Oh sure, mention the name “Tallulah” and everyone assumes you’re talking Tallulah Bankhead, but-
Really? Don’t even know who she is? Are you serious? Oh, that’s a crying shame. It also kind of kills our premise so we're going to ignore the thing we just heard you say.
Anyhoo, EVERY PERSON assumes you’re talking about Tallulah Bankhead, famous actress, gadfly, and original “strong, determined woman.” And who could blame them? She’s got quite the legacy; she’s earned it. But in this case, they’d be wrong, because we are talking about the 2011 Tallulah Bald Mountain Vineyard Syrah 3-Pack here.
Sure, you can make comparisons. Both are big and powerful, Tallulah with her engaging personality and bravado. Both have more to them than you’d first suspect, the Syrah with its minutes-long finish and Tallulah with whatever was going on inside her head that led her down a rough path of drug addiction and (some would say) reckless promiscuity.
But this Tallulah ain’t that Tallulah, and we've said the name so much that we're starting to get some srs semantic satiation up in here, so raise a glass of Tallulah TO Tallulah!
Visit the Tallulah Wines website
2011 Syrah, Bald Mountain Vineyard, Napa Valley 750ml 3-Pack
The nose has classic notes of spice, cardamom, and bacon fat. Black dense fruit on the entry leads to a rich spicy mid palate with hints of ground white pepper. The finish goes on for minutes with ripe meat and bacon fat that begs for prime rib or braised short ribs.
The Bald Mountain Vineyard sits high atop the Napa Valley on Mount Veeder at 2,200 feet above sea level. On a clear day you can see Mount Tamalpais and the Transamerica building. At this altitude the vines struggle to produce 2 tons per acre. At its core it is reminiscent of the best in the Rhone. Domaine Jamet has long been a personal favorite of mine and this has a striking similarity to that legendary wine.
The fruit was picked on October 26th after a long growing season. All grapes were hand-sorted and 50% whole clusters were used. Naturally occurring yeast completed fermentation after a 5 day cold soak. Pressed off at dryness and allowed to complete malolactic fermentation naturally in barrel. The wine spent 22 months in 40% new French Oak Burgundy barrels. The wine was racked only once prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered. 174 cases produced.
The fruit was picked on October 26th after a long growing season. All grapes were hand-sorted and 50% whole clusters were used. Naturally occurring yeast completed fermentation after a 5 day cold soak. Pressed off at dryness and allowed to complete malolactic fermentation naturally in barrel. The wine spent 22 months in 40% new French Oak Burgundy barrels. The wine was racked only once prior to bottling unfined and unfiltered. 174 cases produced.
Visit the Tallulah Wines website
Mike Drash comes from a Southern Family with deep roots in farming and religion. Several generations of farmers and ministers make a large part of his family tree. Raised in Memphis, TN just north of the family farm in Como, Mississippi, you could count on 2 things: Church on Sunday and fresh farm raised meals on the table afterwards. Mike always had a yearning for the outdoors and the good life.
After graduation from a small college in Memphis, the urge to travel took over and he found himself in the Florida Keys for 15 months where he found his love for wine and food.With the encouragement of a good friend he moved to California and landed at DeLoach Vineyards as a cellar rat. The occasional chance to drive a tractor was the highlight of a burgeoning career as a winemaker. After a brief stint at Jordan Sparkling Wine, he was named Assistant Winemaker at the prestigious winery, Far Niente. In 2003 the opportunity to head up the winemaking operations at Luna Vineyards arose. Following in the footsteps of John Kongsgaard, he embraced a minimalist style of winemaking. Coaxing the smallest detail from the vineyard and a hands-off style in the cellar, Luna’s red wines began to get the attention of the world’s most demanding critics.
In 2009 the chance to purchase the Tallulah Wines label was too good to pass up. So in November 2009 Mike left his post at Luna and began his focus on Tallulah Wines, which happened to be his daughter’s first name. Tallulah Bankhead is a distant cousin on his mother’s side, as well. Tallulah focuses on single vineyard wines from sustainable and organic vineyards and there is no fining or filtering of the wines. With the first release of his wines from the 2009 vintage slated for later in 2011, the future looks promising for Tallulah Wines.
| 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|