Ishi Pishi Ranch, Humboldt County
13.2% alcohol
We opened this at the start of the kid dinner prep phase of the evening, a little after 6pm, poured two small tasting portions and poured the rest into the decanter. (I poured a little too vigorously, though, before checking for sediment. There is sediment. Oops.)
I’ve got some photos for those who like those, but I’ll put them in the next post so you don’t have to scroll through them the whole time.
Colour: the reddish end of purple, clear rim, no signs of the sediment I stirred up when decanting. Not as densely coloured as I might expect from PV, which can look as inky black as a Petite Sirah. But then again, this is a colder climate, and the Briceland style does tend toward lighter wines.
Aroma: red and blue fruit - cherry or red plum, maybe. Black pepper. The classic floral aromas in many a PV are not up front, but are there if you look for them. There’s also a savoury herbal aspect to the aromas I can’t quite place. Like so many of Briceland’s wines, I find myself captivated by the aromas.
Taste: Quite a lot going on here. Plums are the first thing I can identify. Cassis. Herbs and something a bit woodsy, similar idea to, but different from, the sous bois character of a good Pinot Noir. Asian long pepper. Tannins are clearly present - slightly “rough” in character but low to moderate in amount, at least for a Petit Verdot.
Finish: Quite a lot of zip and minerality, and quite savoury. Vanilla, more of the primary plum, the black pepper reappears here and there, and the finish lasts a good long while.
Balance/overall: The acidity is right where I like it - bright but not overpowering. Keeps everything lifted and fresh. Despite the relatively young age of this wine (I rarely drink reds as young as 5 years old) it can either be laid down for another decade or consumed any time. The mid-palate is a bit lacking, but it took molarchae mentioning it for me to notice.
Tried this with some Touma cheese (a salty fresh cheese that we love having with wine), and it paired very nicely. It took the edge off the tannin without stomping on the flavours of the wine. I suspect this will go nicely with the Flannery beef back ribs we’re cooking on the grill, although it’s possible they’ll overpower the wine.
45 minutes later, out of the decanter, the aromas haven’t changed much, and it’s perhaps slightly more closed down than right after opening. The palate, however, somehow seems more open. The stonefruit is more apparent (and more complex, bringing in peaches), and the tannins have smoothed out even with that little bit of air. Finish remains long and savoury.
What happened next always weirds me out, but it’s common enough: the wine went to sleep. The aromas closed down a bit, the palate became much more one-dimensional, and the tannins were more obvious and rough. I find this happens with many wines, and the only answer is to wait and see what emerges on the other side.
Another hour later, with vigourous decanter swirling and small pours from a foot or so up to help aerate (I don’t like what the Vinturi does to wine) it begins to show itself again. The flowers come back, and so do the fruits along with some added bramble. Thankfully the wine was starting to wake back up in time for dinner, around 8:30 one the rug rats are down for the count. (FWIW, the older one got a sniff and said it smelled like peaches.)
This worked quite well with (dry aged, USDA Prime) Flannery beef back ribs done low and slow but with no smoke. The funk of the meat enhanced the wine and vice versa, but what really stood out to us was that the vanilla characteristics of the wine came out a lot more with the beef.
We saved the final glass for after dinner, now after about 3.5 hours in the decanter. This has opened back up, at least somewhat, and I’m now getting more bramble fruits, sticks, earth, and the flowers are back. The black pepper is, too. We probably should have planned on a 6+ hour decant to follow it for longer, but so it goes. Good wines don’t usually last this late in the evening anyway.
OK, so what do I tell all you potential purchasers?
Pictures in the next post.
Bottle shot, in case the one on the offer page doesn’t float your boat.
You can see the cork here, and we brought out some of our favourite glasses. (No fancy Grassl or Zaltos here!)
Better view of the wine’s colour.
MEAT! And salad.
@klezman
Well done!
Think we could find the willing to divvy up a case?
Not all that many available…
@rjquillin seems likely
@klezman
got room?
/giphy credible-cardiac-goat
@klezman appropriate phrase it seems.
@klezman You pulled double duty, talked me into my first Briceland and my first go at the Flannery ribs
@klezman
me thinks you’re wrong, very nice and I’m in. Great wine from what I hear and I know a fantastic winemaker.
Wait!? I thought you said pic’s are not good for a rat
@klezman Epic review! Thank you. Love all the pics & details.
@kaolis Happy to help!
@ScottW58 I don’t think they’re helpful, but some people seem to really like them. Shrug.
That’s why I put them in a reply, because I don’t need to keep scrolling through them.
@klezman @rjquillin any available to come by my way?
