Surh Cellars

Surh Cellars was founded by Don Surh and Gary Luchtel whose original winery name, Surh-Luchtel Cellars was a combination of their last names. By 2015 the Surh-Luchtel brand was retired, and Don began to bottle wines only under Surh Cellars. Gary is no longer involved with Surh Cellars. They were college roommates in Oakland in the 1970s which is where they first discovered they each had a strong passion for wine. They both experimented with home wine making for a number of years until producing their first commercial vintage in 1999.

As Don told us, several decades of making wine gives one time to make a lot of mistakes. One is always learning regardless of how many vintages one has worked; that is the beauty of the wine industry – every vintage is different and one must pull from their perspective of the vagaries of previous harvests.

At the height of their production, Surh-Luchtel was making ten different wines totaling about 5,000 cases annually. Today Surh Cellars produces about 3,000 cases annually. They currently source grapes from a number of vineyards from both Napa Valley and neighboring Sonoma County focusing on cooler weather sites including Coombsville and Atlas Peak. Their Pinot Noir comes from Sonoma County while their Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Napa Valley. Over the years, close relationships have been developed with select growers – always sourcing from vineyards that are carefully managed.

All wines are very much hand crafted at a state-of-the-art winery in Napa Valley’s Carneros district, a short drive from downtown Napa. Each wine is produced in quantities of no more than several hundred cases. Some of their bigger red wines (i.e., the hillside grown Cabernet Sauvignon) receive extended maceration – even up to 50 days. This adds additional color and flavor to the wine and helps add an additional textural component.

The early focus of their winemaking was on Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon; today Surh Cellars produces a diversity of wines. We first caught up with Don at a wine tasting event in Pasadena and later made a follow up visit in Napa Valley.

Select Wines
Surh Cellars produces a wide diversity of wines. All their wines are unique with individual personalities, attributes that stand out in the more homogenous space of contemporary Napa Valley.

Whites
The Surh Sauvignon Blanc is called ‘Pamplemousse’, which appropriately in French refers to pomelo or grapefruit, common fruit descriptors to describe both aromatics and flavors in this variety.

The 2023 Surh Cellars Pamplemousse Sauvignon Blanc is deep straw in color; this is a serious, thoughtful and well-made wine from this variety. The aromatics showcase both ripeness, floral and herbal characteristics. Its scents include pineapple, white peach, white nectarine, golden delicious apples, passion fruit, star jasmine, citrus blossom, honeycomb and a hint of kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass. Superbly balanced, this wine delivers everything we love about the variety, an intensity of flavor, vibrancy and a long finish. Its flavors include zesty citrus including mandarin orange, ruby grapefruit, lemon juice and lime. And additional layers of not fully ripe pineapple with a light pina colada character, green apple, dill and grapefruit. The silken mouth feel fits seamlessly on the finish with the juicy acidity. Mouthwatering and fresh. We would enjoy using this wine as a palate cleanser after drinking big bold Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The last sip invites another. This wine is a refreshing 13.4% alcohol. This is a beautiful and balanced expression of the variety.

The 2022 Surh Cellars Pamplemousse Sauvignon Blanc is medium yellow; the bouquet offers lots of aromatic depth and a very light oxidation, perhaps from an extra year aging in stainless steel before it was bottled for a total of 17 months. Its aromatics include a tangy citrus character, lemon meringue, dried orange peels, green apples, ginger, honeydew melon and a light note of bruised apple. Minerally, fresh, alive and filled with plenty of energy this wine zips across the palate with flavors of lime, lemon juice, pineapple, papaya, passion fruit, pepino melon, kiwi and oro blanco grapefruit, a flavor we are intimately familiar with. The finish lingers mouthwatering with loads of flavor and immediately invites another sip. This wine is saddled just where we like it; with plenty of Napa Valley ripeness but never falling into the green or grassy style. We would love to pair this with fresh oysters, tangy mignonette sauce and a view overlooking one Sonoma County’s numerous vistas of its rugged coastline.

The 2017 Surh Cellars Pamplemousse Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley (sourced from Coombsville) is medium yellow in the glass; showing aromas of lemon meringue, orange blossom and the smell of hay after the first rain. And also, complementary aromatics are some sweeter notes – floral in nature, including honeysuckle and vanilla. A very appealing bouquet. Opens with an immediate brightness on the palate that lingers through the finish. Slightly rounded but always tempered nicely by the acidity. Very balanced with flavors of orange, pomelo, ginger snaps, kiwi and red apple. Finishes crisp and lively but not tart with no grassiness or green apple.

