Virtual Tasting Room
Our winemaking style has remained the same for over 35 years and is reminiscent of the old-school California style: moderate in alcohol, built to age, bone dry, and flavorfully round with concentrated fruit flavors and fine tannins. All of our wines are aged exclusively in French oak.
Known primarily for Zinfandel, our wines showcase the elegantly refined side of the varietal by bringing its beautiful zinberry characteristics and natural acidity to the forefront. The final result is a more focused yet seductive expression of Zinfandel that will make you think differently about the varietal.
The wines are produced in a labor-intensive manner that is only conducive to small production. Old vine, dry-farmed, and estate wines including Zinfandel, Cabernet, Russian River Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc are produced in the above-ground-cave cellar, kept cool year-round by a living roof of rosemary. Andrew, like his father Doug, is dedicated to creating structured, fruit-forward wines with well-integrated acidity making them great with a meal.
Like stepping back in time, elegant, old fashioned Zin flavors reflect the rich history of land that has been cultivated for winemaking for 90 years.
Wine #1
2018 Hopkins Pinot Noir
Case Count 216
Alc. 13.6%
pH 3.64
TA 6.1 g/L
$42.00
($33.60 club members)
Nose
Dusty cranberries, fresh white cherries, floral hints, slight roses wafting away, elegant spices of vanilla, cloves, tea leaves. With time, the cherries seem more dried and some minerality is uncovered. Russian River sun in a bottle.
Mouthfeel
Fresh, young tannin now but extremely focused, velvety and minerally. Smooth complexity. With more air, the texture becomes more rounded and ready to drink.
Vintage
The 2018 growing season was smooth sailing with weather conditions conducive to growing high quality wine grapes. Cooler temperatures at night and no heat spikes allowed for longer hang-time on the vine, leading to wines marked by depth of flavor, greater levels of rounded tannins, balanced acidity, and moderate alcohol levels. In a nutshell, 2018 was bountiful and flavorful.
Vineyard Notes
Located in the heart of the Russian River AVA, the Hopkins Ranch soils are well drained loam over a deep layer (20-30 feet) of Russian River gravel. Longtime family friend and winegrower, Bob Hopkins, planted the block we source our Pinot grapes from in 1989. An old friend who was working for Joe Swan at the time, persuaded Bob to graft four rows of the block using cuttings from the now famous Swan vineyard. For 21 vintages Nalle has received those very same four rows of Swan clone Pinot with a handshake and a smile. The Swan clone is a lighter more delicate iteration of the varietal and compliments our style well.
Best Enjoyed
Decant and drink now or age for 3 to 5+ years from vintage.
Taste
Rich fruit, cherries, smooth and fresh, baking spices, crème brûlée.
Finish
Elegance abounds, well built structure, finesse, long lasting, playful and studious? The finish has a fine mark of acidity, that makes it excellent with an array of dishes and special occasions.
Varietal
100% Swan clone
Production Notes
Fermented in ½ ton picking bins with punch downs for 7-10 days. Malolactic fermentation finished in barrels. Unfined and racked only once to preserve the elegant flavors. Aged in 100% french oak, 33% new, 33% 1 year old, 33% 2 year old.
Pairs Well With
Roasted rosemary pork loin and potatoes. Miso glazed Salmon and veggie stir fry.
Wine #2
2018 Dry Creek Valley Classic Zinfandel
Case Count 720
Alc. 13.9%
pH 3.56
TA 6.6
$42.00
($33.60 club members)
Nose
Bright complexity of sweet Dry Creek blackberry bramble, blueberry and a mineral note. Classic French oak expression leads into nutmeg, brown sugar, cardamon, caramel, and plum spice.
Mouthfeel
Seamless mid-weight tannins, a fine Dry Creek ‘dustiness’ similar to cocoa powder. Cohesive, nostalgic and refined. Velvety structure, and layered with refreshing acidity, opens up to multidimensional complexity.
