Just a short 2-hour drive from St. Helena, and yet seemingly a world away, the Baxter Family has built a winery tucked into the hillside of the Anderson Valley that feels uniquely old-school in every way. The brand was started in 2003 by father and son, Phil Sr., and Phil Jr., both of whom have a long tenure of winemaking in California. Phil Sr. first came to the Napa Valley in 1969 when he began his winemaking career under the tutelage of Bill Bonetti at the Charles Krug Winery. He then went on to help start Rutherford Hill Winery where he remained as chief winemaker for a decade. During this time, he also started a family, and Phil Jr. spent his youth playing hide and seek in the vineyards of Rutherford while his dad pruned in the spring and harvested in the fall. It was an idyllic upbringing, and one that would cement Phil Jr.'s passion for winemaking at an early age. Phil Jr. went on to study winemaking at the University of California at Davis, spent a year abroad in Burgundy during his studies, and then went back to France after college to work a harvest in Pommard. Though his dad is about as old-school as it gets, Phil Jr.'s time in France helped hone his winemaking philosophy - hands off and driven by intuition. For the Baxter men, winemaking is really all about that perfect alchemy between science and art.
In 2003, the Baxter Family came across an opportunity to lease the Mendocino Hill vineyard on Old River Road south of Ukiah. While Napa had been Phil Sr.'s home for forty years, and Phil Jr.'s for his whole life, it was almost as if the two men discovered a new way of living once out on the coast. Here, the pace of life is slower and the little things - like saying hello and having lunch- seemed to be done with more intention. It wasn't long until the family had found a 120-year-old farmhouse with enough land to build a winery that would become the hub for their new lives up north. Now in its 17th vintage, Phil Sr. has stepped down as winemaker of Baxter and Phil Jr. and his young wife lead the family business. They make roughly 3,000 cases over about 10 different wines, which means each wine is a rather small lot. Every wine is made with the same regime of minimal intervention - slow, wild fermentation, neutral barrels, manual punchdowns, and no filtration. In Phil's own words, his goal is to "let nature do its thing, allowing the individual fruit characteristics to shine. The craftsmanship and quality will show through in the finished wines."
The Montepulciano for this wine hails from the Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino and receives extra-long barrel aging of no less than three years in 100% neutral French oak barrels before being bottled. Montepulciano by nature carries an intense amount of pigment, and Phil Jr. does an excellent job of harnessing what can become unruly characteristics into a wine that is vibrant and perfectly textured. Notes of boysenberry, red plum, anise, and oregano leap from the glass. This would pair wonderfully with cured meats but needs a little air, so open it an hour before you plate the charcuterie! Only 50 cases produced.