The 2022 Surh Cellars Viognier, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County was fermented and aged in stainless steel vessels. This wine is medium gold in color; highly aromatic, the sweetly scented bouquet reveals aromas of jasmine, citrus blossom, passion fruit, pineapple and plenty of stone fruited influences including peach, apricot and nectarine. It smells plenty tropical; the one island we immediately thought of pairing this wine with is Maui. Maybe its the ripe pineapple we smell or maybe its the fact our good friend Emil Tedeschi founded Tedeschi Winery on Maui and used to produce pineapple wine. Balanced, with an aqueous character; this wine doesn’t express an overtly oily or rich mouth feel, textures often associated with this variety. It is clean and crisp across the palate with flavors of pineapple, dried apricot, yellow peaches, mandarin, ginger and a finishing note of taragon. Its texture is supple but not heavy or viscous. Lingers for quite some time with plenty of flavor. Bring on lightly seared scallops and this wine, please.

Reds
The 2022 Surh Cellars Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast Sonoma County was aged in 33% new French oak barrels and 67% once used French oak barrels for 18 months. This wine is pale ruby in color; the bouquet is a union of both fruit and barrel influences, sans some of the spicy characteristics that this variety sometimes expresses. Its aromas include raspberry jam, cherry, Santa Rosa plum, strawberry and a hint of red licorice. Other layers include freshly tilled soil, dried herbs including sage, old cedar box and darker baking spices. As the wine evolves it reveals a note of mocha. This wine is fully ripe. Plush, ripe and sweetly fruited across the palate it offers flavors of dark raspberry, red plum, juicy cherry and a light note of truffle oil. Lingers with a noticeable presence of texture; the gravelly light to moderately textured tannins outpace the fruit on the finish. And there is a lasting note of dried herbs including sage and a persistent drying character. Medium acidity. If there was a Pinot Noir favored by Cabernet Sauvignon enthusiasts, this bottling would be an ideal candidate.

The 2022 Surh Cellars Merlot Napa Valley is deep ruby and opaque; sweetly fruited and overly generous, the heady bouquet is immediate and forward fruited. Its scents include blackberry pie, blackberry jam, boysenberry preserves, fully ripe Persian mulberry which reminds us of our trips to Very Mulberry U-Pick in Brentwood every late spring to pick these delicious fruits, almost overripe Coral cherries, cherry liqueur, baked plums and soy sauce, with loads of dessert spices at play here including cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, mocha and brown chocolate. If one could dance with the freedom of no one watching, these aromatics would align perfectly with that feeling. Brightly lit across the palate, the flavors aren’t as muddled as one would expect from the ripeness of the bouquet. Rather, they are expressive and solidified by the juicy, crunchy and mouth watering acidity keeping everything fresh and lively. This wine tastes like recently harvested Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, dark raspberry and bright cherries. The grainy, gritty and still pixelated tannins anchor a mouth ‘warming’ finish of sweet fruits. Looking for a ripe and crowd favorite Napa Valley Merlot with complexity and texture? This is your bottle.

The 2022 Surh Cellars Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County was aged for 18 months in 33% new French oak barrels and 67% 1 & 2 year old French oak barrels. This wine is medium to deep ruby in color; fully ripe the the nose reals aromas of blackberry pie, black cherry, dark plum, ginger snaps, Biskoff cookies, cloves and plenty of cinnamon in the undertow. Primarily red fruited, the palate reveals flavors of cherry, Santa Rosa plum, currant, cranberry, raspberry and pomegranate. Despite its nearly 15% listed alcohol, this wine is not overly jammy. Fully ripe yes. The palate carries the quintessential Zinfandel spice including of white pepper, red licorice, allspice and cinnamon. Lingers with a light sweet character that reminds us of dill. The tannins are lightly gravelly and fit nicely into the finish like a perfectly aligning piece of a puzzle. A light drying character persists. Lingers quite higher toned and red fruited and with a vivacious acidity. We would love to pair this with a Thai dish called Pad Prik Thai Dam, where we would substitute fresh green peppercorns for black pepper.

The 2017 Surh Cellars Zinfandel Napa Valley is medium ruby in color; the bouquet immediately offers dark fruits including of Santa Rosa plum, dark ripe cherry, blackberry and black licorice, complemented by a spicy union of notes of cracked peppercorn and old cedar box. A darker dessert spice also shows deeper into the aromatics. Somewhat savory. There is plenty of aromatic depth in this wine, including notes of espresso and mocha/old coffee grinds. Well concentrated across the plate with flavors of blackberry and dark cherry. Lingers with a ripe tartness, a spiciness and a medium grip of tannins. Juicy on the finish. As we tasted this wine, we immediately started thinking of pairing with BBQ ribs!

