Big White House Winery

2006 Dolcetto, Los Robles Vineyard, Clement Hills

Dolcetto is a grape that originated in Italy and was believed to be the same as Charbono until DNA typing at UC Davis identified it to be a different varietal. Dolcetto, Big White House style, is more of a seriously fun wine, than it is a serious wine. Our Big White House Dolcetto features a uniquely intense Bing cherry nose, with plum, violet, licorice and almonds. Our fermentation was short to prevent overly high tannins, finishing in just four days; high levels of anthocyanins in Dolcetto skins give it excellent color after only a brief maceration. Though the name Dolcetto (little cute one) implies a sweet character, ours is medium bodied, fully dry, with an nice, balanced finish.

2007 Sangiovese, Ripken Vineyard, Lodi

Mid-way between the Chianti and Tuscan styles, this Italian beauty boasts delicious raspberry, cranberry, cardamom and white pepper. Mellow tannins with full mouth-feel make this wine a popular one amongst Italian lovers.

$28/bottle 

Liquid Amber
2007 Late Harvest Viognier, Ripken Vineyard, California

42° Brix at Harvest; 16% Residual Sugar by weight 

Liquid Amber is the name we use for our most delicious botrytised desert wines. The name is based on the amber color of wines so affected, the beautiful fall colors of the Liquid Amber trees that peak during the late fall harvest of this fruit, and the racy romance novel of the 40’s, Forever Amber. The 2007 late harvest Viognier from Richard Ripken was nearly completely infected with Botrytis cinerea which results in concentration of the sugars and fruit character and gives a pronounced pear, honey, apricot and butterscotch nose. The juice from these grapes is sufficiently sweet that the yeast gives up before it can consume all of the sugar yielding a broad, sweet mouth and a orange blossom finish.  Serve cool to emphasize the sweetness and body or at room temperature to emphasize the pear and honey nose. 

$28/bottle 

2006 Syrah, Emery Nelson Vineyard, Livermore Valley

We are attacted to the wonderful Emery Nelson vineyard because of the perfect rocky soil on the Arroyo flood plain just north of Sycamore Grove Park in Livermore, and the bon homie of Emery Nelson, himself. Emery embraces the role of Gentleman Farmer and produces low yield Syrah fruit of vibrant color, intensity and vivacity. We find it often takes much longer than the industry standard 18 months for Emery’s Syrah to relax into a graceful adult, shedding the wild vigor of its youth. Observe the rich opacity of the Emery Syrah. In the nose we find fig, cherry, brown sugar, and anise. The mouth shows French Roast coffee and blueberry pie and has plenty of youthful tannins that belie its 36 months of oak aging. We plan on letting our library collection sit for a number of years, yet hardly blame you if you choose to enjoy a glass of Emery Syrah this evening. 

$26/bottle 

Tawny Port, Primarily 2000 Vintage
2009 Release

We can't call it port on the label, but on the website we can call it like it is: Port.

This Tawny (port) is comprised of three traditional varietals (Tinta Cao, Sauzao, and Touriga Nacional) and two non-traditional yet well-suited varietals (Syrah and Zinfandel). Our Tawny has aged in our winery in oak barrels since the year 2000. Now nine years old, it has the exceptional smoothness and complexity of a mature tawny: brick red, with intense caramel character, with maple syrup, and figs in the nose and velvety in the mouth. Enjoy with pears and bleu cheese, English Toffee, dark chocolate or a fine cigar.

