Fritz Winery: A Subterranean Wine Delight!

A few weeks ago I had occasion to visit Fritz Winery in the far northern Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. I'd been to this amazing cave built into the side of a hill in Cloverdale a few years back and really enjoyed my experience there, so I was worried when MC Ice and I drove up.

After a bad experience at Bella, which has suffered a precipitous decline in quality AND after learning that the owner of Lynmar, which was a (controversial) non-fave of mine, is the brother of Clayton Fritz who runs this place, I was a little concerned. But upon rolling up to the cave (which we learned goes down 3 stories and is 200 feet deep, hence provides a natural gravity flow and natural air conditioning for the wine -- very cool), and trying a few of the wines, I realized that nothing had changed...quality remains at this little gem.

Fritz was built with the idea of creating a sustainable winery that didn't need expensive cooling systems and could use gravity to feed the grapes straight from the vineyard to the tank with little human intervention and no energy usage (after sorting and destemming they are pushed over into a subterranean tank, which is much gentler on the grapes). It was built in the late 1970s by Jay Fritz -- he was definitely part of the first wave of 20th century environmentalists and its great that the Winery stayed in the family and is still churning out great wine (although I do wish they would convert their vineyards to organic farming to take the environmental thing to its fullest extent).

For a standalone property, the Winery is kind of big in size, making 10,000 to 12,000 cases of wine (120,000 to 144,000 bottles) per year, depending on harvest. They make a ton of varieties but they are best known for Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Although good, I think there's a sleeper in their bunch, but I'll save that for the end of the post.

Here's the review of the 5 wines tried.

Wine #1: Fritz Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Where It's From: Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California
The Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2009
Price: $18

Color: Almost platinum in color, this was one of the palest California Sauvignon Blancs I'd seen. I expected either something watery or something with super high acid. Either way, lack of color was telling me the grapes were grown in a cooler climate where the vines were most likely kept in check -- which means no stem-like bitterness, which occurs with Sauv Blanc when not pruned and grown in cooler places.

Smell: The wine smelled like a classic California Sauvignon Blanc. What the hell does that mean? Cali tends to produce Sauv Blanc with some grapefruit and cat pee (seriously) aromas, but also a melon-y, abundantly floral (like gardenia or white jasmine or hyacinth), fig-like character that I find is really unique to this state.

Taste: This was a real surprise. The wine tasted unmistakably like a fresh, ripe mango -- something I've never tasted in a Sauvignon Blanc. It had secondary flavors like grapefruit and lemon and a really great floral note, but the overriding essence -- mango all the way. Great acid made the wine very fresh and bright too. Super unique.

Drink or down the sink? Drink! I usually don't love this style of Sauvignon Blanc: I like the kind that rips the enamel off my teeth and is all grapefruit and lemons (New Zealand or French SB does the trick usually). But this was so different without being oaky that it was great. Whether it be the cooler site or the 20% of the wine that is fermented and aged in old oak barrels to mellow out the flavor, I don't know, but I dug it. I like to taste something completely different in wine from time to time and this fits the bill!

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Wine #2: Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay
Where It's From: Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California
The Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage: 2008
Price: $45

Color: This wine was a golden yellow. Dark -- which can mean a few things: oak aging, an older wine, ripe fruit, or sugar in a wine. Here, given that it was Chardonnay, I assumed it was oak all the way.

Smell: And the smell confirmed that! Although tart apple from the grape shone through, the predominant aromas were all from oak -- burnt toast, bread, vanilla, and most prominently, a buttered English muffin (Thomas's, of course). It tasted like something to eat, not drink.

Taste: This was a traditional Russian River Valley style -- a green apple and lemon backbone was layered to the hilt with lots of flavors from oak. Caramel, croissant, and burnt toast were all over this wine. There was a very creamy, buttery mouthfeel from a secondary (malolactic) fermentation too. Classic style.

Drink or down the sink? This is one of Fritz's flagship wines, but I think it's imbalanced. The oak and malolactic fermentation overpowered the fruit and left me a little cold. There was just too much winemaker influence and not enough natural fruit flavor for me. It was overdone and this place makes so many better wines that this, I'm giving it a thumbs down.