Vintage
The 2018 growing season was smooth sailing with weather conditions conducive to growing high quality wine grapes. Cooler temperatures at night and no heat spikes allowed for longer hang-time on the vine, leading to wines marked by depth of flavor, greater levels of rounded tannins, balanced acidity, and moderate alcohol levels. In a nutshell, 2018 was bountiful and flavorful.
Vineyard Notes
This classic 50/50 two-vineyard blend of Nalle Estate Old Vine Zinfandel and Bernier-Sibary field blend, is a testimony to over 36 years of experience in bottling balanced, flavorful Zin reflective of Dry Creek Valley. The estate 93 year old vines are dry-farmed and head trained, yielding intense fruit flavors, balanced acidity, and structured tannins. Soils here are well-drained, gravelly clay and loam which help to impart layered notes of raspberry and strawberries. The Bernier-Sibary ‘Zinyard’ yields fruit with focused, lively flavors. Harvested and fermented together, the Petite Sirah and Carignane add color and mid-palate strength to complement the brambly, complex flavors. Slightly acidic, fine loamy soils formed from sandstone and found mainly in steep mountainous areas encourage the development of small berries with tempered acidity and weighty tannin structure.
Best Enjoyed With
Decant and drink now or age for 4 to 7+ years from vintage.
Taste
Burst of fresh summer fruits: ripe strawberries, raspberries, dark red cherry, cranberry compote, pomegranate, and fresh cut stone fruit. There is a juicy depth of flavor, as well as being refreshing and complex. Bone dry and porch sippin’ good.
Finish
Classic Nalle style, gracefully bold with a little pop.
Varietal
92% Zinfandel, 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignane.
Production Notes
Meticulously hand sorted at the crusher. Fermented in small open-top tanks. Aged exclusively in French oak (Alain Fouquet, Demptos, Francois Freres) 25% new, for 11 months.
Pairs Well With
Truffle fries and chicken parmesan from Catelli’s (fav restaurant in Geyserville).
Wine #3
2019 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Nose
Fresh limes and key lime pie abound plus fruity floral notes and slight gooseberries.
Mouthfeel
Bright acidity, extremely focused and minerally. Smooth complexity from the time in neutral French oak. With more air, the texture softens more and sings out for another sip!
Vintage
The 2019 growing season was marked by significant rainfall and a slower to ripen vintage. Then with slightly higher temperatures at night, but no heat spikes around harvest -allowed for longer hang-time and softer textures. In a nutshell, 2019 followed up a bountiful 2018 with a memorable year.
Vineyard Notes
Located in the heart of the Dry CreekValley AVA, the ‘flat’ of Henderlong Nalle Estate Vineyard soils are fertile, well drained sandy loam 50 yards from Dry Creek. Longtime cousins, the Saini’s, have been helping us with the winegrowing since 1969. The SB vines were grafted over from Merlot in 2004. Now Nalle winery uses three of the rows starting with the 2018 vintage. The vines down in the ‘flat’ produce a lighter more delicate iteration of Sauvignon Blanc and compliments our house style well.
Best Enjoyed With
Drink now or age for 2 to 4+ years from vintage for complexity and longer mouthfeel.
Taste
Melon, citrus, yellow plum, pear and richness. Faint lemongrass if you dig deeper.
Finish
Structure, structure and more structure built for the long haul but delicious right now. Old school Sauv Blanc. A total food wine, but also great as a sipper while grilling.
Varietal
100% Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Production Notes
Primary fermentation in neutral French oak barrels with batonnage every other day. 50% malolactic fermentation also in neutral French oak barrels to retain the freshness. Fined and bottled in March 2020(7 months in neutral French oak).
Pairs Well With
Homemade fish tacos. Coconut veggie curry w/ saffron rice.
$30.00
Case Count 95
Alc. 13.0%
pH 3.37
TA 7.1 g/L
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