" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Laird Chardonnay Cold Creek 2016
No longer available.
| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Napa) |
| Winery: | Laird |
| Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
| Organic: | Yes |
| Vintage: | 2016 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
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Laird Chardonnay Cold Creek is 100% Chardonnay
Our Cold Creek Chardonnay is grown in the slightly cooler microclimate of the Sonoma side of the Los Carneros district to the west, where thick fog and cool marine winds protect its tender skins. Indigenous to the Burgundy region of France, Clones 15 and 95 at a 50:50 ratio exhibit an approachable style and luminous, golden color.
Tasting Notes: The appearance of golden straw leads you through an aromatic journey with notes of tropical fruits, sweet nectarine, melon, and vanilla. The wine has flavors of jasmine, citrus, and ripe Fuji apple that are complemented by a creamy mouthfeel and hints of lemon curd. The finish lingers on the palate, making you yearn for the next sip.
Vineyard: 100% Cold Creek Ranch
Appellation: Los Carneros
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
50% Malolactic Fermentation
Laird Pinot Grigio Cold Creek is made from 100 percent Pinot Grigio.
The Laird Family’s Cold Creek Ranch is a 300 acre vineyard located on the Sonoma side of the Carneros district. The cooling sea breezes off the San Pablo Bay are perfectly suited for Pinot Grigio as well as Chardonnay, two grape varieties that thrive in this special vineyard.
Tasting Notes: The clear yellow sapphire hue sparkles in the sunlight, with inviting aromas of juicy passionfruit, honeysuckle and Juicy Fruit gum. The palate is balanced with medium acid and enticing flavors of melon, apricot, vanilla, and subtle mineralty, leading to a focused, mouthwatering finish.
Vineyard: 100% Cold Creek Ranch
Appellation: Los Carneros (Sonoma)
Our Vineyards
“Our family vineyard is located in the picturesque and historic Padthaway valley, 300 km south of Adelaide. Our rich, fertile terra rossa soils, environmentally friendly viticulture, low yield and exceptional fruit is how we consistently produce outstanding wines. Small parcels of the highest quality fruit are selected from our family vineyard and handcrafted to create wines with amazing depth of flavour, style and balance…” ~ David Bryson
Winemaking Notes
Fruit was harvested in the cool of the night and gently pressed. The juice was fermented in French oak barrels (35% new, 65% aged). Various components underwent: a wild ferment, malolactic fermentation and extended lees contact to give the wine further complexity and flavour. Individual parcels were selected and blended, then filtered to produce this Chardonnay without compromising the purity of the fruit in both flavour and aroma.
Tasting Notes
Pale straw in colour. Concentrated citrus and white peach fruit flavours are complimented by delicate yeast and subtle spice aromas. The palate is clean and fresh with vibrant fruit flavours, mineral characters and a good lingering finish.
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Morambro Creek Cabernet is 100 percent Cabernet
Deep purple in color. A rich elegant nose of cassis with overtones of vanilla and coffee. Lush, ripe palate dominated by black fruits, cherry and chocolate. Full bodied with savory, integrated fruit tannins and persistent finish.
Winemaking at Morambro Creek is very traditional and labour intensive. Oak maturation takes place using 35% new French barrels. This blend was put together using select barrels from our family estate that best demonstrate the intensity of our fruit balanced by integrated oak.
Total Acidity: 6.6 g/L
pH: 3.49
Review:
"From the small Padthaway region three hours' drive east of Adelaide, this is a full-bodied Cab that, despite the region's warm climate, avoids being bombastic. The nose feels Christmasy: baking spices laced with purple beets, dried mint and red berries. In the mouth it's ripe and generous, and there's a fair bit of oak showing but all is held at bay by taut, fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2025."
- Wine Enthusiast (January 2020), 90 pts
"Layers of mint, tobacco and cassis unfold on the nose of the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon. Mature and ready to drink, this medium to full-bodied wine is a fine example of Padthaway's (and the larger Limestone Coast region's) potential for Bordeaux varieties. Silky, savory and dry, it displays fine lines despite its heft, with bright acids and a lingering finish. - Joe Czerwinski"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #253, February 2021), 90 pts
"Bright ruby. Spice-accented cherry and floral qualities on the nose, along with a hint of dark chocolate. In a juicy, forward style, offering bitter cherry and cassis flavors that show good depth and spicy lift. Easygoing tannins frame a long, smooth finish that echoes the floral note."
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (September 2022), 90 pts
Morambro Creek Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes
Deep straw in colour. Concentrated citrus and white peach fruit flavours are complimented by delicate yeast and subtle spice aromas. The palate is clean and fresh with vibrant fruit flavours, mineral characters and a good lingering finish.
