Soulful Wines from Desire Lines
Shake Ridge.
One of the favorite things about my job is seeking out small producers making interesting wines. I love working with people who are really just beginning on their journey and climbing on board with them to see where it goes. I first met Cody and Emily Rasmussen of Desire Lines Wines back in May of 2019 at a very memorable “Shades of Shake Ridge” event in the Sierra Foothills. We had actually been in contact the year before, but my wife and I had a baby and several months disappeared into a black hole… then Cody and Emily had a baby that decided to arrive two weeks early on the very day we had finally scheduled to meet and taste their wines! And so that May, as I walked through the beautiful blocks of vines at Shake Ridge, I came across their small tasting table, under the shade of a tree with their little baby in a bassinet in the long grass. I will never forget that meeting. There is something so authentic and genuine about them as people and that in turn is encapsulated in their wines. The wines embody a true passion and love for the craft of making wines with a palpable sense of place. They are soulful wines of minimal intervention, yet are also precise and refined. Every part of the process from the selection of vineyard sites, meticulous farming, astute subtle winemaking, hand-drawn label art… everything is done with the utmost care and deliberate attention to detail.
Both Cody and Emily work day jobs for another winery that I have huge respect for, Bedrock Wine Co. Cody is currently working his tenth year at Bedrock and is the Associate Winemaker. Emily is a freelancer who works behind the scenes with sales, marketing, and just about anything that needs to get done. She’s also the Executive Director of the Historic Vineyard Society, which is an incredible project to document and preserve California’s incredible wealth of old vineyards. Chris Cottrell and Morgan Twain-Peterson at Bedrock have fostered a wonderful sense of community where they have allowed many young winemakers to spread their wings and launch their side hustles alongside their primary responsibilities. Check out: Birdhorse and Filaments wines that are also part of the Bedrock “village.” I love the “rising tide floats all boats” mentality espoused there. It’s a really cool thing to see such a supportive environment that has nurtured talent in the most beautiful way and brought so many exciting wines our way as a result.
But enough backstory…here are the wines:
Kick Ranch Vineyard.
2021 Desire Lines "Kick Ranch" Fountain Grove Sauvignon Blanc $34.95 93VN
Kick Ranch is a well-renowned vineyard in the Rincon Valley just east of Santa Rosa. Nestled up against the Mayacamas Mountains, this elevated site has very rocky alluvial soils that have splintered down from the slopes above. The vineyard is also very exposed to the Petaluma wind gap and experiences radical diurnal temperature fluctuations. This is a very serious, powerful Sauvignon Blanc. Low yields, barrel fermentation (in Stockinger barrels no less), and extended lees aging have given this wine so much intensity, flavor, and texture.
2021 Desire Lines “Wiley Vineyard” Anderson Valley Riesling $24.95 92VN
I loved this wine at a recent tasting with Cody. From 1976-planted vines in the deep end of Anderson Valley. This cool, foggy site has a long hangtime to develop tons of depth and character, while the cold nights and mornings hold on to that all-important acidity. The fruit is whole-cluster pressed and fermented in stainless steel. The wine then rested on its lees in 320L neutral oak for 10 months. The finished wine has a small dash of residual sugar (8gL), a TA of 8.0, and a fresh 3.02pH. In other words, the perfect balance of juicy, exotic, ripe fruit, plus searing acidity to cleanse the palate. Lip smackingly good!
2021 Desire Lines "Winds of Change" California Syrah $24.95 94+VN
Winds of Change has probably been our best-selling wine from Desire Lines, and probably because it represents an incredible value. The premise of the wine, as suggested by the name, has been to explore grapes planted in the cool, windy, most heavily coastal-influenced plantings. In 2021 the wine shifted gears a little becoming labeled as a Syrah rather than red blend and this was basically because of Cody’s new access to phenomenal Syrah from Santa Barbara County. The blend is predominantly from White Hawk, plus Presqu'ile, Bien Nacido, and Nolan. A good chunk of whole-cluster inclusion and 1% Viognier is co-fermented with the Syrah. It’s aged in neutral, large 500L Puncheons. I love the elegant power this wine has; wonderful depth and dense fruit but without sacrificing any of the aromatic lift and savory intensity that makes cool-climate Syrah so compelling.
Rows of Cabernet vines in Carmel Valley.
2021 Desire Lines "Cachagua Ridge" Carmel Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $29.95
We partnered with Cody and Emily on this wine that is part of their “Experimental Series” where they get to play with small parcels of fruit from exceptional vineyards, but not necessarily wines that they will make every year. This Cab comes from a small vineyard way up the Carmel Valley in the area known as Cachagua. The vines grow on decomposed granite soils with some shale mixed in. Aged for 15 months in 40% new French oak (Taransaud). The wine’s power and concentration defies its modest 13.4% ABV. It has lovely varietal character and excellent potential for aging, too. A total steal at this price for small-production, single-vineyard Cabernet.
2021 Desire Lines "Evangelho Vineyard" Contra Costa County Red Blend $34.95
As I wrote above, Cody’s day job at Bedrock Wine Co. means he has pretty incredible access to some of the best and oldest vines in California. Evangelho is the crown jewel of Contra Costa County. A vineyard planted in 1888 on its own roots in 40 feet of pure sand. Now surrounded by ever-encroaching industry, housing developments, auto shops, and a PG&E power plant, these incredible old vines stand defiant. A few years back Bedrock bought a large piece of the vineyard, and secured a long-term lease on the other portion (quite bizarrely owned by PG&E). The 2021 is a selection of Carignan and Mourvèdre (Mataro). Wonderfully aromatic and lifted. There’s a juiciness to the fruit that I love here. The pure sand soils lend the wine fine grained tannins; the age of the vines seems to impart a savory depth and complexity that is hard to put into words. Such a beautiful wine and a true piece of vinous history, too.