2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez Valley

Produced from hand-tended, estate-grown Sauvignon Blanc with 24 hours skin contact before being moved into stainless steel tanks for aging. The additional time on the skins gives the finished wine a little extra texture and also enables it to improve in the cellar. The aromas lean toward the citrus side, with grapefruit predominant upon opening, but gradually shifting more toward stonefruit as the wine evolves in the glass.
au Naturel is crisp and fresh-tasting, with a long finish that is subtle yet intricate, the sort of wine that keeps you coming back for another sip, if only to figure out why it tastes so intriguingly good.

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This is a single-vineyard designated wine made from the beautiful fruit of the Purisima Vineyard. The vineyard lies in the rolling hills of the Ballard Canyon area, west of the town of Los Olivos. In making this wine we treated the juice like we do with our Sauvignon au Naturel: skin contact for approximately 24 hours prior to pressing. Only the free run juice is used without any fermentation or maturation in oak in order to render the best expression and purity of Sauvignon Blanc. Only 158 cases made.

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The fourth year of this single vineyard-designated Sauvignon Blanc from the Santa Ynez Valley! The juice is treated like our Sauvignon Blanc au Naturel, with skin contact for approximately 24 hours prior to pressing. Only the free run juice is used without any fermentation or maturation in oak in order to render the best expression and purity of Sauvignon Blanc. Reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc from Down Under, this vintage is herbaceous and shows aromas of grass and grapefruit with hints of juicy fruit gum! The Mesa Verde vineyard is at a lower elevation, near the Santa Ynez river.

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2009 Uno Mas de Brander, Grenache Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc

The inspiration behind this wine can be found in some of the wines coming out of the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France, where the orange peel aroma and full-bodied nature of the Grenache Blanc marries well with the lime and grapefruit scents and leaner structure of Sauvignon Blanc.

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2008 Chardonnay

Stylistically, what we achieved with our Santa Ynez Valley Chardonnay is very similar to what we look for in our Sauvignon Blanc: a wine with lots of upfront fruit that is crisp and fresh on the finish, and above all, absolutely food friendly. Last year’s Chardonnay was done up in 100% stainless steel, but in 2008 we threw caution to the winds and experimented a little, letting the wine spend about three months relaxing in some neutral French oak barrels. We’re quite pleased with the results. The wine shows some vibrant tropical sensations on the nose, with green apples and a little vanilla blossom on the palate, all rounding out with just a touch of soft velvet texture fleshing out the finish. It’s refreshing and delicious without straying from the Brander style. We bottled 374 cases.

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2007 Moscato Di Fredi

I have named some of my best wines after my twin children, Nicolas and Natalie. I wanted to name this Moscato after my dog, Asti. To avoid inevitable conflict, I chose to name it after Fredi, the name given to me by my friends during my childhood in Argentina.
This wine emulates the low alcohol, moderately sweet, and slightly sparkling wines made from the Muscat Canelli grape, and originating in Northern Italy.

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The Brander Chateau Neuf Du Pink is a delicious Syrah-based rosé with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc added for a little more charm and complexity. We get the grapes from our neighbors at the Clover Creek and Mesa Verde Vineyards down the road.

The Syrah receives 24-hour skin contact, giving our rosé a deep strawberry color and a playful, strawberry bubblegum nose. This bottling shows crisp mid-palate fruit, followed by a dry, lingering finish that makes it perfect as an aperitif or just a wonderful wine to relax with on a warm, sunny day.

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Each year we bottle a small amount of Syrah that is a blend of estate grown fruit with Syrah grown from other vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley. This lot was matured in a combination of French and American oak barrels and bottled 8 months after harvest.

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A single vineyard designated Syrah produced with fruit from the Colson Canyon Vineyard in Santa Maria. This full-bodied syrah shows complex layers of black licorice, dried cherry, white pepper and finishes with cedar box. With firm tannins, this wine should age well for the next 4-6 years.

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It used to be that Cabernet Sauvignon was excruciatingly difficult to get right in the Santa Ynez Valley. Years of effort have resulted in the local vineyard people figuring out which sections of the valley offer the ideal growing conditions for the variety and the result is that this area is now home to some pretty credible Cabernets. The 2008 Brander Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from several local vineyards, including Estelle, Viña de Santa Ynez, Fess Parker’s Camp 4, and our own estate vineyard here in Los Olivos. This array of vineyards gives us plenty of material to work with in order to make a Cabernet to please everyone’s needs. We go for soft tannins to make it approachable in its youth with grilled beef, but the region’s growing conditions give the wine a foundation of invigorating acidity that enables it to match dishes more complex than Santa Maria style barbecue. Right now there are caramel tones on the nose with black cherry leading the way in the mouth. It’s a young’un, but has great potential to evolve over the next 5-10 years in the cellar.

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Merlot has been planted in the Santa Ynez Valley for at least thirty years, but it’s only been recently that it’s really begun to shine. As a winemaker, it’s gratifying to see that growers in this area have really done their research and have selected the optimal Merlot clones grafted them to the right rootstock combinations and planted them in the best, most Merlot-friendly vineyard sites in the region. Our 2008 Merlot offers ample evidence that everything is now in sync; the wine exhibits wonderful concentration, with cherry fruit with soft tannins achieved from a long, cool fermentation period. Eight months aging in small French and American oak add just enough texture to this supple wine to complement (but not mask) its appealing regional identity. This is a wine to enjoy over the next year or two.

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50% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 % Syrah

“Bouchet” is another name the French use for Cabernet Franc in the Bordeaux region and it felt appropriate to use it for our estate grown, Bordeaux-style red blend. Notice that we say “Bordeaux-style”. This cuvée is made from 50% Cabernet Franc, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah. In Bordeaux you’d expect to see Merlot or Petit Verdot as the go-to grapes to round out the mix, but we’ve found that a dollop of Syrah perfectly rounds out the palate and adds another layer of unexpected complexity to the wine. We like to think of the oak regimen as being assertive rather than aggressive, with the mostly new French barrels adding some seductive spice and herbal notes that meld the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah flavors into one of the most seamless wines produced here in the valley. 2007 is the 24th vintage we’ve made of this blend and for good reason, it’s become the red we’re most recognized for. Exceedingly drinkable on release, if you have the patience you’d be safe in aging it for 5-10 more years under proper cellar conditions.

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Our 2006 Cabernet Reserve is surprisingly approachable for such a young vintage. It has a bright (yet earthy) bouquet with nuances of pepper, dried black cherry showing on the front palate. This leads to an explosion of green olives, asparagus and black currant, all wrapped up with a smooth, silky finish. We recommend that you decant for about an hour or so – just the right amount of time you’ll need while preparing foie gras or your favorite recipe for rib-eye steak au poivre. The 2006 Brander Cabernet Reserve is enjoyable now but will go another 5-7 years with proper cellaring.

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