@i8dacat @rjquillin @merrybill
Sounds like there’s enough to go around. I’m fine with 3 or 4.
@i8dacat @klezman @merrybill
4-4-3-1 split entered, but up for discussion…
Well, thanks for taking the time to taste and write!
Klezman already covered most of my inputs, but I wrote some stuff so here it is.
Happy to be next to Klezman for this bottle tonight! I love Briceland pinot, so I am happy to branch out and try something different. For those who don’t know, I tend to be a whites and light reds person, so this is a bit out of scope of my typically preferred wines.
We don’t often drink red this young, so to me it seems very young and tannic. I expect this to change over the night and be a better drinker in a few more years.
The nose has black peppercorn, floral and spice notes, with green bell pepper and vegetal qualities. I was surprised at the moderate alcohol level as it seemed a bit hotter on the nose.
On the palate, I found it tannin-forward in the absence of food, which isn’t really my thing. I would give this more time before having it by itself. When paired with our beef ribs, however, I was smacked in the face with a sweet, woody vanilla experience that was unexpected yet delightful. This really paired and contrasted nicely with the meal as a result.
@molarchae My wife is not much of a red drinker either, but she likes this one, particularly with strong cheese, rich meat or both. We had one with a rare burger with blue cheese the other day. Outstanding.
@molarchae thank you for your thoughts. appreciate hearing about reds from a white/rose point of view.
any chance this can be mentioned in Wine Berzerkers?
don’t mean to shill, but… i do see some synergies, no?
@Winedavid49 enough of us are members over there (including Andrew) that it’s likely they know already.
We were pleasantly surprised to receive notification that we had wine inbound from Casemates. We were even happier when it turned out to be a Petit Verdot from Briceland. We have had an occasional bottle of Briceland in the past, but have never had their PV.
We drank the bottle over 2 nights to see how it evolved. The first night we had a Flannery California Reserve Strip and on the second night we paired it with homemade pizza. We both were surprised that it paired better with the pizza.
The color was dark ruby in color. Dark fruit predominated on the nose. The first taste on the palate was one of violets, pencil lead and a hint of clove. It was quite enjoyable. The tannins were already well integrated and didn’t stand out. It, however, had a very short finish which caught my wife and I both by surprise. It had an amazing front end and all of a sudden it stopped. We decided to save 1/2 the bottle for the second night to see how it was doing. We had the same experience. It was amazing on the front end, but it ended abruptly. It is truly an enjoyable wine but I think it’s a drink sooner rather than later bottle…
I definitely think that the QPR is quite good, especially at $25/bottle.
@vwsmaltz thank you for your review. the pizza looks good too.
@vwsmaltz @WCCWineGirl Yes it does.
I missed out on Wednesday’s Epiphany offer, even as a rat, so I am not making that mistake again. I have been wanting to try Briceland, especially being in Northern CA and supporting my fellow statesmen. I’d love to try your Pinot Noir’s, my favorite varietal! Will need to find a way up to Humboldt, as I have friends in Philo.
@winedavid49, a 3 bottle offer that is an age worthy varietal always has space in my cellar, thank you!
/giphy futuristic-outlandish-balloon
Looks like a nice offer
/giphy knotty-gloating-sparrow
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2015 Briceland Vineyards Petit Verdot - $60 = 16.65%
/giphy fatty-mucky-monk
I never used to get it when people say “I have no room”. Well after moving and seriously downsizing, well, I have no room. However, always room to squeeze in a 3fer and the temps are finally moderating.
/giphy doubtful-reasonable-cardinal
A funny co-incidence. When I was a child (1970s) we would go on camping trips and one of my parents’ favorite destinations was Standish-Hickey state park in Northern California along the Eel River. For whatever reason my father would call it Ishi Pishi park. I didn’t know that was a real name; maybe he had seen it somewhere on our trips or maybe he just made it up as fun-sounding term that sounded like the campground name.
/giphy tragic-befuddled-friction
@pmarin kind of an amazing coincidence. very cool.
@pmarin The story of Ishi… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi
In for a 3-pack. Love Briceland wines. Hopefully this is the beginning of future offers on here!
/giphy jiggly-killer-ninja
@losthighwayz @AnMo here’s hoping!
@losthighwayz @rjquillin shouldn’t you cancel the 3 and join in on the case split?
@klezman @losthighwayz @rjquillin I could take 1 of those, if available…
Speaking about Ron’s case, not Lost’s 3.
@klezman @merrybill
Only one?!
@klezman @rjquillin Yeah, just 1, if it fits the case. My cellar is full, and I don’t like buying multiples of untasted wine
/giphy fattest-gabby-cottage
Hopping in for a case.
