Belle Glos Vineyards – A Caymus Offshoot

Of course you are familiar with Caymus! Chuck Wagner, the founder of Caymus, is the father or Joe Wagner, who started Belle Glos in 2001. Joe named the vineyard to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, who was a co-founder of Caymus. But, the vineyards that are part of Belle Glos are not in Napa, they are along the coastal regions of California. The vineyards enjoy the ocean breezes and each vineyard has its own unique characteristics.

I recently participated in a tasting of Belle Glos Pinot Noirs at Central Wine Merchants in Flemington, NJ. In addition to three pinots, I was able to sample one of their chardonnays as well. More about that later. If you visit Central Wine Merchants, ask for Roland and he will tell you all you want to know about Belle Glos wines, or any other wines for that matter. This tasting was presented by the seller/distributer for Belle Glos.

Belle Glos grows pinot noir grapes in several vineyards, and produces different wines made from each vineyard to highlight the unique characteristics of each vineyard. This is the actual definition of terroir (according to the French) and how each vineyard contributes to the character of the wine based on all the factors affecting that unique vineyard.

The Clark & Telephone Vineyard is located just 13 miles from the ocean and on a west-facing slope. The vineyard experiences cool fog and coastal breezes in the summer. Located in the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, the local climate leads to later ripening of the grapes, greater acidity and increased complexity in the wine.

The Dairyman Vineyard is close to the Pacific Ocean on the southern plains of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. The vines experience cool morning fog, and afternoon coastal breezes that lengthen the growing season. The tasting notes (from the winemaker) describe the Dairyman wine as “dark plum in color with abundant aromas of dark chocolate, black cherry and sun ripened blackberry.”

The Las Alturas Vineyard sits on 15 acres in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. Because of the altitude and proximity to the coast, the vines enjoy lots of sunshine and cool coastal breezes during the growing season. The winemaker’s tasting notes for this wine describe it as “scarlet red in color with an aromatic medley of gooseberry, raspberry, and cranberry with hints of ginger, black pepper and shaved milk chocolate.”

My own tasting experience with these three pinot noirs was that they are all excellent expressions of pinot noir as you might discover in a fine Bourgogne pinot noir. The black cherry was predominant in the Dairyman, and the Clark and Telephone showed both cherry and chocolate notes. The Las Alturas showed both raspberry and black cherry notes, and overall was the most elegant of the three, without denigrating the quality of the other two pinots. All three were “smooth as glass” and awakened my entire palette. At the tasting, several other participants selected one of the other wines as their favorite, demonstrating that in a comparison of well crafted wines, individual preferences often play a role in your personal selection. I consider myself a fan of pinot noir, and began tasting wines in Bourgogne in the 1980s. These wines compare favorably to most of the French pinot noirs I have tried over the past 30 years. Congrats to Joe Wagner and his team at Belle Glos!

The Glasir Holt vineyard was originally planed as a pinot noir vineyard as well, but the soil composition and climatic conditions seemed perfect for Chardonnay. This resulted in a classic chardonnay that is full bodied and presents with excellent acidity and minerality. The wine started with the crushing of the grapes in whole clusters. The wine was then fermented with 10 percent in concrete vats and 90 percent in new French oak.And no, this wine is not over-oaked! The winemaking process included malolactic conversion and stirring the lees weekly. The wine was then aged for 12 months before being put into the bottle. The resulting wine is full bodied, well-balanced and has a crisp acidity. This is an excellent chardonnay!