2015 Enkidu White Rhone "E" Cuvee "MS" Mendocino County 750 ml

A Hermitage-Worthy White from the Rocky Hills of Mendocino

Occasionally, great things need to be conceived in isolation, far away from the moderating or conforming influences of the crowd. Even Superman needed his Fortress of Solitude, that lonely ice castle removed from human society, where the superhero retreated to think superhero thoughts.

In 1992, wine business magnate Stuart Bewley found his own retreat miles from the nearest winery, a 6,000-acre ranch perched in the rugged northwest reaches of Mendocino County. Years of careful study and research — visiting the world’s finest vineyards and picking the brains of some of the finest minds in the business — encouraged Bewley to roll the dice and plant 140 acres of high-elevation vineyards, despite warnings that the area was too cold for grape-growing. Bewley had found not a fortress so much as a laboratory in which to conduct his tireless experiments.

Steep hillsides of up to 2,700 feet in elevation. Rocky, well-draining volcanic soil, lending exquisite vibrancy. Dramatic diurnal temperature shifts, brilliantly sunny by day and chilly by night. South- and east-facing exposure. North-south prevailing winds from the Pacific, whose waves roar just a dozen miles away. On land boasting these magnificent natural attributes, Bewley undertook one of the most rigorous and aggressive vinification projects on the West Coast.

Today, Alder Springs “flourishes in splendid isolation,” as Eric Asimov put it in a love letter he penned to the vineyard in The New York Times a year ago. Blue-chip estates such as Arnot-Roberts, Behrens Hitchcock, and Pax Cellars fight over the extremely low-cropped, highly expensive fruit Bewley grows. Robert Parker has called Alder Springs a “sensational site, which is clearly one of the great vineyards of Mendocino.” When Enkidu winemaker Philip Staehle — known for crafting full-bodied Rhône blends that have coaxed glowing praise from Parker — got word that a small allotment of Rhône white varietals from Alder Springs had become available, he had his checkbook out in a flash.

A Viognier-Marsanne-Roussanne bottle requires savvy blending and excellent farming. In the hands of the famed Rhône estates, the blend exhibits a marriage of extraordinary papaya/mango richness with a scintillating mineral backbone that puts a good deal of overpriced Chardonnay to shame.

On Staehle’s pilgrimage out to Alder Springs, he gazed around in wonder at the precise rows of vines, realizing he’d found a site that would have no problem giving the best of Hermitage and Crozes a run for their money.

“The vineyards are the most meticulously farmed that I’ve ever seen,” Staehle told us, with a trace of awe still in his voice. “They dedicate a bunch of blocks just to experimentation, spending more time and effort matching proper clones with rootstock and the right microclimate than anyone else. The integrity of the fruit bunches is just incredible. The clusters have been pruned like bonsai trees. Miniscule crops, less than 3 tons per acre.”

The exceptional 2015 vintage proved as memorable as the Alder Springs vineyards themselves: a brilliant but low-yielding harvest that left precious little fruit to go around. “For a number of vineyards I’ve been working with for eight to 10 years, it was the lowest volume they’d seen — and the absolute best quality,” Staehle said. “You might have the same number of clusters but cluster weights were down by a third or a half! On the other hand, the concentration was off the charts. Stunning acidity and ripeness that allowed us to make the kind of wines you dream about putting out.”

The 2015 Enkidu Cuvée “MS” Rhône White Blend is 40% Roussanne, 40% Marsanne, 20% Viognier. Whole-cluster pressed to retain purity, barrel-fermented for complexity and richness. Brilliant pale-golden in color with luscious aromas of pineapple, mango, ripe peaches, and honey — plush and persistent. Rich, seemingly forward (like great Grand Cru Burgundy), yet still somehow holding back, at once opulent and restrained, all that flashy concentration buttressed by fabulous mineral vibrancy.

Staehle made just 240 cases — half of that he set aside for Enkidu loyalists. The other half went under WineAccess lock and key. At $18.99, this is an extraordinary bargain from Stuart Bewley’s 140 exquisitely groomed acres. A CAN’T-MISS, stunning, ethereally aromatic coastal white.