Archive Wines

Made from one row of grapevines at the Vogelzang Vineyard in the Happy Canyon region of Santa Barbara County, our Sauvignon Blanc benefits from custom farming and a close collaboration between vineyard manager and winemaker. Known for its warm to hot daytime temperatures and only slight maritime influence, the Vogelzang Vineyard tends to produce wines that reflect this warmth and typically feature creamy citrus and melon notes. Grapes harvested in the cold hours before dawn are pressed whole cluster directly to a small stainless steel tank to settle overnight. The clear juice is then transferred to neutral French Oak barrels to ferment naturally with its own yeast.  The wine is allowed to ferment and develop on its own for 6 months in neutral barrels and bottled in the spring to capture the purity of the fruit and all its energy.

Bright and brilliant in the glass, our 2016 Sauvignon Blanc displays a pleasing acidity and broader palate, characteristic of the vintage. The wine contains pleasant notes of vanilla, tropical fruit and a finish of baked apple.Steve Clifton

Winemaker: Steve Clifton
154 cs produced

Retail price:

$25 per bottle
$250 per case

Baehner Fournier Vineyards 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mild cedar aromas are lightly lifted by hints of mint over a foundation of cocoa, black cherry and dark plum. Flavors continue with plum, pomegranate and mint. Long, soft tannins linger with a touch of black walnut and blond tobacco.

Steve Clifton-Winemaker

2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is the most balanced of the 2013 vintage wines from Baehner Fournier. Raw, powerful and not yet fully formed, the 2013 is going to need time in the bottle to fully come together. Dark plum, cherry, herb, smoke, chocolate and tobacco gradually unfurl in the glass, but the tannins remain powerful and imposing. It will be interesting to see what time brings here.

– Antonio Galloni Vinous August 2015 89-90
– San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2016 Bronze Medal

Retail price:

$34/bottle
$340/case
154 cases produced

The 2012 Solus has really come together nicely since I tasted it a year ago. Dark cherry, plum, mocha and spice are all pushed forward in a pliant, expressive wine to drink young, while the flavors remain vibrant.

– Antonio Galloni August 2015

Retail price:

$34/bottle
$340/case
154 cases produced

Retail price:

$42/bottle
$420/case

Made from one row of grapevines at the Vogelzang Vineyard in the Happy Canyon region of Santa Barbara County, our Sauvignon Blanc benefits from custom farming and a close collaboration between vineyard manager and winemaker. Known for its warm to hot daytime temperatures and only slight maritime influence, the Vogelzang Vineyard tends to produce wines that reflect this warmth and typically feature creamy citrus and melon notes. Grapes harvested in the cold hours before dawn are pressed whole cluster directly to a small stainless steel tank to settle overnight. The clear juice is then transferred to neutral French Oak barrels to ferment naturally with its own yeast.  The wine is allowed to ferment and develop on its own for 6 months in neutral barrels and bottled in the spring to capture the purity of the fruit and all its energy.

Hints of Meyer lemon mix with Kaffir lime, straw and white flowers. This is a leaner more focused version of Sauvignon Blanc, with bright aromas that evoke the sunshine with which the Happy Canyon appellation is blessed. On the palate, spicy flavors of white pepper, cherimoya , and lemon curd blend with lichee, lemon grass and mace.  Enjoy this wine with fresh seared sea scallops, roast chicken and asparagus dishes and Salads de Jeur.

Steve Clifton
Winemaker
154 cs produced

The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Vogelzang Vineyard is striking. Peach, melon, spices and white flowers are laced together in a rich, ample Sauvignon built on texture. Sweet floral notes from the Musque clone add an exotic flair on the finish.

Antonio Galloni Rating 89

Retail price:

$25 per bottle
$250 per case

Petit Verdot, perhaps the most misunderstood of the five Bordeaux varietals, likely predates the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon on the Left Bank of Gironde River. Its origins are obscure, with its first mention in literature on the Bordeaux region dating to the early eighteenth century, but it probably originated in points further south, in the Tarn Valley near the southwestern French city of Toulouse. It has fallen out of favor in Bordeaux, due in no small part to its tendency to ripen very late in the season, often after the first major winter rains. In California, meanwhile, Petit Verdot has found a favorable home where it easily ripens during the Indian Summers for which the state is known.

