Ehrlich Vineyard. Cliff and Patricia Ehrlich moved to Anaheim, California in the mid 1960s; this is where neighbors introduced them to California wines. Their first trip to Napa Valley was in 1967; their daughter Susan was one year old at that time. She recalls home videos her parents took of her at the newly opened Robert Mondavi Winery. Her father ran global Human Resources for Marriott; his work involved a significant amount of travel, but he always made a point to regularly visit Napa Valley. And so it makes sense that when he was considering retirement in the mid 1990s he began to look for property in Napa Valley. On of their requirements was to find a house with a vineyard. In 1998 he and Patricia acquired 10.5 acres in the heart of Oakville with both a house and an older vineyard.
Two blocks totaling 7 acres are planted including a three acre block of Sauvignon Blanc. Chenin Blanc was planted on the property at the time of their purchase; Cliff invited viticulturist Laurie Woods to walk the vineyard. He did and as he observed the vines, he said something like, “Cliff you have a textbook vineyard, but it has every disease possibly known”. The grapes at the time would not even ripen and as a result, they were not able to sell the fruit despite being under contact with a neighbor.
Old walnut trees also grow on the property; passing under their scraggly branches is like going back in time when much of Napa Valley was planted to walnuts, plums and cherries. These walnuts are estimated to be more than 100 years old; the majority of the trees have been identified as Hartleys, named after John Hartley who developed this variety on a farm along Big Ranch Road in what is now the Oak Knoll District. These remnant trees were most likely part of a much larger walnut orchard which extended across multiple properties as evidenced by old walnut trees lining nearby Money Road and parts of Oakville Cross Road.
The property is close to the Napa River which used to flood regularly until the river was widened and deepened to help its flow during heavy rains. Part of their property is slightly elevated, just above the flood plain.
After purchasing this property, the Ehrlich’s replanted all the existing vines to Merlot except for a few rows of Cabernet Sauvignon. While at the annual dinner of the Oakville Winegrowers Association, hosted at Robert and Margrit Mondavi’s home, Cliff sat across from winemaker Nils Venge. Venge overheard Cliff mention an interest in making a very small amount of wine from his Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Venge offered to harvest and make wine for him, but only from the Cabernet Sauvignon vines as their Merlot was already under contract. This tiny lot Cabernet Sauvignon was made at nearby Saddleback Cellars by winemaker Jeff Fontanella. And after making this wine and being very pleased with the results, Nils encouraged Cliff to increase the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon on the property.
The Cabernet Sauvignon continued to be produced at Saddleback Cellars in subsequent years but was never bottled commercially. Realizing their property produces excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and listening to Nils advice, they pulled out 2 acres of Merlot and replanted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 2006.
The first Ehrlich Vineyard designate was in 2012, crafted by B Cellars. B Cellars continues to produce this limited production bottling for their wine club. Another producer, Trois Noix also bottles an Ehrlich Vineyard designate. While in 2020 listening to some of Doug Shafer’s podcast guests in their home, the Ehrlich’s noticed a commonality between families who moved to Napa Valley; they often started wine brands. With Cliff and Patricia entering their 80s, their daughter Susan and her brother Scott (Chief Marketing Officer for Wilson Daniels) spoke to their father about possibly producing their own wines from the property.
The family contacted a number of winemakers but eventually hired Paul Hobbs as their consulting winemaker. This is by far his smallest project; a typical production is usually only 250 to 300 cases annually. The family already knew Hobbs through a project involving winemaking in Bulgaria. Cliff, Paul and Robert Heich of Grape & Barley Importers are working to export premium wines from Bulgaria to the U.S. using Heich’s existing distribution channels. One of his best sellers, Rough Day Rosé is already distributed in the U.S., available in national distribution.
In 2016 Cliff wrote a book, Living a Vineyard Dream, detailing his journey of owning a vineyard in Napa Valley, highlighting local personalities and his efforts in learning the details and decisions relating to growing wine grapes. The story describes his search for property lasting several years and his interactions with relators, well drillers, other winery owners and farmers. He learned about grape varieties, rootstock and trellising from the talented individuals he surrounded himself with.