Winemaking Report
Fruit was harvested in the cool of the night and gently pressed. The juice was fermented in French oak barrels (35% new, 65% aged). Various components underwent: a wild ferment, malolactic fermentation and extended lees contact to give the wine further complexity and flavour. Individual parcels were selected and blended, then filtered to produce this Chardonnay without compromising the purity of the fruit in both flavour and aroma.
Mt Monster Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Gentle pressing and free run juices create the base of this wine.
Traditionally Mt Monster Chardonnay is 100% fermented and matured in stainless steel, this receives some lees contact to add texture and complexity to the palate, but essentially this wine is pure Chardonnay fruit.
Review & Tasting notes:
Bright straw color, with hints of lime green. Fresh figs and melon, with vibrant lemon citrus fruit. The nose also shows some yeast complexity from extended lees contact. Fresh tangy melon fruit flavors, & a clean acid finish. Although it may benefit from up to 2 years maturation in bottle, this wine is best consumed when young and fresh.
- Australian Wine Showcase (December 2016), 94 pts
Product Description
Laird Chardonnay Cold Creek is 100% Chardonnay
Our Cold Creek Chardonnay is grown in the slightly cooler microclimate of the Sonoma side of the Los Carneros district to the west, where thick fog and cool marine winds protect its tender skins. Indigenous to the Burgundy region of France, Clones 15 and 95 at a 50:50 ratio exhibit an approachable style and luminous, golden color.
Tasting Notes: The appearance of golden straw leads you through an aromatic journey with notes of tropical fruits, sweet nectarine, melon, and vanilla. The wine has flavors of jasmine, citrus, and ripe Fuji apple that are complemented by a creamy mouthfeel and hints of lemon curd. The finish lingers on the palate, making you yearn for the next sip.
Vineyard: 100% Cold Creek Ranch
Appellation: Los Carneros
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
50% Malolactic Fermentation
Review:
"Complex pear, melon, fig and citrus flavors are presented in an elegant, graceful style in this pure version. Drink now. 1,800 cases made. –JL."
- Wine Spectator (April 2018), 90 pts
Winery: Laird
After nearly 50 years in the wine business, we understand the ins and outs of the industry, from the trends to the challenges. We believe that our success is due to our vineyard expertise as well as our shared goal to produce great estate wines.
With a concentration on Napa and Carneros vineyards, we have sought to produce wines that are “a window to a place.” Each one of our vineyards is different in expression, with its own subtle, yet distinctive character and voice. Each year renews in us an intense drive to understand, react to, and work with each vineyard to allow it to reach its full potential. This process, lead by our winemaking and vineyard management team, is crucial for the execution of successful wines.
Date Founded: Growing grapes since 1970. Making wine under their own nme since 2005.
Owner: Ken Laird
Winery Philosophy: With nearly 50 years in the wine business, we truly understand the ‘ins-and-outs’ of the industry and are able to meet the unique trends and challenges of the wine business. We believe that our success is due to the combination of vineyard expertise and a shared vision and goal to produce great, estate wines.
With a concentration in Napa and Carneros vineyards, we have sought to produce wines that are “a window to a place.” Each one of our vineyards is different in expression: each has a subtle, yet distinctive vineyard voice. With every year there is an intense drive to understand, react to and work with each vineyard to reach its full potential. This process, lead by winemaker and vineyard manager, is crucial for the execution of successful wines.
With a concentration in Napa and Carneros vineyards, we have sought to produce wines that are “a window to a place.” Each one of our vineyards is different in expression: each has a subtle, yet distinctive vineyard voice. With every year there is an intense drive to understand, react to and work with each vineyard to reach its full potential. This process, lead by winemaker and vineyard manager, is crucial for the execution of successful wines.
Our story begins over 75 years ago outside of South Boston Virginia as twelve-year-old Ken Laird drove his mule wagon through tight rows of sticky, fit-to-be-harvested tobacco leaves. As the gooey bundles were thrown up onto the wagon, little Ken led his mule team to the curing barn. It was there, with his grandmother, great uncles and cousins, they would stoke smoky curing fires for their prized tobacco. Ken would be the third generation Laird to carry on the farming tradition.
While growing up to be a big city mechanical engineer in New York City, Ken held on to his family tradition of becoming a farmer. In 1970, Ken and his wife, Gail, purchased their first Napa Valley parcel. This neglected piece of land, adjacent to Tubbs Lane in Calistoga, held 70 acres of worn-down prune trees. With Prohibition forty years gone and Napa Valley positioned to re-emerge as viticulturally significant, Ken and Gail decided to develop the orchard into a grape vineyard. While knowing just short of nothing about viticulture, they were also $150,000 short to properly develop the orchard into a respectable vineyard. Picking up a tattered phone book, Ken went to the yellow pages and found eight listed wineries…Robert Mondavi being the only one he recognized.