The 2021 Surh Cellars Syrah, Napa Valley was aged for 19 months in 30% new French oak and 70% once used French oak barrels. This wine is deep ruby, opaque and sports an amaranthine rim; it smells like the variety, meaty & gamey, dark, and with loads of layering. Its scents are of dark plum, rusting iron which almost crosses into the territory of being sanguine, pencil shavings, crushed pepper corn and smoked meats, with plenty of dark fruits including plum, blackberry, Persian mulberry, blueberry and boysenberry. Additional aromas include violets, lavender and dried sage. Bold, dark and intense across the palate, this wine features acidity filled to the brim with energy, boisterous and bouncing across the palate like a crazed teenager. It reveals flavors of red plum, tart cherry, currant, not fully ripe blueberries, smoked sage and crushed black peppercorn. Savory, raw, rugged, juicy, dark, spicy and persistent, the finish features grainy, gritty and grippy tannins which far outpace the fruit on the finish at this age. Still a baby, 4 years post vintage, this wine has loads of life ahead of it with the proper cellaring. Well marbled protein and a BBQ please.

The 2014 Surh Cellars Syrah, Napa Valley was sourced from vineyards in Coombsville and Atlas Peak (cooler parts of Napa Valley). This wine is medium purple in color; offers a ripe fruit meaty almost bloody-esque bouquet. But plenty of ruit shows red cherry and blackberry. Certainly, a savory showing with notes of cedar, dried herbs and darker spices including clove on the fringes of the bouquet. Mouth filling fruit, juicy and rich – the palate is carried by its acidity. The tannins are slightly dark in nature, not heavy or course lingering with a medium grip along with both red and darker fruits. Also pepper. Six years post vintage date at the time of our tasting – it is obvious this wine still has plenty of life ahead of it.

The 2015 Surh Cellars Mosaique Red Wine, Napa Valley was sourced from vineyards in Oak Knoll, Carneros and Atlas Peak. It is a blend of 59% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc and was aged in oak barrel for 34 months before being bottling. Immediately offers an opulent nose with ripe dark briary aromas, dried black cherry, cassis, tea leaf and some lively darker spices including old red cedar box wood. The palate features bright fruit flavors with energetic acidity – lingers with flavors of red cherry and cranberry and a darker spice note. The tannins are finer grained then coarse – more so like an extra steeped dark tea in their textural feel. Very well integrated into the finish. This is another nice food friendly wine that is ready to drink in its youth but still has some years ahead of it.

The 2013 Surh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is deep ruby in color; the bouquet initially shows a brooding character with aromas of truffle and mushroom and a meatiness along with dark, dark fruit including ripe plum and black fig. There is also, a mocha / dark chocolate note and a hint of tobacco leaf, deep into the aromatics. Features a rich density of both fruit and structure on the palate – but with plenty of spirited acidity. Grippy chewy tannins linger, representative of many Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Napa Valley from this particular vintage. Although, perhaps these have become a bit more rounded as the wine has aged. Drinks younger than the vintage date. A very cellar worthy offering. Priced lower than many Napa Valley grown ‘cab savs’ of a similar profile.

The 2009 Surh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is from the well-regarded Sacrashe Vineyard in the rocky hills of Rutherford near Auberge du Soleil Resort, a property owned by Craig and Kathryn Hall of Hall Wines. This wine was aged in both new and neutral French oak barrels. An intriguing sage or herb component shows on the bouquet with notes of red currant and red cherry on the palate. This is a versatile food wine. Dusty tannins linger for quite some time. For a wine that is already more than six years old at the time of our tasting, it still shows plenty of youth on the palate. This will be a long-lived wine if you have the patience to age it.

It is recommended to let their Cabernet Sauvignon, especially, breathe before drinking as only then do the aromas and flavors really show.

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Surh Cellars has good distribution within California as well as select other states. Their wines are very food friendly and reasonably priced; one can find the wines in a number of restaurants in states where they have distribution. Locally in Napa Valley, one may sometimes be able to find their wine at several wine shops including Vintner’s Collective in the city of Napa, ACME Fine Wines in St. Helena and Oakville Grocery. In addition, interested parties can sign up for their newsletter on the Surh Cellars website. For more information or to purchase wine, visit: www.surhcellars.com