Clos Saron: Less Myth, More Magic

Gideon Beinstock and his wife Saron release tiny amounts of wine each year from their winery in Oregon House, California. These are limited — production ranges from 22 to 100 cases — and they represent a winery achieving a new level of excellence as it spins itself into legend. In addition to the flagship “Home Vineyard” Pinot Noir, we were thrilled to grab the winery’s debut Zinfandel, a vibrant, pleasurable wine and great entry to this rustic style. We’re also offering a singular Gewurztraminer (just one barrel made!) and the “Carte Blanche,” which is sourced from the Renaissance Vineyard for the first time in ten years. It’s one of the most complex skin-fermented wines I’ve ever tasted. 

These are powerful expressions of place. They twist in turn in the glass, revealing flashes of stoney concentration and brilliant, sheer fruit shining within dark earthy matter. If you open them now, you’ll find the pleasurable quirks of youth. Waiting two, ten, twenty years will reveal a deeper identity, one that clearly belongs to the spirit of the vineyard. Given how limited these are, I’ll recommend snatching up as many as possible. Whenever I’m given the chance, I buy as many as I can and hide them from myself.