Reeve and brick & mortar Wine Offer

For Women’s Member-Guest this year, (Sorry, No Boys Allowed) we had our greatest turnout ever! Not only did we get Chef Vince Perovic of Geyserville Gun Club to make handrolls for the Ladies, but were graced to have Vintner Members, Alexis Iaconis of brick & mortar, and Kelly Dorrance of Reeve Wines represent some of our Mayacama Women Winemakers. We rolled right into our First Friday Pour on the Wine Cellar Terrace, and got a double dose of Reeve and brick & mortar goodness.

Alexis, classically trained as a Chef, met her husband while she was working as a Sommelier at Michelin 3-Star The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley. The chef de cuisine and sous chef suggested that Alexis consider dating a recent hire, Matt Iaconis, a young winemaker working nights to pay for grapes to make his first wines. Alexis recounts,“Yes, I was a manager, and dating an employee was not going to be looked on so well in fine dining. We kept things under wraps, and the bosses never knew until I quit. I had to find a way to hang out with Matt initially outside of work—so, I asked if he’d give me a vineyard tour of the vineyard (Cougar Rock on Atlas Peak) where he was getting his fruit. The restaurant director assigned him to help me with stocking wines and changing the wine list, so we started texting about work etc. until one day, the text came through, 'Not sure if this would be over the line, but I was wondering if you’d have dinner with me?'"

She remembers tasting his first Chardonnay out of barrel in 2012, and then sharing an old Krug Champagne on one of their first dates. Their combined passion for Champagne and Burgundy led them to create Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wine from their favorite cool coastal, and high elevation vineyards sites in Northern California. They are one of the few small producers who do all of their sparkling production in-house, and today, 50% of their entire production is dedicated to sparkling. Alexis and Matt have risen high in the ranks of California sparkling houses, gaining accolades from Sommeliers and wine programs both locally, and across the US.

2023 Brut Rosé, Sonoma Coast 

I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why people aren’t drinking more Brut Rosé. I mean, really, what did Brut Rosé ever do to deserve this sort of treatment? It’s Rosé, but better. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the organic Home Block vineyard in Carneros, the ’23 Brut Rosé is a match for fuller fare. Smoked salmon? Easy. BBQ Oysters? Done. Duck Tacos? You betcha. Take a bottle of this with you out to the coast on a windy day, you can leave your extra scarf in the car, Brut Rosé has you covered.

2021 Cougar Rock Chardonnay, Napa Valley

I know, I know, Napa Chardonnay? What are you givin’ me, here? But here’s the thing—it’s Atlas Peak. Way up at around 1,500 ft in what Alexis and Matt call, “The Valley in the Mountains,” the cool nights and rocky soils bring out a minerality that two unabashed Burgundy lovers can get behind. This could be a ringer in a blind chardonnay study; the more I think about it, the more I think we’re going to have to do this soon…

2021 Manchester Ridge Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge

The Mendocino Ridge AVA stands out as the only non-contiguous AVA in the United States. Only sites with elevations of 1,200ft or higher can be included, and every plot lower than that will fall within the Mendocino or Anderson Valley appellations. These little islands in the clouds, where the peaks protrude above the inversion layer of fog represent only 75 planted acres of more than a quarter-million acres of mountainous land. Manchester Ridge is four miles inland from Point Arena and over 2,000ft in elevation, bringing a perfect cool, maritime climate, and a long growing season on weathered sandstone for elegance and complexity.

Kelly Dorrance runs Reeve and BloodRoot Wines with her husband Noah. Kelly met Noah after college when they both returned to their hometown of Springfield, Missouri. Noah’s work and love of wine took them both to Paris, then through the Tuscan countryside, where they married, before returning to the States, starting a family and building their life together in Northern California. Her business and design background serve as the perfect counterpoint to Noah’s maverick instinct, and together they grew Banshee Wines with Noah’s partners, before striking out on their own in 2015 to forge the common dream that became Reeve Wines, then adding BloodRoot Wines and The BloodRoot Ramble music festival. The wineries focus on elegant cool-climate traditional varieties like Pinot and Chardonnay while simultaneously exploring California's ability to produce some more esoteric varieties like Falanghina and Riesling. 

2024 Stroh Vineyard Blanc de Noirs, Potter Valley

From Potter Valley in Mendocino County, the 100% Pinot Noir, Blanc de Noirs is a traditional Méthode Champenoise bringing the lightest elements of Pinot. Crisp and bright with delicate bubbles and notes of wild strawberry, coastal breeze, lilac, honeysuckle, and a twist of tangerine. As Kelly says, “It’s Summer, bottled.”

2023 Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Heintz Vineyard is one of the most lauded and celebrated Chardonnay sites in California. Third generation farmer Charles Heintz planted a mixture of Clone 4 and Old Wente Clone Chard (there’s that Old Wente Clone again) in 1983, at 900ft on a coastal ridge above the fog line. It was Ted Lemon of Littorai who first worked with Charlie over 30 years ago, and maintains the same few rows to this day. There’s a coastal fog that moves directly through the vineyard, keeping it cool and lengthening the growing season. The juice in 2023 retained such a bright acidity and verve that Kelly and Noah allowed it to go through 100% full malolactic fermentation to soften while maintaining it electricity.

2023 Rice-Spivak Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

A tiny, 6-acre vineyard, with fruit shared by the likes of Cobb and Larue, the Rice-Spivak is one of my favorite expressions of Pinot from Reeve. It exudes that undefinable quality of finesse that keeps me coming back to a wine. It’s a personal note, but sometimes I can a find a New World wine to simply be overpowering- the wines I enjoy most are not the ones that scream “look at me,” but the ones that call me to them again and again, to search for more and revisit. 

“Keep me up till five because all your stars are out, and for no other reason…”

-J.D.Salinger, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of the Mayacama wine program. We’re incredibly excited to offer these exceptional wines to our Members, and I encourage you to reach out with any questions or requests—I’m always happy to chat wine.

Cheers!

Jared Hooper, Wine Director

WINES BEING OFFERED: (sold in 3-packs)

2023 Brut Rosé, brick & mortar, Sonoma Coast ($144/3-pack)

2021 Chardonnay, brick & mortar, Cougar Rock, Napa Valley ($255/3-pack)

2021 Pinot Noir, brick & mortar, Manchester Ridge, Mendocino Ridge ($315/3-pack)

2024 Blanc de Noirs, Reeve, Stroh Vineyard, Potter Valley ($126/3-pack)

2023 Chardonnay, Reeve, Heintz Vineyard, Sonoma Coast ($222/3-pack)

2023 Pinot Noir, Reeve, Rice-Spivak Vineyard, Sonoma Coast ($255/3-pack)