The SOMM Journal

February / March 2018

Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/935769

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 26 of 92

26 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 { inside sonoma } WHEN WINEMAKER ERIC SUSSMAN founded his boutique brand Radio-Coteau in 2002, he set out to produce a series of small-production wines expressing the fla- vors and character of the pristine vineyard they hailed from. Over the next decade, Sussman fulfilled that dream with his impressive chain of world-class wines; at the same time, he gained a reputation as one of the top boutique producers of Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Chardonnay made with fruit from the coastal regions of Sonoma County and Anderson Valley. With those goals not only accom - plished, but surpassed, the only thing Sussman felt he was missing was an estate vineyard he could call his own. He set his sights on a historic 42-acre farmstead above Occidental (located on a ridgetop at 800 feet, the property was first planted with grapes in 1896) and purchased it in 2012. Today, the site features a lovely two- story Victorian home, a rustic adult-sized treehouse, and a series of redwood barns, as well as old Zinfandel vines planted in 1946. Like the younger blocks of Syrah, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot planted on the property, the vines are farmed using organic and Biodynamic methods. To capture the true personality of the estate, Sussman generally takes a more minimalistic approach to winemaking in order to produce balanced wines driven by acidity and freshness: All Radio-Coteau wines are made with free-run juice and native ferments. He also leaves them unracked to preserve the purity of the fruit, and has chosen to pick grapes ear - lier in the harvest season in recent years. "Once you've missed that point where acidity and flavors are in balance, there's no going back," says Sussman. In 2017, this focus on allowing nature's influence to run its course with limited intervention produced two splendid releases: the 2014 Harrison Grade Syrah, a complex wine with lofty aromas and vibrant flavors of dark fruits, roasted meats, wild herbs, and fresh violets, and the 2014 Lemorel Sonoma Coast Zinfandel. Named after the family who owned the property at the turn of the 20th century, the latter wine features gorgeous aromas of fresh berries, earth, and spice with lively flavors of ripe raspberry, wild strawberry, licorice, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. To encourage biodiversity on the prop - erty, Sussman and his team planted an ex- pansive network of vegetable gardens and fruit trees and also raise heirloom breeds of goats, chickens, and turkeys in a cluster of well-groomed pens. Local species of deer, foxes, and bears, meanwhile, find refuge in an open space on the estate. . Going Full Farm RADIO-COTEAU WINEMAKER ERIC SUSSMAN LETS NATURE TAKE THE REINS AT HIS BOUTIQUE ESTATE by Chris Sawyer / photos by Sean Desmond Radio-Coteau Winemaker and Proprietor Eric Sussman makes his wines, as well as his Eye Cyder hard ciders, with fruit from the estate property he purchased near Occidental, CA, in 2012. The Radio-Coteau 2014 Harrison Grade Syrah from the Sonoma Coast is made with fruit from vines originally planted on the winery's estate property in 1999. At an elevation of 800 feet, the Radio-Coteau estate vineyard and farm features a gorgeous view of the Russian River Valley to the east.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The SOMM Journal - February / March 2018