Glen Ellen Tasting Rooms: Mayo Family Winery
We moved to Sonoma with one goal in mind: to become the ultimate wine hipsters. Well, two goals: to become the ultimate wine hipsters AND drink a ton of wine from the best wineries in Sonoma. And eat a lot of good food. Fine, we have a lot of goals. Enough about our goals. We’re scouring Sonoma County for the best little known, small run wineries we can find in order to achieve the greatest virtue of hipsterdom: telling you all about the really cool places we love that you've never heard of. We’re doing this for you. Trust us.
Glen Ellen is a bucolic little wine town in the middle of Sonoma County. From what we’ve seen it’s a town made up entirely of wineries. So, you know, our kind of place.
A recommendation to try Mayo Family Winery was what brought us there. Unlike some of its neighbors, the Mayo tasting room isn't nestled in the heart of a vineyard. If place and setting are important to you, there are better places nearby to taste some wine. That being said, the wine is quite good, and the two tasting flights they offer are enormous. We’re always looking for something new, so we went with their Adventure Tasting. There are 9 wines on this list, so be prepared to work your palate.
Here are our notes:
2012 Vagabond: Meyer lemon, honey suckle, lilac & dried herbs on the nose. Golden yellow in color. Clear with big legs. Pears, a bit of dried apricot, and lemon peal on the tongue. Apple juice creeps in at the back of the palate. Light pepper on the finish. Full bodied & unctuous. You can feel it coating your cheeks. Citrus lingers on the lips.
2013 Dry Rosé: Crushed strawberries & blackberries on the nose. Smells like dessert. Pale pink in color. Subtle flavors. White grapefruit mid-palate with lightly sweet orange on the very tip of the tongue. Big citrus zest on the back of the palate and finish. Medium body.
2013 Gewurztraminer from Kunde Ranch Vineyard: Bruised apples & lilies on the nose. Pineapple & fresh peach on the tongue and a little bit of pineapple on the finish. Medium plus body.
2013 Grenache from Kunde Ranch Vineyard: Blackberries, sage & roses on the nose. Blackberries, cranberries, maple syrup and oak on the tongue. A ton of oak. Big and spicy. Crushed pepper on the finish. Full bodied.
2007 Syrah from Berthoud Vineyards: This wine is pretty interesting. Immediately reminded us of Pomerol on the nose. Rose petals, dried herbs & blueberries. Very, very smooth. Cherries, cassis, a bit of baking spice & bay leaf on the tongue. A touch of pepper on the finish. Decent amount of tannins.
2011 Libertine: Cherries & chocolate on the nose. A touch of red meat as well. Legs, legs, legs. Cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla and a wee bit of espresso on the tongue. A little bit of pink grapefruit on the finish. Medium bodied. Smooth tannins. We brought a bottle of this home with us.
2011 Primitivo: Garden soil, macerated cherries & currants on the nose. Bright fresh cherries and dark honey on the tongue with pepper and a touch of orange on the finish. Medium body. The tannins were large and in charge, but, to be fair, the bottle was uncorked immediately before our pour.
2009 Ursus Minor from Berthoud Vineyards: Baker's chocolate & cherry in the nose. A touch of lilac as well. Cherries, RIPE blackberries, black pepper & some oak on the mid-palate. Ripe blueberries on the very tip of your tongue. Big tannins. Well balanced. This one was also uncorked right before we tasted it, so the tannins will surely mellow given some air. It has a short tail with a little bit of pepper, oak and gravel that all sticks to your cheeks.
2012 Petite Syrah from Unti Vineyard: This is a small production of only 200 cases. Subtle aromas. Dark berries, ground coffee beans and eucalyptus on the nose. Inky violet in color. Blackberries, dark chocolate & vanilla on the tongue with chalk & pepper on the finish. Medium body with big flavors and massive tannins. Needs air, fatty meat or both. Has potential for fans of big, dark reds.
After we finished the Adventure Tasting, our hosts offered us a sample of their port. It would have been rude to say no.
2015 Zinfandel Port: Honeycomb, rosemary & dates on the nose. Chocolate covered cherries, raisins, dates & maple syrup on the tongue. There’s nice peppery kick at the end of this one.
The tasting was solid start to finish. Our favorite may have been the Syrah from Berthoud Vineyards, but the Libertine was also very good. If you’re in Glen Ellen, it’s definitely worth stopping by the Mayo Family Winery tasting room. Especially if you like big, peppery reds.
The Mayo Family Winery tasting room is located right off of the Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen, CA. You can learn more about them at http://www.mayofamilywinery.com/.
