BUENA TIERRA

When getting started in 1994 finding fruit was a nightmare. The recession of the late 80’s to early 90’s had inhibited new plantings and then the 60 minutes French Paradox segment aired and all of a sudden it was fashionable, no healthy, to be drinking red wine. I called an old friend who is involved with a number of limited partnerships/LLC’s owning and operating several hundred acres of grapes in Napa and Sonoma Counties. I asked about the possibility of buying 2 tons of grapes and was almost laughed off the phone. "We drop more than that in a day", chortled Dave. But none the less he turned me over to his partner and the manager of all vineyard properties, John Rauck.

John turned out to be this terrific guy. After years of studying Zen Buddhism he decided that a more lucrative profession would be better suited to his then new wife and first child on the way. Are you ready? He chose accounting. But as karma would have it he took those skills ultimately to these partnerships and although he still crunches numbers he is back to the land. Working with John has been one of my most enjoyable and rewarding professional relationships. Of course now we are best pals as well.

Jesse Lopez, vineyard manager.

I first took my tonnage from a ranch on River Road called the Wood Ranch. After harvest of 1998 that vineyard was removed and the following year planted to selective clones of chardonnay for one of John’s most serious customers, Jordan. But before taking my prized pinot noir away John offered me a deal I could not refuse; the opportunity to plant a small acreage to pinot noir to my specifications. This was also a replant so we (John, myself, and vineyard manager Jesse Lopez) worked with the existing spacing, 6 X 9, and retained the drip irrigation and posts. 3309 rootstock was planted in 1995. It took a couple of years to determine what clone(s) we wanted to plant but soon decided on 6: selections Pommard and Swan chosen from local vineyards, and Burgundian clones 113, 115, 667, and 777 from a local nursery. We named this 4.2 acre site "E Block" for ‘experimental’.

Rootstock was budded in 1997 and a small crop of 1.77 tons was kept in harvest 1998. From there E Block had continued to offer some of the very finest fruit. We currently harvest approximately 3.0-3.2 tons per acre. To achieve these optimum yields it is necessary to go through the vineyard several times. Yield corrections include short shoot thinning and cluster thinning just after set, and again a green harvest at the onset of veraison.

One of the great pleasures in farming E Block is the opportunity to experiment and explore. This is not just the experimental block for clonal material but for use of compost teas, rock dust, natural cover crops rather than seeded, and organic foliar sprays.

The spectrum of aromas and flavors of the pinot noir from the Buena Tierra E Block is incredibly broad. Although each clone has a different taste and aroma profile it is clear that site is the dominant factor. Aromas and flavors are of the black fruits; blackberry, cassis, plum and Marionberry. There is plenty of typical Russian River kola nut and sassafras supported by tobacco leaves and fresh coffee grounds. Firm tannins provide a fantastic structural support for balance, elegance, and ageability.

I also buy chardonnay from this vineyard. Vines were planted in 1972, clone 4 on AXR-1 rootstock. Spacing is 8 X 12 and the vines like to produce around 5 tons to the acre. We have found on this old block that two cluster thinnings, one after set and one green harvest give us the best results. Final yields are between 3.5-4.0 tons per acre.

Old vine chardonnay at Buena Tierra.

Chardonnay from the Buena Tierra Ranch has tropical, citrus, and stone fruit qualities. There is not an absolute dominance of any one and sometimes it is the pineapple/grapefruit aroma and sometimes the papaya/mango/guava that is most apparent. High acidity supports a long crisp finish. Richness is a result of the winemaking techniques applied to chardonnay .

Soils on this site are a mix. The primary soil type is of the Yolo series consisting of well drained loams underlain by recent alluvium from sandstone and shale. The soils in this association were formed in alluvium derived from mixed sedimentary rock and basic rock. Natural vegetation consists of annual and perennial grasses and legumes, scattered oaks and shrubs, and wild berries. Surface layers are grayish-brown sandy loam, substratum is grayish-brown stratified loam. Running right through the middle section of the E Block Pinot Noir is a band of the Cortina series. Cortina soils are excessively drained. They have a surface layer of very gravelly sandy loam, their substratum is grayish-brown and very gravelly coarse sandy loam. Elevations are around 100-125 feet with annual rainfall between 25-45 inches.

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