Mauritson/Rockpile www.mauritsonwines.com
2859 Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 431-0804
The Mauritson family has been farming grapes in the Dry Creek Valley since the late 1800s, but didn't decide to make their own wine until the late 1990s. Their first vintage was 1998. This is still a family operation with Clay Mauritson as the winemaker. The tasting room staff are also very friendly. They produce 7,000 cases per year of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for the Mauritson label and about 3,000 cases of single vineyard Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Malbec, Meritage and Port for the premium Rockpile label. All of the fruit for the Rockpile wines come from their vineyards in Rockpile.
89+ 2009 Mauritson Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel $27
97% Zinfandel, 3% Petite Sirah 15.2%alc 2957 cases
Overall: Juicy black cherry and Zinberry fruit with excellent acidity and smooth tannins. This is mostly Dry Creek Valley fruit, but has a significant amount of Rockpile Zinfandel, making the fruit brighter and more forward. This is delicious right now, but has the structure to get even better in the next 2-3 years.88+ 2007 Mauritson Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County $35
Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot 14.5%alc 1457 cases
Overall: Shows racy acidity and good tannins supporting cassis fruit. The bouquet and flavor are particularly attractive, but shows a little bitterness in the finish. Very tasty now, but similar to the Zinfandel above, it could get better in the next 2-3 years.88 2008 Rockpile Buck Pasture Vineyard Malbec (Rockpile) $41
100% Malbec 14.3%alc 87 cases
Overall: Has very good berry fruit supported by excellent tannins and acidity with nuances of black ink and shoe polish. Unfortunately, it has a burnt rubber nuance that throws me off a bit in the bouquet and flavor, making the wine a little funky. If it weren't for that, I'd probably score this significantly higher.92 2008 Rockpile Madrone Spring Vineyard Petite Sirah (Rockpile) $37
100% Petite Sirah 15.1%alc 257 cases
Overall: Deep purple garnet with blackberry jam fruit and a little clay nuance making it interesting. This shows outstanding fruit concentration and structure. It's balanced enough to be delicious already, but is likely to improve in the next 3-6 years.89+ 2008 Rockpile Independence Red Wine - Port (Rockpile) $31 (500mL)
25% Tinta Cão, 25% Touriga Nacional, 25% Sousão, 25% Tinta Madeira 18.1%alc 227 cases
Overall: A blend of Portuguese grapes that are traditionally used in Vintage Port. This has delicious, smooth, rich blackberry fruit with a sweet cedary oak component that compliments, underneath. The quality is excellent, except for a slight burnt rubber component. It's not as noticeable here as in the Malbec, but still holds it back a little for me.Final Thoughts: All of the reds here have racy fruit and very good structure. The entry level Zin and Cab are quite enjoyable now and will be this good for a few years at least. The Rockpile wines have more concentration and structure. The Malbec and the Port showed a slight burnt rubber nuance, but the Petite Sirah was totally clean and very impressive. Based on this mostly positive first experience with these wines, I look forward to trying their Rockpile single vineyard Zins, which were sold out when we visited.
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