2011 | Donelan | Cuvee Keltie (Magnum)

Cuvee Keltie is a supple and rich wine with more than cursory nods to Cote Rotie offering scents of plum, blackberry and smoky bacon fat. The palate is full-bodied and loaded with personality.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2011 Cuvee Keltie, which came in under 14% alcohol, spent 22 months in neutral wood, and 100% whole stems were used. The wine reveals a chocolaty, smoky, bacon-scented nose that at first suggests a French Cote Rotie, but as it hits the palate with its full-bodied creme de cassis, blackberry, charcoal and graphite personality, it moves more toward a single vineyard Hermitage from the likes of Chapoutier. This supple, rich 2011 can be drunk now or cellared for a decade.

• Wine Enthusiast: The winery’s prowess in blending fruit from distinct sites shows through with this 100% Syrah, a high proportion of which was whole-cluster fermented. Hedonistic streaks of pepper hit the nose first before developed layers of peppery cherry and blueberry pique the palate. Given an extra year in bottle after extended time in barrel, it balances smoky chocolate richness against vibrant acidity and silky mouthfeel.

Producer Information

Donelan Family Wines is a boutique California wine company, producing single-vineyard wines in Sonoma County. It is most clearly recognized for its collection of highly rated Syrah wines. The company was formed in 2000 as Pax Cellars, and was a partnership between Joe Donelan and Pax Mahle, as financier and winemaker, respectively. This partnership dissolved in 2009, and Pax Cellars was rebranded as Donelan Family wines. Mahle went on to establish the Wind Gap brand. Donelan owns four estate vineyards to produce its limited-production wine portfolio – Obsidian, Walker Vine Hill, Kobler and Richard's Family – and sources additional fruit from Sonoma County growers. The company's first vineyard, Obsidian Vineyard, is located in Knights Valley and was planted over 30 years ago. The Walker Vine Hill and Kobler vineyards are located in the Russian River Valley, the latter in the cooler subregion of Green Valley. Donelan's most highly acclaimed Syrah is sourced from one of the warmer warmer vineyard sites in Sonoma Valley, Richard's Family Vineyard. The flaghsip of the Donelan Family wine portfolio is the Obsidian Estate Syrah. After a hand-pick in the vineyard, it is fermented with indigenous yeasts from the vineyard and cellar. It spends 22 months aging in 40-percent new oak barrels prior to bottling and will happily cellar for over a decade.

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