2009 Kazmer-Blaise “Boon Fly’s Hill” Chardonnay

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$49.50 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

This is the first label of three created by Arpad and Peter Molnar of Carneros. Their other two brands are Molnar Family and Obsidian Ridge, and we’ve sold wines from all three in Carpe Vino. The umbrella company is called Tricycle Wine Company based in Carneros. The third wheel is partner and founding winemaker Michael Terrien.

There is much more behind this winemaking machine. The father of the Molnars, Nicholas, escaped communism in Hungary by relocating to Napa in 1956 where he started purchasing property and planting grapes which he sold to the likes of Joseph Phelps, Heitz Cellars and Pride Mountain. His sons partnered with Terrien in 1995, and the rest is history.

Winery Tasting Notes: “There is youth and vitality to the 2009 that is related to the aging clock being reset at the end of fermentation, nearly a year later than normal. The citrus, apple and white peach flavors are bright and alive, with gorgeous, rich brioche aromas due to the prolonged lives of the yeast.”

TMI: 14.4% alcohol; aged for 21 months on Hungarian oak; just 227 cases produced.

Betcha Didn’t Know: “Boon Fly was a legendary, colorful character in Carneros history. He used to own the land which was this vineyard, complete with a house with 16 fireplaces, long since burned down. And, it is rumored that he was buried somewhere near the cypress tree that grows atop what is now Boon Fly’s Hill, but a grave has never been located.

“Wine Advocate” Tasting Notes: “The 2009 Chardonnay Boonfly is soft, supple and totally beautiful. The Hungarian oak barrels add hints of spiciness and volume to the wine, yet this remains a medium-bodied, refined Chardonnay loaded with class and sheer pedigree. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017.”

“Wine Spectator” Tasting Notes: “Offering a fruit bowl of aromas and flavors, this is ripe, intense, pure and focused, picking up a cedar-hazelnut-nutmeg touch on the finish that ends with an intriguing anise twist. Drink now through 2018.”

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