It's harvest time!
What is rare about this Tuscan-like estate is that all the wines are grown on the property where the winery is – a beautiful estate and it is where nature not only abounds, but in this organic preserve – it is fostered. This isn’t a hard sell tasting room with hired tour operators, these are the people who live and work on the property sharing with you their passion for organic farming. This is an actual working winery. From the property you can see the Appalachia of St Helena Mountain and Alexander Valley. Since the winery is on the other side of the mountain from the Pacific ocean, it provides a perfect afternoon cooling for their grapes.
This is anything but formal, almost in keeping with the organic nature of their wines – and it is by appointment only, but if you show up you will be welcomed. You can take a tour and see the property, the nature preserve and hear how they use all parts of nature to help perfect this crop of many varietals that will make your day.
Our son enjoyed the tour and the grapes off the vine!
Once back from the tours we had more than generous pours of the wine – and being a fan of olive oil- theirs is the one true organic olive oil, grown organically, the way it has been for years in Italy.
But Michel-Schlumberger is well known for its Bordeaux varieties – and their unique combinations of wine produced with the flavors that only an organic wine can grow. But don’t expect to find these wines in your local store or restaurant. They are so highly sought after that often only wine club members receive an allocation.
While there my favorite was the 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon – blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, this bottle was among the finest wines we have ever tasted. We promptly ordered a case. This wine is big- but not too big (as is the case with some wine makers). The last bottle that had this combination of leather, blackberry, and totally smooth was a bottle of Screaming Eagle — a rare bird, but this wine is one that if you don’t pick it up, you are missing out.
We started with a lovely Pinot Blanc – and after a warm day of driving, this was the perfect wine to sit down with and start the day. A great wine to sit at the table on a hot afternoon and enjoy with pasta, chicken, salad, or almost any dish. This wine will perk up your senses – giving you a great flavor of light jasmine. The wine is crisp, clean, and ready to drink today.
The 2009 Le Bon Cochon Zinfandel blend is a blend of Zinfandel with Syrah and Petite Sirah. It is from this region that all the great Zinfandel wines come from, and t his one will not disappoint. This wine is not over powering with cherry- as too many of them are, but has a hint of raspberry with plum and some tobacco. We had dinner at Ad Hoc in Yountsville earlier, where the featured item was pork loin- and this was the perfect bottle for pork. This wine will stand up to a steak with a cigar, and yet not leave you feeling heavy.
Michel-Schlumberger is also known for the fun events it hosts at the winery.
Gorgeous landscape of the winery
If you find yourself in the Dry Creek Valley of Northwest Sonoma- making an appointment to visit Michel Schlumberger will be your best stop in the wine region.
Phone 1-800-447-3060 or 707-433-7427
Michel-Schlumberger Winery, 4155 Wine Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Tasting and Tour occur at 11 am and 2 pm daily – All by appointment only
www.michelschlumberger.com