2008 MacMurray Pinot Gris Enthusiastically Endorsed by the Champagne Wishes Panel of Whom You Know
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/02/history-lives-in-vineyards-of-macmurray.html
and the Pinot Noir Central Coast:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/03/whom-you-know-highly-recommends_09.html
The white is absolutely just as good, if not better! Now that we have swung into spring a nice white wine is perfect. MacMurray Ranch, one of the premier producers in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley, has been a farmstead since the early 1850s, when Col. Hugh Porter returned from the Mexican war and built a home there for his family.
He chose a place in a bend in the river, where Porter Creek now flows through meadows, vineyards, and hills on its way to join in the water’s rush to the sea. Clear springs ran out of the hillsides around the valley floor, and the land was generous. Wild oats grew in abundance, and wildflowers bloomed after winter rains.
Porter’s family lived on the land for several generations, farming livestock and market crops in the rich silt soils of the valley floor. In 1941, actor Fred MacMurray, a legend of Hollywood’s Golden Era, bought the ranch brought his family there to enjoy the natural wonders of Sonoma County and to share the solid, rewarding lifestyle of a gentleman rancher.
For MacMurray and his family, Hollywood was work, and the ranch was home. He raised prize-winning cattle, and the children rode horseback through the hills. He added on to the ranch, buying land when neighbors wanted to sell. For 50 years, the MacMurray Ranch was nurtured under his hand.
In 1996, the Gallo family bought the ranch from the MacMurray family and began their current term as caretakers of the land. They restored the original buildings, planted trees along the creeks, and planted grape vines behind the farmhouse.
Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris wine grapes now flourish where cattle once roamed. The ranch covers more than 1500 acres on both sides of the Russian River, and only about 450 acres are under vine. In addition to the Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, the ranch carries a few acres of Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Zinfandel.
A variety of Pinot Noir clones are planted in the specific microclimates of the Lower, Middle, and Upper valleys of the ranch. Dijon, Pommard, and Wadenswil clones are each matched to specific places, block by block, row by row, to get the best results from every vine.
The old homestead is still shaded by giant oaks at the edge of a meadow. Most of the neighbors are now farming for flavor and making world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. But there are still a few diversified farms nearby, dairy and cattle and market crops, that are signposts pointing to a past when land was everything, and the future was measured in generations. The Pinot Gris is top-notch as well! The panel enthusiastically endorses this 2008 Pinot Gris, and here is the commentary from our Champagne Wishes Panel:
MacMurray Ranch, Sonoma Coast, Pinot Gris 2008 is the perfect alternative to my usual Chardonnay from Sonoma and Napa. This wine offers plenty and has a great clean finish. It has a rich fig aroma. This is a voluptuous dry white wine. It screams peaches, melon and citrus. In the mouth the fruit comes alive with a little warmth in this medium weight wine. I tried this wine alone first; it was delicious with a smooth finish and aftertaste. I also paired it with a juicy chicken dinner and the taste became richer. This Pinot Gris juice was primarily stainless steel tank fermented for 14-21 days. This wine was then aged in the bottle for two months prior to release, that’s why it tastes so fresh! As there is no wood involved in the fermenting or aging, it has low acidity and broadens the mouth feel. This is a wine that definitely speaks volumes for Pinot Gris. The Sonoma Coast is the coolest growing area in Sonoma. This ranch once belonged to late actor Fred MacMurray. It’s now owned by Gallo, and the wonderful winemaker is Susan Doyle. This is absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend it!
For those of us whose tastes fall on neither end of the dry nor sweet/dessert wine spectrum, you'll find that the MacMurray Ranch 2008 Sonoma Coast Pinot Gris falls on the exact midpoint. The moment the first drop of this wine reached my palate, I tasted the smooth fruitiness of the peach and melon notes, followed by a slight citrusy tang, and then a splash of acidity and dryness to give it a little kick. While I have a major sweet tooth in general, I find that some dessert wines overdo the level of sweetness to the point that it's syrupy. What I like about this wine is that it gives a hint of this sweetness but is robust enough to go with a large variety of food pairings. I paired mine with a sushi dinner and found that it held its own but was delicate enough that I could sip an extra glass after my dinner was done and have it be a light dessert almost. This wine is an excellent complement to any seafood dish and I would imagine it's just as good paired with chicken or pork. As the weather warms up and meals tend towards the lighter side, I'll be reaching for this wine again.
The MacMurray Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Gris is a great tasting wine. Not anywhere near sickeningly sweet, this Pinot Gris is a fruity, full-flavored wine. Its citrus elements add a crispness to the wine that left me feeling refreshed. This is the kind of wine that goes down easy before a meal and adds flavor during. I’m a huge seafood fan, and this wine pairs perfectly with some of my favorites like broiled sea scallops and shrimp scampi. Most recently, I had the MacMurray Ranch Pinot Gris paired with a meal of shrimp cocktail followed by salad and a generous dish of white clam sauce over linguine. One word – delicious. As we head into spring and summer here in our coastal town, I’m looking forward to a variety of fresh seafood dishes this summer, whether we make them at home or frequent the local restaurants. Variety is not something I’m looking for in my wine, though, not now that I’ve discovered this tasty pinot gris. MacMurray Ranch “had me at hello” with this Pinot Gris. I can only hope some of my favorite restaurants are stocking it, and since we reviewed the Pinot Noirs, I have seen MacMurray at some top restaurants in my area. The MacMurray Pinot Gris is an excellent wine.
Whom You Know highly recommends the 2008 MacMurray Pinot Gris.
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Kate MacMurray takes the long view of life among the vineyards of MacMurray Ranch. “Life at the ranch still follows the cadences of the changing seasons,” she says, “as it has for as long as I can remember.”
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Kate was only six weeks old when her parents, film actors Fred MacMurray and June Haver, brought her to the Russian River Valley ranch that had been in the family since 1941. They raised crops and cattle and took an active role in the local agricultural community. The 4-H Club, Future Farmers of America, and other land-linked organizations were welcomed at the ranch from all corners of Sonoma County.
Today, MacMurray Ranch, with its old homestead, rolling hills, and the well-kept vineyards, remains a gathering place for the community and for wine aficionados from around the world.
“There is a wonderful sense of timelessness here,” Kate says. “The seasons in the vineyard mark the gentle turning of the earth. I tell time by the vines.” Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes were planted in the mid-1990s, and the first vintage of MacMurray Ranch wines arrived with the new millennium.
Kate sees parallels between her life today on MacMurray Ranch and her former life as an actor and writer in Hollywood. “One of the techniques actors use is called ‘sense memory’, reaching for remembered aromas or flavors to evoke a time and place and emotion. Tasting our Pinot Noir wines is like that…one sip reminds you of wild berries; the next sip is earthy and warm like a summer afternoon; the next carries the sense of cool ocean fog. You really get a whole movie in every glass.”
Kate’s active role in the Russian River Valley includes her support of the local equestrian community, the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society, as well as hosting nationally renowned events such as the Sonoma Wine Weekend Showcase, and the Russian River Valley Winegrowers’ annual “Grape to Glass” harvest celebration.
MacMurray Ranch Winemaker Susan Doyle and Kate together are creating the ongoing story of MacMurray Ranch. Kate loves to share Susan’s wines with her guests at the ranch, and she travels to all corners of the country to present the wines and tell their story.
“There’s a saying that you only get encores on stage, not in life, but every harvest here is a renewal for us, a promise kept and a new promise made in the wine itself.”
http://www.macmurrayranch.com/
