This Simeone Vineyard Pinot displays floral and rich cherry-vanilla aromas with light sandalwood. Densely layered with flavors of currants, rhubarb, and fresh blackberry, there are subtle hints of baking spices and dry tobacco finishing with lush black cherry-maple.
Vineyard/Winemaking Notes
The Vineyard
Cecil De Loach planted these delicate Pinot Noir vineyards in 1973 in the Russian River Valley. Located on the plains and gently rolling hills off Olivet road in western Santa Rosa, this area provides an excellent medium for the coastal fog that blankets our fruit in the mornings and evenings. The cooling moisture facilitates a longer growing season in which Pinot Noir thrives.
The Growing Season
2017 was another fantastic growing year in the Russian
River Valley. Yields were larger than that of 2016 while a slightly cooler August allowed the clusters to mature more slowly and evenly than previous vintages, providing great flavor and color development.
The Winemaking
We use old world techniques, whole berries, and 10%whole clusters to make our Pinot Noir in small batches that we “punch-down” up to three times a day. After native yeast fermentation, the wine is aged in French oak barrels for up to 8 months to achieve optimum balance and complexity.
Winery:Hook & Ladder Winery
Owners: Cecil & Christine De Loach
Founded: 2003
Location: Santa Rosa, California
Hook & Ladder Winery continues the legacy of one of the Russian River Valley’s most influential wine families. Founded in 2003 by pioneering growers and vintners Cecil and Christine De Loach, and helmed today by their grandson, winemaker Jason De Loach, Hook & Ladder showcases the diversity of the appellation the family helped to define, in a portfolio of limited-production bottling’s from their Russian River Valley estate vineyards. The name Hook & Ladder pays homage to Cecil De Loach’s 17- year career as a San Francisco firefighter.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY
TLDR; nice RRV PN that we’re buying and will cellar for a few years
Opened yesterday and tasted in Riedel new world PN glasses. On the nose, mostly cherries, with just a hint of earthiness. Taste: Wow, cherries! Cherries, and not much else. Good acid, I thought maybe a bit too tart on the end, DH did not. We both agreed it needed food and/or air. Dinner was fettuccine with shrimp in a vodka cream sauce, not the best pair. Set aside for tomorrow.
Day two, wow, what a difference. Cherries are still prominent, but also picking up cranberry and slight hint of pepper (me) and pomegranate (DH). Tastes more complex than yesterday. Brisket on the menu (36 hours Sous vide, chilled, rubbed, then smoked for 3 hours) and it paired surprisingly well!
Popped a recently delivered Apriori ‘17 Sonoma Coast PN to do a side-by-side (for science!) The Hook & Ladder was way better with brisket. We also tasted both wines with some cave aged gruyere cheese. The Apriori was better with the cheese than the H&L.
The longer the Hook & Ladder was opened the more it came together. By the time we finished the bottle it was really becoming a wonderful wine.
We’ll be buying a case to lay down for a few years.
I’ll figure out how to post some pictures tomorrow while I’m at home social distancing for my spring break staycation.
@kaolis@Smoothgrandmama@Winedavid49
If you just used a comparison to cellar tracker lows you would be in good shape, half of the wines here are not even listed on CT, but using winery pricing or suggested retail price only is at least mis leading IMHO.
@kaolis@ScottW58@Smoothgrandmama Ok. I respect that. But I think we are talking about two different things. it has been customary to put the Winery (accurate, and not made up) SRP plus what they actually charge for shipping on their website.
Also, It has also been mandatory policy from the beginning, to research and ensure prior to launch, there is ALWAYS savings between the wine feature price and anything else out there, anywhere.
It was up to y’all, was our thinking, to identify that fact OR call it out if it wasn’t the case. Which is where the BS comment comes into play. It has been a rare occurrence we haven’t had the absolute best price (and usually by a good margin) on the wines we place. And we think they are by and large really good wines for that price.
And I absolutely expect and hope to be called out if our research has failed us.
I do see the original SRP plus shipping call out as something to consider changing.