With encouragement from Michael Weiss, who was the winemaker at nearby Groth Winery at the time, they joined the Oakville Wine Growers Association. One of the association’s events in 2001 was held at Groth Winery to honor Robert Mondavi. At the event, Cliff read a poem he had composed in Mondavi’s honor. It reads as:
No poem could ever be as fine
As a Bob Mondavi wine.
A Cab, a Zin, a Chardonnay
Each one superb in its own way.
All are a tribute to the man
And others of his famous clan.
Some said he was too starry-eyed
With views that they could not abide.
With gust he did prove them wrong
Till now all sing his siren song.
Fine wine’s now made by quite a mob
But only God can make a Bob.
Cliff later spotted his framed poem hanging on the wall at Robert Mondavi Winery during an event celebrating Mondavi’s 90th birthday.
Select Wines
The 2022 Ehrlich Sauvignon Blanc is medium gold in color; the highly aromatic bouquet immediately offers both fruit and floral scents including star jasmine, pineapple, chamomile and green apple. Superbly balanced in its youth, on the palate there are flavors of pineapple, apricot, papaya, pomelo and green apple. It is brightly lit with a refreshing and mouthwatering lift, especially noticeable on the finish. This bottling perfectly straddles its inherent herbal characters with California sunshine. The mouth feel offers a supple and satiny texture, which is complemented nicely by its mouth watering juiciness. Only 27 cases of this beauty were produced. For several years including 2022, the family bottled and labeled Sauvignon Blanc for friends and family. Their first commercial release of this wine is from the 2024 vintage; it is made at Saddleback Cellars by winemaker Lars Bjorkman.
The 2021 Ehrlich Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal, mirroring exactly the 100% planting in the vineyard. This is their inaugural vintage; this wine is deep ruby in color. The first scent we noted was of sweaty baseball mitt leather along with dried herbs including smoked sage, lavender, petrichor and a light note of jalapeno pepper. Savory. This smells like the variety. We like that. And it is not made in the style of contemporary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which tends to be riper. Its fruit tones include dark raspberry, red cherry, red plum and blueberry. On the palate there are flavors of red plum, cherry, currant, dried cranberries and a light herbal note. The tannins are highly polished and compared to other Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons we have tried from Oakville from this vintage, is remarkably approachable in its youth. The finish lingers with a light but persistent dusty/earthy character. This wine was aged for 21 months in 100% French oak barrels of which 50% were new including from Taransaud, Leroi and Vicard. 250 cases were produced.
The 2022 Ehrlich Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate and 4% Petit Verdot from Coombsville. They harvested the Cabernet Sauvignon on October 10th, far after the Labor Day centered extreme heat spike. In doing blending trials with Hobbs, they realized the Cabernet Sauvignon wanted more structure and color. Tasting the 2021 next to the 2022 is an ideal example of significant vintage variation. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is ripe and sweetly fruited with aromas of boysenberry preserves, blackberry jam, dark plum, dark licorice and dark chocolate. On the palate there are flavors of cherry, Persian mulberry, raspberry and red plum. It is balanced nicely between flavor, acidity and texture. The tannins are lightly grainy, but already well polished at this young age. Lingers with a light note of dried tobacco leaf. This wine was aged for 20 months in 100% French oak barrels of which 46% were new including from Taransaud, LeGrange, Leroi and Vicard. Only 120 cases were produced.
—
The name Ehrlich translates from German as forthright or honorable and is used when describing a person of an honest character. The Ehrlich family heritage is from eastern Europe including Poland, Lithuania and Germany. Susan’s great great grandfather immigrated to the U.S. via Ellis Island in 1871 on the steamship Bremen from Bremen, Germany. The script on the label matches the font style of Cliff’s signature. The Ehrlich font, if you will.
Total production each year between the two estate wines is usually between 250 and 300 cases. Locally their wines may be found at ACME in St. Helena and K. Laz in Yountville as well as at Papa Lou’s in Calistoga and on the list at Goose and Gander. For more information or to become an allocation list member, visit: www.ehrlichvineyard.com
Leave a Reply