Lazy Creek (Anderson Valley, CA)

Mary Beth Chandler in the vat house

Philo, Anderson valley (California).
Our friend Ken visited this winery a few years ago by pure chance : he was driving along this quiet Mendocino county road (highway 128) and noticed the simple sign on the side. He had never heard of the winery but presumed this might be a family winery, and decided to try his chance here.
Chance must always be an option, because it works... After you drive on a long stretch of winding dirt/gravel road in the thick shadow of oak groves [see picture on the right], wondering whether you'll find any vineyards out there, the landscapre opens up to the beautiful and serene quietness of this Anderson Valley's back country: a couple of old houses, a barn, a rusting pick-up truck... and vineyards.

You can see the small (white) winery in the far back of the pic, and the 1938 chevy truck (also pictured below) more on the right

The visit was not planned, and we were lucky to find someone that afternoon : After parking in front of an old fence and a garden overflowing with flowers, we walked to the single-story house and to the winery nearby.
Mary Beth Chandler soon arrived and we made the presentations. She gently opened us the chai to present their wines and tell more about the winery.
The farm was started in the early 20th century by an italian family named Pinoli. Read this very informative page about the history of Anderson Valley. The Pinoli family started with traditional farming, orchards and did vineyards too. Joe Pinoli is said to have founded with Lazy Creek the second oldest winery of Anderson Valley. Then, a swiss, Hans Kobler and his family came and really started anew the farm, the orchards, and planted vineyards, in 1969. The winery facility itself was built in 1973.

This rusting 1938 Chevy truck was there when they bought the estate

Josh and Mary Beth Chandler came here in 1999 to make wine. Josh had been a vineyard grower for years in Napa. He is a man of many resources, being also a trained chef (worked at the Auberge du Soleil in Napa) and a landscape architect. Before purchasing Lazy Creek, they had been looking for a winery for 2 years and the market was hot then. They had just made an offer somewhere else without any answer. Then they came around here, visited a place, then another one. In this second location (this was not Lazy Creek), someone came to them, thinking they were here for the Lazy Creek sale (they did not even know about the Lazy Creek winery being for sale in the first place), so thanks to this coincidence, they happened to be the first interested buyers on the spot, and they actually made the deal. Their offer was accepted, possibly because they wanted to keep the original name. There were 19 acres of planted vineyards then, 7 of them in Pinot Noir, about 4,5 acres of Gewurztraminer and 2 of Riesling. They've done 2 plantings since : the first one 6 years ago, with additional Pinot Noir and a little of Gewurz, then one year ago (in june), with a little more of P.N. and Riesling, plus some more Gewurz, with cuttings from existing ones. They now have 30 acres altogether.

A worker is busy tensioning the wires in the vineyard

Before buying the estate, they had worked with some wineries in Napa, and they had frequented the UC-Davis milieu but without being mainstrem winemakers themselves, and they wanted to work on their own style. Their philosophy, from a conversation I had with Josh on the phone, is to focus on having the best grapes possible and then let the wine make its way relatively unimpeded : As a grower, he understood that when the fruit is perfect, the rest will come easy. The vinification work is basically watching the wine making itself and intervene very little. They use very little new wood, to avoid the vanilla, butterscotch aromas. Thet do not not filter their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They also don't filter the Syrah they make from purchased (Anderson-Valley) grapes.
We have been discussing with Mary Beth in the cool vat house, in a corner of which the tasting bar stands, in full view of the big capacity foudres (that they use solely for the rosé and the Gewurz), the casks and the stainless-steel vats [picture on top]. Jaime Torres is working among the casks, racking white wine while we begin to taste [picture on the left]. She says he knows the estate better than themselves, as he has been here for many more years. We are eager to taste the wines. The northern California region of Anderson Valley is known (and Lazy Creek in particular) for its outstanding Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Noir, basically cool-weather varieties. Even dry Pinot Blanc.
__1 Gewurztraminer 2004 "dry". 0,1g residual sugar. 22 Dollars. From the oldest Gewurztraminer vines around (38 years). White peach, leeches on the nose. Nice acidity, currants aromas. Mary Beth says they keep sheep and cows in the property too. They make compost for the vineyard but they buy also some, because making compost is a lot of work.
__2 Riesling 2005. Jaime pours us some of the wine he is racking now. Very nice acidity and very well balanced. Mary Beth says they value this acidity, it comes from the cool nights in the area, and also from the vines, the soil and the time of the harvest. In 2005, oct 9th was the first day of picking, which is all done by hand here, the region being so hilly. The estate is not in biodynamy. It is organically farmed since the beginning. She says the vineyard looks "wild" maybe, but it is meticulously overlooked in the non-chemical way. They add fish emulsion to the drip water once a year. They tried dry farming but came to the conclusion that a little bit of drip water was necessary. They are not too generous in the water flow and use it when the heat and drought are too serious.

