Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2016 McKahn Family Cellars Viognier Russian River Valley

2015 McKahn Family Cellars Syrah St Helena

 

This is based on samples provided by the winery or an entity acting on their behalf.

 

 

 

 

McKahn Family Cellars is a San Francisco Bay Area based wine brand established in 2014 that is dedicated to crafting limited production wines of quality and character from some of the best vineyards in California.  We believe a bottle of wine is an experience from the first glass to the last, and that the last should always be the best.  We also believe that wine tastes better when shared and accompanied with good food and conversation.  So please enjoy our wines with friends, because nobody likes to drink alone.

 

The winemaker for McKahn Family Cellars is Charles McKahn, a 2011 graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Enology program.  Charles has worked for McKahn Family and Tolosa as well as currently being the head winemaker at William Harrison Winery and in the past was the Assistant Winemaker for Chappellet Winery.

 

The winery has a three tier wine club, with 4, 6 or 12 bottles a shipments three times a year.  All three levels offer discounts as well as invitations to events and release parties.  The winery also offers individual, group and private tastings in their tasting room in Livermore, CA.  Information on the different tastings and setting up your own “special occasion” with up to 32 guests is available on their website.

 

More information about the family, the winery and more importantly their wines is available on their website.

 

 

 

Here are the wines included in this tasting:

 

 

 

2016 McKahn Family Cellars Viognier Russian River Valley – SRP $32

The grapes for this wine came from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley.  The grapes were whole cluster pressed to tank and allowed to settle for a day.  After the primary lees were racked off, this was inoculated with yeast.  The wine was then moved to neutral barrels for fermentation and six months of aging.  There were only 125 cases produced.

 

The wine is a very light yellow straw color.  The fresh and vibrant nose has bananas, lime zest, melon, unripe pineapple, white peach, chalky minerals, gardenia and anise.  This has medium to full body with good acidity.  This is fresh and fruity on the front end with white peach, banana, melon and pineapple.  On the back end minerality emerges along with a nice floral note.  The finish have good length with mouthwatering lime zest entering the picture enticing your to grab another sip.  This is a very easy to drink Viognier that downplays the usually over powering floral notes.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

 

2015 McKahn Family Cellars Syrah St Helena – SRP $45

The grapes for this wine come from Saint Helena in the Napa Valley.  After fermentation, the wine was aged for 11 months in French oak barrels with 40% new and 60% neutral.  There were only 140 cases produced.

 

The wine is a deep, saturated ruby color.  This has the nose you run into every once in a while that makes you want to just keep swirling and sniffing, it is full of blackberries, plums, roasted meat, black peppercorns, violets, bacon fat, freshly ground espresso beans, dark bittersweet chocolate, dusty minerals and licorice.  This has medium body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  The palate reflects the nose with nice layers of savory elements complimenting the blackberry and plums, the freshly ground espresso beans is especially noteworthy.  The finish gets a touch clipped when the tannins and acidity kick in but this improves with extended air.  This tastes very good now with considerable air but you will be greatly rewarded stashing this in your cellar for a couple years.  This has the balance to age and improve for a decade or more.  I really like this wine, it is loaded with flavor without pushing the ripeness level.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

I paired the McKahn Family Syrah with a thick cut pork chop that was cooked to medium rare with a Sous Vide and finished in a hot cast iron pan.  The side dishes were sautéed carrots and a Cheesy Broccoli-Cauliflower casserole featuring vegetables fresh from the garden.

 

 

 

Conclusion

These were both exceptional wines, especially the Syrah.  I wholeheartedly recommend checking out these wines.  Besides the two wines I have featured, the winery also produce a Chardonnay, a Zinfandel and a Grenache Rosé.  One note of caution, the winery is currently only able to ship their wine to a limited number of states.  A good way to keep informed and up to date is to subscribe to their mailing list/newsletter via the website, there is a nice reward attached to your welcome e-mail.

 

 

 

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Cheers!

 

 

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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 always check out the sale and close out items when in a store.  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.

 

 

 

Cheers!