BUNTER SPRING WINERY — CURRENT RELEASES
2018 SPRING FUME BLANC “OYSTER WINE”, SANTA CRUZ 12.71% alcohol, 51 cases, $25/bottle. Our 2018 Fume continues the series of standout wines from this vineyard, which we began using in 2014. Barrel fermented and aged eight months in older “neutral” French barrels, using “wild” yeast. Totally dry, light-medium bodied, refreshingly tart, with pronounced aromas of citrus, melon, and dried grass. Perfect with oysters and shrimp, also great alone as an aperitif or delicious thirst-quencher. Ingredients: grapes, water, sulfite. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total sulfite 32 ppm, residual sugar <0.1 g/l (totally dry).
2018 SPRING CHARDONNAY, MONTEREY COUNTY 13.57% alcohol, 51 cases, $25/bottle. 100% Chardonnay,”wild” yeast, fermented and aged on the lees for eleven months in twice-used French oak barrels. Faintly buttery, ripe varietal flavor of apple and citrus. Medium bodied with good natural acidity. Ingredients: grapes, sulfur dioxide. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total SO2 103 ppm, residual sugar 0.4 g/l (dry). Good with lobster, roast chicken, and anything in cream sauce.
2018 SPRING ROSE MONTEREY “Kitchen Pink” Sold out- the 2019, made from Grenache and a tiny bit of Syrah, will be available spring 2020.
2017 SPRING PINOT NOIR MONTEREY 100% Pinot Noir, 50% Chalone, 50% lower Carmel Valley, 13.25% alcohol, 65 cases, $30. We have finally released our first official Monterey county Pinot! Of course, it had to be difficult. We intended to keep the two small lots separate and bottle them as single vineyard wines, but the Chalone, because of a very hot couple of days just before harvest, was low in acid, and the Carmel Valley lot developed a “dark roast” character, despite the absence of any fires, and being aged in medium toast french cooperage. The best wine was the blend, so we did it. It’s unique, with deep varietal fruit and great structure under the idiosyncratic surface. Ingredients: grapes, water, yeast , sulfur dioxide. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total SO2 80 ppm, residual sugar 0.6 g/L (dry).
SPRING 2017 CABERNET FRANC, CARMEL VALLEY Organic grapes 86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon 14.34% alcohol, 48 cases, $30/bottle. This wine is from a historic organic vineyard in the hills high above the Carmel River. The AVA gives a distinct and recognizable character to its fruit, something midway between Napa and Paso Robles- which is exactly where it is! Super ripe red fruit flavors with a whiff of lavender and spice. Twenty months in french and American oak barrels, 50% new. Ingredients: Organic grapes, water, yeast, sulfite. Not fined or fitered. At bottling: total sulfite 60 ppm, residual sugar 0.2 g/l (very dry).
SPRING 2017 COWBOY SURFER, MONTEREY COUNTY 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Cabernet Sauvignoon 13.74% alcohol, 49 cases, $25/bottle. Our second iteration of this outrageous blend of normally antithetical varieties. The first Cowboy Surfer, 2014, was a resigned wishful last resort use for a barrel of weird Pinot. People loved it! When it was gone they asked for more. Not so easy, it turned out- there’s a reason why no one blends these two. The result almost always tastes like either a pathetically weak Cab or a nasty hot puckery Pinot. It took three years, but we finally made two wines that worked. FYI the Pinot, from close to the beach, is the surfer. The Cab, from cow country high up in the hills, is the cowboy. Black cherry, raspberry, spice, and tannin, just slightly on the aggro side right now, will mellow into a very laid-back ride. Ingredients: grapes, water, yeast, sulfite. Not fined or fitered. At bottling: total sulfite 65 ppm, residual sugar 0.1 g/l (very dry).
SPRING 2016 CABERNET FRANC, MONTEREY COUNTY 87% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot 13.24% alcohol, 58 cases, $25/bottle. Monterey County is vast. Much of it is too cool to ripen Bordeaux varieties well. This fruit was grown in the south, not far from Paso Robles, where it’s warm. A medium-full bodied, perfectly balanced wine, easy to drink and a good match for subtle or complexly flavored dishes that might be overwhelmed by a big jammy Cab. It tastes of red cherries, and the Petit Verdot supplied some nice texture. Vibrant and juicy. Ingredients: grapes, water, yeast, tartaric acid, sulfite. Not fined or fitered. At bottling: total sulfite 60 ppm, residual sugar 0.2 g/l (very dry).
SPRING 2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CALISTOGA, NAPA VALLEY, 13.76% alcohol, 24 cases, $60/bottle. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, organically grown. Our friend Ed Lantz grows this on the site of the historic vineyard of Samuel Brannan, the founder of Calistoga. Calistoga is the warmest AVA in Napa Valley, and you can taste it here. This is a bold, ripe, spicy wine, with plenty of tannin, aged 22 months in French and American oak, very contemporary in style, just what people love about Napa Cab. Although it’s drinkable now, this wine will be much better in five or ten years, and might well last many years. The grapes from this vineyard are expensive, and go into several wines selling for hundreds of dollars. Which is why we are planting our own Napa Cab! Ingredients: organic grapes, water, yeast, sulfite. Not fined or filtered. At bottling: total sulfites 70 ppm, residual sugar 0.1 g/l (totally dry).
