Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/833814
68 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2017 Big Basin's owner/grower/wine- maker Bradley Brown founded his steeply sloping site in a for- ested enclave alongside Big Basin Redwoods State Park (a California Historical Landmark) in 1998 with a burning mission: to produce terroir- driven wines from the ground up, preferably with organically-farmed sites (Big Basin's own estate is CCOF-certified). According to Brown, "We've evolved over the years, as we've come to know our vineyards bet - ter. We used to go for rich and ripe styles of Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noir, but now we're farming and picking for more energy, a height - ened vibrancy of fruit and acid and more vineyard transparency. We've simplified our winemaking. New oak is down to a minimum, and we pick earlier for lower potential alco - hol, although we're not dogmatic about what we end up with. "The goal, though, is less ripeness, more complexity. I think you can bake out aromatics when you go for riper fruit. You might get sweet fruit expression, but you lose dimen - sionality—not just for Pinot Noir but also for the Rhône varieties. Vineyard maturity has helped, and so has working with talented grow - ers (Brown also works with the vaunted Lester and Alfaro Family Vineyards in the Pleasant Rhys Vineyards' Skyline Vineyard uses close spacing at a 2,360-foot elevation. Owner/grower/winemaker Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards at the Rattlesnake Rock Vineyard: "The goal is less ripeness, more complexity." Bradley Brown Big Basin Vineyards { somm camp preview }