Sat (5/2) A Visit To TreViti
I stumbled across TreViti/StoloFamilyVnyd when I found out it was a vnyd located
near the town of Cambria. That means it's to the west of Bassetti and even closer to
the Pacific; definitely cold-climate. I ordered some of their wine, was rather impressed
by it, and put TresViti on my list of "must visit" vnyds. I think I first stumbled
across Maria on eBob, made some follow e-mails, and then tried the wines.
Maria Bennetti is the mind-behind this operation. The wine is made by SteveDooley.
The vnyd was originally know as the DosCruces (two crosses) Vnyd, named after the two
crosses mounted on the hilltop behind the property. Maria didn't know their story.
The original vnyd was not very well managed and the grapes weren't up to their potential,
according to AuggieHug. The property was purchased by Maria's father and the buildings
were in rather dilapated condition. The main house has been rebuilt. Her father is sort
of a tinkerer in horticulture and has done a beautiful job of landscaping the grounds.
Maria has visions of converting the large barn on the property into the winery. With a
stand of large old eucalyptus trees there nearby, she may be able to develop her own
SeanThackery "terroir" in her wines!!
The vnyd is managed by BillKesselring, who is very highly regarded as a vnyd manager
there on the CentralCoast, as far south as the SantaYnezVlly. StoloFamilyVnyd (Maria's
maiden name) is located a bit over a mile up SantaRosaCreekRd from Cambria. Jack is
also managing a new planting (PinotNoir) a few miles up the road and further inland.
I pick up John & Kimberly Cabot (CabotVnyds way up in HumboltCnty) down in Paso
for the drive over to Cambria. This is my first meeting in RealSpace with the Cabots,
though I've followed their wines from the very start. The thirty minute drive, thru
pretty thick fog all the way out to the Coast, gives me a chance to find out all about
their background and the winery. Joining us on this outing are Mike&Debbie Payne, long-
time LosAlamos friends now living in Livermore.
Maria meets us at the house and gives us her background on TresViti. The ranch was
originally used to graze cattle. The dilapidated out-buildings and barn have a lot of
character and will eventually be renovated as well. The vnyd itself is located up on
a south-facing slope above the road and to the west of the buildings. It is planted
to Chard, PinotNoir, and Syrah. Syrah is not an obvious choice for a vnyd so close to
the Pacific, but they manage to get it to ripen. Across SantaRosaCreek road, down on
the flats, is located a new planting, devoted to SauvignonBlanc and Gewurztraminer
that will be coming into production in about three yrs.
We spend nearly an hour walking a very muddy vnyd with Maria and Jack. John & Kimberly
obviously have a lot of questions on the vnyd. The views to the south and the west from
the top of the vnyd are beautiful. The TresViti labels are not very expressive of the
specialness of this vnyd. One year, Maria managed to get Cambria past the Feds as the
appellation. But since it is not a recognized AVA, it was bounced the next yr, and so
she is stuck with using the more generic CentralCoast appellation.
We then adjourn to the back deck to try the new/unreleased TreViti wines:
1. TreViti Chard '06: Lovely minerally/stoney some melony/Chard perfumed/aromatic nose
that's showing some development; tart/crisp clean minerally/perfumed some melony/
Chard flavor; very attractive minerality and very low-key oak; lovely Chard for those
who whine about Calif's oaky/buttery Chards.
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2. TreViti Chard '07: Bit more pungent/smokey more ripe/melony/Chard nose; slightly
bigger/richer more melony/Chard flavor w/ most of that same underlying minerality;
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3. TreViti PinotNoir '06: Beautiful floral/berry/violets/Pinot slight earthy/wet forest
floor/pungent very perfumed nose; tart/lean very spicy/floral/violets/bright/Pinot
slight pungent/forest floor flavor; a bright/spicy/floral classic cold-climate
Pinot; this is how they'd make Pinot at DRC if they could; actually resembles some
of the AltoAdige Pinots but w/ much more fragrant fruit.
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4. TreViti PinotNoir '07: Much more strong floral/berry/spicy/violets very light forest
floor/pungent aromatic nose; tart bit richer/lusher light pungent/forest floor rather
floral/violets/perfumed/spicy/Pinot flavor; seems a bit richer & riper than the '06
but w/ much the same aromatics.
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5. TreViti Syrah '06: Beautiful cracked black pepper/spicy light floral/blackberry/Syrah
slight earthy complex nose; tart classic cold-climate/cracked black pepper light
spicy/blackberry/Syrah very light toasty/oak flavor; lovely aromatics, zippy acidity,
and classic cracked black pepper.
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7. TreViti Syrah '07: Somewhat more ripe/blackberry/Syrah fruit lighter cracked black
pepper/spicy less perfumed nose; slightly softer but still tart somewhat richer/Syrah/
blackberry fruit slightly less cracked black pepper flavor w/ modest tannins; a
lovely racy example of cold-climate Syrah.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. There is a lot more information on the TreViti WebSite (http://www.TreViti.com) and on
Maria's blog (TreVitiWines.blogspot.com), including lots of photos. The easiest
way to try the TreViti wines is ordering direct from the WebSite. Prices are very
reasonable for wines of this quality. The '06's, plus a few earlier vintages, are
still available and the '07's are scheduled for a Fall release, I believe.
They also have two from purchased grapes, Syrah (WolffVnyd) and Pinot (BienNacido).
But the Estate wines are the ones to try. If you hustle, you can brag that you
followed TreViti "from the very start", like some pompous folks like to proclaim.
The '07 versions had recently been bottled and may have been beaten down a little
because of that. They all three reflected slightly more riper harvest conditions and
had a bit more richer/lusher character, but w/ the same classic cold-climate
aromatics. As JohnCabot said.."keep your eyes out for these wines". To which I
would concur. I suspect that StoloFamilyVnyd will one day be recognized as one of
the great Syrah vnyds of Calif. The wines remind me a lot of the Peays in their
style and flavor profiles; a very good sign in my book.
Tom