After about half a dozen phone calls, I was finally able to pin down the incredibly busy Michael Browne to an appointment. We drove over to his facility in Sebastopol, and a few minutes after we arrived, Michael came charging up the driveway in a flatbed truck. He introduced us to his apprentice/assistant/lackey who will remain nameless for now, but most of you know him.
Michael was very accommodating, told us about his background, and his future ambitions. He was graceous enough to open a bottle of 02 Cohn Vineyard Pinot and an 02 Kanzler Pinot. Inside dope - Michael likes the Cohn best of his 02s because of the complexity. Personally, I preferred the Kanzler, but it got a good bit more air time than the Cohn, so that may have had something to do with it. Fortunately, I had already bought a few bottles, and we were able to pick them up while we were there. Michael then offered us 2 2004 barrel samples which were still in the fermentation process. They were still just a bit sweet, but with a TON of fruit. We discussed subjects such as borer beetles, who like the taste of oak barrels, and, in what must have been a moment of weakness, Michael invited us to stop by at his other facility in Kenwood, Deerfield Ranch, where he is also winemaker. I immediately put that on the calendar for Thursday. Michael had a busy day ahead of him , so we got out of his hair (at least he still has his
) and drove back to Healdsburg.
One of my goals since our last trip 3 years ago was to check out the Seghesio tasting room, so we did. They has the usual lineup of excellent 02 zins, from Sonoma County to Old Vines to Home Ranch to Cortina. Lastly, we tasted an incredible port blend. I think it was 1/3 each cab, zin, and petite sirah. One sip and I decided to purchase the 3 bottle limit. They also had some 'winery only' limited (less than 100 cases) production zins that they make for some of their growers. We took home 5 of these without even tasting. Based on Seghesio's track record, it won't be a problem.
On the way home, we stopped at the Family Wineries of Sonoma, and sampled a few tidbits. Having never heard of Deerfield Ranch before Michael told us about it, we sampled what was available, and came away with a 2001 Syrah, and a bottle of grapeseed oil for the folks who were housesitting at home for us.
The credit card was getting mighty heavy at this point, and there are still 3 days to go!!
