KIND Cellars

Kind Cellars – For David Yorgensen, the art and science of wine making is intensely personal. While never formally trained in winemaking he has dedicated his life to a passionate perseverance of fine tuning his craft. He grew up in New England, earned a degree in Fisheries & Wildlife and then ultimately became interested in wine. Eventually deciding upon a career change, he moved to the Napa Valley in 2004 to become a winemaker.

While not owning any vineyards himself, he works very closely with small family-owned vineyards – establishing close grower and vintner relationships. While producing his early vintages at O’Brien Estate near the city of Napa, today the KIND wines are crafted at a small established winery near Howell Mountain.

In the winery his attention to detail is great. He believes in a minimalist approach to wine making, preferring to avoid contact with the wine as little as possible. He keeps barrel samples and racking to a minimum. He believes in showcasing a vineyards fruit – producing wines with all-natural acidity and bottling the wine unfined and unfiltered. He likes texture and mouth feel in his wines – and looks for character, a uniqueness that expresses the terroir of a certain vineyard. It wasn’t long after moving to the valley that he released his first wine – in 2005.

David is not afraid of using new French oak either on his white or red wines. As he says, “there is not something as too much oak, rather the challenge is in finding fruit that will hold up to the oak”. Apparently he is always up to this challenge; we have never had an over-oaked wine from KIND Cellars. Regardless of vineyard site, the grapes are always the star of the show in his wines. And he has been fortunate to work with a number of very small premium French coopers, one of which produces less than 7,000 barrels a year.

These wines are from grapes harvested at the peak of their ripeness, and that shows in the opulent aromatics, layers of fruit on the palate and higher alcohol. In ripeness, we find it can be rare to also find balance. But these wines do have that attribute, built upon supporting acidity, always resolved tannins and never showing as ‘hot’.

Select Wines
Reds
The 2021 KIND Cellars Pinot Noir, Starscape Vineyard Russian River Valley, Sonoma County is medium ruby in color; we had this wine sitting next to us for about 20 minutes teasing with its delightful and open-knitted floral and fruit driven aromatics. These include scents of violets, lavender and smoked sage, complemented by additional aromas of Santa Rosa plum (a fruit introduced by horticulturist Luther Burbank and named after the town he lived in), red cherry, currant, raspberry, potpourri and a hint of vanilla bean deep in the background. On the palate there are flavors of sweet raspberry, cherry cola, strawberry and orange rind. Noticeable immediately is it’s plush texture, with a seamless and supple mouth feel from the entry through to the finish. Looking for savory, brooding, earthy Pinot Noir? Look elsewhere as that is not this particular bottling. One would not be incorrect in calling this Pinot Noir a crowd pleaser.

The 2021 KIND Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Lewelling Ranch Napa Valley (one of Napa Valley’s most historical vineyard sites) is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the lively, simultaneously ripe and fresh and layered bouquet offers scents of blackberry jam, boysenberry preserves, baked plums, coral cherries at the end of the season, black figs, sweet tobacco spice, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, chocolate brownie and deep in the aromatics, a note of petrichor. The palate mirrors the bouquet in terms of expressive and rich fruit characteristics. These include flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry and plum at the peak of its ripeness. The finish lingers with a ripe juiciness and a texture showcasing lightly grainy tannins which linger with a very subtle drying character. This wine is not shy in any regard, if she was to show up at a party dressed to kill, it would be in a stunning solid red Alexander McQueen blazer with matching pants, with the other accessories left to her discretion.

The 2021 KIND Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain Napa Valley is deep ruby and opaque in the glass; the first aroma we noted to describe this hedonistic beauty was plum. Followed by notes of boysenberry jam. But there is much more at play here; the bouquet features layers of aromatic depth and ripe fruited opulence. Its scents reminded of us fingers dripping with the fresh juice of blackberries while trying not to get pricked by their thorns, while harvesting on the edge of a wild berry thicket in the afternoon of a hot and dusty summer day. A light touch of toasted oak sits on the back of the bouquet. The palate features gobs of dark fruits including boysenberry, blackberry, dark cherry and plum. The tannins are ripe, soft and linger with a dusty/chalky character. Their gentle presence paces the fruit in tandem on the extended and flavor-filled finish. A bright acidity provides the lift, keeping this wine firmly rooted on the endearing side of the spectrum, rather than being heavy. This wine was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak Darnajou barrels.

The 2022 KIND Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain was aged in 100% new French oak barrels (Darnajou). This wine is deep ruby in color; the gorgeous and youthful bouquet is focused on its fruit despite tasting this straight out of the barrel after 18 months of aging. It offers aromas of ripe blackberry, boysenberry, dark licorice, black currant and dark plum and a hint of menthol. Mouth filling mountain ripe fruit with its dark berry flavors somewhat echo the bouquet, including blackberry, boysenberry, and Pakistani mulberry. The gravelly and grainy tannins are already integrated nicely into the fruit laden finish. Lingers with a chalky and minerally character.

KINDS’s flagship wine is a proprietary red, a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine (blended with a bit of Cabernet Franc). David doesn’t necessarily strive for a “sameness” or consistency in his wines each year, although he tends to consistently source grapes from the same vineyards. Rather he is more focused on showcasing the varietal characteristics and or the vintage variation from year to year.

