Our wines are extremely limited releases from tiny parcels that we have selected within our acclaimed vineyards.
An early spring, mild summer, but intense harvest led to small, flavorful berries and low yields. More coming soon.
Although Grenache Blanc is an unfamiliar grape to some, this is one of our most popular whites. We produce it from Catie's Corner, a vineyard farmed for us by Steve Dutton, one of the most revered winegrowers of the Russian River Valley. Grenache Blanc was a "wakeup" wine for us, when we first tasted it with the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel among components of their Châteauneuf du Pape. It's been a few years without this wine at the winery, and in 2022 we made just a tiny amount. The 2022 vintage is fresh and inviting, showing a delicate straw color, with notes of white peach, lemon curd, and biscuit. A hint of tarragon arises in the finish.
Winemakers love rosé. At Coterie, we've always made a little behind the scenes. Now it's a regular part of our lineup. We don't make much, but whatever we do produce comes decidely from Catie's Corner (aside from our members-only rosé). This vineyard is farmed for us by Steve Dutton, one of the most revered winegrowers of the Russian River Valley. Each year, we select the juiciest, brightest parts of this vineyard the same vineyard as our single-vineyard Pinot Noir, and give this fruit just a few hours on the skins. The 2022 vintage has a delicate salmon color with fruity, slightly savory notes of blush cherry, peach tisane, rose hips, and melon.
Winemakers love rosé. At Coterie, we've always made a little behind the scenes, but 2022 is the first year for this wine. Because most of the Pinot Noir from Las Nietas Vineyard goes into our vineyard-designate Pinot Noir, we made just a tiny amount of this wine, which is available only to winery members. Las Nietas Vineyard is our coolest site for Pinot Noir, high above the Monterey Bay at the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. With just a few hours on the skins, this wine has a beautiful faint salmon color with just the right amount of pink. It is vivacious and juicy, with notes of vibrant red strawberry, fresh flowers, green papaya, and melon.
This wine departs from what often defines Chardonnay in California. While most California Chardonnay is weighty and oaked, the Chardonnay at Coterie is inspired more by the typicity of Chablis and Oregon. Escolle Road Ranch is farmed by Kirk Williams, with whom we've produced Pinot Noir (and Syrah, at times) for many years. In 2022, we made a miniscule quantity when we went looking to make a base wine for our sparkling Crémant. We picked earlier in maturity with natural acidity well intact, and aged the wine entirely in stainless steel. It has a youthful straw color with beautiful notes of green apple, fresh flowers, and light toast.
The Syrah at Highlands Ranch is playful and fruity, yet with layers of complexity that we love in cool-climate Syrah. Highlands Ranch is farmed by Kirk Williams, with whom we've produced Pinot Noir (and Syrah, at times) for many years. The vineyard is just down the road from Kirk's original estate vineyard, Kirk Williams Ranch. Given its close proximity, Highlands Ranch has many similar attributes in terms of climate, soil, and topography. This Syrah comes from the Alban cutting. The 2022 vintage has notes of vibrant raspberry preserves, red licorice, vanilla, and a floral resonance. In 2022, we made a tiny amount of this wine, just for members.
While we often include some whole clusters in the Pinot Noir that we produce from this vineyard, this is only the second time that we have created this wine, which is focused around 100% Pommard 4 cuttings with 50% whole clusters. The Pinot Noir at Kirk Williams Ranch is always deeply flavorful with rich fruit, complex earthiness, and alluring spice, but the 2022 harvest gave us a special opportunity with beautifully lignified stems and some extraordinary barrels of Pommard 4. As a result, this wine is especially flavorful and voluptuous with enticing notes of dark cherry, bramble, and baking spice, complemented by a flinty, earthy tracery.
The Pinot Noir at Las Nietas Vineyard has a particular finesse and elegance. Its delicate color belies its flavorful profile, which makes the wine playful and provocative. Las Nietas Vineyard is farmed for us by Bob Hartmann, and is named for his granddaughters ("Las Nietas", in Spanish). This is our coolest site for Pinot Noir, high above the Monterey Bay at the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Ripening is slow, usually extending into October, but in 2022 we picked in September due to a warm fall. This yielded a deeply flavorful wine with complex notes of pie cherry, lingonberry preserves, delicate wildflowers, juniper berry, and baking spice.
While in our experience the Pommard 4 cutting of Pinot Noir can be remarkably floral and pretty, at Tondre Grapefield it produces a wine among our darkest and most robust barrels at the winery. In 2022, we had some extraordinary barrels of Pommard 4 from this vineyard, which gave us a special opportunity to produce a wine featuring the unique attributes of this vineyard. This wine is profound and sumptuous with layers of black cherry, baking spice, bramble, and loamy forest floor. In 2022, we also produced a Pinot Noir from 100% Pommard 4 just up the road at Kirk Williams Ranch, which offers a unique opportunity for a provocative comparison.
There is so much demand for Pinot Noir in the Santa Lucia Highlands that sometimes it's easy to forget how delightful the cool-climate Syrah is here too. Sadly, many growers have grafted over their Syrah to other things. We make our Tondre Grapefield Syrah from a field blend of uncertain heritage. We were excited to discover this small block in 2016, the same vintage when we started our Syrah at Las Madres Vineyard in Carneros to the north. We have made both wines ever since. 2022 yielded a unique Syrah here, surprisingly reflective of Cabernet Sauvignon, with enchanting notes of black currant, cassis, vanilla, cocoa nibs, and earthy, toasted brioche.
coterie noun.
A small group with shared interests or tastes.
Since 2007, Coterie has produced wines from tiny parcels within acclaimed vineyards that express the distinction of their place. We make every wine berry to bottle by hand with exceptional care in the vineyard and non-interventional practices at the winery. The winery is nestled in a cozy neighborhood near downtown San Jose, where it transformed an old warehouse into a beautiful place for wine.