@kaolis@ScottW58@Smoothgrandmama@Winedavid49 When preparing my Lab Rat commentary, one thing I did was look around at online retail prices. I always do that anyway. I imagine all of you do, too. But for the review, I thought it would be helpful to mention my opinion of pricing. I, too, saw the range of prices online anywhere from $22 to $29 (and a few higher). I figure local retail is at the high end of that range at best, and online retail with shipping is in the middle. I thought the $22 was probably an outlier. So in my mind, I set “sub-$20” as the value proposition. So $16.67/btl in case qty and $0 shipping for a VMP member (I am), is quite the value if this is your style of wine. I was completely honest in my review, but it’s not something that ringed my wife’s chimes, so we’re actually passing on this. It’s not like I haven’t been loading up here lately: in the past 6 weeks I’ve ordered cases of J Dusi Rose, the Gersing Vamp Syrah (which is wicked good! and split with a friend), and the Pedroncelli white/rose mixed case. Totally happy with all those wines!
We’ve all bought wine in winery tasting rooms. We know the price game. I guess a fair comparison is to Lastbottle, who always includes a “Best Web” price. That’s nice, but I don’t need it here. I don’t consider it “misleading” that CM don’t publish that even if they do research it.
@ScottW58@Smoothgrandmama@Winedavid49 I honestly didn’t mean it in a negative way. I don’t trust, probably not the right word because I don’t think you’re doing anything deliberate to deceive, any of the comps on any of the flash sites to be accurate and as @balwino0 says really don’t need them. I don’t care if it’s wine or toilet paper (bad example now) or from what site I’m purchasing I look around to see if what I’m buying is a value to me. And as @baldwino0 also says, many/most people here know the pricing game and do a little research before buying.
But even listing the msrp straight from the source is of little value when that is seldom what the wine is actually out in the market for. And in fairness not all of your wines are widely available anywhere else so I guess you need to put a value on it somehow.
And as you seem to acknowledge, when you add in the shipping cost comps it can get really skewed.
Bottom line, look before you buy.
Cheers!
@baldwino0@kaolis@ScottW58@Smoothgrandmama thanks. we’ve tried to take the high road over the years. I think including the winery original price does give context. it is what the winery intended and invested in originally to arrive at that number. But hey, it’s all good.
I notice someone quoted the price of $16 which is for a case of 12. That’s not a very fair comp to single bottle prices. Most wine stores around Here do 10% off if you buy 6 bottles or more.
Some other comments aimed the price comp at online retailers. That’s not my comp. Local wine stores have this wine for $25 for single bottle. Compared to the 3 bottle package and $5 monthly fee I pay. That’s a pretty poor comp regardless of what value you feel is being offered.
I’m not saying y’all never have great deals I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like the product. But lately there’s not much to be excited about.
I see the Winemaker price and get excited that I could get 3-12 bottles of premium wine at a significant value…
Then a Google search tells I’m just buying a $25 bottle of wine for $24.
The wine: 2017 Hook & Ladder Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley “Simeone Vineyard” (14.2% alc)
Before opening: I am piqued to taste this wine. When I was starting to develop my wine palate in the early 1990s, one of my go-to labels was De Loach (especially their standard Sonoma Zinfandel). Affordable, approachable, consistently enjoyable. So I am happy to try this wine from the family’s current project, Hook & Ladder Winery, founded in 2004 by Cecil and Christine De Loach. Grandson Jason De Loach, who had the enviable privilege to grow up at Barbieri Ranch, is the winemaker and managing VP.
Opened 3:30pm Sat 3/21, first taste right away:
Quality DIAM 5 plant-based hybrid cork.
Wine has a clear, classic pale ruby color with just the slightest hint of blue/purple.
Nice aroma of sweet black cherries.
Really charming, medium-bodied and fruity attack on the palate, but not much of a finish. We’ll see later, after it has a chance to breathe.
Open 1 hour:
Building in depth. Aromas of sweet black cherry, cassis, blueberries, violets; hint of sandalwood.
Light- to medium-bodied, characteristic pinot noir flavor; I keep going back to black cherry and cassis. Dry with pleasant acidity. Not what I’d call complex, but also not a monolith. Subtle fine tannins are emerging, as well as a bit lengthier finish. Evidence of oak is restrained (which is a good thing in my book).
I’m thinking I’ll make a porcini mushroom risotto later, to pair with the rest of this. (I did, and some IQF [individually quick frozen] pink salmon simply seasoned and broiled, and it was a hit.)
