Amici Cellars

Amici Cellars was started after winemaker, Jeff Hansen and friends crushed a few tons of grapes in 1991 for their own personal use. “This was good wine”, they unanimously agreed and soon thereafter released their first commercial vintage. The name Amici means “friends” in Italian and is a tribute to the friends who started this winery as well as to their Italian heritage. Coming up with a slogan to honor this, their wine is “created by friends for friends”. Over the subsequent decades, the winery has had several owners and their wines have been made in several production facilities. Today the owners of Amici Cellars are John Harris and Bob and Celia Shepard.

Bob was one of the co-founders of Amici Cellars; born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area he graduated from San Jose State with a degree in Economics. Bob was introduced to wine while in college; after graduating he took a class with Master of Wine Peter Marks, who earned his MW in 1995 and is still part of a very select group of Masters of Wine living in the United States. Besides running Amici Cellars, Bob’s other career has long been in real estate investing and finance.

Celia graduated from Santa Clara University in 1988 and spent a number of years working and traveling intentionally for Macromedia, Inc – a graphics and web development software company (no longer in business). She and Bob married in 1996.

John Harris is originally from Houston and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work with a startup company. While living oversees he became interested in wine, assisted in part by a French distributor who was working for his firm. When he moved back to California, he took advantage of his proximity to Napa Valley and spent free time exploring the region.

Today ‘virtual’ wineries are an integral part of Napa Valley’s wine scene and are brands who do not necessarily own vineyards or a physical winery. This is the role Amici played for many years; initially they maintained a tiny vineyard on the slopes of the little-known Jericho Canyon at the base of Mt. St. Helena in the northern part of the valley, just north of Calistoga and rented space at other wineries to make their wines.

However, in 2012 they purchased a permanent home and acquired an existing winery off of Old Lawley Toll Road. This serves as the primary operation for production for Amici but they also rent space at other facilities for additional winemaking. They continue to purchase grapes from premium vineyards mostly in Napa Valley but also in parts of Sonoma County for all of their wines. The physical winery on the property was originally started by Greg Brown, the original founder of T Vine Cellars and is who we first met on this property. Over the years several winemakers have produced their wines here including Joel Aiken, who spent 25+ years as winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyard in Rutherford.

Tastings are conducted outside, weather permitting on a picnic table under the shade of nearby trees. A tasting is a very personalized and relaxed experience and features several lighter style wines prior to delving into their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines. A tasting always includes wines which are not distributed.

Select Wines
Whites
Chardonnay
A common theme throughout their Chardonnays regardless of vintage is they go through full malolactic fermentation and the oak never dominates despite these wines always being barrel fermented immediately following their direct to pressing. On the high end of the spectrum, their Chardonnay would see a maximum of just under 50% new French oak during the aging. In the vineyard and in the cellar they focus on producing bright and balanced wines from this variety, crisp and not heavy, oaky or buttery.

The 2022 Amici Windsor Ridge Chardonnay, Russian River Valley is medium to deep ruby in color; the bouquet is open-knitted and immediately offers aromas of honeysuckle, melting butter, vanilla and caramelized sugars, butterscotch and plenty of stone fruits including yellow nectarine, peaches and apricot. And additional scents include backed pineapple, golden delicious apple and ripe comise pear. The palate is simultaneously crisp yet countered with plenty of texture. Its mouth feel is creamy, but not viscous with a persistent supple texture. This wine sports flavors of pineapple, golden apples, yellow nectarine and peach. This is a balanced and bright expression of the variety with the oak complementing but never dominating. Persists with a refreshing citrusy tang. Go west from this vineyard site until reaching the rugged coastline of Sonoma County; pair one of the many inspirational views there with with wine and either raw oysters or lightly seared scallops.

The 2022 Amici Cellars Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay is medium gold in color; the bouquet offers an elegant aromatic profile focused on the typicity of the variety rather than secondary characteristics. It offers scents of quince, lemon meringue, white nectarine, guava, apple skin, tangerine and passion fruit flower. A very subtle herbal note complements the rest of the aromas. And as it evolves its reveals a pronounced note of vanilla. On the palate there are flavors of pineapple guava, passion fruit and white nectarine. The finish lingers with plenty of zip with a union of lemon and not fully ripe pineapple.

