2014 Devil Proof Farrow Ranch Malbec

Devil Proof Vineyards in Sonoma County is only a few years old, but it’s already earning buzz from reviewers. Winemaker Jesse Katz launched Devil Proof in 2012 and his debut wine, a 2012 Malbec made from Alexander Valley grapes, sold out quickly through a mailing list. Robert M. Parker Jr. gave the wine 94 pts and wrote that “this may be the finest Malbec I have ever tasted from California...” Wine Enthusiast also gave the 2012 94 pts, noting that Katz “pulled out all the stops to craft this small-production Malbec, proving that the right fruit in the right hand can yield crazy-good results.” Katz’s fruit comes from the Farrow Ranch, where 75 acres of vineyards are planted to Malbec for Devil Proof Vineyards. Katz toured some of the world’s leading wine producers as a child and adolescent, traveling with his father Andy Katz, a photographer known for vineyard photography. Jesse earned a degree in enology in California then worked for wine producers in Argentina and California, including a stint at Screaming Eagle, before starting his own venture. Katz in 2013 was lauded by Wine Enthusiast as one of 40 young tastemakers under 40 to watch. The photo on the labels is by Andy Katz and the name comes from a Cuban saying, which is that if you live well and drink well, the devil can’t get you.

Alexander Valley is an American Viticultural Area just north of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. It was granted AVA status in 1984, with amendments made in subsequent years. The Russian River flows through the valley, and the region was named for Cyrus Alexander, a 19th century landowner and grape grower. The AVA includes 15,000 vineyard acres, much of it rich, alluvial soil layered on a bed of gravel, somewhat similar to many vineyards in Bordeaux. Alexander Valley is sheltered from marine weather by the low hills northeast of Healdsburg, though it is often shrouded in the morning fog coming off the Russian River. Some of the earliest commercial winemaking in the area started in the 1880s, when immigrants formed the Italian Swiss Colony cooperative at Asti. The region made jug wines until the 1960s and 1970s, when a new wave of quality-minded producers started estates. Today Alexander Valley is home to some of California’s most admired wineries, including Simi, Stonestreet and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. Silver Oak Cellars, though based in Napa Valley, has a second winery in Alexander Valley where it makes Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Many grapes do well in the Alexander Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.

This grape produces a dark red wine with plenty of tannins. It is one of the six grapes allowed for blending red Bordeaux wines. Malbec is also the flagship variety of Argentina. The grape needs a lot of sun and heat to mature. It adds complexity and intensity to blends.