Wine Article
2004 Scholium Project Babylon Tenbrink Vineyards
Last edited on 11/30/2011 by fingers
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Winemaker's Notes:
Babylon: this wine is now at home in many civilized dining rooms, but it is still fierce, nearly barbaric.
Its source is a remarkable vineyard, in Suisun Valley– far enough from Napa to represent the mysterious, distant East. People farm differently, vines have a different aspect, one does not feel at home on the way to this vineyard. But then one reaches it and its excellence announces itself immediately: the vines are perfectly balanced, restricted in their growth, with clusters that are few in number and small-berried. A natural cover-crop grows beneath them. The partnership between the growers– the scrupulous Tenbrink family– and the Project was so successful in 2003 that we agreed that they would grow as much as possible for the me in 2004. I harvested 7 tons– 7 times as much as in 2003. We farmed even more rigorously than we did in 2003, and with spectacular results. The grapes were so healthy that I could let them hang much longer than in 2003, and they did so without any raisining. I used a new, very large, vessel to ferment this vast quantity, and took advantage of the opportunity it allowed to macerate the grapes for a week before fermentation, and for ten days after fermentation was complete.
The wine went to barrel in 50% new oak and remained there for 18 months without topping and sulfur, undisturbed since its original passage into barrel. It is beautifully fragrant, clean and direct– hardly barbarian except for its fierce intensity. It is ready to drink now and will reward you with a gladiatorial contest in your mouth-- one without losers. The wine will be somewhat less fierce in a decade or so.
Our second vintage from the superb Tenbrink vineyard in Suisun Valley. This is the most extreme version of the Babylon so far. It is Amarone-like in its super-ripe intensity. As always, the fruit flavors were driven to a higher plane. Now the wine, though rich, ripe, and even charming in its barbarian way, is an edifice built on tannin and blanketed in new leather. About 300 cases were produced.
this wine has huge tannins and exquisite fruit. Tannins are rich and completely ripe, but their scale and density might make the wine off-putting. The fruit is very intense and supported by fine acidity and minerality. For this reason, I think that the beauty of the fruit will be preserved as the wine matures and softens. The wine will probably offer a little softness beginning in the summer of 2007 and might reach an acme of precise fruit and complex tannins around 2011. It should maintain high quality for another decade after this.
I enjoy drinking the wine now and prefer to do so from a bottle that has been opened, sampled, and re-corked for 2 or 3 days.
Producer Notes
The Scholium Project, made by Abe Schoener, pushes the envelope of expectation in wines, producing esoteric varieties from somewhat obscure vineyards througout northern California. Schoener, who completed his graduate work in Ancient Greek Philosophy, concentrated on Homer. His label's name translates to "school, schooling" from Greek, and signifies an undertaking for the sake of learning, paralleling his winemaking journey. Schoener took a sabbatical from teaching in 1998 to work as an intern at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley before moving on to work in the cellars of Luna. He then began the Scholium Project in 2004, entitling wines using proprietary names rather than varieties. In the cellar, Schoener allows his wines to take their own natural course by leaving them undisturbed in the barrel, not sulfuring or topping off - instead he allows the fermentation to develop a ripeness particular to wine, not fruit. Scholium Project wines are extremely limited in production.
Babylon: this wine is now at home in many civilized dining rooms, but it is still fierce, nearly barbaric.
Its source is a remarkable vineyard, in Suisun Valley– far enough from Napa to represent the mysterious, distant East. People farm differently, vines have a different aspect, one does not feel at home on the way to this vineyard. But then one reaches it and its excellence announces itself immediately: the vines are perfectly balanced, restricted in their growth, with clusters that are few in number and small-berried. A natural cover-crop grows beneath them. The partnership between the growers– the scrupulous Tenbrink family– and the Project was so successful in 2003 that we agreed that they would grow as much as possible for the me in 2004. I harvested 7 tons– 7 times as much as in 2003. We farmed even more rigorously than we did in 2003, and with spectacular results. The grapes were so healthy that I could let them hang much longer than in 2003, and they did so without any raisining. I used a new, very large, vessel to ferment this vast quantity, and took advantage of the opportunity it allowed to macerate the grapes for a week before fermentation, and for ten days after fermentation was complete.
The wine went to barrel in 50% new oak and remained there for 18 months without topping and sulfur, undisturbed since its original passage into barrel. It is beautifully fragrant, clean and direct– hardly barbarian except for its fierce intensity. It is ready to drink now and will reward you with a gladiatorial contest in your mouth-- one without losers. The wine will be somewhat less fierce in a decade or so.
Our second vintage from the superb Tenbrink vineyard in Suisun Valley. This is the most extreme version of the Babylon so far. It is Amarone-like in its super-ripe intensity. As always, the fruit flavors were driven to a higher plane. Now the wine, though rich, ripe, and even charming in its barbarian way, is an edifice built on tannin and blanketed in new leather. About 300 cases were produced.
this wine has huge tannins and exquisite fruit. Tannins are rich and completely ripe, but their scale and density might make the wine off-putting. The fruit is very intense and supported by fine acidity and minerality. For this reason, I think that the beauty of the fruit will be preserved as the wine matures and softens. The wine will probably offer a little softness beginning in the summer of 2007 and might reach an acme of precise fruit and complex tannins around 2011. It should maintain high quality for another decade after this.
I enjoy drinking the wine now and prefer to do so from a bottle that has been opened, sampled, and re-corked for 2 or 3 days.
Producer Notes
The Scholium Project, made by Abe Schoener, pushes the envelope of expectation in wines, producing esoteric varieties from somewhat obscure vineyards througout northern California. Schoener, who completed his graduate work in Ancient Greek Philosophy, concentrated on Homer. His label's name translates to "school, schooling" from Greek, and signifies an undertaking for the sake of learning, paralleling his winemaking journey. Schoener took a sabbatical from teaching in 1998 to work as an intern at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley before moving on to work in the cellars of Luna. He then began the Scholium Project in 2004, entitling wines using proprietary names rather than varieties. In the cellar, Schoener allows his wines to take their own natural course by leaving them undisturbed in the barrel, not sulfuring or topping off - instead he allows the fermentation to develop a ripeness particular to wine, not fruit. Scholium Project wines are extremely limited in production.