2023 Andis Painted Fields GSM Sierra Cotes Sierra Foothills 750 ml

Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky are 100-point winemakers, with their names on some of the most coveted Cabernets in Napa. Painted Fields is the Sierra Foothills project they make, and the Sierra Côtes is its Rhône blend: Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre grown high in the granite hills of Amador County.

Melka and Koschitzky didn’t casually decide to make a Sierra Foothills wine. They grasped the region’s immense potential, and decided to go all in with Andis. The pair applied the same attention to detail that allows them to churn out chart-topping Napa Cabs with impressive regularity, digging into soil samples and studying the high-elevation vineyards behind this blend to coax the most out of every row.

This expresses the concentration of high-altitude viticulture, the complexity of ancient granite soils, and the seamlessness achieved in a climate perfectly suited to growing Rhône varieties. The Sierra Foothills has become a magnet for winemakers in search of top-quality fruit, and Andy Erickson, Annie Favia, and Helen Keplinger all source Rhône grapes in the rapidly rising region—exactly the varieties at the heart of this bottle.

“Sierra Côtes” is their nod to the Côtes-du-Rhône, a California take on the classic southern French blend. Syrah and Mourvèdre drive the wine—all dark fruit and spice—grown in granite and volcanic soils where hot days and cool mountain nights keep everything fresh and lifted.

Maayan and Philippe ferment each variety separately, then use their considerable blending prowess to assemble the final wine, which spends about 14 months in 25% new French oak.

Andis was founded in 2010 by Janis Akuna and Andy Friedlander, with a team that includes viticulturist Mark Fowler and vintner Lorenzo Muslia. Working alongside them, Melka and Koschitzky have helped spread the news that a viticultural gold rush is afoot in Amador.

We couldn't help but pop a second bottle over lunch at Original Joe's in North Beach with our friend Lorenzo. The Blossom Dearie tunes playing in the background faded away as we savored the wine, which slid across our palate like cashmere, leaving spice-dusted, silky tannins in its wake.