The 2022 Amici Cellars Welch Vineyard, Russian River Valley near the small town of Graton. Amici is the only winery that sources grapes from this vineyard. It is medium to deep gold in color. The bouquet offers a diversity of honeyed notes including honeycomb and honeysuckle with additional scents of baked apples, pineapple, vanilla, butterscotch and nuances of caramel. The balanced, bright and minerally palate offers flavors of apple, pear, pineapple guava, tangerine. The palate is brighter than the bouquet would lead one to believe The finish lingers fresh with a citrus character and a beautiful supple textural feel that slides across the palate as gracefully as silk blowing in the breeze.

The 2019 Amici Cellars Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay is from the Napa side of the Carneros District. The vineyard is owned and farmed by Larry Hyde and his family, both growers and producers of primarily Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This wine is deep golden in color; the bouquet offers aromas of melted butter, vanilla, hazelnut, baked apple, spiced pear and hints of yellow pineapple. There is a perceived ripeness of fruit on the palate with flavors of pineapple, Golden Delicious apple, tangerine and honeycomb. Intensely flavored. The texture is creamy and supple from the attack through the end but is not viscous. Features a noticeable richness and brightness of acidity on the finish with both fruit and some dessert spice characteristics lingering. This wine was entirely fermented in barrel, went through full secondary fermentation and was aged for 15 months in 35% new French oak barrels.

Sauvignon Blanc
The 2024 Amici Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford Napa Valley was barrel fermented. This wine is light straw in color; highly aromatic the bouquet is a like a sensory fireworks display with prominent scents of star jasmine and citrus blossom, pineapple guava, passion fruit, white nectarines, lime, young kaffir lime leaf and hints of pina colada. We are enjoying this beauty on an abnormally warm late March day at Amici Cellars and its the absolute perfect pairing for both the temperature and bright sunshine and overlooking the lush green surrounding hillsides this time of year. On the palate it tastes like lemon/lime, honeydew melon, grapefruit, passion fruit and not fully ripe pineapple. Refreshing and vibrant from the entry through the finish, it showcases the inherent typicity of the variety but is not green or grassy as often expressed from cooler weather sites. Shellfish please.

The 2014 Amici Cellars Spring Mountain Sauvignon Blanc offers an interplay of both citrus blossom and stone fruit aromatics (apricot) along with hazelnut and almond; this nutty component becomes stronger as the wine breathes. A roundness on the palate featuring a creamy texture is balanced by bright acidity; this wine lingers with a lemon meringue tartness. Amici no longer produces a Sauvignon Blanc from Spring Mountain.

Reds
Pinot Noir
With limited productions, their Pinot Noir tends to sell out quickly.

The 2022 Amici Cellars Lytton Annapolis Vineyard is from a site less than 2 miles from the coast close to the Mendocino County Line. This wine is pale to medium ruby in color; the bouquet is focused more on its fruit characteristics rather than spicy notes. It offers scents of freshly picked raspberry, red cherries, red currants, accompanied by a light note of toasted cedar, white pepper and dried herbs including bay leaf. The palate is plush yet simultaneously bright with flavors of cherry, currant, cranberry and dark raspberry. The highly polished and seamlessly integrated tannins linger with a gentle caress. The fruit outpaces their texture on the finish.

The 2013 Amici Cellars Russian River Pinot Noir shows a spicy sweetness of aromas including a reminder of a faded memory of the smell of bubble gum sealed in old baseball cards from years ago. Also offers sweet raspberry and plum aromas. The palate features a diversity of flavor with lingering earthy finely weaved (no harsh edges) delicate tannins.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
The 2022 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The bouquet offers a diversity of aromatics including floral notes of violets and lilacs along with dried sage, sweaty baseball mitt after its been used on a hot day, dark cherry, blackberry and boysenberry, ripe Santa Rosa plum and a lingering tobacco spice. The palate tastes like a combination of both red and darker fruits including cherry, plum, dark raspberry and currant. The tobacco we noticed on the palate also lingers here. The tannins are already resolved and rounded and linger with a finely-polished character on the finish. This is an approachable and an easy to drink Napa Valley wine from this variety. This wine is part of their distributed appellation cellars line of wines and is a bottling that often introduces customers to the rest of the Amici portfolio.

Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
All their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines are 100% varietal. And cumulatively, they offer a ‘taste of the valley’, a distinctive expression of individual terroir with multiple sites spanning from Calistoga to the Stags Leap.

Hirondelle
The 2021 Amici Cellars Hirondelle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is from a Clos du Val owned vineyard. This wine is deep ruby in color and opaque; the nose offers notes of ripe blackberry, plum, dark cherry and boysenberry with additional scents of toasted cedar, dried sage, clove and dark chocolate. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, boysenberry and dark raspberry. Expecting a tannic grip, we were pleasantly surprised by the texture showcased here, especially for this particular vintage from Napa Valley. The broadly coating tannins are polished and rounded and linger in tandem with the fruit on the long finish. Finishes with a light note of dried tobacco leaf and a subtle drying/dusty character.

