Descendants of Sarah Esther Chase have been growing grapes since the late 1800’s in the area around St. Helena, but began making wine under the SE Chase Family Cellars Label in 1998. Though they began wine growing by purchasing the Madrona Estate in the late 1800’s, and eventually building Greystone Cellars (which is now home to the Napa Valley campus of the Culinary Institute of America), the family’s vineyards were wiped out with the rest of the Napa Valley by the phylloxera epidemic of 1894.
The family only began making their own wine in 1997, and though every vintage has been a revelation, they have remained inexplicably under the radar. That will change. Thi wine is aged for 20 Months in a combination of new and used French Oak. Only 1247 cases are made.
This wine is characterized by a unique combination of big, spicy blackberry and raspberry fruit, wonderful acidity, and a pleasantly firm tannin all rounded out by a pleasant, but not overwhelming hint of oak. Try it with duck, salmon or pork loin, and don’t be afraid of a little sweet or spicy in the dish, the wine can stand it. Drink now – 2015.
Primitivo, an Italian grape variety, is genetically identical to Zinfandel, an American grape variety. To make the story more interesting, scientists are convinced that Primitivo arrived in Italy after Zinfandel arrived in the United States (1820). Recently, simultanious research in Croatia and at the University of California, Davis concluded that both are decendents of the Croation grape called Crljenak (thank goodness we changed the name!). About the same time that this research was published, the TTB (the government body in the US that determines what cango on wine labels) decided that Primitivo and Zinfandel could be interchangeable on wine labels for sale in the US. 
tell you that the majority of the work that they do is in the vineyards, and the results of their efforts definitely show. Hendry wines have a breathtaking structure, and a very clear minerality. They are both hedonistic and intellectual at the same time.
The alcoholic fermentation was completed in approximately ten days in closed stainless steel fermentation tanks. When the wine was fermented completely dry, it was pressed to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Aging was twelve months in French oak barrels of which approximately 10% were new, with the remaining barrels 1, 2 and 3 year old barrels from our zinfandel program. This wine has a round mouthfeel and blackberry and floral aromas. Spicy, smoky currant and berry flavors on the palate with just enough soft tannins to do battle with dry-rub barbecued ribs or chicken. The tannins are substantial but not overly drying. The alcohol is 15.4%. 1050 cases produced.
