Eleven Eleven Winery

Eleven Eleven Winery held their grand opening on March 21, 2015 at 11:11am in the old Barrel Stop Winery on Trancas Ave located just outside of the Napa city limits; the dividing line in this part of Napa between the county and the city is Trancas Avenue. Eleven Eleven took over this location after the previous owners declared a bankruptcy, although that is not the reason for the name of the winery. And this winery is not to be confused with Eleven Winery located on Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington.

The original founders Ellie Anest and Aurelien Roulin fortuitously met on an Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles back in 2010. They started talking and discovered a shared interest over food and wine as well as real estate. A long 11+ hour flight became shorter as they continued to explore mutual interests. Who keeps in contact much less starts a business together from a conversation on a flight?! What they accomplished since this random meeting is extremely impressive.

Ellie comes from a long career in the world of finance; for five years she operated her own financial consulting firm, Anest Financial Solutions and more recently, prior to Eleven Eleven wines was with RGP, a financial and accounting firm based in Irvine, California. European born, Aurelien (no longer involved with ownership of Eleven Eleven Winery) founded Del’A’Rue Entertainment in West Hollywood and is a gifted and talented performer including as an actor, a model and aerial acrobatics. He is also a producer.

Later one of Ellie’s longtime friends from San Diego, Carol Vassiliadis was brought on as a third partner and investor. Carol is a well-respected philanthropist who gifted major financial support to the UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center now home of the A. Vassiliadis Family Hospital for Advanced Surgery.

In 2012, prior to the founding of Eleven Eleven, Ellie & Carol purchased a 3.5-acre property and home in Oak Knoll (Laki’s Vineyard) followed by a 16 acre vineyard (Destin Vineyard). Both sites are within a short drive of Eleven Eleven Winery. The partners purchased both the winery, winemaking equipment left from the previous ownership (Dominari Winery) and the adjoining property in late 2013 including the surrounding vineyards. Eleven Eleven was able to acquire this developed property for a similar cost to what the prior owners previously purchased the land only.

Prior to Eleven Eleven Wines, Dominari Wines moved onto the property just in time for harvest 2009, although their first vintage was in 2001. We met with the proprietor Marie Schütz several times over the years including at this property soon after she opened the winery. The name Dominari was chosen to represent a story of survival. In Italian dominari can mean “protected farm house”, but in Latin means “superior”.

Marie told us about her husband Jürgen’s (died in 2020) incredible story of survival that ocurred during WWII. His house was destroyed in England by enemy aircraft; he was in the basement when the floor collapsed and he survived because he was in between two suitcases when a huge beam came crashing down. His family fled thinking he was killed and he was found several days later by Red Cross workers who took him to a monastery where he lived and learned Latin for 4 years until his grandfather finally located him.

Eleven Eleven is located very close to what was a historically significant building; not far from here along the banks of Salvador Creek near the Napa River in what is now Trancas Crossing Park, used to be an old adobe structure built in the early 1840s by Don Salvador Vallejo. This was one of three adobes built and owned by Salvador Vallejo in Napa Valley. His residence was the headquarters for his Rancho Napa, a land grant which included more than 3,000 acres. This adobe was known as Casa las Trancas or “The Happy Casa”. He willed this adobe to his son Ignacio in 1850 who lived in it until it was destroyed by fire in 1919.

Based on their chance meeting on the airplane, Ellie and Aurelien decided to choose the name Eleven Eleven, reflecting on life’s randomness and coincidental events. In numerology, some believe that seeing 11:11 on a clock is a favorable sign. As a number it represents balance, a characteristic they strive to create in all their wines. One doesn’t have to look far when visiting the winery to see 11:11 and regardless of the time of day you visit, the clock on the exterior of their hospitality center is always locked into 11:11. So are all the non functional clocks inside the hospitality center. And honoring life’s random occurrences, the winery has embraced and trademarked the hashtag, #makeyourmoment.

Visitors to Barrel Stop Winery would not even recognize the property today. After the transition in ownership, the interior of the winery underwent a complete makeover; one side of the winery houses their barrels, and the other side is for hospitality. And an impressive winery facility located to the north (behind) of the primary hospitality center was built with its own barrel hall. An integral part of their business is serving custom crush clients; these are brands who rent space in their winery to produce their own wines. And a private tasting room in the building to the rear is often used by some of these clients to host their own customers. We have met with several of them here over the years.

This state of the art production facility is now home to approximately by our last count, some 30 producers. The winery has attracted some of the best and the brightest winemakers in Napa Valley.

Much of the Eleven Eleven Napa Valley produced wines are sourced from two vineyards they own located slightly to the north of the winery in the Oak Knoll District. One is a 3.5-acre vineyard off of El Centro Ave in Napa called Laki’s Vineyard, planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon and the other is the Destin Vineyard, 16 acres planted to Syrah, Riesling, Merlot and Malbec. They practice organic farming are certified Napa Green both in their vineyards and winery. Napa Green is a certification program by the Napa County Department of Public Works and the California Green Business Program overseeing water conservation and reduced energy and waste within Napa county based wineries.