Alc. 18% by vol. Residual Sugar 8% 

$26/bottle 

2006 Petite Sirah, Clark Vineyard, Livermore Valley

Peter Clark is a gifted gentleman farmer who produces wonderful fruit every year from his hillside vineyards about 2 miles north-east of our winery. This Petite Syrah is an elegant offering that combines the rich qualities of this grape with careful cellar work from John Evan so that the rustic, tannic qualities that Petite Sirah often exhibits are tamed into regal elegance. In the nose, the Clark Petite has a rich nose of plum, cinnamon, vanilla and cassis. The mouth reveals the sturdy nature of Petite Sirah, originally cloned in the 1860s to add tannin, color and structure to under-ripe, thin wines in Southern France. The finish has the last vestiges of what was once gripping, chalky tannins and is now a balanced, full finish. This Petite Sirah is ageable; our experience is that Petite improves with significant cellaring, though young (next few years) or quite old (at least a decade) seems to be better than mid-years. Enjoy at cellar temperature.

$28/bottle 

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Clark Vineyard, Livermore Valley

Gentleman-farmer Peter Clark’s Cabernet vineyard is planted on a south-western facing slope that allows gradual ripening and full flavor development. Consequently, this Cabernet has significant varietal character, meaning that it smells and tastes like Cabernet should.  Often called the king of red wine, Cabernet's reputation was established centuries ago by the great estates of Bordeaux. While Cabernet can be a bit harsh in its youth, our Clark Cab has matured in French oak barrels for forty months into a wonderfully complex and full-bodied red wine. In the nose we smell a plethora of fruit flavors, mocha and spice. It has a noble mouth-feel that leads progressively into a smooth and pleasurable finish. The Clark Cab is well matched to grilled meats as well as more complex dishes such as venison with red wine reduction and mushrooms. This wine can be cellared for a considerable interval and should be served at cellar temperature.

$26/bottle 

2008 Roussanne, Ripken Vineyard, Lodi

Roussanne is a vibrant white wine, commonly grown on the steep hillsides of the northern Rhone Valley. It has several unique characteristics: Roussanne is ageable - we recently enjoyed a 1990 Hermitage that was superb – and has more tannin and body than most white wines leading us to call it the “red-lover's white”. The fragrant, perfumed nose seems to contradict the structure and body of the mouth. As with most of the Big White House whites, the finish which balances these attributes is crisp and racy. To serve chilled or room temperature, that is the question. We like to serve this wine at just below room temperature (66°F) because it allows more of the fruit esters responsible for the yummy nose to volatilize so that you can smell them. We also understand that you may want to emphasize the clean crisp nature of this wine, in which case colder, (52°F) is entirely acceptable; just remove it from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you serve it. This wine can be cellared for up to 10 years.

$24/bottle 

2006 Chardonnay, Casa Azul Vineyard, Lodi

From the Casa Azul Vineyard on the banks of the Mokelumne River our Big White House Chardonnay features a citrusy nose of lemon, pineapple and quince. Cold barrel fermentation allows these fruit esters to be retained. Barrel fermentation also allows for aging with the lees adding a creamy character to the mid-palate with flavors of lemon, vanilla, and toast. The opulent mouth feel belies the pleasant surprise of a crisp, clean finish thanks to the excellent farming of Craig Watts who kept the acid levels high as the grapes ripened.

$24/bottle 

2008 Lapsus, a Rhône-Style Blend, Ripken Vineyard, Lodi

75% Viognier, 25% Roussanne 

Our 2008 Lapsus marries Roussanne with Viognier in a delicious but non-classical blend. In the Condrieu appellation of France, Viognier is the only allowed white wine varietal. A few miles down the Rhône on the opposite bank is Hermitage where Roussanne and Marsanne are the only allowed whites. Legend has it that when the Chevalier Gaspard de Stérimberg returned wounded from the Albigeois crusades in 1224, he cloistered himself within the tiny hamlet on the hill that now bears his description, Hermitage, and refused to speak for the remainder of his pious life. Surrounded as he was with spectacular vineyards he did some winemaking, and discovered the virtues of a unique blend of his local Roussanne with up river Viognier. Appearing to us in a dream, the garrulous Saint, though taciturn in life, revealed his secret in a Lapsus Lengua, slip of the tongue, and the blend, as well as the name of this wine was born. Raise a glass of Lapsus to the good St. Stérimberg.  

$26/bottle