|
Remember the Name — You Saw it Here First!
 "A bottle of wine changed my life," says Ryan Waugh, the 26-year-old wunderkind behind the soon-to-be-discovered (and mark this word: revered) wines of Waugh Cellars.
Now, 26 may be a bit young to already have had an epiphany, an event that changes the course of one's life, but Ryan was headed for Doctorland, wanted to be a Dr., was studying to be one at college.
"And then one day, my girl friend (at the time) took me to her family's home and her dad offered to open a bottle at dinner that was from my birth year, 1976."
The girl friend's dad went to his cellar and pulled out a 1976 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Lot 2, Cabernet Sauvignon. "It changed my life," Ryan recalls. "I went to Barnes & Noble and bought a lot of books on winemaking; I realized that the world of wine is both a science and an art; growing grapes and fermentation require scientific knowledge; blending wine is the art side, requiring sensitivity and passion. In the end, the whole process of making wine is an attempt to bottle one's passion."
So that's when the young pup went off to join a succession of wineries to learn how to make great wine. Ryan worked at Savannah-Chanelle in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Chateau Potelle and Trefethen in Napa Valley; then apprenticed at Brian McGuigan's in Australia's Hunter Valley.
"That's where I learned the importance of planting the right variety in the appropriate region. The quality of your wine at the end is only as good as the quality of your grapes at the start."
Adapting this M.O. to Napa Valley, Ryan contracts great fruit from site-specific areas of the valley and from nearby Sonoma properties. He barrel ferments his whites in OLD oak only, never new wood. "I don't want butterscotch, I want wines with varietal flavors… wines that taste like their fruit, not wood."
These days, it appears the wheel is coming full circle for Ryan;
initially he learned about wine through a relationship. Now
he is learning about relationships through wine. His wine-making
assistant has been Kristin Brekke, who helps Ryan rack wine,
blend, oversee production and work through labeling and compliance
issues. At first she was a worker bee. Then she became a fiancé.
Now she is Ryans wife.
2001 Waugh Cellars, Sonoma County, Zinfandel
The fruit comes from the historic Dry Creek Valley of
Sonoma; a blend of two Zin parcels, one as old as 28.
Ryan has tamed the sometimes overbearing Zin beast, producing
a wine with soft shoulders and a pleasing roundness. This
is not a scratch-your-eyes-out Zinfandel in alcohol or
spice-pack.
Strawberry and long-stem rose scents on the nose; soft,
ripe red fruits on the palate. Soft, almost pastel, flavors
on the swallow; ideal with grilled or roasted fare. |
ilovenapa.com Rating:
$28 |
| |
2002 Waugh Cellars Russian River Chardonnay
Lovely tropical fruits jump from the glass, suggestive
of the kind of drinks you enjoy a beach holiday. Loads
of mango, papaya, even coconut.
The wine has a velvet viscosity, rather oily and wonderfully
full. Not thin, not a whisper of a wine, but a shout.
Yet completely in balance.
The nose alone is worth the price - consider it a lagniappe
from winemaker Ryan Waugh, who wants you to enjoy yourself
while you sip his wine.
|
ilovenapa.com Rating:
$28 |
| |
2002 Waugh Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
Steely notes on the nose, what pearl nacre would smell
like if the color/hue of Tahitian pearls had a scent.
As the wine warms in the glass, it releases a hint of
ripe Bosc and Anjou pears.
On the palate, the wine presents a cascade of flavors,
ending with an extremely l-o-n-g finish.
This wine has snap. It is crisp, clean and has ethereal
length.
|
ilovenapa.com Rating:
$24 |
| |
2002 Waugh Cellars Zinfandel
The fruit comes from the Beacham-Downey Vineyard, located
above Healdsburg in the historic Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma;
one parcel of 28-year-old vines near the creek produces
sublimely rich, sweet fruit; one parcel of 7-year-old
vines from a hillside overlooking the creek produces vibrant
wine filled with cinnamon, spice and a jumpy palate of
purple flavors. During our barrel tasting Ryan combined
these two parcels, producing a wine with jammy aromas
and a serious black raspberry pie finish. If Ryan blends
the final wine in this manner, he will produce the only
wine you will ever want to serve with vanilla ice cream!
We can only encourage him to follow through…. |
ilovenapa.com Rating:
|
| |
|
|