This wine bursts with aromas of plum and dried strawberry mingled with soft notes of cedar and rosewood. Red, yellow and dried plum flavors dominate highlighted by a mentholated herb de provence finish.

Steve Clifton-Winemaker

Antonio Galloni Vinous 89
San Francisco Chronicle 2016 Wine Competition Silver Medal

Retail price:

$34/bottle
$340/case
96 cases produced

Santa Ynez Valley AVA, 83% Merlot/17% Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot, the most widely planted red grape in the Bordeaux region of France, reaches its apogee of quality on the Right Bank of the Gironde River in the Pomerol district. There, often blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, it produces wines much appreciated for their juicy black plum and boysenberry flavors; soft, bushy textures; and moderately tannic backbone. Planted in gravelly-clay soils, Merlot in Pomerol is, above all, known for its immediate charms and remarkable ability to evolve and develop with bottle age. At Baehner-Fournier, it is this very particular expression of Merlot to which we aspire.

Made of 100% estate grown grapes from the Baehner-Fournier Vineyards, our 2010 Merlot expresses the sand and gravelly-clay terroir of 2 radically sloped, northeast facing blocks, planted in soils very similar to those found in Pomerol and in the neighboring  St. Emillion. Fruit, picked at moderate levels of ripeness, is destemmed and gently crushed to small open top fermenters and, after a 3 day cold-soak, spends an average of 18 days on skins to best extract the intense flavors and aromas that the estate vineyard produces. Aging for 19 months in 20% new French oak has resulted in a polished, glossy mouth feel and subtle aromas of coffee and mocha.

Lifted aromas of black cherry and currant give way to deeper notes of blackberry and tobacco. Similar flavors of black cherry dominate the palate along with soft Santa Rosa plum nuances. Satiny in texture—the result of gentle fining with egg whites—our 2010 Merlot features a brilliant burst of vibrant acidity on the finish, keeping the wine fresh and balanced. Lush and drinkable now, this wine should develop further coffee and tobacco characters with 5 to 7 years of bottle age.

Nick de Luca, Winemaker

Retail price:

$34/bottle
$340/case

151 cases produced

SOLD OUT

Santa Ynez Valley, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Baehner-Fournier Estate

Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the world’s most famous and important grape varieties, is known to produce profound wines in both its ancestral home on the left bank of the Gironde River in Bordeaux as well as in many areas of the New World, Napa Valley being particularly famous. When grown in cooler, more humid areas such as Bordeaux, the wine is often very sturdy, displaying cassis and tobacco flavors with a remarkable ability to develop with several decades of aging. In warmer, drier areas such as Napa, the wines produced tend to have enormous black currant-tinged fruit, low acid and soft tannins. At Baehner-Fournier, in the Santa Ynez Valley, we aspire to a theoretical blend of the two regions, combining some of the power and succulent fruit that the New World is known for with the structure and grace that is more characteristic of Bordeaux.

Made of 100% estate grown grapes from the Baehner-Fournier Vineyard, our 2010 “Solus” expresses the sand and gravelly-clay terroir of 2 blocks planted along the ridge that runs through the property as well as one block planted on a drastically sloped east facing hillside. The high quality French clones 191 and 341 are used exclusively. Fruit, picked at moderate levels of ripeness, is destemmed and gently crushed to small open top fermenters and, after a 3 day cold-soak, spends and average of 18 days on skins to best extract the intense flavors and aromas that the estate vineyard produces. Aging for 19 months in 20% new French oak has resulted in a polished, glossy mouthfeel and highlights of cocoa and white pepper. A light pre-bottling fining with two egg whites per barrel further softens the tannins and brings an amazingly silky feel to the wine

Lifted aromas of bing cherry and cassis give way to grace notes of raspberry liqueur. Similar flavors of cherry dominate the palate along with more of the raspberry highlights. Silky in texture, our 2010 “Solus” Cabernet Sauvignon features delicate shadings of chocolate and vivid acidity on the finish, keeping everything fresh. Lush and drinkable now, this wine should develop tobacco and cedar characters with up to 10 years of bottle age.

Nick de Luca, Winemaker

Retail price:

$28/bottle
$280/case
247 cases produced