It was several months ago when I first tracked down a winemaker somebody had mentioned to me. I did some research prior to our first meeting and it seemed like a pretty worthwhile pursuit. The winemaker is Helen Keplinger, who returned to the states in 2005 after making the first three vintages of Melis in Priorat. She got her start in winemaking assisting Heidi Barrett at Paradigm in Napa Valley, followed by a stint in Santa Rita Hills with Kathy Joseph at Fiddlehead.
Her resume includes several other projects that have yet to be released but the wines I was interested in tasting were the ones bottled under her own Keplinger label. First impressions were pretty solid yet there was something about the wines that told me they were not quite ready to offer and Helen agreed, mentioning the release was planned for late summer or early fall. We finally got back together in Calistoga last week and my notes indicate the extra time in the bottle has helped these wines to flesh out some.
During her three years in Priorat, her husband Douglas would come to visit her and they took trips to Provence and the Rhone Valley to experience the region in all of its facets. That influence let them to launch the Keplinger label with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.
Production on the first release of Keplinger wines is very small and Vinfolio is pleased to be the first to offer these wines with our reviews. If you have been reading my notes on Grenache over the last year, you must have guessed that I would have been anxious to try a new one and the Keplinger is the real deal.
To read my tasting notes and order the wines of Helen Keplinger, please choose either of the following links:
2006 Keplinger Grenache Red Slope, VF 93 162 cases produced
2006 Keplinger Syrah Kingpin Rows, VF 93 85 cases produced
Helen Keplinger is a Vinfolio Winemaker to watch. Expect to see her associated with more great wines under her label and others over the next 18 months.
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