Sunday:
Little change. Still very pleasant. If it has more to show, that will take a longer rest from shipping, or perhaps a year of cellaring.
My thoughts on price before seeing the CM offer was that it would be a good value sub-$20, and if it got closer to $15, a great value. So the per-bottle price for a full case is very good IMO.
Maybe I am mistaken but I seem to recall DeLoach was sold to a French family some 10 years ago who in turn ramped up the prices. Anyone care to comment?
@losthighwayz Yes! Mr. De Loach is a distant relation of the neighbor of my sister-in-law’s brother-in-law* and apparently his eponymous De Loach winery fell on hard times in 2001, filed for Chapter 11 in May 2003 and was sold to the Boisset family of Burgundy in November 2003. He started the Hook & Ladder label in 2005.
@losthighwayz Boisset family bought DeLoach in 2003 when they were running into financial troubles. My humble opinion, more anecdotal than serious tasting, is that they improved the product. A buddy of mine used to rep DeLoach so I met Jean-Charles a couple of times. He is one interesting character to say the least.
@kaolis@losthighwayz@KitMarlot Reading this, it occurs to me that for any of us who, like me, first became familiar with this winery back in the wine.woot days, our entire experience has been under the newer ownership.
I bought a mixed case back in 2/2011, and I see that I enjoyed the PN (2008) so much that I came back a few months later to say so. Much as I have wished for a PN offer over the years, my overflowing apartment has me hesitating. Under ordinary circumstances I would offer to take a few from a fellow NYC-er interested in sharing from their case, but looks it might be a long while before we would get to meet up. Or is that considered an essential function?
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Hook & Ladder Estate Pinot Noir - $80 = 28.56%
OK, when they start to pull out the Prog Metal of Kamelot and Simone Simons…well DAMN! WTG guys. Next thing you know they will start paring some wines with Nightwish! BTW: Pedroncelli pairs AMAZING with Nightwish (with Floor J)…sorry, really love her voice.
Tasting Notes
Vineyard/Winemaking Notes
The Vineyard
The Growing Season
The Winemaking
Specs
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$547.11 a case for the 2016 Vintage at Hook & Ladder Winery/ 2017 Vintage not online
About The Winery
Winery:Hook & Ladder Winery
Owners: Cecil & Christine De Loach
Founded: 2003
Location: Santa Rosa, California
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, April 16th - Monday, April 20th
Hook & Ladder Estate Pinot Noir Simeone Vineyard
3 bottles for $69.99 $23.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 Hook & Ladder Estate Pinot Noir Simeone Vineyard
@ilCesare At the case price, this is a bargain. I am a fan of De Loach and of RRV Pinot Noir!
Randy’s neighbour! Welcome!
Lab rats reporting for duty…
TLDR; nice RRV PN that we’re buying and will cellar for a few years
Opened yesterday and tasted in Riedel new world PN glasses. On the nose, mostly cherries, with just a hint of earthiness. Taste: Wow, cherries! Cherries, and not much else. Good acid, I thought maybe a bit too tart on the end, DH did not. We both agreed it needed food and/or air. Dinner was fettuccine with shrimp in a vodka cream sauce, not the best pair. Set aside for tomorrow.
Day two, wow, what a difference. Cherries are still prominent, but also picking up cranberry and slight hint of pepper (me) and pomegranate (DH). Tastes more complex than yesterday. Brisket on the menu (36 hours Sous vide, chilled, rubbed, then smoked for 3 hours) and it paired surprisingly well!
Popped a recently delivered Apriori ‘17 Sonoma Coast PN to do a side-by-side (for science!) The Hook & Ladder was way better with brisket. We also tasted both wines with some cave aged gruyere cheese. The Apriori was better with the cheese than the H&L.
The longer the Hook & Ladder was opened the more it came together. By the time we finished the bottle it was really becoming a wonderful wine.
We’ll be buying a case to lay down for a few years.
I’ll figure out how to post some pictures tomorrow while I’m at home social distancing for my spring break staycation.
Bueller? Bueller?
Seems like a lot of weak price comps lately. Another wine that I could (If it were advisable) pick up at the local store for $25.
