Murrieta's Well Snooth Virtual Tasting with Winemaker Robbie Meyer

On July 19th Snooth co-founder Mark Angelillo and Murrieta’s Well winemaker Robbie Meyer participated in a video tasting of four Murrieta’s Well's wines while also discussing the history of the Livermore Valley winery. The winery traces its history back to 1883 with the planting of imported cuttings from France and the building of a gravity-flow winery into the hillside. In 1990, Philip Wente and Sergio Traverso revived the 92-acre property, and renamed the winery in honor of Joaquin Murrieta who discovered the estate in the 1800s.The well refers to the Artesian well where Murrieta and his band of desperados watered their horses.  The estate's 500 acres lie in the middle of the valley in generally gravelly soil with morning fog cooling the grapes before the start of a typical sunny day. The grapes for the four wines were harvested exclusively from these estate vineyards, blended from different blocks that exhibit slightly different soil types and mesoclimates.

Murrieta’s Well The Whip White Wine Blend Livermore Valley 2014 ($24 - 29% Semillon, 27% Chardonnay, 18% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Orange Muscat, 8% Muscat Canelli, 6% Viognier) was aged sur lie for 12 months with 30% of the wine aged in used neutral French oak barrels. This process enhances the wine’s general texture and mouthfeel.  The tangerine aromatics from the muscat grapes are potent, followed by creamy apricot & citrus flavors (thanks to the  Semillon& Chardonnay), and finishes refreshingly acidic. Quite nice.

Murrieta’s Well The Spur Red Wine Blend Livermore Valley 2013 ($30 - 40% Petite Sirah, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec) was aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, using a combination of new and previously used barrels. The result is a complex wine with chewy cherry flavors, some spice and chocolate with smooth tannins. Drink now and often.

Murrieta’s Well Chardonnay Small Lot Livermore Valley 2014 ($44) is made from isolated own rooted Ernest Wente clone. The wine was fermented slowly in barrel with native yeast and aged sur lie - once again enhancing the wine’s general texture and mouthfeel. Yet the oak doesn't overwhelm the wine, leaving the creamy chardonnay citrus flavors to acquire the spotlight. Textured and refreshing acids. And extremely nice wine.

Murrieta’s Well Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot Livermore Valley 2013 ($58 -75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec, 5% Petite Sirah, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot) was aged for 20 months in 70% new French oak. This is a meaty and juicy wine with some dustiness and lingering smoothness of dark chocolate. The acidity and strong tannins allow for long aging. Decant accordingly.