Originally published on March 23, 2009.
What in the world??? Two posts about actual wine in the same week?
Well, I am so excited about these wines, I didn’t want to keep them to myself. (Yes, if you get the newsletter, you already know this, but give me a break…I have 3 kids under 5, so I’m allowed to do a little cross posting. And I promise, this won’t be a total cut-and-paste job. Alright, it will be a total cut-and-paste job, but like I said, just give me a break.)
Here’s the scoop: If you’re a California Pinot-phile, you probably know the name Williams Selyem, the fabled winery that started making wine in a two-car garage and quickly became the top Pinot Noir producer in California. Founding winemaker Burt Williams sold the business in 1998, and is waiting for his non-compete agreement to run out before entering the winemaking fray. But the Williams Selyem wines still remain incredibly scarce, mainly available direct from the winery or popping up at the occasionally fine wine store (such as, perhaps, Frankly Wines.)
Whoa whoa whoa….I can hear you thinking, “Williams Selyem….but isn’t the fancy pants wine Brogan Cellars? Why aren’t you writing about Brogan Cellars? I’ve never even heard of Brogan Cellars.”
Well, the founding winemaker of Brogan Cellars, Margaret “Margi” Wierenga, is Burt Williams’s daughter. After more than a few years working at Williams Selyem, she started her own winery making small production Pinot Noir in a winery that was partially housed in….yes, déjà vu, an old garage. Production is truly small, with a total of 1,500 cases across all her various bottlings. And like father, like daughter, you can only get these wines off Margi’s mailing list, at top restaurants, and…at Frankly Wines!
We have two bottlings in stock:
Brogan Cellars Morning Dew Ranch 2007 (Anderson Valley):sourced from Papa Williams’s own vineyard. A little darker toned, a little more concentrated, a little more “California” than the Russian River Valley bottling. But with an alcohol level of only 13.6%, (ignore the label to the left, which probably exists through the magic of photoshop…the real label says 13.6%) this is hardly over-the-top Cali-style Pinot Noir. Price: $59.99
Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley 2007 (Russian River Valley): sourced from vineyard sites across the Russian River region, this bottling is a little more perfumed, with notes of cherries and spice. This wine is elegant, pretty, and dare we say sexy? Price: $59.99
We have less than two cases across both wines. Claim them quickly before we resist our accountant’s sound advice and claim them for ourselves.