2013 Kale “Home Run Cuvee” Kick Ranch Vineyard Sonoma County 750 ml

100-Point Winemaker’s Kick Ranch Red

Kick Ranch in Sonoma has been a source for Paul Hobbs, Delectus, Failla, Venge, and Kale, among others. At a tasting in the vineyard, the under-the-radar reds of Sonoma native Kale Anderson were clear stand-outs. Kale is one of the youngest winemakers ever to earn a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker: a 2013 Cabernet made on his watch at Pahlmeyer. The 2013 Home Run Cuvée comes from the same lauded growing season that Kale parlayed into a perfect wine at Pahlmeyer. I’m thrilled to introduce our first Kale offer: the 2013 Home Run Cuvée, which Robert Parker called one of Kale’s “impressive debut releases” — this black-fruited gem was aged for 20 months in French oak and is loaded with high-toned spice notes. From the “game-changer” 2013 vintage, don’t miss out on a wine from a young craftsman who has achieved perfection, and is still on the rise. 

After 15 years of prestigious Napa Valley jobs, Kale Anderson still looks as fresh-faced as a harvest intern. He is one of the youngest winemakers ever to earn a perfect 100-point score from Robert Parker: a 2013 Cabernet made on his watch at Pahlmeyer. Eventually, Anderson’s passion for Rhône-style wines led him away from Cabernet to his own project, Kale Wines, which is focused on Rhône varieties from some of the top vineyards in Napa and Sonoma.

Walking the vines at Kick Ranch a few years back, on an invite from founder Dick Keenan, I found myself looking down the sloping rows into the fog-shrouded Sonoma valley. It was easy then to see what inspired Keenan to replant and reinvigorate the southerly-facing vineyards two decades ago, and what made experienced California growers Mark and Beth Hanson want to acquire the property, which they did in 2018. Kale Anderson’s attraction to Kick Ranch, however, goes much deeper than its substantial viticultural bona fides.

When Kale was growing up in Sonoma County, Kick Ranch was a Clydesdale pasture. During baseball games at Rincon Valley Little League Park, fetching a home run ball required a trip over the outfield fence and onto what is now Kick Ranch soil. More than two decades later, those ball-shagging trips are immortalized in the name of Kale’s Home Run Cuvée — and it’s right in the pocket for a guy batting 1.000.

The 2013 Home Run Cuvée comes from the same lauded growing season that Kale parlayed into a perfect wine at Pahlmeyer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest vintages ever in the North Coast, Kale says 2013 put the region “in uncharted territory in terms of intensity, richness, and concentration of smooth, silky tannins.” Those virtues are apparent in the Home Run Cuvée. It is rich and ripe, with plenty of the black fruit, herb, game, and olive notes that are an homage to the greatest Rhône wines. From a benchmark site and a native son winemaker who is just reaching his prime, the 2013 Home Run Cuvée represents the best of Sonoma County. Don’t miss out.