Suggested Retail Price – $32.00

This is based on a winery supplied sample.

Elyse Winery, is at 2100 Hoffman Lane in Napa is about a mile south of Yountville and about a quarter mile west of Hwy 29. The winery was started in 1987 by Ray and Nancy Coursen. The winery is named after their daughter, who is not surprisingly, named Elyse.

For their first ten years, the Coursen’s used various custom crush facilities in the area. In 1997 they took the big plunge and purchased a small vineyard and winery on Hoffman Lane. This is still the home of Elyse Winery and the tasting room.

Elyse Winery also produces a second label named after their son, Jacob Franklin. The wines under the Jacob Franklin label are focused on small production, low yield, single vineyard wines from Napa Valley. These wines are only available through the website, winery, or wine club.

To check on availability or to purchase wine, visit:

https://www.net10.net/ShoppingCart/buy/ProductSummary.asp

I highly recommend adding a stop at Elyse Winery on your next visit to wine country.

Much more information can be found at: http://www.elysewinery.com/index.html

Now onto the main reason for this post, the wine…

My comments

Elyse has been one of my favorite wineries since my first visit there in 2001. I was talking to an employee at Merryvale about the style of wines I liked and that I was on the lookout for leads to some nice Petite Sirah based wines. All he said was, “You have to checkout Elyse”. As soon as we got back in the car, I pulled out my guidebook of wineries, and looked them up. According to the guide, they required a reservation so I called them. About 30 minutes later we were met by a very gracious and inviting tasting room employee. We spent the next hour trying just about everything they made. We left with several bottles for the week and ordered a case to be shipped back home.

Since that day, Elyse has always been the first winery we visit when we make it to Napa. I always have several bottles of Elyse wine in my cellar.

Wine Info

The wine is a blend of 84% Petite Sirah, 12% Syrah, and 4% Zinfandel. The grapes come for two vineyards, Souyoultzis and Hayne. The grapes were harvested on four passes from September 21 to October 9^th.

After a 13 to 15 day fermentation with native yeast, the wine was aged 10 ½ months in American Oak, 40% of which was new.

The final alcohol is 14.5%, and the total production was 866 cases.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, inky purple to black color, always a good sign for a Petite Sirah. The very inviting nose has ripe blackberries, freshly cracked black pepper, baking spices, charred meat, dark chocolate, plums, dried herbs, earthy underbrush, and wild flower dominated potpourri. The wine is fairly full bodied with solid, ripe tannins and very good acidity. On the palate the wine has a load of rich and spicy berries with dark chocolate, dried herbs, black pepper, earthy elements, and a meaty quality providing a ton of depth and complexity. The finish mirrors the palate and is long and flavorful. This tastes outstanding today but with the balance, tannins, and acidity, this will last for a long time in the cellar…if you can resist it for that long. (93 pts)

The wine was a perfect pairing with a Pan Roasted Sirloin Steak au Poivre, Paprika Potatoes, and Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus.

* Shameless Self Promotion *

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

Remember to support your local wine store!

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.