Aurelien met winemaker Kirk Venge at a function and casually mentioned a vineyard that he and Ellie had purchased – Kirk offered to come by to see the vines. He did so and liked what he saw and he encouraged Aurelien to make wine from their vineyard. Ultimately Aurlien and Ellie hired Kirk as their winemaker which coincidentally was his 11th consulting client; he has made their wines since their inaugural vintage in 2012.

With one exception, (the XI Cabernet Sauvignon), all of the Eleven Eleven wines are 100% varietal bottlings. As of our latest update to this review, Eleven Eleven produces 14 different wines from both estate growing grapes and also grapes purchased from other growers. The Greek word “Parea” refers to the power of a group of friends who share their collective interests and perspectives with one another. The Eleven Eleven wines are crafted to embody the meaning of this word: they are food friendly, are meant to be shared and are the conduit to building meaningful connections with others.

Select Wines
Whites
There is not much Riesling produced in contemporary Napa Valley; there used to be much more Riesling but over the decades it has been replanted to more economically viable varieties. Riesling is one of our favorite varieties; three of our benchmark Napa Valley producers are Smith Madrone, Stony Hill and Lanthanide. It is always a rare treat when we have the opportunity to try Napa Valley grown Riesling. Several sources of Riesling in Napa Valley are found in Carneros, Oak Knoll and on Spring Mountain.

The 2022 Eleven Eleven Estate Riesling Destin Vineyard Carol’s Song (Oak Knoll District) is medium gold in color; the bouquet is focused on a slightly riper varietal aromatic expression including aromas of yellow nectarine, peaches, baked pears, corn tassel, Golden Delicious apple, honeydew melon and some floral notes of citrus blossom and honeysuckle. There are also some tropical nuances at play here of mango and papaya. As the wine opens further, it evolves notes of caramel and vanilla. This bouquet has many layers, is ‘riper’ than the palate and needs time in the glass to fully evolve. We wrote minerally to describe our initial impression of the palate; it offers flavors of green apple, a lemon/lime character, not fully ripe apricot, and dried peaches. Bright but not bracing it finishes with a pronounced intensity of flavor and mouth watering acidity. Refreshing. Tasting this at 530am we immediately thought of pairing this with a spicy Thai duck salad. 12.7% alcohol. Only 95 cases were produced.

The 2021 Eleven Eleven Dutton Ranch Chardonnay Sonoma County is deep gold in color; the bouquet offers sweet aromatics of warm butter, vanilla, crème Brule, tapioca, pineapple, mango, ripe stone fruits including peaches and nectarines and toasted oak. We would not correct someone if they described its scents as reminding them of their favorite dessert. A mouthful of intensity, this wine somewhat echoes the bouquet with flavors of ripe stone fruits, pineapple, assorted baking spices, butter, toasted oak and Crenshaw melon. Richly endowed, the lengthy finish continues to persist with its long-lasting flavors. Acidity: medium to medium +. Texture: lightly rounded. This wine is a meal in and of itself and is highly enjoyable on its own merit. However if we were pressed to pair it with something, it most likely would be a cream sauced based pasta dish.

The 2016 Eleven Eleven Sauvignon Blanc offers a sweetness of fruit on the bouquet including ripe pineapple along with pretty floral aromas. There are also highlights of graphite/pencil shavings. Clean and easy to drink, this wine shows a diversity of both tropical flavors complemented by citrus flavors (lemon/lime) along with mango, kiwi and pineapple. Not heavy on the palate, a lingering bright acidity and a slight tartness complete the finish.

Reds
The 2023 Eleven Eleven Rosé of Syrah is copper color in the glass, almost the exact same color as the exterior of the copper spit cup we are using during our tasting at Eleven Eleven. This wine reveals aromas of watermelon jolly rancher hard candy, raspberry, a minerally character, slate rock and blood orange. It is also minerally on the palate with flavors of kumquat, lime juice, ruby grapefruit, green apple and a texture that is lightly fleshy with a rounded and supple character. The finish is brightly lit and mouth watering. This is a zesty showing that will immediately wake up your palate. Nicely done. This rosé is normally produced from estate fruit but for a few years due to a replant, it was sourced from a vineyard in Bennett Valley in neighboring Sonoma County. This wine would pair nicely with a salad we make from Miner’s Lettuce we harvest from the banks of Salvador Creek (next to Eleven Eleven Winery) in late winter/early spring. A sprinkle of lemon juice from the Regusci Winery farm stand, a light drizzle of Boucler la Bouce olive oil, thinly sliced white onion, ground black pepper and red wine vinegar.

The 2021 Eleven Eleven Calesa Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap is medium ruby; the bouquet smells like the variety with a union of both fruit and darker spices. It offers aromas of raspberry, cherry cola, white pepper and hints of vanilla bean. Let this wine evolve a bit and the fruit will become more expressive. The palate is darkly fruited with flavors of dark raspberry and spicy plum and lingers with a light note of dried tobacco. The tannins are well-integrated and lightly grainy in texture. During one of our visits, our host Bradley, called this bottling, “dangerously drinkable”. We can see why. Eleven Eleven also produces a second Pinot Noir from the Bacigalupi Vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley; that wine tends to riper and bolder than the Calesa bottling.

