Jazz Cellars Tasting Room, Murphys California – Tasted Four Aces!!
The Winery
The origin of the word “jazz” is as varied as the music being played today called jazz. Perhaps the best origin is from the slang “jasm” from around 1860 which meant “energy, vitality, and spirit”. That seems to capture the essential of music referred to as jazz. That is how the two owners of Jazz Cellars have composed their wines. On a recent re-visit based on an invite by Joe and Bob, I visited Murphys and ventured to taste one of the wines that I have previous enjoyed, their Pinot Noir.
First a quick background on the two owners/composers of Jazz Cellars. Bob Smith and Joe Lazzara are both neighbors, musicians and high tech folks who shared a vision of producing great wine. They started and are still headquartered in Foster City. They had been using a well know facility in the Dogpatch area of San Francisco to create their master pieces prior to 2020. Currently they are now making their wines in Murphys. The tasting room is located in Murphys California in the lower Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The unique aspect of Jazz Cellars is that they search and find the “right terroir” in order to produce award winning wines. At last count they had accumulated well over 100 awards in a very short period of time, without a dedicated vineyard! No small feat.
So while in Murphys (Calaveras AVA), I stopped by to taste their Pinot Noir as it had been some time since I had visited. They are located 100 feet down a side alley off Main Street. The wines being served that day did include one using “Calaveras County” grapes. While stopping for one wine, I ended up sampling four wines and was very much impressed with each varietal offered.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Started out tasting the 2015 Pinot Noir from Doctor’s Vineyard in the Santa Lucian Highlands district. A surprisingly light color but with strong and bold aroma and flavor of a beautiful Pinot Noir. Next up was the 2021 Malbec from the Sierra Foothills area that possessed an old world flavor, akin to some of the lower altitude wines of Argentina. Those two were the ones that I wanted to taste, however two others were offered as being very good. So when in Rome do as the Romans, so I first tasted the 2016 Zinfandel from the Teldeschi Vineyard located in the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. This was a beautiful dry Zinfandel with soft nuances of nutmeg and cinnamon with a big taste. Admittedly not a big Zinfandel drinker, but this was spot on for my palate. From the same area came a 2018 Petite Sirah that was dark and fruit forward without any “sweetness”, just juicy berries showing their inner beauty.
These four wines from my quick tasting were like drawing four aces when playing poker! Hard to beat that hand. Will need to return to write more detailed notes, but Bob and Joe are continuing their tradition of making award winning wines. Great job!!
Sláinte,
Michael