Medlock Ames

Medlock Ames

Alexander Valley, Sonoma County

 

We spent last weekend in Sonoma County and had a couple of great days of wine tasting with family and friends.  Over the next few weeks we’ll talk about some of our stops where we had good wine tasting experiences. 

Our first stop and the winery we’ll review today was Medlock Ames.  I don’t think I had ever seen a bottle of Medlock Ames wine before this stop but a friend had mentioned that he had heard of this place called Medlock Ames that turns into a bar in the evening.  I kind of imagined Medlock Ames to be a real joint when I heard that description but it turns out that it is not.  And then coincidentally there was a Groupon for a discounted tasting at Medlock Ames and since we had already planned to come up this way we booked the first appointment on Saturday morning.  Many of you have probably driven by this spot many times.  The tasting room sits at the corner of Alexander Valley Road and Highway 128 in the booming town of Jimtown.  The tasting room sits at the site of the former Alexander Valley Store and Bar that had probably been at this location for 80-100 years.  The tasting room, although described as rustic, is really a beautiful space. 

 

Tasting Room

For a little background on Medlock Ames though- The winery was founded in 1998 by two friends, one named Chris (middle name Medlock) and the other Ames who purchased a 320 acre property which is today named Bell Mountain Vineyard.   Today there are 56 acres of vineyards planted.  The property is kind of where Russian River appellation meets Alexander Valley meets Knights Valley and with different soils and elevations on the property they able to plant a pretty wide variety of grapes including Sauv Blanc, Cabernet and Merlot.  The property, which we did not see, apparently is very beautiful and mostly in its natural state.  Because of its remoteness the tasting room was opened in 2010 in a much more accessible location.

The Jimtown property is really nicely done.  There are gardens and outdoor seating areas on the large (acre plus) property.  The winery and bar have nice decks and the interiors are beautifully redone.  The floors, ceiling, tables are all of beautiful old plank wood.  Somebody really knew what they were doing here.  A wine tasting bar is in the middle of the room and we sat for our tasting at a large communal table.

 

We arrived for our 10:30 Wine and Food Pairing and pretty much had the place to ourselves.  There was another group finishing up their Traditional Tasting at the tasting bar ($10.00).  Our Groupon provided us our Tasting for $10.00 each (regularly $35.00).  With our enhanced tasting we tasted the full line-up which included a Chardonnay, Merlot, and three Cabernets.  I inquired about the Sauv Blanc so this was thrown in at the end, of course out of order but that was my fault.  The wines were paired with a creamy cheese, a sort of salami, and then a hearty white cheese.  Much to our surprise, and this was not our only Chardonnay surprise of the weekend, but we really liked the 2010 Chardonnay.  It may have been that this was a fairly lean, not too (new) oaky and kind of had green apple flavors but we both thought we could drink this wine and as we have mentioned many times Chardonnay is usually not our favorite.  All the wines were well made.  We especially liked the 2008 Merlot and the 2009 Cabernet.  The wines were priced from $27.00 for the Sauv Blanc, $38.00 for the Merlot and $52.00 for the Cabernet.

 

The Bar at Medlock Ames

We really had a nice tasting.  The tasting room was staffed with two individuals and one took care of our pairing and the other our wines.  Since we had the place to ourselves we were able to ask questions and chat in a way that would not be possible with a larger group.  When we were done we walked the grounds a bit and really took the time to appreciate what a nice spot this was.  We also took a little tour of the bar.  At five o’clock each day the tasting room closes and the bar opens.  It is a small spot and very cozy.  At most it could probably handle a dozen guests.  They have a full liquor license and I think there were four beers on tap.  I think the spot would be great if you were staying in Healdsburg or Geyserville but we were all the way back in Santa Rosa.  I think summertime up here with a campground only a couple of miles away would be great. 

 

And we stayed at the Flamingo in Santa Rosa in keeping with our theme at staying at old establishments that we have driven by so many times (we stayed at the El Bonita in St. Helena for New Year’s).  The Flamingo, probably established in the 30’s or 40’s is probably a great summer spot with a huge (for a hotel in Northern California) pool in the center of the property. 

 

What we liked- A classy rustic tasting room with great service, good pairings and very good wine. 

 

What we bought- A 2008 Merlot

 

Vitals-

Medlock Ames

3487 Alexander Valley Road

Healdsburg, CA  95448

(707) 431-8845

www.medlockames.com