The 2018 Amici Cellars Hirondelle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (from the Stags Leap District) is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Cabernet Franc. This wine is dark ruby in the glass; the aromatics are more similar to the bouquet on the 2018 To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon as compared to any of their other wines from this vintage. Offers darker initial aromas of earth, mushroom and Graham Cracker. As it breathes shows a variety of dessert spices along with a toasted oak character. Offers an intensity of ripe fruit across the palate (plum) including some complementary notes of cardamom. Juicy and mouthwatering but without heavy tannins. This wine was fermented entirely in stainless steel tanks and aged 22 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

Cimarossa
The 2021 Amici Cellars Cimarossa Vineyard is deep ruby and opaque; darkly fruited and also dark in terms of its spicy attributes, this wine smells like dark cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, black currant and dark plum accompanied by a layer of tobacco. There are also notes of violets and dried sage. The nose is fully ripe but doesn’t quite cross into the territory of being over ripe. The entry is plush with plenty of fruit including flavors of blackberry, dark cherry and Pakistani mulberry. Savory and minerally driven, there is also a dusty/chalky character such as if one were to lick crushed rocks. Trust us, this attribute in wine shows much better than the experience of ‘kissing’ rocks. The tannins sport a moderate grip with parallels the fruit on the finish for some time with a persistent drying character. Savory.

Morisoli
The 2021 Amici Cellars Morisoli Vineyard is deep ruby, opaque and features an amaranthine rim; the bouquet is dark in terms of both fruit and barrel influence. It reveals scents of coffee grinds, espresso and dark chocolate – opening to mocha and a very subtle hint of mint. There are loads of fruit including blackberry jam, boysenberry, dark cherry and black plum. As this wine evolves its core of fruit displaces some of these other aromas. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, blackberry and cassis with notes of dark chocolate and lightly toasted cedar. The tannins are dusty, and are seamlessly integrated with their cocoa powder like texture, a hallmark characteristic of Rutherford, regardless of vintage. This is one of the more approachable wines from this vineyard and variety we have sampled from Rutherford.

Missouri Hopper
Missouri Hopper is one of Napa’s oldest continuously farmed vineyards. It is located next to and west of Highway 29 slightly north of Yountville and about a mile south of its more famous neighbor to the north, To Kalon. The vineyard site is 45 acres owned and farmed by Andy Beckstoffer. It is named Missouri after one of its early owners, Charles Hopper who gifted the site to his daughter, Missouri. It is one of Beckstoffer’s six heritage vineyards, the most prized Napa Valley vineyards in their portfolio due to their historical significance, pedigree of the site and exceptional quality of wines.

The 2021 Amici Cellars Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard is deep ruby and opaque; the dark fruited bouquet also offers plenty of baking spice characteristics of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom with toasted cedar and pipe tobacco as the wine evolves in the glass. Smelling this bouquet reminded us of harvesting ripe and blackberries (briary) at a thicket near our parents house in Sonoma County as a youth in the late summer. Boysenberry spread, Persian mulberry and dark cherry round out the fruit aromatics. The palate is a union of both fruit and barrel influences; it’s core is dark fruited with flavors of blackberry, dark cherry, dark plum and dried herbs including sage and bay leaf. The dusty and firmly gripping tannins linger for quite some time on the flavorful and bright finish. This wine is both robust and bright and has plenty of years ahead with the proper cellaring.

The 2018 Amici Cellars Missouri Hopper Cabernet Sauvignon (100% varietal) is a robust wine for serious Cabernet Sauvignon enthusiasts. We call this a Napa Valley ‘Texas’ sized wine due to its intensity of fruit and massive texture. Offers heady aromas of plum, blackberry and dark licorice. On the palate there is a noticeable energy with robust, chewy, dusty and very long-lasting tannins. This wine needs some time to calm down due to its youthful boisterous nature, but it has plenty of life ahead.