@Smoothgrandmama price comps here are seldom in line with available retail…doing one’s homework always a good idea
@kaolis @Smoothgrandmama i call BS.
@Smoothgrandmama @Winedavid49 Really… come on now…I’ve pointed it out before…
@Smoothgrandmama @Winedavid49 particularly when you play with shipping…your comps get more than a little slippery
@kaolis @Smoothgrandmama @Winedavid49
If you just used a comparison to cellar tracker lows you would be in good shape, half of the wines here are not even listed on CT, but using winery pricing or suggested retail price only is at least mis leading IMHO.
@kaolis @ScottW58 @Smoothgrandmama Ok. I respect that. But I think we are talking about two different things. it has been customary to put the Winery (accurate, and not made up) SRP plus what they actually charge for shipping on their website.
Also, It has also been mandatory policy from the beginning, to research and ensure prior to launch, there is ALWAYS savings between the wine feature price and anything else out there, anywhere.
It was up to y’all, was our thinking, to identify that fact OR call it out if it wasn’t the case. Which is where the BS comment comes into play. It has been a rare occurrence we haven’t had the absolute best price (and usually by a good margin) on the wines we place. And we think they are by and large really good wines for that price.
And I absolutely expect and hope to be called out if our research has failed us.
I do see the original SRP plus shipping call out as something to consider changing.
thanks,
@kaolis @ScottW58 @Smoothgrandmama @Winedavid49 When preparing my Lab Rat commentary, one thing I did was look around at online retail prices. I always do that anyway. I imagine all of you do, too. But for the review, I thought it would be helpful to mention my opinion of pricing. I, too, saw the range of prices online anywhere from $22 to $29 (and a few higher). I figure local retail is at the high end of that range at best, and online retail with shipping is in the middle. I thought the $22 was probably an outlier. So in my mind, I set “sub-$20” as the value proposition. So $16.67/btl in case qty and $0 shipping for a VMP member (I am), is quite the value if this is your style of wine. I was completely honest in my review, but it’s not something that ringed my wife’s chimes, so we’re actually passing on this. It’s not like I haven’t been loading up here lately: in the past 6 weeks I’ve ordered cases of J Dusi Rose, the Gersing Vamp Syrah (which is wicked good! and split with a friend), and the Pedroncelli white/rose mixed case. Totally happy with all those wines!
We’ve all bought wine in winery tasting rooms. We know the price game. I guess a fair comparison is to Lastbottle, who always includes a “Best Web” price. That’s nice, but I don’t need it here. I don’t consider it “misleading” that CM don’t publish that even if they do research it.
@ScottW58 @Smoothgrandmama @Winedavid49 I honestly didn’t mean it in a negative way. I don’t trust, probably not the right word because I don’t think you’re doing anything deliberate to deceive, any of the comps on any of the flash sites to be accurate and as @balwino0 says really don’t need them. I don’t care if it’s wine or toilet paper (bad example now) or from what site I’m purchasing I look around to see if what I’m buying is a value to me. And as @baldwino0 also says, many/most people here know the pricing game and do a little research before buying.
But even listing the msrp straight from the source is of little value when that is seldom what the wine is actually out in the market for. And in fairness not all of your wines are widely available anywhere else so I guess you need to put a value on it somehow.
And as you seem to acknowledge, when you add in the shipping cost comps it can get really skewed.
Bottom line, look before you buy.
Cheers!
@baldwino0 @kaolis @ScottW58 @Smoothgrandmama thanks. we’ve tried to take the high road over the years. I think including the winery original price does give context. it is what the winery intended and invested in originally to arrive at that number. But hey, it’s all good.
@baldwino0 @kaolis @ScottW58 @Winedavid49
Didn’t expect this many replies…
I notice someone quoted the price of $16 which is for a case of 12. That’s not a very fair comp to single bottle prices. Most wine stores around Here do 10% off if you buy 6 bottles or more.
Some other comments aimed the price comp at online retailers. That’s not my comp. Local wine stores have this wine for $25 for single bottle. Compared to the 3 bottle package and $5 monthly fee I pay. That’s a pretty poor comp regardless of what value you feel is being offered.
I’m not saying y’all never have great deals I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like the product. But lately there’s not much to be excited about.
