Personally, I’m more of a fan of the R8: in any case, it’s a rare pleasure to argue with a Cali winemaker over his choice of SEPTA commutes.
Kieran is a Philly native who got his start at Chaddsford Winery as a cellar rat back in 2005, back when Eric Miller was still the winemaker. He then jumped around California and France, learning the craft at several wineries over the years. For the past five years, he’s been making wine in Sonoma. His heart is still in Philly, and each of his wines has Philly-centric names (Jawn, for one). He even still vacations on the Jersey shore: Avignon looms large in his Instagram account. And he talks about moving back and starting a winery outside of Philly.
(As of this writing, they have moved back to the Philly region and relocated their winery!)
This bottling is from Sonoma’s Bennet Valley. It balances the finesse of the Northern Rhone with the dense fruit and oak-driven panache of Northern California. Savory smoke and burnt wildflowers on the nose with cassis and creamy blueberry. A limousin oak sweetness pushes forward layered tannins and glycerine smoothness. A fruit-bomb of a finish is balanced with black pepper and cardamom.