Here at K&L we've long been huge fans of Ian Brand's wines. Right after I took the reins of the Domestic wine department in 2018, Ian was recognized by the San Francisco Chronicle as their Winemaker of the Year. This award shone a bright light on wines that were already considered “insider” here at K&L. In the years since, Ian has been generous enough to host our sales team on several occasions both at his winery in Salinas and at several vineyards from which he sources fruit.

Ian is known for championing vineyard sites from oft overlooked or under-appreciated Monterey and San Benito counties. He crafts wines that are reflective of the region's heavily ocean-influenced climate, very diverse and complex soils, and long cultural traditions of agriculture. Never one to rest on his laurels, (perhaps hopelessly doomed to make a huge variety of wines after his formative years at Bonny Doon with the inimitable Randall Graham), Ian has several brands in his stable including Paysan, La Marea, and I. Brand & Family. Every wine offers character and value. Some are most definitely up there with the finest wines in the country.

And that leads me to our featured wine today the 2021 I. Brand & Family " Fellom Ranch" Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon $74.95 98JD. This is a wine that stops you in your tracks. A wine that defines a place and season. A wine that speaks purely of its varietal, the very essence of Cabernet Sauvignon. So I thought I would reach out to Ian for a quick chat about what exactly went into the creation of this beautiful bottle:

Ryan Woodhouse: I feel that you’re most widely known for your Monterey/San Benito County wines, but I know you also have a strong affinity with the wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Can you tell me a little about what drew you to work with Fellom Ranch fruit?

Ian Brand: I came up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I was mentored by people like Jeff Emery (Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard), Marty Mathis (Kathryn Kennedy), Dexter and Val Ahlgren (Ahlgren), and Jeffrey Patterson (Mount Eden). I work in Monterey and San Benito County because there’s lots of work that needs to be done there to elevate those regions. I am also conscientious about how much I take from the Santa Cruz Mountains because there are scant few vineyards there and a local winemaking scene that needs those grapes to flourish. But... when the right site comes up, and I have something to add to the conversation, I step up.

RW: Ha! Yeah, you sure do! That's cool to think about it that way. There's such a great community of winemakers in the region; it's awesome to see.

So, we carry lots of your wines in various price points. The I. Brand & Family tier seems to be to be the crème de la crème of what you do. What does it take for something to end up under that label in particular? What elevates a wine to that level?

IB: Our I. Brand & Family label is all about building an understanding of what makes our region special. There are legendary producers like Ridge, Mount Eden, Calera, and Chalone. And there are historic vines in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Santa Clara Valley, the old Durney Vineyard in Carmel Valley, and some incredible vineyards in Cienega Valley. But there’s little understanding of how the greater region connects. Our aim is to help define the styles that allow these special sites to sing and to work with the vineyards that fill in the region’s geography and link its history to its future.

RW: So you’re taking these special sites, allowing them to express themselves through the lens of your winemaking, and having that contribute to the broader narrative of the region. Some of that, even though its bears your name, is still very much about the place and broader landscape. It's not about any particular treatment I'm the winery. That brings me nicely to my next question before we talk about the Fellom Ranch Cab specifically. Give me the quick run down on your winemaking style and practices.

IB: Our winemaking philosophy, in general, is “as needed.” It takes a lot of years and repetitions to get to the necessary level of confidence, touch and understanding in the winery. I'm not dogmatic about anything in particular. I try to do what the wine needs, which hopefully is as little as possible.

RW: OK, so getting back to the Fellom Cab in particular. What makes this wine so special to you?

IB: It's an incredible site. It shares a border with Ridge Monte Bello. Right below the vineyard is a lime quarry. The whole ridge is an uplifted ancient seabed now sitting at over 2000 feet elevation in the mountains. The blocks we get were planted in 1980 and 1982. The vines are a historic heritage selection from Beringer on St. George rootstock. We take the north- and east-facing rows, which have the least sun exposure. I really like that filtered sunlight.

RW: The wine really has what I consider to be "varietal character" or typicity that for Cabernet, which includes some of those more complex savory notes of tobacco leaf, Bay Laurel, cigar box. Sometimes direct sun exposure on the fruit can really burn off those characters.

Tell me a little about the 2021 growing season and how that contributed to this wine.

IB: 2021 is probably the most agable vintage I’ve seen in my 22 years in wineries. Flavor-wise, it’s reflective of the excellent 2013 and 2014 vintages but with more richness of fruit (because it’s not a drought vintage). 2021 wines were very balanced with excellent skin ripeness and really bracing natural acidity in our section of California, and I expect it to be a classic vintage that collectors will love to pull wines from their cellar.

RW: Tell me a little about the winemaking process for this wine.

IB: Pretty simple: the fruit is destemmed, gently crushed, and fermented with native yeast.

RW: What type of oak did you use here?

IB: We started using one light toast Austrian coopered puncheon and used French puncheons on the Fellom Cab in 2021. The use of larger format cooperage and light toasts on high end Cabernet is decidedly atypical but really works on this wine.

RW: I couldn't agree more, the oak is just a subtle framing here. I love that it doesn't detract the purity and poise of the wine. It's a subtly powerful wine...n ot power from extract, or ripeness, or new oak... just its depth of flavor and aromatic intensity. I really love this wine.

IB: Yeah, I think those qualities are a function of site and season...

RW: ... and you know, a guy who knows what he's doing...

IB: Well...yeah... I guess

RW /IB: (Laughing)

RW: Alright, thanks for taking the time to chat, I really appreciate it!

IB: Thanks for supporting the wines, it's an honor to be featured so prominently.

RW: Well it's definitely very well deserved. Alright, thanks Ian, hope to catch up again soon - Cheers!

- Ryan Woodhouse, K&L Domestic Wine Buyer