Members’ Corner
Welcome to the Spring 2025 Wine Club shipment!
Welcome to Members’ Corner. Here you’ll find inspiration to accompany each wine club shipment.
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(Please get in touch with Claire via info@baxterwinery.com for any password re-set help)
Message from the winemaker…
Winemaker Phillip with our budding winemaker keeping his dad company in the Baxter Winery barrel cellar.
Dear friends,
Bottling, bottling! This Spring I’m making room in the winery cellar for the next vintage and - most importantly -capturing the wines in bottle at their peak of expression.
Deciding which wines to bottle and when is a process. I taste through all the different vineyard lots in the cellar about once a month to get an overarching view of the vintage’s progress. Some vineyard lots will develop into finished wine more quickly than others, but my motto is not to rush them: I like to let the wines gain structure and finesse in barrel for as long as they need.
There’s a moment in time when a batch begins to taste like finished wine, yet still possess a really nice pronounced acid structure. That’s when I know they’re ready to bottle: I pounce! Capturing them when they are ready but still vibrant and fresh is key. Getting this balance right means the wine can continue to mellow in bottle, yet will also stay ageworthy for years to come.
Focussing down on the batch that is next to bottle, I use chalk to write a code on the barrels: some barrels are free run juice (from early on in the harvest pressing process), these tend to be bright in flavor and lean in texture. There is also a barrel per lot which is ‘press juice’ (the last juice to come out of the press at harvest time and thus had more skin contact) displaying intense flavor and more mouthfeel. From these, I choose my 3 top blends with different percentages of each barrel. At this point, my head swimming with blending decisions (!) I bring Claire in to offer some perspective. She knows the vineyards by blind tasting and, like me, has an overview of each vineyard’s characteristics are year after year. The ideal selection pinpointed, I progress to racking the wines to tank for settling out. Next stop bottling line!
Thank you for supporting our truly artisan processes. Enjoy the quality that goes into each bottle!
Phillip.
Phillip Baxter, Owner / Winemaker.
spring 2025 Wines:
Club 6 members receive: 2 x 2022 Run Dog Pinot, 2 x 2022 Mariah Vineyard Pinot, 2 x 2022 of our crisp, mineral Chardonnay from the Oppenlander Vineyard (reds only members will receive the 2020 Oppenlander Pinot as a substitution).
Club 12 members will receive double.
2022 Run Dog Vineyard Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley
93 Points from from JebDunnuck.com
9/10 Points from Vinography.com
[Full reviews below]
Run Dog vineyard is a monopole for Baxter, meaning that we are the sole producers of a wine from this bijou vineyard (just 3 barrels made!). Situated northwest of Boonville nestled against the cool western hills of the Anderson Valley, the vines take advantage of the cool morning sun, whilst avoiding the harsh afternoon heat. The naturally low yields of 1.9 tons per acre produce a focused and intense expression of Pinot Noir.
We love the description of this wine from JebDunnuck.com, a fiercely independent wine critic subscription featuring wine powerhouse Virginie Boone (prior NorCal Editor at Wine Enthusiast). Especially the ‘cassis’ and ‘currant’ notes which we think hit the nail on the head:
‘There’s an enduring sense of fresh acidity throughout the length of this crisp vineyard-designate, brimming in currant, cassis, and forest floor. The velvety texture and resolved tannins work seamlessly in this 2022 Pinot Noir Run Dog vineyard, which should age well for the next 10-12 years. Flavors of bramble and forest floor.' (reviewer Virginie Boone, Senior Editor & Wine Critic).
In addition we received some lovely commentary from Alder Yarrow, Editor of one of the most influential, impartial and down-to-earth wine blogs on the internet, vinography.com:
‘… the 2022 Run Dog Vineyard Pinot from Baxter Winery demonstrates why I enjoy Phil Baxter’s wines so much. It’s bursting with flavor and energy and has this quartz-like quality that is very compelling. Baxter trained in Burgundy and brings his experiences there to bear in making wines of great finesse.’
Drink now, or able to age for an additional 10-2 years.
2022 Mariah Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge
94 Points JebDunnuck.com
94 Points JamesSuckling.com*
[Review below]
New to our range for the 2022 vintage!
Mariah is a stunning Coastal Mountain vineyard set at 2,400ft elevation above the fog line. It’s a dry farmed, timber-soiled vineyard surrounded by redwoods. Leaders in ‘regenerative’ farming, the multi-generational family owners focus on improving the land and ecosystem for the future. Standing in the vineyard you feel at once surrounded by wilderness and on top of the world.
Here is the description of this delicate, fresh and floral Pinot from JebDunnuck.com:
‘Aged entirely in 100% neutral French oak barrels, the 2022 Pinot Noir Mariah Vineyard is a savory, powerfully packed wine with floral, granitic elements and light intensity. Great acidity pulses throughout an enviable structure, the high elevation of the site providing pillowy tannins that add complexity and intrigue. It should age 10-15 years. (Reviewer Virginie Boone.)’
