WTN: Keefer Sutherland

[Jenise]

2018 Failla Keefer Ranch Chardonnay, Sonoma
After enjoying a '14 Failla chardonnay at a restaurant in Kauai a few years back, I recently sought out the brand and purchased a few different bottlings. This one: medium yellow color. Vibrant, concentrated yellow apple and spice with a bit of toasty oak, medium plus body and healthy acidity. While I could do without the toasty oak part, it's a $50 chardonnay that truly tastes like one. Joyful.

[David M. Bueker]

Yep - I prefer his Chard and Syrah to his Pinot Noir.

[Jenise]

I hadn't been impressed with the one pinot I bought way back when suddenly everyone was talking about Failla here. Not sure when that was, but years went by before that Kauai trip. Since we're calibrated on those two grapes, I'll be sure to indulge in the syrah if and when I run into them.

[David M. Bueker]

I am not surprised that you didn’t care for the Pinot. I find them too simple, too easy fruity.

My favorite Pinot of all time was a Failla Hirsh Vyd. Sonoma Coast from 2010 or 11 or 12. I,d say it was 60% non-fruit complexity (mushroom, newly turned earth, forest floor) and the fruit was red and blue. Not cheap at $90 marked down to $70, it just blew me away. I almost hated to drink it as the nose was so captivating.

[Jenise]

Jim, I appreciate your weighing in. I haven't had the pleasure of any single vineyard Failla pinots, just that one that would have been the basic Sonoma Coast or Russian River for about $35. You obviously had one much much better.