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Wine #3: Dry Creek Valley Estate Zinfandel
Where It's From: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California
The Grapes: 100% Zinfandel
Vintage: 2008
Price: $25

Color: I was excited by the color of this Zin. It was like the skin of a ripe black plum or plum juice (or before it was re-branded -- hilarious, BTW -- prune juice). It had a watery edge, which is typical of Zin and thick, heavy legs, indicating lots and lots of alcohol (14.5% is pretty standard for Zin -- and pretty high by most standards!).

Smell: A little lighter than what I'd expected, but still lush and full of berry goodness. Raspberry, ripe strawberry, and a little dark cherry filled my nose. It was like a briar patch! Then there was a bit of leather, clove and a touch of vanilla. It was a more refined Zin nose, but still really good and pungent.

Taste: Again, kind of lighter than most Dry Creek Zins, but still the sour cherry and baked berry pie (cinnamon and strawberry) were really delicious. There was a character that I usually find in Syrah in this wine -- a meaty, bacon-like flavor that was edgy and satisfying. That leather and dark potting soil essence lingered in the background too.

Drink or down the sink? Sumptuous and subtle -- DRINK. I usually don't love more subtle Zins (it's probably one of the only wines where I want a fruit bomb) but this was so well done. A great blend of fruit, meatiness, and earth make this wine a real winner. Love it.

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Wine #4: Estate Malbec
Where It's From: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California
The Grapes: 100% Malbec
Vintage: 2008
Price: $35

Making Malbec in Sonoma is a ballsy move. I applaud Fritz for trying it. The conditions aren't Mendoza, Argentina-like for the grape, or even like Southwestern France, so it's a risk. I like that they experimented by making 140 cases of this.

Color: Malbec is traditionally a highly pigmented grape. They call it "black wine" in Cahors, France, where it is bottled as "Côt." This one held its color through to the watery, plummy edge. At least in color, this seemed like a good showing for Malbec.

Smell: Malbec to me is a bowl of dark berries and soft vanilla and oak smells. This was a little different. The parcel of land on which the wine is grown is on the estate right on the line between the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. Either this vintage, or the site seems a little hot for Malbec given the nose of overripe, scorched fruit, prune, and boysenberry compote. There was a bit of leather and vanilla on the nose, but I would have liked more.

Taste: This was a little more like cranberry juice than boysenberry! Slightly bitter with a bit of band-aid taste (that's often from brettanomyces, a yeast that naturally occurs on grape skins and can add an awesome complexity to the wine in low levels but can be a little overwhelming in higher levels), this wasn't what I expected from the nose or wasn't what I generally like in a Malbec.

Drink or down the sink? I know I was harsh on this wine, but really I would like to taste it again in a few years because the palate didn't align with the nose and I think it may just be that the wine needs a little more time to integrate and relax. Right now, I wouldn't drink it, but I'd love to try it again in 2 years and see where it's gone. Although the nose was a little over-ripe, the components of fruit and vanilla were there, and the fact that they didn't show on the palate says to me this story's not over yet!

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Wine #5: Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Where It's From: Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California
The Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Price: $35.00

Color: A crimson color. A dark ruby with purple tinges. I expected lots and lots of flavor -- it stained the glass and had cankles, the legs were so thick.

Smell: What a fresh smell! This smelled like a berry briar. It smelled like boysenberry and blackberry picked right off the bush. These lovely bright, natural tones were highlighted by dark earth, leather, and cola notes.

Taste: Dark berries and blueberry were so lush and ripe on this wine. It tasted like dark violets and roses. The wine had cinnamon and mocha notes and then complex flavors. Soy, balsamic vinegar (not in a bad way), and a little hint of gasoline were present but against the backdrop of lush berry and mocha notes. The texture was satiny and buttery in feel, even though there was a touch of astringency from the tannins.

Drink or down the sink? Drink this. What a value and what a wine! I was impressed by its layers and complexity. I love Fritz for many reasons, but it's rich reds (which it's not known for) are the jewels in its crown in my opinion. A great Cab...especially for $35!!

One final note before I sign off, which is that I was slightly disappointed that they weren't pouring what I think is their "sleeper" -- a wine that blows all of these away and is Fritz's best in my opinion: the Syrah. I know it's not a very popular variety right now, but I love it and I love Fritz's version. We bought 3 bottles to bring home and I'll revisit the wine again when we crack them open. In the meantime, check out the (very old) post I wrote on the wine last year!

Cheers and thanks for reading!