Big Basin Vineyards : Wines

RECENT RELEASES

2006 RATTLESNAKE ROCK SYRAH
Another example of the rich iron minerality and intense fruit core that makes our Estate Syrah so distinctive.

2007 BRANCIFORTE RIDGE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
Santa Cruz Mountain fruit with elegance and delicacy. Richer and more complex than the '06.

2006 FAIRVIEW RANCH SYRAH
A classic cool climate Syrah with mouth coating, silky tannins, spice and a perstistent finish

2006 MANDALA SYRAH
Elegant and food friendly with a compelling perfumed nose and layers of fruit on the palate.

CURRENT RELEASES

2007 FAIRVIEW ROAD RANCH SYRAH
This Santa Lucia Highlands vineyard produces distinctive, spicy and full bodied Syrah every vintage. The '07 is our boldest expression yet.

2007 BALD MOUNTAIN VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
The combination of deep sandy soils, elevation, and proximity to the ocean all contribute to the layers of fruit, great minerality and a strong mid palate of this Santa Cruz Mountain pinot noir.

2007 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY & MONTEREY COUNTY SYRAH
Using Syrah grapes from several cool climate mountain vineyards influenced by the ocean, this wine expresses a distinct and ponderable regional character.

UPCOMING RELEASES

2007 ODEON SYRAH/CABERNET SAUVIGNON
This wine is an orchestration of two very complimentary grapes. The result will get your attention and then pull you in.

2007 MANDALA SYRAH
An opulent and compelling Mandala created with Santa Cruz Mountain fruit from an excellent vintage.

2007 ALFARO FAMILY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
The darkest and most intense of our 2007 Pinots, the Alfaro Pinot has rewarded patience and will continue to age beautifully.

2009 AURA ROSE OF SYRAH
A Syrah Rosé with a touch of Grenache, the Aura is nuanced, aromatic and refreshing with great body. Sure to be a summer favorite!

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY

We believe in a style of winemaking that allows the fullest expression of the site and the particular vintage. To this end, we spend long hours in our vineyard to insure that the grapes we grow represent the fullest expression of the vineyard and vintage. We believe in and employ sustainable and organic farming practices. The steep hillsides, cooling ocean breezes and fog, and fractured mudstone soils promote the development of color and complex flavors. By keeping the yields very low and harvesting small sections of the vineyard at perfect ripeness, we strive to achieve the most important part of winemaking - great fruit.

Winemaker & Proprietor Bradley Brown

The winemaking then becomes the art of gently extracting what the fruit has to offer. We sort clusters, gently destem the fruit and then sort the berries which roll into small (1.5 ton) open top fermenters. The whole berries are cold soaked for several days before being fermented with wild yeast. Pumping over the juice and then punching down by hand allows us to extract complex flavors and soft tannins from the grapes. When the wine has achieved the intensity, structure and mouthfeel we feel is ideal, we gently press off the skins. The wine then goes into French oak barrels where it grows in complexity and character over two to three years of aging time. Minimal sulfur additions and temperature controlled storage insure that the wine is able to achieve its fullest expression when bottled. By keeping our production small, we can give every vine, fermentation bin and barrel the attention it deserves. We hope you enjoy the results.

BIG BASIN VINEYARDS ON YOUTUBE

Watch this short video clip to learn why we don't use foils or wax coverings.

Big Basin Vineyards 830 Memory Lane, Boulder Creek, CA 95006