To Kalon
The 2021 Amici Cellars To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby, nearly opaque and features an amaranthine rim. The layered bouquet is a union of both red and darker fruits. Its aromatic profile is marked by plenty of toasted oak layers including old cedar, toast, coffee grinds, dry soil, dark chocolate, mocha and espresso. Its aromatic fruit core includes dark plum, blackberry, dark cherry and boysenberry. This wine tastes like blackberry, red plum, cherry and boysenberry with additional flavors of dried herbs and a dusty character similar to crushed rock. And toast and toasted oak, both layers most noticeable on the finish. This wine shows great vintage delineation, a combination of freshness and long-lasting girth and flavor. The broadly coating tannins are clearly felt from both oak and grape with a grainy, gritty and a persistent dusty and chalky character on the finish. Attributes of both vineyard and vintage should ensure this is a cellar-worthy bottle with years of life ahead.

The 2018 Amici Cellars To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby in color; the bouquet keeps evolving so give it some time to open in the glass. Offers aromas of Asian spices, Graham Cracker, toasted oak and a tobacco smoke note. As the wine continues to breath, it reveals aromas of mocha and espresso. There is plenty of fruit on the palate including plum and darker cherry. The tension between the fruit and the tannins is classic To Kalon – offering noticeable power yet also some restraint. The broadly distributed dusty tannins sport a gravelly texture. The finish is mouthwatering and long, lingering with plenty of acidity, fruit and notes of dried tobacco leaf. Drinks nicely now, but we will venture a guess that this wine will continue to improve nicely over the next 5-10 years given a proper cellar temperature.

To Kalon Vineyard is most often associated with Cabernet Sauvignon but this hallowed ground also produces exceptional Cabernet Franc. Recent other producers of Cabernet Franc from To Kalon include TOR Realm, The Debate and Purlieu.

Cabernet Franc
The 2018 Amici Cellars Cabernet Franc (85% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) is dark ruby with plenty of purple color in the glass; the aromatics are dark including of blueberry, hint of chocolate and as it evolves opens to notes of lavender. Opulent and plush across the palate, this wine is well layered with flavors of plum and ripe dark cherry complemented by darker spices. The density of the slightly drying tannins is one of this wine’s hallmarks, tightly packed but rounded in their textural feel. This is a big but balanced showing; the finish lingers with both fruit but also hints of white pepper and dust. Once can almost taste the soils of this part of Oakville in this wine. It was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for 22 months in new French oak.

Olema
Amici produces a second label called Olema; the first release was 2005. These are wines produced from Sonoma County, California and vineyard sites in southern France. This brand over delivers for the price point. Olema means “coyote” in the Miwok language, a native American tribe who used to live in what is now northern California. Not many Napa Valley based wineries we have visited produce a Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon at this pocket pleasing price point. And Amici produces another label for distribution, called No Curfew, focused on affordable wines from California.

The 2023 Olema Sauvignon Blanc is pale yellow in color; the bouquet offers plenty of citrus notes including lemon, lime, kaffir lime leaf, orange blossom along with green apple and freshly mowed lawn. This latter aromatic reminds us of late springtime, driving across the country and people riding on mowers trying to keep up with their quickly growing grass and the resulting smells. Equally bright and citrus driven as the bouquet, there are flavors of lemon juice, grapefruit, kumquat, green apple, guava and gooseberry. Highly minerally. Lingers with a note of tarragon. Bright and refreshing, this wine carries plenty of zest; it is mouthwatering with a bracing acidity. Best paired with views of the rugged northern California coastline and a plate of freshly harvested and shucked oysters complemented with a tangy mignonette sauce. 11.5% alcohol. We don’t try too many Sauvignon Blancs around here (Napa Valley) grown and crafted like this, so we weren’t too surprised when we discovered it wasn’t actually grown in California, but rather is from the Loire Valley in France.

The 2022 Olema Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 5% Petite Sirah and 4% Merlot. This wine is medium to deep ruby in color; there is no aromatic shyness here immediately upon opening. The bouquet offers ripe and lively fruited scents of plum, blackberry, dark raspberry, cassis and blueberry with agreeable influences from its oak aging including notes of cinnamon stick, clove and old cedar box. This wine features both ripeness of fruit but also a lively and bright acidity which provides an overall feel of balance. On the palate there are flavors of Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry, dark cherry and a nuance of both milk, dark chocolate and mocha. Accompanied by a perceived sweetness of fruit there is a lasting note of dried tobacco leaf completing the finish. The tannins are finely woven and integrate seamlessly into the smooth and supple finish. This lighter style bottling drinks nicely two years post vintage and is probably best consumed within 2-6 years.

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Total annual production of Amici Cellars is around 10,000 cases with select distribution primarily through Total Wine & More stores. For more information, to join their wine club (4, 6 or 12 bottle shipments annual) or to schedule an appointment for a tasting, please visit: www.amicicellars.com