The 2020 Eleven Eleven Destin Estate Syrah (100% varietal); this wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque in the glass. The bouquet sports darkly fruited aromas of plum, blackberry, boysenberry jam, Pakistani mulberry, ripe dark cherry and assorted darker baking spices. The bouquet is layered with loads of ripe fruit but doesn’t cross into the territory of overripe or hedonistic. Layered on the palate both in terms of flavor and texture, this bottling offers flavors of dark plum, blackberry and boysenberry. The dusty finish is supported by grainy but not heavily grippy tannins, loads of flavor and a dark pepper spice. Several different blocks are harvested each year for this bottling and are fermented and aged separately. This wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels of which 80% were new. 15.5% alcohol.

The 2012 Eleven Eleven Estate Syrah (also sourced from the Destin Vineyard) shows notes of white pepper on the nose; as the wine breathes the spicier notes dissipate and a really appealing bouquet focusing on the fruit is revealed. The bouquet is not over ripe, rather it sports more red fruit than dark including plum, and red cherry. The wine has very good acidity with a lingering tartness on the finish.

The 2021 Eleven Eleven XI Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of five Bordeaux red varieties from both the 11:11 and Destin Vineyards. This wine is deep ruby in the glass and nearly opaque; the bouquet is opulent, ripe and hedonistic. It offers aromas of blackberry, Pakistani mulberry, dark cherry and boysenberry accompanied by additional layers of dark chocolate, mocha, espresso, toasted marshmallow and toasted oak contributing its own woodsy spice. The scents are not jammy but are definitely on the ripe side of the aromatic spectrum. The palate echoes the bouquet to some extent and is a mouthful of fruit with a perceived sweetness. This wine offers flavors of blackberry, cherry and Santa Rosa plum. There is also a light but dark spicy character (crushed pink peppercorn), especially noticeable on the finish. The wine persists with both fruit, a subtle tartness, a light dryness paralleled by finely woven but persistent tightly-woven gripping tannins coating the entire palate. The texture ultimately outpaces the fruit. We could see this paring nicely with a well-marbled porterhouse steak. 15.1% alcohol.

The 2021 Eleven Eleven Laki’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% from clone 337. 2021 was generally a lower yielding vintage in Napa Valley with full ripeness achieved later in the growing season. This wine is deep ruby and opaque; the bouquet is darkly fruited with layers of fruit including blackberry, boysenberry and dark cherry. There are also dark spices including a light woodsy note with a hint of dark chocolate. This bottling delivers layers of flavor and textural complexity. It is a robust and energetic wine in its youth; for reference we tasted about a week after was released. The finish is dark fruited with notes of dark pepper, dust and dried tobacco leaf. It is a long finish with grainy, grippy and chewy tannins that at this age outpace the fruit. It also lingers with a tartness, a dusty character, a woodsy spice and a noticeable brightness of fruit. This wine has plenty of years ahead of it with the proper cellaring. Pair with a warm summer evening, friends, steak and a BBQ.

The 2014 Eleven Eleven Estate Laki’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a noticeable sweetness of lively ripe fruit on the bouquet including plum. There are also notes of blackberry, toasted oak and cedar box. The aromas are opulent and fruit forward. Feels plush on the palate, with the sweetness of aromas mirrored as flavors. Ripe blackberry. A bit smoky with nuances of leather on the firm and structured finish.

The 2012 Eleven Eleven Estate Laki’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon offers a pleasing dusty component on the bouquet along with darker fruit aromas, primarily blackberry. The palate shows some darker spices. The tannins are fine grained and linger more on the front of the palate than the back – and for quite some time. Notes of vanilla spice also show on the finish.

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Visits are by appointment; the tastings are seated, relaxed and very personalized. Several tasting options are offered including: The 11:11 Experience, a private tasting of some of their premium wines, The 11:11 Estate Experience, a private tour and tasting focusing on estate wines only and the Cabernet Only Experience held in their barrel room. Any of these tastings can be paired with add-ons including a variety of artisan cheese and charcuterie and or caviar. Weather permitting and despite being so close to the Napa city limits and just off of busy Trancas Avenue, the outdoor seating lounge is a rather quiet and relaxing place to enjoy a tasting. The nearby vineyards when leafed out and the surrounding tiny olive trees help block the noise from the nearby streets.

And visitors to the valley can reserve the Laki Vineyard House named in honor of Carol’s husband who passed away from cancer in 2002, located only a several minute drive north of the winery. Club 11:11 members have special access to stays here. This French inspired country house is 2,500 square feet and sleeps up to six spread over three and a half bedrooms. It also features a private pool and a hot tub. And it is within only a 10-12 minute drive to downtown Napa with its numerous restaurants and winery tasting rooms.

As of our latest update to this review, Eleven Eleven produces about 3,500 cases per year. By far the vast majority of their production is sold direct with a limited amount of distribution For more information, to purchase wines, to join their wine club or to make an appointment at the winery, visit: www.elevenelevenwines.com

Exterior

Interior

Laki Vineyard House