The 2019 KIND Cellars Proprietary Red Wine, Napa Valley is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc with its elevage, 18 months in 100% new French Darnajou barrels. This wine is deep ruby in color and opaque; the opulent and hedonistic bouquet is focused on a purity of ripe berry fruits with the oak playing a lightly supporting role. This wine offers sweetly-fruited and generous scents of blackberry preserves, boysenberry, dark Pakistani mulberry, plum, blueberries, cherry cordial, bittersweet chocolate and an iron/sanguine character. On the palate there are flavors of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry and chocolate with an accompanying perception of sweet fruit. The tannins are gravelly, dusty and chalky, and ultimately outpace the fruit on the finish. This wine is showing in a particularly sweet spot at the time of our tasting, 5 years post vintage.

The 2008 KIND Cellars Proprietary Red is just as inky dark and concentrated in color in the glass as the 2007 vintage, but aromatically shows brighter lively notes of fruit – somewhat floral in nature – black fig, sweet ripe red fruit aromas complemented with lesser notes of toasted vanilla. This is a balanced wine, yet in a robust kind of way (please pardon the pun). The fruit holds up to the alcohol and there is certainly some weight, especially on the finish. Some wines can hold up better in the bottle after being opened than others; this is one of them. This wine did not drop off even after several days; it continued to develop additional nuances and complexities (including a softening of the tannins) as it was exposed to some air. The bouquet changes too – it becomes more integrated and elegant – notes of cherry liqueur develop. The ability to hold up remarkably well after a few days is certainly a characteristic of the quality of fruit and extraction. But, perhaps in part, this additional “life” can also be contributed to David’s strict control on keeping his wine away from additional oxygen during its aging.

The 2007 KIND Cellars Proprietary Red shows both floral and dark fruit notes on the bouquet. The rich aromas are meaty, savory and seductive; black fruit dominates. The palate shows dark fruit including blackberry, and black cherry. The finish is big and expressive lingering with fruit for some time.

The 2021 KIND Cellars Cabernet Franc Napa Valley is 100% varietal; this wine is deep ruby in color. Not a shy wine of this variety, its bouquet is highly expressive of both floral and fruited characteristics including violets and purple lilac flowers, paralleled by aromas of dark cherry, plum, blackberry, tobacco spice and iron. Looking for an herbal and red or green pepper showing that this variety often expresses, especially from cooler sites? This is not that bottling. On the palate there are flavors of dark cherry, blackberry, mulberry plum and notes of milk chocolate and espresso. This wine features fine-grained and highly polished tannins, with a supple and lightly dusty/chewy texture that lingers softly along with both red and dark fruited flavors. Plush and ripe, this bottling delivers plenty of immediate pleasure.

The 2009 KIND Cellars Cabernet Franc was their first standalone release of this variety. Historically David had used Cabernet franc for blending and his vineyard source produced so little that he never had more for a standalone wine. This is a lush and mouth filling demonstration of what this variety can express. David does not like pyrazines (greenness) in his wines and this wine has none of that. The bouquet presents scents of cigar box, smokiness, dark fruit, lavender and a pleasing earthiness. This is a mouth filling wine with blackberry, blueberry and dusty chocolate lingering deliciously on the finish.

Two additional exciting wines for KIND Cellars (which were only produced for a short time) were a rare Howell Mountain Sauvignon Blanc from the former Henry Brothers Ranch, a 17-acre vineyard located at about 1900 feet (and conveniently located close to where David lives) and an intense Syrah from the highest block in a vineyard over 2500 feet on the uppermost slopes of Mt. Veeder. The Syrah was from the former Lampyridae Vineyard (now called Altezia Vineyard), the second highest vineyard in Napa County and the highest vineyard that rises above the immediate Napa Valley floor. We had the privilege to try this rare wine in its very early youth; it is dark, inky, meaty and rich – a wine that will beg to have some age upon release. Only 120 cases were produced.

Whites
The 2009 KIND Cellars Chardonnay was the first wine KIND Cellars released of this variety. The bouquet reveals pomelo, along with tropical overtones, honeysuckle, baking spices and toasted oak. The mouth feel is rounded and strikes a good balance between weight and acidity. Flavors of vanilla bean, banana and other assorted baking spices linger for some time on the extended finish. This wine is a good example of what David describes of lees “as being an incredible tool in wine making”. Besides being a natural fining agent, careful lees management certainly can add complexity and weight to a wine. He often equates wine with music; some wines are like a jazz trio with music that is light and lively with clear and definable notes. However, he relates this wine more to a symphonic experience where the notes are blended together, the sum of the parts creating something powerful.

When David started researching names for his wine label, he discovered that the name “kind” was remarkably never trademarked. “Kind” reflects his philosophy on life – both positivity and negativity will come back to you. As he says, “life is too short to focus on the negative”. In Hawaiian, the pidgin phrase, “da kine” is also a word that references “high quality” or premium products.

David has no retail presence whatsoever; it is rare to find a Napa Valley producer who maintains a wine club for such a small production. His annual production is around 500 cases – but he does make a wider variety of wines than most small producers. These are small lot, hand crafted wines – each production is usually no more than 120 cases. His wine is only sold direct in allocations of either 12 or 24 bottles per year. David enjoys the personal relationships that come around wine and tries to meet all his customers in person. Serious enthusiasts can contact him directly. For more information or to schedule a tasting, visit: www.kindcellars.com

One of the most picturesque vineyards in Napa Valley, the Henry Brothers Ranch, now owned by AXA Millésimes, the owners of nearby Outpost Winery. And formerly a source of grapes for KIND Cellars.