I see the Winemaker price and get excited that I could get 3-12 bottles of premium wine at a significant value…
Then a Google search tells I’m just buying a $25 bottle of wine for $24.
@baldwino0 @kaolis @ScottW58 @Smoothgrandmama important to keep us on our toes. we’ll just need to keep getting better deals. just watch.
The wine: 2017 Hook & Ladder Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley “Simeone Vineyard” (14.2% alc)
Before opening: I am piqued to taste this wine. When I was starting to develop my wine palate in the early 1990s, one of my go-to labels was De Loach (especially their standard Sonoma Zinfandel). Affordable, approachable, consistently enjoyable. So I am happy to try this wine from the family’s current project, Hook & Ladder Winery, founded in 2004 by Cecil and Christine De Loach. Grandson Jason De Loach, who had the enviable privilege to grow up at Barbieri Ranch, is the winemaker and managing VP.
Opened 3:30pm Sat 3/21, first taste right away:
Quality DIAM 5 plant-based hybrid cork.
Wine has a clear, classic pale ruby color with just the slightest hint of blue/purple.
Nice aroma of sweet black cherries.
Really charming, medium-bodied and fruity attack on the palate, but not much of a finish. We’ll see later, after it has a chance to breathe.
Open 1 hour:
Building in depth. Aromas of sweet black cherry, cassis, blueberries, violets; hint of sandalwood.
Light- to medium-bodied, characteristic pinot noir flavor; I keep going back to black cherry and cassis. Dry with pleasant acidity. Not what I’d call complex, but also not a monolith. Subtle fine tannins are emerging, as well as a bit lengthier finish. Evidence of oak is restrained (which is a good thing in my book).
I’m thinking I’ll make a porcini mushroom risotto later, to pair with the rest of this. (I did, and some IQF [individually quick frozen] pink salmon simply seasoned and broiled, and it was a hit.)
Sunday:
Little change. Still very pleasant. If it has more to show, that will take a longer rest from shipping, or perhaps a year of cellaring.
My thoughts on price before seeing the CM offer was that it would be a good value sub-$20, and if it got closer to $15, a great value. So the per-bottle price for a full case is very good IMO.
Maybe I am mistaken but I seem to recall DeLoach was sold to a French family some 10 years ago who in turn ramped up the prices. Anyone care to comment?
@losthighwayz Yes! Mr. De Loach is a distant relation of the neighbor of my sister-in-law’s brother-in-law* and apparently his eponymous De Loach winery fell on hard times in 2001, filed for Chapter 11 in May 2003 and was sold to the Boisset family of Burgundy in November 2003. He started the Hook & Ladder label in 2005.
*This isn’t true. I was curious and found that he has a wikipedia page. What a world!
@losthighwayz Boisset family bought DeLoach in 2003 when they were running into financial troubles. My humble opinion, more anecdotal than serious tasting, is that they improved the product. A buddy of mine used to rep DeLoach so I met Jean-Charles a couple of times. He is one interesting character to say the least.
https://www.boissetcollection.com/
@kaolis @losthighwayz @KitMarlot Reading this, it occurs to me that for any of us who, like me, first became familiar with this winery back in the wine.woot days, our entire experience has been under the newer ownership.
I bought a mixed case back in 2/2011, and I see that I enjoyed the PN (2008) so much that I came back a few months later to say so. Much as I have wished for a PN offer over the years, my overflowing apartment has me hesitating. Under ordinary circumstances I would offer to take a few from a fellow NYC-er interested in sharing from their case, but looks it might be a long while before we would get to meet up. Or is that considered an essential function?
@InFrom @KitMarlot @losthighwayz Definitely essential. I’d call it a “sanitizer” run.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Hook & Ladder Estate Pinot Noir - $80 = 28.56%
Compelling at the case price. Less so at the 3-pack price. Hmmmm…I need more wine like I need a hole in my head. Thinking…
OK, when they start to pull out the Prog Metal of Kamelot and Simone Simons…well DAMN! WTG guys. Next thing you know they will start paring some wines with Nightwish! BTW: Pedroncelli pairs AMAZING with Nightwish (with Floor J)…sorry, really love her voice.
@WreckDiver Pinot & Prog has a nice ring to it
Anyone in the Bay Area wanna split ?