The wine educator, Ish, who originally hails from Puerto Rico and has the "hot blood and personality" of his culture put on a lively presentation. He took us around the grounds and we visited the estate home that has many stories to tell. One of them was how over 40 years ago while the house was closed up and no one residing in it, the local kids would sneak in and roller skate on those beautiful floors. He even hinted who those kids were and now are known personalities in the NSV.
I visited Spring Mountain Winery many, many years ago and happened to be there when the current owner, Jacqui Safra, was on the property. While Jacqui did not say very much at that time, I learned from the staff ( they were not set up for tastings at that time) the many stories about Jacqui and how he accumulated the acreage over the years as he focused on the various micro climates (it was an incredible story and one I better not share as it was very personal.)
But Jacqui, being ranked as one of the 50 wealthiest people in the world (Donald Trump does not come close) bought the vineyard and estate in 1992. There were three well known wineries on the property and he acquired them all farming over 200 acres and the remaining 600 odd acres was left as a natural setting. They use cover crops and not pesticides and everything about their techniques are sustainable.
MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT ABOUT THE TIME SPENT WAS THIS LATEST VISIT DID NOT INCLUDE THE WALK THROUGH THE VARIOUS SLOPED VINEYARDS, the micro climates and A BUT MORE ABOUT JACQUI.
Why? Based upon my accumulated experience visiting here "back in the day" (and this is why I knocked one star off the rating) there is so much more than just tasting the wine. While the story about Jacqui is interesting, during my first visit back in the 90's, it was related to me that the winery was bought to demonstrate the amazing finished product that can come from the Spring Mountain area and its many microclimates. The caves that are within the hills that have been enhanced are incredible and "back in the day" I caught a glimpse of all of the Premier Grand Cru and Grand Cru wines stored on site as Jacqui loves Bordeaux region from what I was told, such as Pauillac and Sf. Emilion varieties.
I am mentioning this as the Spring Mountain wines were not sold for many years and were just laid down and aged after the property was acquired. I believe Jacqui wanted to assess how the Spring Mountain wines would perform over time and once the team confirmed what they had, they started to release it. It must be great to not have to worry about cash flow but now the wines are elegant and to be enjoyed each vintage. The terroir gives an amazing variety of grapes due to the landscape, terraced vineyards, microclimates and the winemaking team.
If it were my call, I would push for.more of a visit to the vineyards and explore the land and what God has provided as it is impeccable. I believe Jacqui acquired Spring Mountain as thought these grapes could provide more of an old World finish which is what I think he sought. Spring Mountain Winery produces 25% of the total grape volume of the Spring Mountain AVA.
The estate and vineyards start at 400' and go to the top are 1,600'. Couple that with the microclimates, terroir shifts, temp changes, soil changes/ wow, the winemaker has an amazing arsenal to work from.
The tasting room is beautiful within the original estate that was done over several years ago. The Chardonnay had a good oak balance, the traditional cab can be laid down for several years due to what the winemaker has done searching the various blocks, and the 2012 Elivette Cab just blew me out of the water; it was very nice for our wine educator , Ish, to offer that. Tasting that alone was worth the trip.
On the drive up Spring Mountain Road about 0.5 miles before you reach Spring mountain Winery, there are some cool photos op places/ a waterfall on the right, and some great photo ops on the left of the vineyards and the mustard plant ; as each year towards the end of winter, the vineyards scream color below the bare vineyard trunks!!!! They come alive with gold, yellow and orange; it is mesmerizing. Worth a stop. But I wish the tour included a suggestion to "bring your mudders when you come" as you are going out to the vineyards as part of the tour. Spring Mountain is amazing, the story of Spring Mountain Winery and what Jacqui has done is terrific, and finish it off with the Elivette cab. Then stroll through the property one last time before you leave with many memories. read more