A pump in the vineyards
__3 Chardonnay 2004. Bottled already but will go out on the market in november only. No malolactic fermentation here. Old casks only. Nice mouth. Aromas of pomelos, then praline, B. notes. Long feeling in the mouth.
__4 Rosé Pinot Noir 2005. 100% Pinot Noir. Gamay/beaujolais clone with lots of acidity. 0,2g residual sugar. Dry farmed, cane pruned. Very low yields here :2 ton/acre. The low crop level is why the texture is so nice here. Acidulous notes on the nose. Aged in foudres (big casks) on its lees. 19,9 Dollars.
__5 Pinot Noir (estate) 2004. 13,9°. 22 Dollars. Nose : jammy black fruits. Mouth : good... balanced and "gourmand". They tasted bottles from the previous owner and some of them age well. they just had a 1986 recently and it was lovely. The Pinot Noir is open-top fermented, then pressed, then goes into both 500-liter and 225-liter casks. 18-20% whole clusters usually, depending of the year (much higher for the Syrah : 50%). Josh told me on the phone that in his eyes, Pinot Noir should not be touched for at least 5 years. They sell it already now but recommend this laying-down time to fully enjoy the wine's potential. The wine is already balanced now but needs time for the velvety and smoothness in the mouth.
They also make a Pinot Noir Reserve (96 cases only) with yields as low as 0,95 ton/acre.
The Chandlers are the happy parents of 4, with their last child, a girl, born 3 1/2 months ago...
Great first visit !
Lazy Creek Vineyards4741 Hwy-128 Philo, CA(by appointment)Phone 707 895 3623[email protected]

That's how I recognize a real family winery : the dog ! (this one is named Pokey...)P.S. May mass wine-tourism never discover this place....

Comments

[Wine Rack Expert]

I have visited this vineyard too. I really enjoyed the wine on offer, thouroughly recommended.

[Dave Yuhas]

I love the Lazy Creek PN. They also make (made?) a non-vintage blend that was excellent.

There's also another dog that lives at the winery, a retriever that loves to chase a ball.

We visited this winery right after the current owners took over. Purchased a case of pinot, didn't have our checkbook, and at the time they took no credit cards. Their solution, take the case of wine, and when we returned home, send them a check. We did, of course, but where can one find this kind of trust today?

[Joel]

My first visit to Lazy Creek was just the same - by chance. Spent a most enjoyable hour with Mary Beth, just talking and tasting from bottle, barrel, tank. Has become a yearly pilgrimage. The Chandlers are the nicest people. And the Gewurtz ages amazingly well.

[Brian]

The winery was sold to Ferrari-Carano in July 2008. They claim they are going to change nothing. I loved the yearly trips to LCV and seeing the Chandlers. Hopefully it won't change too much. We are heading back in a few months and will see.

[Bertrand]

Yeah, I read that a few months ago and was sad to learn that they were gone, they made beautiful wines and were friendly, accessible. This was (and maybe still is) a real place managed by real people (and there was a nice dog !)....

[Crawford]

I am so happy to hear that the winery is still in existence. I visited when Hans owned it. Sounds as if not much has changed except owners. Navarro and Lazy Creek traded gold medals year after year at that time. Please, Ferrari-Carano, don't change it.

[Brendan McGuigan]

Amy has stayed on as the Assistant Winemaker, and I trust will keep things true to the way Josh and Mary Beth ran things. The Caranos have made a commitment to keeping things the same, and they are to be trusted. I've been over a few times since the sale, and (with the exception of a new tasting room) things haven't changed at all. In fact, the 2007 Riesling they're pouring right now is probably the best I've had in many years. Still definitely a winner.