Voltaire once said, “No problem can withstand the assault of
sustained thinking.” William Allen of
Two Shepherds Wines saw a problem. He saw wines that were over-processed and
over-worked, wines that didn’t show a sense of place where the grapes were
grown. He saw too much manipulation, too
much use of the same grape varieties.
And William thought.
He moved to California wine country and thought. He started his own wine blog as “Sonoma William”—Simple
Hedonisms—and continued thinking. He
home brewed beer. He started making
small batches of wine. He became part of
the Rhone Rangers movement and then president of the North Coast Rhone Rangers,
focusing on grapes that are traditionally grown in the Rhone Valley of France: Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Syrah,
and Mourvedre. He thought, and thought,
and thought. He began to form the ideas
of what he believed would not only make wine in northern California, but make
great wine.
This “assault of sustained thinking” led him to use primarily
neutral oak, all indigenous yeasts (with no inoculation), and some whole
cluster fermentation with no new oak, no filtering, and no Cabernet Sauvignon. He
started small—just 175 cases in 2010; however, by 2013 he was up to 1,000 cases
from 11 varieties (10 of which are Rhone) sourced all the way from the more southern area of the
Santa Ynez Valley to the more central area of Lodi.
This is quite an undertaking, especially considering that, for the most
part, William is a one-man show, doing the majority of the production work
himself, all while still maintaining his full-time “day job”.
William pondered everything:
what grape varieties to use, where the grapes were grown, how the grapes
were grown, and how they were harvested.
He considered bottle shape and size, cork type and artwork, and label
design and colors. Every detail was painstakingly
thought through…with amazing results!
The Whites
Grenache Blanc 2012—Two
Shepherds largest production with 200 cases made, this wine (sourced from the
Saarloos Vineyard in Santa Ynez) is filled with mineral on the nose and golden
apples on the palate while being both incredibly smooth and brightly
acidic. (I purchased this white.)
Pastoral Blanc 2012: Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Grenache Blanc
Blend—The nose shines with pineapple and baked apple as the palate reinforces
these fruits. Once again, this wine has
that great acidity while maintaining a velvety smoothness not often found in
acidic whites. William thinks this wine has
great aging potential for the next decade.
Viognier 2013—Grown
in Saralee’s Vineyard in the Russian River Valley (one of William’s absolute
favorites), the nose of this wine is filled with flowers and tropical fruits
which are repeated on the palate. With
only thirty-three cases made, this is a very special wine.
Grenache 2012, Grenache Blanc 2012, Pastoral Blanc 2012
Trousseau Gris 2012—This
might be considered a schizophrenic wine showing William’s inner wine geek and
constantly-processing brain. William
used white grapes but produced them as he would a red wine, with 12 days on the
skins after two punch downs a day; it is a beautiful neon-apricot color showing
soft tropical fruits on the nose and palate. William recommends continuing to treat this as
a red wine and serving it at red wine temperature.
The Reds
Grenache Noir 2012—Also
sourced from Saralee’s Vineyard in RRV, this was my favorite red! A slightly murky shade of chokecherry, the
nose was filled with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries; the palate was
packed with these mixed berries and that zippy acid that William’s wines display. (I purchased two of these and have already
consumed one.) A barrel tasting of the
2013 Grenache had slightly less fruit on the nose at this time but still great
berries and acid on the palate. This
2013 is shaping up to be just as fantastic as the 2012.
Grenache 2012
Syrah/Mourvedre 2011—This
almost fifty-fifty blend sourced from the Russian River Valley has baked fruit
and spice on the nose with currant, cherry, spice, and metal on the palate; I
might add this also had a finish that lasted forever! The aging possibilities on this wine look
good.
Mourvedre 2012—Also
sourced from the RRV, the nose had currants and cherries with dried herbs that
were repeated on the palate with lively acid.
Such a great style of Mourvedre, with only 12.3% alcohol (lower alcohol
percentages are typical of William’s wines).
This would be a great food-pairing wine.
(I also purchased this wine.)
William Allen definitely made all of his thinking count when
he started his Two Shepherds label.
Though he lives in the part of the country where he has easier access to
the basics of winemaking—grapes, equipment, facilities, storage, etc.—and he
added the time and money needed to make wine, he knew he wanted more. He wanted to make a THOUGHTFUL wine, a wine
that fixed the problems he saw in the industry.
His attentive yet almost minimalist style of winemaking is a model to be
emulated, to be followed, to be enjoyed.
William definitely made his sustained thinking about absolutely every
detail of winemaking count!
Two purchase any of these wines, please go to the website: Two Shepherds Vineyards.