While growing up to be a big city mechanical engineer in New York City, Ken held on to his family tradition of becoming a farmer. In 1970, Ken and his wife, Gail, purchased their first Napa Valley parcel. This neglected piece of land, adjacent to Tubbs Lane in Calistoga, held 70 acres of worn-down prune trees. With Prohibition forty years gone and Napa Valley positioned to re-emerge as viticulturally significant, Ken and Gail decided to develop the orchard into a grape vineyard. While knowing just short of nothing about viticulture, they were also $150,000 short to properly develop the orchard into a respectable vineyard. Picking up a tattered phone book, Ken went to the yellow pages and found eight listed wineries…Robert Mondavi being the only one he recognized.
With a phone call, Robert Mondavi himself agreed to walk the property. After they discussed soils, vines, yields, irrigation, and proper pruning, Robert agreed to finance a deal with the Lairds if they would plant 50% Gamay. The deal was struck with a resulting vineyard of 50% Gamay and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. Mr. Mondavi guaranteeing the Laird’s Cabernet “to be the highest harvest price paid in the Valley.” The support and encouragement of Robert Mondavi would allow Ken to return to his passion: his family farming heritage.
By the late 1990’s the Laird vineyard holdings had exceeded 2,000 acres and the idea of making their own premium line of wines began to take shape. Architect, Jon Lail, showed Ken and Gail the plans for the iconic pyramid-shaped, multi-level winery. Construction began on what would become the Red Hen Ranch vineyard property north of Napa. Ken and Gail’s son, Justin, worked side-by-side with Ken in the vineyards and became the Vineyard Manger, while their daughter, Rebecca, became the General Manager of the winery. Rebecca’s daughter, Jillian, was born in 2005, the same year the winery’s first red blend was produced, appropriately named Jillian’s Blend (and it happens to be Laird Family Estate’s most popular wine). Justin’s daughter, Megan, works in finance in New York City. His son, David, is continuing the family’s farming legacy by working with his dad in the vineyards.
Vineyard:
Winemaker: Brian Mox
The vineyard holdings possess a cross section of geomorphic and microclimate idiosyncrasies that are poised to produce particular grape varieties that thrive in their desired terroir.
From the thick fog and marine winds in Carneros to the volcanic soils mixed with ancient coastal deposits in the lower bench of the Mayacamas Mountains, they farm their vineyards to produce fruit that best complements the hallmarks of the land.
- back
The Tempest was one of the first wines, and the first Proprietary Blend, we produced. At the time, it seemed almost uncanny that we were able to access three grape varietals at the same time from the same vineyard; it was blind luck or perhaps the proverbial “perfect storm.” The resulting wine reflected a fierce determination to brave the storm as well as a new desire to realize the possibilities of Merlot. The Tempest is still made with outstanding grapes, from vineyards such as Blair in Calistoga and cooler sites like Farella and Orchard. Predominantly Merlot with lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon depending on vintage, The Tempest is a roiling cauldron of fresh red and blue fruit and silky tannins – a wine that shows what Merlot can be in the right hands, from the right vineyards.
Red fruit; silky tannins; more approachable in its youth
Review:
The 2022 The Tempest is a blend of 67% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of black raspberries, mulberries, and kirsch, leading to hints of lavender, wild sage, and aniseed. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers bright, crunchy fruit with firm, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing on a lingering peppery note. This was bottled in March 2024.
-Wine Independent 96 Points
Clos des Cazaux Gigondas Le Souiras is 100% Grenache.
“Le Souiras” is the terroir located at the very South end of the Gigondas appellation. Here, in the midst of the Dentelles de Montmirail, an extraordinary calcareous massif, we planted grapevines on slopes surrounded by Mediterranean vegetation.
We are situated at an altitude of 250 meters, where the nights are cooler. The terroir is stony with a layer of grey and blue clay under the topsoil. The slopes face West and are protected from the strong summer sun by the Montmirail hill. Due to this ideal microclimate, our old Grenache grapevines contain all the complexity and balance of this sunny terroir.
Color : Dark intense ruby color.
Bouquet : Notes of little red fruits, white pepper, caramel and juniper.
Palate : The first impression is arresting and generally qualified as round, complex and dense.
The aromas of black cherry, mocha and white pepper are very intense. The palate is powerful, elegant and velvety.
The finish is long, with very silky tannins and a very slight bitterness that gives this exceptional Grenache an impression of freshness.
Review:
"A brilliant wine that has so much to love, the 2022 Gigondas Le Souiras is all Grenache that was brought up in barrels. It exhibits a vivid ruby hue as well as classic kirsch and blackberry fruit intermixed with peppery garrigue, spice, and ample Provençal nuances. This medium-bodied, fresh, focused 2022 has a beautiful sense of elegance, fine tannins, and the balance to evolve gracefully over the coming 10-12 years."
- Jeb Dunnuck (December 5th 2024), 94 pts
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