Jim Gordon, wine critic on JamesSuckling.com wrote: “it’s elegant, unique and light on it’s feet” and that sums it up well.
[*American wine critic James Suckling, is one of today’s leading wine critics whose reviews are read and respected by wine lovers, serious wine collectors, and the wine trade worldwide.]
Drinks floral and delicate currently, expected to continue to age gracefully through at least 2035.
2022 Chardonnay from Oppenlander Vineyard, Comptche
Crisp, bright and ready to grace your Summer days!
Comptche ‘Chablis’
Featured on the opening wine list at Healdsburg’s Michelin starred Single Thread, Master Sommelier Evan Hufford often blind tasted his guests on our Baxter Chardonnay, who, to his delight, mistook it for Chablis. It’s since lovingly referred to by fans as the ‘Comptche Chablis’ :)
We ran out of the 94 Point (Wine Enthusiast) 2021 vintage early, without even including it in a club shipment. Oops! But no fear, the 2022 is just as charming and ready to go for your summer sipping! Open for Easter brunches and have this ready in the fridge for the warm days ahead. View our re-order shipping offer below the pairing recipe!
Tasting description: This Chablis-like Chardonnay expresses sophisticated accents of orange blossom and lime zest with anise undertones. Once sipped, crisp acid gives way to balanced flavors of starfruit, kumquat and wet riverstone as well as an elegant silky texture. Sutble yeast flavors of puffed rice round out the mouthed as delicate jasmine florals meld with Meyer lemon. It’s bright minerality and naturally low alcohol levels offer a wonderful lasting freshness. Aged in neutral French oak, this Chardonnay possesses complex structure and elegant poise.
Pairs with: Try our recipe below for delicate Spring Orecchiette dish.
Our Spring 2025 recipe…
Springtime Orecchiette with fennel, green garlic, fresh peas, sausage & chopped hazelnuts
With our 2022 Chardonnay oppenlander vineyard
We really enjoyed developing this recipe. We were so hungry once we’d smelled the delicate flavors cooking and spent time photographing the dish, we couldn’t wait to dig in with a crisp glass of Chardonnay! So if you want to feel like you’re on vacation in Italy, just spend a morning nonchalantly tossing these ingredients into the skillet and enjoy a couple of glasses of the Chardonnay with it over lunch… then maybe even a siesta?
Makes 4 servings
2 large sweet Italian sausages, slit down the side and removed from their casings
1 pound Orecchiette pasta
2 large shallots (thinly sliced)
1 cup fresh Peas (frozen are fine too)
2-3 Green Garlic (or 2 Leeks work well as a substitution) washed and chopped into 1/4 inch rounds
1 large fennel bulb, sliced finely (we used a mandolin) also, reserve the fennel fronds for garnish
Lemon zest of 2 Meyer lemons
1/4 - 1/2 cup crisp white wine
3 Tbsp olive oil
Finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese to serve
Medium-coarse ground black pepper to serve
Roasted chopped hazelnuts to serve
Method:
Prep:
1) In a large pan of boiling water, cook the Orecchiette. (Save aside two ladle fulls of pasta water to add into the main dish once the pasta is cooked.)
2) Meanwhile, add 1/2 the olive oil to coat a warm skillet
3) Break the sausage meat apart and cook on medium- high. Set aside in a bowl once lightly browned.
5) Add the remaining oil, and gently fry up the fennel. Once the fennel has started to soften, add the shallots, green garlic (or leeks) and lemon zest. Once cooked, add to the sausage dish that’s already set aside.
6) Splash white wine into the skillet to de-glaze, rubbing the back of your spoon against the pan to incorporate the good caramelized flavors
8) Once the pasta is finished cooking, scoop two ladle fulls of pasta water into the main pan. Add back the ingredients you set aside. Add the peas until cooked, add back the ingredients you set aside and bring back to temperature.
9) Drain the pasta. Add the pasta into the sausage pan and toss together.
4) Serve in pasta bowls, topped with a handful of grated Pecorino Romano and a generous sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts. Grind fresh black pepper over the dish and add a couple of fennel fronds to garnish.
Enjoying your wines and want to re-order?
For members re-ordering a mixed six pack (or more) of wines prior to the next shipment we will apply complimentary ground shipping. (Must include at least four reds in the box please). This shipment the offer also applies to a full (12-bottle) case of Chardonnay. Simply visit the store and note ‘Reorder’ in the customer comments box. Log into your account to view member pricing and to purchase.
Here’s to enjoying the spring wines & the spring weather!
Phillip & Claire Baxter.