Barrel Tasting Weekend sponsored by the Russian River Wine Road is one of the best parties on Earth!  The event takes place over 2 consecutive weekends and always is a huge hit with wine lovers.  This year was certainly no exception.  And in Dry Creek Valley, where there is a virtual sea of Zinfandel, Michel-Schlumberger offers a Bordeaux-style experience unlike any in the area.

This year, as guests arrived, they were first directed through the barrel room (it IS barrel weekend after all!) for tastes of two stunning wines.  Our 2007 Cabernet Franc — a wine we do not normally bottle by itself – but are offering an amazing Futures offer:  $20/bottle when purchased in case quantities (or $26/bottle when purchase 6 bottles).  This wine tasted absolutely glorious from the barrel.  When it comes out in about a year, if there is any left (!), it will be 40/bottle — clearly Futures are they way to go.

The second wine tasted was the 2006 Deux Terres — our ‘best of the best’ Bordeaux-style blend from the Estate.  In 2006, the foundation of this wine was our Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon (from high on the saddle of the vineyard at the top of the Estate) and sprinkled with equal doses of Petit Verdot, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere & Cabernet Franc.  Again, Futures are the way to go as this wine will be released in a year for $100/bottle.  We are offering our signature wine for $50/bottle on Futures for a one case (or more!) purchase, and $65/bottle for a half case (6 bottles). 

Interested in still getting in on Futures?  Click here:  Michel-Schlumberger Futures

After this mystical experience in the barrel room, folks moved into our second barrel room for tastes of our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Pinot Noir and 2006 ‘La Brume’ Chardonnay — each paired with local artisan cheeses. 

Back out into the courtyard, guests walked by our ‘Worms to Wine’ display — a tangible taste of our organic vineyard practices and a nice little bit of education about the Estate wine-growing philosophy. 

Finally, the ‘Stash Sale’.  Our tasting parlor was converted to a tasting & buying frenzy of old vintages being sold at blow out, rock bottom, ‘economic stimulus package’ prices.  That was a lot of fun watching people realize that the wine they were tasting was not $70 per bottle, but $70…per case!!  The hand cart was kept busy constantly wheeling out 3 & 4 case purchases.

If you were here for Barrel Tasting Weekend, thanks so much.  If you missed it, click on the video below to get a little flavor for the fun.  But next year — don’t miss it!  Next up:  Passport Weekend - April 25-26.  Hope to see you up at the Estate!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Harvest is a great time to visit Michel-Schlumberger.  And to encourage our online friends to venture out off the beaten track in Dry Creek Valley, we have a special promotion. From now until the end of October, our Vertical Tasting or Green Tour is free to anyone who mentions they heard about it online. Just call 800.447.3060 to make an appointment and tell us where you heard about it… here on the blog, on Facebook, Twitter, Pownce or Friendfeed.

The Vertical Tasting showcases our reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from vintages 1998, 1999 and 2000. One of the wonderful things about having Estate wines is that all the fruit comes only from our estate.  As a result, you really get to taste true vintage differences. What was happening in 1998 (cold, rainy), 1999 (long, long, long, cool season), & 2000 (vibrant, complex vintage) and how did that environment impact the wines?  Taste the absolute art of the winemaker, the essence of our terroir, and the subtleties of vintage in this tasting of the best wines our Estate can produce.  This is a guided tasting that allows you to compare and contrast these wines side-by-side in our tasting salon. We usually charge $25 per person for this tasting but it’s free to our online friends for the rest of this season.

Our Green Tour was featured in Sunset magazine this year and is given at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Enjoy this extraordinary in-depth tour of our eco-friendly Estate learning about our organic garden, abundant wildlife, Wine Creek restoration, sustainable winegrowing and more. Stroll to the top of our benchland vineyards to take in the breathtaking vista of Dry Creek Valley, our serene lake and the blocks of our different varietals. The tour ends at a hillside table, with a panoramic view, and enjoy a guided tasting of our award winning Estate wines including our new Deux Terres Cabernet. While you’re sipping this reserve wine you can behold the very block of the vineyard that produced the grapes for this extraordinary blend. This tour is a $30 value, again free to our online friends.

We’re hoping to see several of our online friends here as we continue harvest. Just give us a call at 800.447.3060 to make your reservation and mention you heard about it here. One free tour or tasting per visit, please.  Come see what everyone is talking about!