Cloud 9 Wine

News & Events

Cloud 9 News Update

Composition Reserve Update:  Fewer than thirty of the 106 cases of our first (and only) Composition Reserve remain.  With 19 months in oak (older oak - so don't think "oak bomb") and a full two years of bottle aging, this is a wine that is definitely deserving of the "Reserve" designation.  Both more fruit forward and more complex than our flagship Composition blend, this wine is a fabulous blend of fruit and spice - but with no bitterness or astringency.  Compared to the $200+ wines from Napa and Sonoma, Composition Reserve is a relative bargain at $60 per bottle.

The New Rapport: In a rare confluence of cosmic forces, Portuguese producers declared 2007 to be one of their rare vintage years for Port.  Here in California, Cloud 9 released its first vintage dessert wine - from the 2007 vintage!  This Ruby Port is the best ruby we've yet released - fully expected of a vintage dated port.  Comprised of Touriga National and Tinta Madeira (from vines more than 60 years old), Rapport offers rich blackberry jam, molasses/brown spice, and raisins in a blockbuster port that is built to add complexity in the bottle for 25 years or more.

Cloud 9 Syrah 2006: Simply stated, this may be the best Syrah you'll ever taste.  A superb effort from winemaker Nancy Steel rivals the best Syrahs/Shiraz's produced in the world.  Exceptional grapes from Baby Rattlesnake Vineyard in El Dorado County yielded a black walnut character that we'd not experienced before in any Syrah.  Nancy treated this wine delicately from grape to bottle to retain that subtle black walnut note, even pressing the grapes via "Methode Ancienne" (yes, the grapes were stomped the "ancient" way - with our feet!).  It is 100% Syrah from the Blue Block of Baby Rattlesnake Vineyard - the highest block of a vineyard already at 2000 feet.  Dark, jammy fruit, brown and black spices, a background note of vanilla oak and a full rich mouthfeel and finish - with that distinctive touch of black walnut yield a wine that is, simply, sublime.  Only 110 cases were produced; fewer than half remain.  Available in the tasting room at $65 per bottle (BTW, the 2005 Penfolds Grange was just released at $300 per bottle and a new "Methode Ancienne" Pinot Noir was just released in Napa at $250 a bottle - just thought you'd like to know...)

CELLAR UPDATE:

Composition 2006 is still developing in the bottle in advance of an expected summer release.  It is the first vintage to deviate from the Tempranillo--Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah-Barbera-Petite Verdot formula, as a small percentage of Malbec was substituted for the Petite Verdot with this vintage to add a new fruit note along with the color contribution that is the primary role of either grape.  It is still too early to judge, but this may ultimately exceed the 2001 vintage as the top Composition ever.  Check back on this site for a release date announcement.

Walker Vineyard Zinfandel: We are truly excited about our second Zinfandel from the vaunted Walker Vineyard in Amador.  Arguably the best Zinfandel vineyard in the Foothills, wines from this vineyard regularly garner 90+ scores from Robert Parker.  This 2008 vintage Zinfandel will be a great counterpoint to Seity: big, bold, ripe, luscious full-tilt Zinfandel versus the finesse (and milk chocolate) of Seity.  This wine is still in the barrel, but has passed a turning point from funk to fabulous.  We'll keep you informed about bottling dates and sensory progress.

Cloud 9 Syrah 2008: This wine is proving to be more than a worthy follow-up to the spectacular initial 2006 release.  (We did not find the 2007 vintage to be of Cloud 9 standards).  Again processed via Methode Ancienne, the 2008 Syrah promises to have an even richer fruit character combined with all the spice and balance of the 2006.  As with the Walker Zinfandel, this Syrah is still in the barrel.  We'll keep you informed as to its progress as well.

The New Face of Cloud 9??

While dining at a restaurant close to our Modesto office, the eagle eyes of the Cloud 9 Web staff spotted a car in the parking lot that immediately caught our attention.  While this does not appear to be the statement in understated elegance, nevertheless we felt it appropriate to reproduce the Cloud9mobile here: