News & Events

Cloud 9 News Update

Composition Reserve Release: After 16 months in oak and an extended 19 months in the bottle, the first ever Composition Reserve has been released to both the Murphys and Clarksburg tasting rooms. (It wll also be available online, via this website, but will not be released to retail). Only 106 cases of this special blend were produced, and each bottle is individually numbered. Comprised of the same five grapes that traditionally define Composition, the Reserve sourced Tempranillo, Syrah, and Barbera from vineyards we've historically not been able to access. The result is a wine that is truly a Composition Plus. Side-by-side tastings in Murphys have confirmed with consumers the fact that - as good as Composition is - the Reserve is a delictable step up. Priced at $60 for a 750 ml bottle, the Reserve is still an excellent value for the price. Try it yourself!

Medals Update:

Cloud 9 Rapport is a perfect three-for-three in major competitions this summer, with Gold at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition, Gold (and Best of Class) at the California State Fair, and Silver at the San Francisco Wine Competion. For those fans of ruby ports, Rapport offers a distinctive fruit-forward style that appeals to judges and consumers alike.

Vintage Update

The 2006 Seity has been playing to rave visitor reviews (and robust sales) in both tasting rooms. While young (and will benefit from additional bottle aging), the 2006 is already displaying the classic Seity character of raspberry fruit, black pepper, and chocolate.

Composition 2006 is now in the bottle and resting comfortably for a 2009 release. This latest bottling of Composition represents the first (minor) departure from the established Seity blend and is the first produced by Nancy Steel, the new master winemaker for Cloud 9. For 2006, Nancy substituted Malbec for Petite Verdot, producing a wine just as elegant as its predecessors, but with a trifle more fruit. We think the 2006 Compositon will be the best ever and is truly something to look forward to. Wine Club members wil get a preview in their fall shipment.

In June we also bottled our first Cloud 9 Syrah. This wine is comprised of fruit harvested entirely from Baby Rattlesnake Vineyard, Blue Block. It is dense, with jammy fruit, brown spice, and a unique walnut note. Several of us at Solomon describe this wine as simply the best Syrah we've ever tasted. Period. Only 180 cases were bottled, so check this website regularly for updates on this most special of wines. We anticipate holding this wine in the bottle at least a year before release, but we expect the wine will tell us when it's time for it to emerge from it's post-bottling rest period.

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:

Cloud 9 Wine

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