Holdredge Winery - Healdsburg - TravBuddy

Several of my co-workers mentioned one of the attorneys we regularly work with is a winemaker...Huh? What? Where? Of course I have to check out his wines myself! Apparently one of his Pinot Noirs was just rated one of the best 30 in the world by Food and Wine Magazine!

The winery has limited tasting room hours on the weekends up in Healdsburg which is somewhere I've been wanting to check out. Since we were nearby in Santa Rosa doing some sightseeing, seemed like the perfect time to check it out.

Holdredge Winery is definitely the boutique vineyard with quite a charm! Tastings are $5 and refundable with any bottle purchase. Currently he has 10 wines released for purchase and every one of them was absolutely fantastic! He always sells out it sounds like and I can see why! His wines are only available direct from the winery, but I do believe a select group of area restaurants may carry them. Since there is no listing of the wines online that I could find, I will list them here (taken from their tasting room list). I can definitely see why they are known for their Pinots - they were all fantastic. Their top rated one was excellent but my favorite ended up being one called "Mazie Rose" whose production is only 90 cases! Also, they have one of the best late harvest wines I have ever had. Their late harvest Pinot Gris "Grace's Cuvee" is beyond words! Needless to say, a few of those ended up coming home with me! LOL.

I definitely recommend making a special trip to Healdsburg to check them out!!! WOW!!!

2006 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (this is the top rated one) - signature blend of four vineyards and 13 clones of Pinot provides distinctive floral notes and brightness (660 cases $34)

2006 Bucher Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Red raspberries, rose petals and beautiful acids complete this one (220 cases $40)

2006 Wren Hop Vineyard Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - Bright notes of cherries, cinnamon with silky tannins with a finish that lingers (230 cases $40)

2006 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - "Mazie Rose" (named for his daugther) - Framed by dark strawberries, with a rich mid-palate that balances weight with elegance (only 90 cases produced $40)

2006 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (95% Zin 5% Petit Syrah) - Finese, power and black stone fruit that is the hallmark of the Dry Creek Valley (255 cases $26)

2006 Alexander Valley Zinfandel (96% Zin 4% Syrah) - Bigger, riper, more extracted wine for those who seek heft in their Zin (290 cases $26)

2006 Lovers Lane Vineyard Syrah - Co-fermented with 3% Viognier a nice study of Syrah's ability to be both powerful and elegant (170 cases $30)

2006 Syrah, Russian River Valley - 100% Syrah from "Vinehill" near Forestville-the power of purple (150 cases $30)

2006 Late Harvest Pinot Gris "Grace's Cuvee" - A "botrysized" sweet wine filled with aromas of baked pears and apples, a hint of apricot and a touch of citrus (280 cases $25)

2006 Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer - Highly aromatic and packed iwth aromas of Lychee fruit, white roses and honeysuckle (220 cases $30)

TravBuddy Featured Review 05/17/08

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UPDATE TO REVIEW:
- Visited again on August 17th with Melanie (Mellemel8) to pick up wine for an event. He is now sold out of his 06 Russian River one that won high praise but we got to try the 07 which was just bottled and WOW - this is going to be a fantastic one! I also got the opportunity to meet John and talk with him for awhile. Super nice guy and I recommend if you are planning on visiting, email to find out when he's there so you can meet him. I also learned that his wine is widely available at finer restaurants in Las Vegas so look for Holdredge wines on lists there!

Thanks again to John for an enjoyable afternoon and for signing my bottle of Mazie's Rose as well! :-)