SPRING 2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, 13.27% alcohol, 73 cases, $18/bottle. “Burger Wine” Organically grown. Contra Costa is a great place for Zin, Petite Sirah, and Carignane. It’s not well known for Cab, so we got a sweet deal on this fruit, and so do you. We treated it with the same respect as all our wines, including nice once-used French oak barrels. Medium bodied, soft tannins, juicy blackberry taste, perfect with burgers. It’s vegan, so veggie burgers work too. Ingredients: organic grapes, water, yeast, tartaric acid, sulfite. Filtered, not fined. Made using reverse osmosis. At bottling: total sulfites 88 ppm, residual sugar 0.3 g/l (dry).
SPRING 2016 COSTA PASO RED BLEND, 60% Primitivo,25% Petite Sirah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.7% alcohol, 100 cases, $18/bottle. “Pizza Wine” Half from Contra Costa, half from Paso Robles, this is the jammier, spicier partner to our Burger Wine. You can drink this with about anything, or nothing at all, but it’s really good with pizza and spicy pasta. Aged ten months in American oak. Ingredients: grapes, water, yeast, tartaric acid, sulfite. Filtered, not fined. Made using reverse osmosis. At bottling: total sulfite 77 ppm, residual sugar 0.3 g/l (dry).
2015 HIPPIE SYRAH, NAPA VALLEY. 100% Syrah. 13.35% alcohol, 45 cases, $25. Made with organic grapes. In 2015, we got a very different wine from our Syrah vineyard. The “wild” yeast really went feral, turning our peaceful little anti-establishment organic fermentation into something like a rampaging acid-fueled riot. We had to add a little sulfite and then filter the wine to save it from becoming something only a totally stoned commune would consider drinking. In the end, it was all groovy, if slightly far out. To honor and illustrate its nature, it got a special name and label. Ingredients: Organic grapes, sulfite. Filtered, not fined. At bottling: total sulfite 40 ppm, residual sugar 0.2 g/l (dry).
2014 BÜNTER “NATUR” SYRAH, COOMBSVILLE, NAPA VALLEY. 100% Syrah, Estate bottled. 13.27% alcohol, 100 cases, $30. Organic. No added sulfites. Earthy, nutty, meaty, slightly spicy, slightly floral, with medium full body, good natural acidity, and rich tannins. Goes great with very spicy (hot) food, as usual for this wine. It actually cools and soothes your mouth after a bite of anything painfully spicy. The texture and mouthfeel are superb. The aroma and flavor are typical of no-sulfite reds: less fruity, more earthy. Definitely different. Ingredients: Organic grapes. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total SO2 2 ppm, residual sugar <0.1 g/l (bone dry).
2012 SPRING RED WINE NAPA VALLEY “GARAGITAGE”. 86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Petit Verdot. 13.80% Alc., 37 cases, $60 . This wine is still pretty tannic and will be even better than it is now given a few more years in bottle. If you can keep from drinking it up before then. It is riper and more tannic than the 2011, because the 2012 growing season was warmer and drier. This may be the best red wine on the list, for those of you who like subtle ripe fruit, tannin, and concentration, in an elegant, structured, reserved style . Ingredients: Grapes, water, yeast, tartaric acid, sulfur dioxide. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total SO2 85 ppm, residual sugar <0.1 g/l (bone dry). Steak wine, the fattier the better.
2011 SPRING RED WINE MUIR-HANNA VINEYARD, OAK KNOLL, NAPA VALLEY “GARAGITAGE”. 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Petit Verdot, 23% Cabernet Franc. 13.36% Alc., 103 cases, $45.
The rains of early October 2011 made this a challenging harvest for winegrower and winemaker alike, especially with the late-ripening Bordeaux varieties. Growers Bill and Mike Hanna and their crew helped us select only the best and ripest berries. The three varieties were fermented separately and the initial blend made in December 2011. In the following October, the wine was reblended, raising the percentage of Petit Verdot. Aged 21 months in once-used French oak barrels. This is a classically structured old-world style wine. There are layers of flavor, intriguing aromas, acidity that requires food, and plenty of tannin. This wine is drinking very nicely and still benefits from decanting- plus at its age there will be sediment. It continues to improve, though it is now reaching maturity, with nice bottle bouquet. A food wine, for hard cheeses and red meat, not a good cocktail wine. Ingredients: Grapes, water, yeast, sulfur dioxide. Not fined, not filtered. At bottling: total SO2 78 ppm, residual sugar 0.5 g/l (dry).
Winemaker’s Note
Many of our wines are unfiltered. None of our wines are treated, as most commercial wines are, to prevent them from possibly precipitating cream of tartar if the wine is chilled below a certain temperature. Cream of tartar, used in baking, also called potassium bitartrate, is a crystalline salt of the tartaric acid that is naturally present in grapes. If you do chill our wine, and see white crystals, either chunky accumulations or fine powder, they are harmless.
For our red wines, we recommend decanting. Decanting will aerate and “open” most young red wines, improving aroma and flavor. For older wines it allows you to separate the sediment from the wine, if you are careful. If not decanted, please handle the bottle gently and pour carefully, especially as you near the end of the bottle. Enjoy!