/giphy ancient-fabled-whistle
@AndMo I was wondering how much influence you have over the farming at Ishi Pishi. What are you looking for in selecting your harvest dates and/or in assessing grape maturity/ripeness? Is it different for the Bordeaux varieties compared to Pinot or your white wines?
@klezman
The farmer at Ishi Pishi Ranch, Joaquin Pierce, is a grape whisperer. So, I could have some influence, but I don’t often feel the need. He farms 7.5 acres and a dozen varieties BY HIMSELF, except for picking. He may as well have named each vine. When you walk through the vineyard, he says things like "there is a rock under that one, so throw a handful of fertilizer on it from time to time. Pick dates: Yes and no. A lot of pick date choices are made based on waiting for acids to come down and pHs to come up here in Humboldt. My first PV from IP ranch in 2012 the pH was 3.09 at harvest. The BDX stuff we also strive to get a good amount of hang time which allows tannins to ripen and soften to a degree.
@AndMo that’s really interesting. Does that differ compared to your family’s grapes/vineyards?
@klezman The grapes here on our property are limited. We have a small plot of PN that usually goes into rose. We have a little larger plot of SB that goes into our Humboldt Sauvignon Blanc. Not surprisingly, since we are talking about a zone 3 grape variety grown on a zone 1 site, we typically pick in mid Oct. after waiting for the pH to come up to an acceptable level while hopefully not sacraficing to much to the birds, raccoons, foxes, bears and bees.
@AndMo oh, so Rhonda’s and Phelps aren’t yours. Didn’t realize that.
When are you going to get Cabernet Franc? That seems like a natural extension of the cool climate growing region.
@klezman well… we think of them as our vineyards too. No other winery has released a wine from those sites since our founding winemaker, Joe Collins, helped design and lay them out in 83 and 93 respectively. Frankly, there are only a handful of people who could find them.
@klezman There is very little Cab Franc in Humboldt. It does fine at Ishi Pishi Ranch. The amount there is only enough for the BDX blends.
@AndMo As I think we discussed once, I’m from near Niagara, so the Canadian cool climate regions next to Lake Ontario are pretty influential in my preferences. A place that can grow top notch Riesling, Syrah, Cab Franc, and make icewine is, to me, a great wine growing region.
Any chance this arrives for my birthday?
@browncj7 We don’t know when your birthday is. If it’s after Thanksgiving, then yes.
@browncj7 @klezman Actually, from the offer page, in bold letters:
“Will be delivered in time for Thanksgiving”
@browncj7 @kaolis i.e. if his birthday is after Thanksgiving then it will arrive in time for his birthday…
It’ll miss my birthday, but maybe be here in time for cooking turkey. I’m OK with that
@browncj7 Note that the shipping window estimates are usually conservative. There’s a decent chance it’ll ship out next week and a really good chance it’ll ship by Nov 16. At least that’s been my experience.
Either way, happy birthday!
Denver area folks want to do a case split? I’m looking to get 3 to 6 bottles.
@mtnzj I’d take 3 if that helps…
@mtnzj
I bought a case. Bottles still available for other locals.
/giphy satisfying-acute-oven
@klezman
Nice note. I have a note on Cellartracker from earlier this year. It’s a very good wine now and it will continue to improve with age. If you’re drinking today, I recommend that you give it some air. Briceland puts out some wonderful, lower abv wines, the anithesis of big, jammy wines.
@Arsephin Are you CMN or Elpaninaro? Either way, I wholeheartedly agree with both the notes on the 2015.
I’ve never had a red from Briceland that I’ve not enjoyed immensely. The only semi-miss was a Chardonnay (I think it was) that had a bitter component to the finish that I was lukewarm on and my (very sensitive to bitterness) wife did not enjoy.
/giphy balmy-flying-stamp
My favorite varietal!
/giphy limber-affable-twist
Thanks for your support and interest. I look forward to your comments on the wine.
I wish I’d purchased 2 cases. This wine is wonderful and I agreed to share 6 bottle with my roommate.
Old purchase revivification: So far the bottles I have had are all vinegar, with tons of sediment. The only flop so far, but still disappointing. (Stored just like all the other wines, out of direct sun, on its side in a wine rack.)
@uncleop call Andrew at the winery and he’ll make it right.
@uncleop
@klezman @uncleop I better re-visit mine this evening! I’ve got just a couple left.
@ttboy23 @uncleop fwiw I had one in November and it was great.
@klezman @ttboy23 @uncleop
I also had one a few months ago and it was fantastic.
@chefjess @klezman @ttboy23 @uncleop
The owner and I did not hit it off. Rare.