Hommage to Floodgate Vineyard
Top Pinot Noir from California
"Elegance, finesse, complexity, all in perfect harmony"
Scroll below wine list for details.
1995 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$82.00
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1996 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$82.00
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| Wine Spectator 87 | |||||
| "Starts smooth, with ripe cherry and herbal mushroom flavors turning tart and focused on the finish. (240 cases produced)" | |||||
1998 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$82.00
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| FineWine International | |||||
| This limited production Pinot from the acclaimed Floodgate Vineyard in Mendocino is one of our favorites. It will remind you of a very good premier cru Volnay from Lafon or Lafarge. The 1998 vintage, in particular, is darker, more brooding and intense in aromas and flavors than in years past. There are the expected strawberry and cherry aromas along with some subtle oak and spice nuances. The wine is already showing superb balance and a long, lingering finish. Winemaker, Hank Skewis keeps raising the bar with each new release. | |||||
| Robert Parker 92 | |||||
| What a discovery! What a performance! Who is Hank Skewis, the winemaker/proprietor of this small estate? Amazingly, the 1998 Pinot Noir Floodgate Vineyard is even better. It tastes like a top-flight grand cru Richebourg...and that's no joke! If offers up a gorgeous bouquet of pure blackberry and black raspberry fruit intermixed with floral scents. This dark ruby/purple-colored Pinot possesses full-bodied, concentrated flavors, no hard edges, a seamless texture, and an extremely long finish. Both of these offerings are Burgundian-styled, remarkably complex Pinots of compelling interest. Bravo! | |||||
1999 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$82.00
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| FineWine International | |||||
| Less then 200 cases were produced in the 1999 vintage. We have tasted this wine a number of times over the past year and have been impressed with its evolution. Like the best Floodgate vintages of the past this wine reminds us of a very good vintage Lafon Volnay. There are lovely fruit aromatics intertwined with subtle spice and smokey leather notes. On the palate the flavors are of red fruits, cherries and raspberries principally, mixed with spice and a subtle hints of anise and cardamon. This is a bigger wine than the 1998 Floodgate and should age beautifully over the next 4-6 years, perhaps longer. As always, very impressive and one of our favorite California Pinots. | |||||
| New York Times 4 * | |||||
| Like a kiss and a kick in one bottle. The light color belies the wine's complexity and power (14.8 percent alcohol), so give it time to open up. Delicate strawberry and herbal notes are backed up by black pepper, spicy oak and a long, intense finish. LESLIE SBROCCO | |||||
2000 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$82.00
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| FineWine International | |||||
| The 2000 Skewis Floodgate exhibits rich aromatics: stonefruit, black cherry and raspberry mingled with subtle spice and smokey leather. On the palate the fruit flavors echo the aromas. The wine is beautifully balanced and the flavors linger in the finish. Another 6-9 months of bottle age will bring all these elements into sharper focus. | |||||
2003 Skewis Floodgate California (750ml) |
$48.00
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| FineWine International | |||||
| "Brilliant garnet color. Clearn aromatics of plum, cherry, blackberry and ripe strawberries meld with herbal qualities of licorice root, sweet tea, ginger and toasted almond. A hint of mushroom, earth, smoked meat and dried fig add to the complex bouquet. Rich aromatics carry through into the flavors with added cassis, leather, cardamon and a touch od dried herb. With well integrated woo, round tannins, and a long smooth finish, Floodgate is a beautiful expression of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir." winemaker notes. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. | |||||
| Allen Meadows, Burghound 87 | |||||
| A high-toned and perfumed nose of red berry fruit aromas combines with light to barely medium weight flavors that are delicious and very pinot in style, culminating in a dusty and lightly structured finish. This will be at its best on the early side yet hold well. | |||||
| Wine News 92 | |||||
| Fresh, fragrant, appealing aromas of crushed and juicy wild strawberries accented by subtle black licorice, candied ginger and toasted almonds. Silky smooth and elegant with medium tannins and copious strawberry-cassis fruit, a touch of dried herbs and a subtle leather note that carries into the finish, this is a persistent and nuanced Pinot that is a joy to contemplate as well as to drink. Succeeding vintages from this source will be called "Reserve". Steve Pitcher 92 pts. | |||||
Floodgate Vineyard is located in Anderson Valley in Mendocino County in Northern California. The mountainous property has 52 acres of planted vines, primarily of Pinot Noir, and is situated on the shoulder of a narrow ridge-top in the northernmost section of the valley.
Long time vineyard developer and grower Fred Peterson, in partnership with Bill Hambrecht, planted the vineyard with six different clones of Pinot Noir in the mid 1980s. Just 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the vineyard, at an elevation of 750 feet, is strongly influenced by its location. During the summer, fog and wind allow the grapes to ripen slowly. The extra hang time during growing season helps to preserve the natural acidity of the fruit. The poor soil insures that yields will be small, but the quality excellent. Ideal conditions for the production of high quality Pinot Noir. In 2003 Duckhorn Vineyards acquired the property for its Goldeneye Winery and the "Floodgate Vineyard" became a part of history.
A number of wineries made Pinot Noir from Floodgate Vineyard over the years but none more memorably than those made by Hank and Maggie Skewis. We have been a fan of Skewis' Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir from the moment we first tasted it in the mid 1990s.
Here at a time when California Pinot Noirs were struggling to find their voice was a wine that knew what it wanted to be. Skewis Floodgate Pinot was a lyric tenor of a wine, not a grand diva, to use an opera analogy. It was, first and foremost, an aromatically seductive wine. Always impeccably balanced, never trying to overwhelm your palate with gobs of fruit forward flavors. Its rewards were much more subtle and satisfying. The lingering finish never failed to satisfy and best of all, the wine aged gracefully, picking up additional complexity the longer it aged. Early in his winemaking career, Hank Skewis worked a harvest at Domaine Lafon in Burgundy and perhaps a subliminal seed was planted in him there because his wines mimic the style of those incomparable Volnays.
Elegance, finesse, complexity all in perfect harmony, these are the characteristics of Skewis' Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noirs, a quality not often found in California Pinot Noirs.
For this offering, we are pleased to offer our clients six vintages of the remarkable Skewis Floodgate Vineyard Pinot Noir. Quantities are extremely limited and once they are gone there won't be anymore to offer our clients.
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