S.P. Drummer Wines

Background

Scott Peterson enrolled at the University of Maine to study Forestry in 1980. He soon decided he did not want to be stuck in the woods, so he bought a truck and a dog, and drove west

with his sights on Malibu and the pursuit of windsurfing. Scott was derailed in Sacramento where he got involved in the restaurant trade. He soon developed a keen interest in food and wine, which led him to consider enrolling either in The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, or the University of California at Davis to study winemaking. Scott chose Davis, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in Enology.

Winemaking Career

Scott’s first winemaking position was with Villa Mt. Eden, followed by Conn Creek and Kendall Jackson Winery. In this time, Scott had two mentors who influenced his views on winemaking. At Napa’s Conn Creek Winery Scott collaborated with the “father of California winemaking”, Andre Tchelistcheff, who had trained a younger generation of winemakers, including the Mondavis. At the time, Scott was in his mid-twenties and Tchelistcheff was in his early eighties. Tchelistcheff’s profound knowledge and systematic, scientific approach to winemaking, and his humble non-self-promoting personality had a great influence on Scott. He instilled in Scott the notion that with extreme attention to detail in the vineyard, and timely intervention in the cellar, special wines can be created. At Conn Creek, Scott also worked with Jed Steele, a skilled promoter as well as winemaker, with a

wealth of winemaking. From Jed, Scott recalls, “You have to know how to make the wine taste good.”

Scott rapidly moved up the corporate ladder at Kendall Jackson. Instead of opting to open one of the winery’s prestigious new Cabernet facilities in 1996, Scott defected from corporate winemaking to start his own consulting business, as well as to produce his own wine. His first consulting position was with Argentina’s flagship producer Catena, where he succeeded Paul Hobbs as consulting winemaker. Scott oversaw production of Nicolas Catena Zapata, Catena Alta and the Gascon wines.

Scott comments about his winemaking experience in both the northern and southern hemispheres, “For the past six years, I’ve been harvesting grapes twice a year. If you really like to make wine, and I do, then harvest is really what winemaking is all about. Only by experience can you truly make world class wines.”

S.P. Drummer Napa Valley Blair Vineyard

Scott produced the first vintage of his own wine in 1999, which totaled 360 six-bottle cases. He named his blend S.P. Drummer, which derives from an important part of Scott’s childhood. Growing up in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, Scott played the drums for six years as a member of the Fife and Drum Corps. He became attached to the drums, which were reproductions of the original drums used during the 18th Century.

The wine comes from Blair Vineyard, Scott’s favorite Napa Valley source of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, located on the Silverado Trail between Calistoga and St. Helena, just south of Three Palms Vineyard. At release, he priced the wine at $45, feeling he was giving an excellent value. He and his father blitzed the San Francisco market and sold most of the

wine in a week.

Scott comments on the constituents of the blend (60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc), “Cabernet Sauvignon grown on rocky sites such as Blair Vineyard produces small berries with chalky tannins, which are important for mouth structure. Winemakers normally choose Cabernet Franc for its perfume; it’s always floral with an herbal or oregano note. Blair Cabernet Franc is reminiscent of exotic black flowers and has an incredible density of flavor, almost atypical for this variety. I believe it is one of the top two or three sites for Cabernet Franc in North America.”

Certain aspects of S.P. Drummer are striking: a velvety mouthfeel, voluptuous concentration, elegant tannins and early drinkability. Scott racks the wine three to four times in the first six months, almost saturating the wine with oxygen. Experience has shown that heavy doses of oxygen when the wine is young develops mouthfeel by transforming the tannins from bitter and astringent to soft and mouth-coating.

Scott believes that oak should not to be a flavor on its own but should augment the aromatics and add structure to round out the wine’s mouthfeel. The wine gets its rich mouthfeel and vibrant fruit flavors by using more new oak (60%) for a shorter aging period. Scott bottles after 15 months instead of the customary 20-24 months, which he believes emphasizes the wine’s fruit character.

S.P. Drummer Oakville District

The S.P. Drummer inaugural vintage of single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon is derived from two separate vineyards in the Napa Valley Oakville District. The 2004 Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon of S.P. Drummer comes from vineyards in opposite sides of the district; one from the east side on the Silverado Trail, and the other from the west, off highway 29.

The east side of the district is known for its gravelly alluvial soils yielding highly textured Cabernet Sauvignon while the west exhibits deeper clay-loam soils yielding concentrated and lush wines.

Initially, the wine is characterized by a hint of anise, then aromas of crushed black plums become apparent with notes of cassis, lush ripe black fruits, sweet creamy mocha, and cigar box Sleek and elegant in the mouth, with the seamless texture of ripe black fruits that is both elegant and supple with incredible length.

Vineyards were fermented and aged in French oak barrels separately prior to blending and bottling. Skins were left macerating on both lots for a total of forty days to enhance structure and mouth feel. Consistent with the stylistic design of S.P. Drummer wines, in order to develop mouth feel and textural components, heavy doses of oxygen and multiple rackings were employed in the first year of the aging process. A minimal approach was employed in the second year, with only one or two rackings to ensure continued maturation and natural clarification. The wine was aged twenty-one months in sixty-five percent new French Oak.