Booker Wines

2012 Fall Release

Harvest has arrived along with our Fall Release of extended aged wines. The current releases have seemed to do even better with age and all of them will be ready to crack and drink by Thanksgiving. Here's a brief update of what's been happening at Booker... 

Unfortunately the drought continues and it has definitely taken its toll on farmers. At Booker, we have very little water, and this year the drought has pushed us to the point where we have even lost vines. The good news is the lack of water has actually made the 13's and 14's so concentrated that you can expect every critic to go nuts for the style of wine heading your way in the future. We take pride that our single estate vineyard can deliver numerous varietals to pair with almost any meal, but one piece was missing until now. We're excited to introduce a wine that you can enjoy after dinner, our sweet Petit Manseng, simply named Sweet. This wine is made in the style of a Sauterne, spent 2 years in barrel and shows gorgeous tropical fruits with a textural, dense mid-palate. Sweet will be extremely limited, as our yields averaged only 1 barrel per year for the past 2 vintages. Major critics were absolutely shocked that this was a new wine from young vines. Also returning is RLF, a tribute to my beloved father-in-law who was extremely influential in my wine life. Like the '11, this wine is a finessed, every-day drinker. A lot of you were hesitant last time…but we have never received so many re-orders for any one wine since the '05 Ripper. The other wines are drinking very similar to their 2010 counterparts, with the exception of the White. The 2013 White is very similar to the 2012, with bright fruit and acidity as opposed to being so golden in color and weird (the way I like it!) I believe it to be our best White since the '08 vintage.

 As we move into the future, I can assure you our wines will only continue to get better and be among the highest quality Rhones in the world. Please, if you're ever in Paso Robles set up a private tasting or possibly a rustic vineyard tour on one of our ranch vehicles.

Oct 14, 2014 at 2:07 PM Permalink

The 2012 Vintage

I am extremely lucky and proud that Booker has such diverse soils and vineyard aspects that we can make several wines that differ so much that one might think are from totally different growing regions. Think about it…how many lists are you on that every bottle you open tastes like the one before? My goal has been to make a diverse group of wines that will allow you to drink no matter the occasion, even if there is no food involved. In 2012 we accomplished this. I am still searching for the best way to have my wines ready for consumption immediately, while also being age worthy. Our wines will continue to grow in that aspect, but usually wines built to age do not drink well early on because of some chemistry issues like acid, PH and VA. In this vintage, I believe all of the wines will mature early, except for Oublie and Ripper, which should be held until at least, September. In fact, I believe the 2012 Fracture, Vertigo and Remnant are more ready now than the same wines from 2011.

There you have it, time to start drinking!!

Apr 1, 2014 at 1:22 PM Permalink

The 2011 Vintage

This was the strangest vintage of my young career, with an early season frost that destroyed much of the crop, followed by an abnormally cool summer. This all resulted in a long growing season that went almost to Thanksgiving for some varietals, but the ability for the flavors to fully mature made it all worth it. 

What we ended up with were lower alcohol, higher acidity wines that should age better than anything I have ever made at Booker. I understand that most of you (me included) scoff at the idea of aging wine, which 95% of the time is better young and fresh, but if you so desire these wines are the ones to do it with.

The most exciting thing about these wines is that I believe I have achieved consistency wine to wine, but with more finesse, elegance and less alcohol.

Mar 29, 2014 at 4:24 AM Permalink