VISIT WITH TIMBRE WINERY
Last week I was fortunate to have been able to shlep myself up to Timbre Winery in San Luis Obispo, CA. My friend Joshua Klapper who is the owner and winemaker thought it would be worthwhile to get together and do some barrel tasting and blending for our series of 2021 wines that are being released early next year. Josh has been producing kosher wines in limited quantities since the 2012 vintage, under the Timbre Label and the previous brand, La Fenetre. I love these wines because they are true to the Central Coast with fruit driven profiles and highlights from the unique terroirs of this region. There is no difference in fruit sourcing or winemaking for the non kosher wines; the same attention to detail and high quality fruit is applied to kosher as well. The non kosher wines routinely receive 93-95 point scores from mainstream critics. Everything kosher is produced exclusively for LiquidKosher.
California Central Coast
The Central Coast of California is an idyllic, charming environment in general, with immense natural beauty and a climate perfectly suited for growing wine grapes. It’s amazing to drive around there and experience the effect of geography on the climate in different appellations. There is real depth and diversity to this region that we have only just begun to experience. It’s easy to fly into San Luis Obispo or Santa Maria and drive up and down the coast. Between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, you can find enough kosher food make it work for a day or two. Take a picnic and head out to Avila Beach for a pleasant afternoon.
Retrospective Tasting
I took the opportunity to dig through the archives and send up the prior releases we produced together to see how they are tasting. And, they are tasting good! This is an important process to help us decide what to produce in the future, and to make sure our standards (and promises) are being upheld.
2017 Timbre Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles: This wine opens up with lots of powerful sweet fruit. After an hour or so, it really balances out with perfectly rich tannins and nicely integrated oak. It has that charming bit of “warmth” that I find typical in Paso Cabernet. This wine is perfect now and has another 5 years on it or so, at least.
2018 Timbre Pinot Noir Riverbench Vineyard: This lovely Pinot is in a very charming place at the moment. Pure red fruit and a lovely medium body, you can easily drink this now but go slowly to allow the flavors to unravel. There is “a lot there” if you have the patience to sit through the initial approachability. Drink now until 2030.
2019 Timbre Rare Groove “Central Coast” Red Blend: Another delicious baby wine. I had this bottle last week during a broader retrospective tasting. It really begins to shine after 2 hours open and has a long life ahead of it. Lovely.
2019 Timbre Pinot Noir “Pali Vineyard” Santa Maria: This is a not yet released wine that I am very excited about. Produced from a Champagne clone of Pinot Noir, it has a richness and spicy bite that is dark and punchy, but still very much Pinot. I have been holding this wine back for a year or so until it was “just right” for release. And now I can attest, it is very much “just right.” Stay tuned!
Going forward, you can expect some lovely new wines from Liquid Kosher’s Timbre series. Including some of the usual Blends and Pinots, as well as three high end single vineyard releases from prized Central Coast appellations. These will all be available in limited quantities.
Join the CELLAR Wine Club for early access to Timbre Wines and other important wines.
