Thacher

Paso Robles, California, USA

Thacher is a family owned and operated boutique winery located on the historic Kentucky Ranch in Paso Robles. They craft unique, elegant and food-friendly wines that purely express the terroirs farmed throughout the Central Coast, including two estate vineyards in the Adelaida District AVA and Willow Creek AVA. Winemaker Sherman Thacher and his wife Michelle live and raise their kids (and dogs and an array of farm animals) at the Kentucky Ranch. Sherman grew up on a citrus orchard in Ventura County. He earned a degree at the University of California Davis. In his first career, Sherman was an award-winning Brewmaster at Los Gatos Brewing for 14 years. Sherman began experimenting with winemaking in the early 1990s and his first vintage dates to 1993. He brought in his first Paso Robles grapes in 1995. Thacher Winery and their tasting room opened in 2008.

The team at Thacher doesn’t believe in adding yeast, water, acid, bacteria, enzymes, or nutrients and use the least amount of SO2 possible. While they have a core set of wines, they are always expanding their portfolio by working with new varieties and select vineyard sites. They are constantly experimenting with various winemaking techniques, from pick timing to their approach in the cellar. The goal is to create complex yet approachable Old World-style wines that they want to drink at their table. Many of Thacher’s wine names are oxymorons by design. The grasshopper logo is part of the Thacher family crest as Sherman’s ancestors were roof thatchers in England. The straw for the thatched roofs is a common place for grasshoppers to live.

Our Selections

Thacher Chenin Blanc `Own Rooted` Paso Robles Highlands District 2020

Vinification: Three tons of Chenin Blanc, planted on its own roots in 1972, were hand-harvested from Shell Creek Vineyard in late August at 20.2 brix. The fruit was gently whole-cluster pressed in a pneumatic press and the juice was settled in tank without sulfur or inert gas until fermentation began, naturally and spontaneously. It was then transferred to neutral oak barrels and a 500L amphorae and for fermentation and aging, where native bacteria carried out malolactic fermentation.

Élevage: The wine was aged in a combination of terracotta amphora, to preserve precision and vineyard characteristics, and neutral French oak barrels. The barrels were rolled weekly throughout élevage in order stir the lees in a sort of “reductive battonage,” lending texture and palate weight to the wine. Minimal effective SO2 was used, and this wine was crafted without the use of added enzymes, water, acids, tannins or nutrients.

Winemaking Notes: Planted in 1972 on its own roots, this Chenin Blanc is farmed by the Sinton family, who’ve been the caretakers of the Avenales Ranch (where the vineyard is planted) for over 140 years. The wine is shy and mineral on the nose: sea salt, ocean spray, wet sand, river stones, lanolin… Flavors are densely concentrated on the palate (fennel, honey, vanilla), and there is serious texture here.

Bottled August, 2021 - only 180cs produced

12.3% Alc, pH: 3.49, TA (g/100mL): .52

Thacher Cinsault Glenrose Vineyard - Adelaida District 2020

Vinification: 3.1 tons of Cinsault were hand-harvested from Glenrose Vineyard on 9/18, at 21.5 brix. The fruit was gently foot-trodden and fermented 100% whole cluster, and minimal pigéage was performed. It underwent a 10-day cold-soak until fermentation began, naturally and spontaneously, and was basket-pressed after 30 days on the skins.

Élevage: The fruit was basket-pressed after fermentation and the wine was raised in 900L cement tank and 500L amophora for 4 months, where native bacteria carried out malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged for 12 months before being bottled, unfiltered and unfined. This wine was crafted without the use of added enzymes, water, acids, tannins or nutrients.

Winemaking Notes: The fruit comes from the epic Glenrose Vineyard and the material planted in that vineyard, as far as we can parse out of Don Rose’s memory, is one of the old UC Davis clones; probably Clone 2 or 3. The UC Davis material originates from a mother vine at the old UC Davis Jackson Experimental Station, in Amador County. The Jackson Experimental Station, one of 7 that UC Davis established, was a vineyard originally planted in 1889. The Station was abandoned in the early 1900’s, and the University lost proprietorship of the land to Squatters’ Rights in 1903. The vineyard sat abandoned and untended for nearly 60 years, until the Station was rediscovered in 1961 by UC Davis researchers. Surprisingly the researchers found, in 1961, 132 different grape cultivars planted and still thriving at the Station. One of these cultivars, Plot E Row 5 Vine 4, was Cinsault, then known by its old Californian aliases, “Black Malvoisie” or “Black Malvasia”. Cuttings from this vine were propagated, and ultimately provided the material that Don planted at Glenrose.

Bottled August, 2021 - only 167 cases produced

13.22% Alc, pH: 3.05, TA (g/100mL): .46

Thacher Valdiguié Paso Robles Highlands District 2020

Vinification: 1.9 tons of Valdiguié were hand-harvested from Shell Creek Vineyard on 9/10, at 23.3 brix. 35% of the grapes were kept intact to ferment whole-cluster, with the remainder being destemmed on top. The fermenters were sealed, and left to cold soak for seven days until fermentation began, naturally and spontaneously. There was very gentle cap management and, at the tail end of fermentation, the fermenters were sealed again for a seven-day post-ferment maceration before being basket-pressed.

Élevage: After pressing, the wine settled overnight in 500L puncheons before being racked to a 900L cement tank where fermentation was completed. After 11 months the wine was bottled. A minimal amount of SO2 was used, and the wine was crafted without the use of added enzymes, acids, tannins or nutrients.

Winemaking Notes: Valdiguie was, for a long time, another case of mistaken grape identity. For a hundred years, it was believed to be some weird clone of the Gamay grape of Beaujolais, and went by the name “Napa Gamay”. A favorite of both winemakers and growers, the grape cropped well, had good tannin and great color, and made delicious and fresh table wines. But, as Cabernet began to dominate the market and command higher prices, many growers ripped out their old Valdiguie vines. Today the grape is almost extinct, but a few small, forward thinking producers are working to revive this old, workhorse, variety. Thacher is pleased to contribute to the restoration of this delicious variety..

Bottled August, 2021 - only 125 cases produced

14.1% Alc, pH: 3.53, TA (g/100mL): .55

Thacher Controlled Chaos Paso Robles Red Blend 2017

A blend of 64% Mourvèdre 14% Zinfandel, 12% Grenache, and 10% Counoise from four Paso Robles Vineyards: Cass, La Vista, Kentucky Ranch, and Glenrose.

Vinification: All lots were handpicked, and fruit was processed and manually sorted prior to cold soaking until fermentation was started, naturally and spontaneously, by wild yeasts. Mourvèdre was fermented with 50% whole bunches, and Counoise was 100% whole bunches, while Grenache and Zinfandel were destemmed.

Élevage: At the end of fermentation, lots were basket pressed, roughly settled for 24 hours and then racked to barrel. Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise components were aged in 450- and 500L puncheons, while the Zinfandel components were raised in 225L barriques. The wine was racked and blended in the winter of 2018/19, then returned to barrel until bottling in April of 2019, after 20 months of aging.

Winemaking Notes: A Paso Robles twist on the traditional Rhône blend, with Zinfandel playing the middle component. Controlled Chaos has undergone some changes, in recent vintages. The addition of Counoise has helped drive fruit, while the percentage of the Mourvèdre component, always dominant, has increased. The Mourvèdre is also now always fermented with 50% whole bunches, which drives the savory, smoky, meaty aspects of the wine. The use of large format oak (450-500L barrels) has also kept the wine tighter, brighter and more linear.

Bottled April, 2018 - 408 cases produced

14.2% Alc, pH: 4.09, TA (g/100mL): .55