AJA Vineyards
Hello lovely winos,
Last weekend our family celebrated Passover and my 26th birthday! It was an absolute blast. We got to spend time as a family, enjoy a lovely bread-less meal, and lots of great wine.
But enough about me, let’s talk about the most exciting event of last weekend, OUR NEW RELEASE!
On Friday we opened up sales for our 2021 Sauvignon Blanc from our estate and our 2021 Rosé from Paso Robles. I have to stay, I am in such ecstasy because these wines are off the charts good.
I wanted to share a little back story on the wines so that you can feel closer to them when you drink them!
Back in 2016 we were so excited to finally be able to harvest some of the fruit in our Miracle Vineyard that was planted in 2013. But I was bummed because I knew there was still no white wine in the near future. As these vines began to flourish, I kept thinking, we need to grow some white!
Now if you know the Greenbaums, you know we’re a big New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc family. You know, the kind that buys a case of Kim Crawford at Costco..and yes I definitely still stand by it. So we knew we wanted to plant Sauvignon Blanc.
You might say, but Amanda, Malibu Coast climate is nothing like New Zealand! And yes, that’s true, but that doesn’t mean Sauvignon Blanc won’t grow incredibly here. So we planted the clone commonly found in Bordeaux, New Zealand and many areas of Santa Barbara (clone 1, or FPS01 for our grape nerds like me!) in March of 2018. We patiently waited for our vines to mature.
During this time, we created our Happy Canyon Sauvignon Blanc which became an instant fan favorite. We love this wine and continue to produce it with its crisp clean texture, bright acidity and beautiful green apple and lemon flavors, it’s the perfect wine for the summer.
So we kind of got hooked on this style of Sauvignon Blanc. When 2021 came around, I thought to myself…well I don’t want our two wines to compete, they need to be different! So I thought about how to make these wines exciting and loved in such different ways, and BOOM I thought back to Mr. Robert Mondavi himself. Now if you’ve ever had a Bordeaux Blanc from Bordeaux, a Sancerre or a Fume Blanc, you know that Sauvignon Blanc originally was aged in oak barrels, not steel. Steel was a less expensive way to produce the wine producing a more linear style. And it’s delicious, but so is adding a kiss of oak.
So I told our winemakers that I wanted to produce a Fume style Sauvignon Blanc. I want it to taste as good as Domaine Didier Dagueneau’s Silex, a $150 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly Fumé. And that wine is SOOOO good. I mean, who even pays over $50 for a Sauvignon Blanc? I usually would not, but for this wine, it’s worth every dime. And that’s what I wanted to bring to the table.
So we went about the production of this wine and I watched the winemaking like a hawk knowing that if it was a little too lee-sy or a little off on acidity, it wouldn’t be good.
Not to my surprise, its ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The acidity is beautiful, the fruit is spectacularly tropical on the nose and dry, dry, dry! on the palate. A nice silky texture from the neutral barrel and a hint of lees stirring, with a long lasting silky and flavorful finish. It tastes exactly what you would expect a warm climate Bordeaux Blanc–done well–should taste like. Truly spectacular.
If that doesn’t sell you, well this might…the wine is about to go into Baltaire, a steakhouse in los Angeles known for their Michelin level wine list! And we only made 25 cases. 7 are already gone!
Click here to order your bottles!
Now onto my Mom’s Rosé. Back in 2021, we were offered to purchase a box of Grenache gris from Paso Robles. After experiencing for a few years with rosé from the property, we realized that we were not able to produce as much red Syrah as we thought because we were producing so much rosé.
So, if you haven’t bought our 2020 Rosé, we still have some and I’m not sure the next time we’ll be producing that Malibu Coast Rosé from our Syrah. So grab it now!!! Buy 2020 Malibu Coast Rosé
So we decided to purchase some fruit from a relatively coastal vineyard in Paso Robles, and MAN was that the best decision ever! When the fruit came in, it was this gorgeous lilac color with massive bunches. The kind of grape bunches that you need two hands to hold just one of them!
This rosé had such complexity and uniqueness. It veered more in the direction I was looking to produce a rosé to be frank. I was looking to do a light style, more Provençal rosé that was bright, with simple fruits, lots of salinity and minerality, like rosé water. And with this wine, we made just that.
I named it after my mom because she loves a beautiful light rosé. She oozes French Riviera lifestyle and being that it’s like rose water, she’s our flower queen. You can see her floral design on the label. I thought it was the perfect fit. From time to time you may see me call it our WildFlower Rosé because my mom is the wildflower. Buy a bottle and read the back of the label to learn more. It’s truly phenomenal.
Buy 2021 Rosé of Grenache Gris
So, if you haven’t grabbed a bottle, or you’re not in the club and didn’t get it in the shipment, we only made 25 cases of each and like I said, it’s going FAST. Some truly incredible wines with a lot of family devotion and many hands making sure its just incredible for you.
These wines are perfect for Mother’s Day, for spring, and for your summer ahead. Try them and let me know what you think! I look forward to seeing your photos and hearing your thoughts on our new babies!
Cheers,
Amanda
Dear Amanda,
You did it again. You wrote such a wonderful and informative blog. I love reading them. I am actually learning a lot about wine production and I am prouder of you each and everyday
xxxooo Grandma