Labry Wines

Labry Wines. Standing slightly elevated looking over a sea of vines, one quickly has a sense of this place – and its viticulture history. Merely 4.2 acres, this tiny part of the extended and coveted vineyard patchwork in southern Rutherford finds its pedigree not only in its prime terroir but also through its iconic neighbors. Robert Mondavi and the northern edge of Oakville is located slightly to the south of the property, Staglin Vineyards to the west and Swanson Vineyards and Inglenook within an easy view, both short distances to the north. The nearby Mayacamas mountains are so close it almost seems like one can reach out and touch them from the property. The soils here are deep and composed of a material brought down from the mountains by a wider alluvial fan and include old volcanic rocks and ash.

It is estimated the vineyard dates back decades; it was farmed until 1995 by David Abreu. More recent records show the vines were replanted entirely to clone 7 of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1998 by Mark and Linda Neal. Today the vines are managed by Pete Richmond and Silverado Farming Company.

Proprietors Ed Labry III and his wife Kim initially began looking for hillside more remote locations in Napa Valley – but as Ed says, “we were blessed with a daughter” and so they decided to look for property on the valley floor closer to town. Strongly connected to Memphis, Ed’s father Edward Jr., worked for more than 30 years at Metropolitan Life Insurance and served more than 30 years in various positions at Ducks Unlimited including serving on the board of directors for that company. He was also President of the National Wild Turkey Federation in Tennessee for three years.

Ed joined the Memphis debit company Concord EFS INc., in 1984 and later served as President of that company. This vertically integrated electronic transaction processing firm was listed publicly on the NASDAQ. It was acquired by First Data Corporation in 2003; after the acquisition, he became Vice Chairman of the company and for one year, CEO. He was an integral part of the company’s success; during his time as CEO the company employed over 1,000 people, primarily in Memphis.
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Along with two partners he co-founded Locally Global Investments, a national real estate investments firm. And today he is the Chairman and CEO of Memphis based LB Technology Inc., a fleet services and management software provider. This is not his first experience with the trucking industry; in 1999 he was elected to the board of directors for M.S. Carriers, a Memphis based trucking firm that a year later was purchased by and merged with Swift Transportation.

In 2002, Labry Hall, a 50,000 square foot building housing classrooms, a lecture hall, laboratories, a number of faculty offices and an atrium gathering space was built at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. This was constructed through a donation from Labry, an alumni from the class of 1985. This private university was founded in 1842 and was nearly destroyed some two decades later when the Confederate army burned most of the campus to the ground during the Civil War. It was rebuilt, with its resulting nickname appropriately chosen as the phoenix.

And this is not the only educational support Labry provided. In 2005 he gifted a generous donation to Hutchinson, the Memphis based all-girls private school. In recognition of this, the school opened Labry Hall in 2006 for grades 9-12. This building houses offices, a lecture hall and counseling services.

Ed has known Rutherford ‘neighbors’ Garen and Shari Staglin proprietors of Staglin Family Vineyard for many years; it was the Staglin’s who helped them locate this particular property. This site is located on Bella Oaks Lane just west of Highway 29. Their wine portfolio is based on each of their preferences; for example, Ed enjoys Cabernet Sauvignon and Kim, Pinot Noir. They mutually decided to produce a Sauvignon Blanc.

The Labry’s purchased this gorgeous property in 2016. Previously grapes from the site had gone to Pine Ridge, Opus One, Rombauer Vineyards and most recently to Vineyard 29. After Ed and Kim purchased the site, they were able to buy back some barrels of wine from Rombauer and finish the winemaking at a nearby winery; 2016 was the first commercial release bottled under the Labry label.

For reference, there are several other Napa Valley based wine brands or wineries with strong Tennessee connections, primarily from Memphis and Nashville. These are: Cornerstone Cellars, wineries under the Gaylon Lawrence collection, Revelette and Rockmere.

Winemaker
Keith Emerson is originally from Boston and was planning to attend culinary school to become a chef when he came across an article mentioning the possibility of going to school to learn wine making. This sparked his interest, so he moved to California, attended UC Davis and ultimately graduated with a degree in Fermentation Science with an emphasis on Enology and Viticulture.

After graduating, Keith came to Napa and worked his first harvest at Cakebread. From there he worked at Gundlach Bundschu winery (the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in the state of California) in neighboring Sonoma County (Keith is currently their Executive winemaker). And later a wine maker friend referred him to a position at Vineyard 29 in St. Helena. Today Keith is the Director of Wine making at Vineyard 29 where he also crafts the Labry wines.

Select Wines
Sauvignon Blanc
Through Keith’s connections their first Sauvignon Blanc from 2017 was sourced from a vineyard in Calistoga. Moving forward for subsequent vintages, the source of the grapes for this wine are from the Ashe Vineyards in Oakville (the first time we discovered wines from that vineyard was at a Taste of Oakville event at Robert Mondavi Winery – where these were among the few Oakville grown white wines represented at that particular tasting).

The 2018 Labry Sauvignon Blanc sees extended oak aging, up to 22 months – the wine is aged sur lie and stirred at certain intervals for the first 3 months – and then left to age before being racked to tank and then bottled. Medium golden in color this wine shows a beautiful diversity of aromatics including initially floral notes, jasmine, honeysuckle, citrus blossom and hints of pineapple. Letting the wine evolve further – while still cold in the glass, reveals more tropical notes including banana, mango and papaya along with cantaloupe. Noticeable is the texture – no sharpness whatsoever the wine glides across the palate smoothly. Notes of mandarin, mineralities with just a hint of vanilla on the finish. A generous offering, certainly respective of a warmer site, yet still balanced and complemented by a brightness of acidity.

Pinot Noir
The 2019 Labry Russian River Pinot Noir is from the Martin Ray Vineyard (a historic site that Keith works closely with). Medium ruby in color offers some floral notes on the bouquet including dried rose petal, violets, raspberry, and hints of red licorice. And as the wine breathes further, the aromatics show more sweetness of fruit including a dessert spice influence. Offers a lovely tension across the palate with a very pleasing texture. Flavors of red cherry and hints of tea leaf are complemented by silky smooth and rounded tannins with some subtle lingering earth notes. The tannins are nicely integrated into the finish – this wine is superbly balanced. Aged 11 months in 40% new, 60% once used Burgundy French oak barrels.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2018 Labry Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to dark ruby in color with appealing aromatics including tobacco leaf, hint of smoke, black olive, and darker fruits including plum and black cherry. One can also smell the varietal characteristics on the bouquet with dried herbs, very subtle hints of green pepper and sage. Nice aromatic character – certainly can be picked out of a lineup against more fruit forward Napa cabs. Balanced across the palate with a pleasing integration of acidity and tannins on the finish. Lingers with somewhat dusty, almost chalky tannins and a brightness of red fruits. Was aged 22 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

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And through a Lake County producer, Labry bottles and brands their own olive oil. Production is currently around several hundred cases of wine a year with plans to grow this slightly. The wines are not distributed and are sold entirely through their mailing list.

The property is private and does not host visitors. The handsome barn on the property houses a beautiful piece of metal art featuring the American flag. It was created by Ed’s first cousin, the talented artist and metalsmith Ben Caldwell, based in Nashville.

The wines are primarily sold to members although locally, ACME Wine Shop in St. Helena may carry select bottlings. For more details, to purchase wines or to join their ‘no rules wine club’ featuring releases twice a year during the spring and the fall, visit: www.labrywine.com