© 1996 JDM Enterprises
INTRODUCING SELBYby Jerry D. MeadWhy is it that we don't give a fig about who grows our lettuce, or the people behind growing the grain for our pasta, or who makes our soy sauce? But we have a never ending thirst for knowledge about the people who grow the grapes and make our wines? I suppose it's because some of us look at wine as much as a work of art as a beverage, and people have always cared about artists. Susie Selby is a thirty-something MBA who entered the wine biz through the back door and had no intention of staying when she first came in contact with this part art, part agriculture, part razzle-dazzle way of life. Her doctor father and some his friends had invested in a wine project in Napa and it wasn't doing too well. Daughter was asked to put her business acumen to work in looking the partnership over, even though she didn't know a thing about wine. Selby is obviously a very quick study. The business was a mess and she advised its being dissolved, but she also recognized that some of the wines were special and suggested a new partnership (with her involved) to market them. Thus was born the Selby label, intended to be a one-shot deal to sell off some wines from the earlier endeavor. Then Selby attended a few trade functions to learn more about the business she had gotten herself into and met a fellow named Erich Russell, one of the owners of Rabbit Ridge Winery near Healdsburg in Sonoma County. Russell's winery made really good wine, but marketing was not its strongest suit. He offered to swap some winemaking and blending assistance in exchange for some marketing and public relations help, and Susie Selby was sucked further into that vortex called "wine" that has been trapping folks from every field for the past 30 years or so. (Ask some of the many doctors, lawyers and probably even Indian chiefs who preceded her.) Just a few short years ago, the idea that she might spend half her time in jeans, dragging hoses and pumping wine, was so foreign to Selby that it would have been totally discounted had anyone been wild enough to suggest such a thing. The marketing side of her background certainly shows in the very attractive labels she has employed and in all the other printed matter used to support the brand. She has also obviously learned her wine making/blending lessons well, and we're told she has wisely negotiated a number of long term contracts for very special Dry Creek and Russian River region grapes. And did I mention that Selby wines have scored quite well with those famous wine magazines? Shelby seems solidly established in a very short time and destined to be around for a very long time Production is limited and you will not find the wines at the supermarket. Try wine specialty shops and better restaurants in California and Nevada and a few other states. For nearest retail outlet: Selby Wines, 3291 Westside Rd., Healdsburg, CA 95448 (707) 431-1703. Selby 1995 "Sonoma" Chardonnay ($20) Wow! Big, rich, ripe, very tropical flavors with loads of fruit enveloped in lots of pleasant oak-vanillin notes from entry through the very long and satisfying aftertaste. Rating: 94/86 Selby 1993 "Sonoma" Syrah ($20) Blackberry fruit with a decided earthiness and a little touch of road tar (that's good!). The fruit is lush and ripe without being overripe and is showing complexity that will only increase with time. The wine is enjoyable now, but it is one of those reds that really likes aeration. I'd recommend getting it in the glass an hour before you're going to drink it, or splashing it into a decanter (not for any sediment) to get air to it. Rating: 89/87 Selby 1994 "Sonoma" Merlot ($25) An exceptional red wine! A collectable red wine. A really big, bold, age-worthy Merlot, something we're not seeing much of in this time of great Merlot shortage when many producers seem to be blending and stretching. Big black cherry, highly extracted flavors. Bold, bittersweet chocolate background and (I know it sounds odd) some saddle leather. Rating: 94/84
SCOTT HARVEY RETURNSFolie A Deux 1995 "Napa" Sangiovese ($14) California Sangioveses can lean toward the wimpy side and come off like Pinot Noir grown in too warm a climate. This is not one of those wines! Blended to about 10% Zinfandel, it has ripe berry and black cherry fruit with some complex, tarry undertones. It has aging potential. Rating: 92/90
BEST BUY WINE OF THE WEEKCall the winery for retail outlets: Folie A Deux, 3070 N St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena, CA 94574 (800) 473-4454. Wines are scored using a unique 100 point system. First number rates quality; second number rates value. For a reprint explaining the scoring system in depth and a pocket scoring guide, send $1 to: Mead's 100 Points, Box 1598, Carson City, NV 89702
 HOME
|
