On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, we had a chance to interview Steve Rogstad again. Steve is the winemaker at both Cuvaison and Brandlin. We covered four of his 2021 current-release red wines and the Sauvignon Blanc from the 2023 vintage. It was another impressive tasting! We last interviewed Steve back in May 2024 and covered many of his 2022 Cuvaison wine offerings. If you want to read more about Steve’s background and Cuvaison, please check out our previous post. That said, below is the latest on Brandlin and our current reviews of the wines we covered with Steve.
Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few tidbits we learned during the tasting with Steve.
- What is new at Brandlin?
- Rebecca George has really taken Brandlin under her wing. (Read Rebecca’s bio)
- They converted a 2-acre parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon over to Sauvignon Blanc in 2020 which is used for the “Estate” Sauvignon Blanc.
- They used a Chateau d’Yquem clone.
- Vintage Updates
- 2018 was cool. 2023 will be like 2018.
- 2019 was more classic. Plush wines.
- 2020 they did not make wine.
- 2021 produced wines with lower yields and great concentration.
- 2022 was super compressed and a big challenge logistically. It was a very flattened harvest timing wise.
- 2023 was a big year tonnage wise. Harvested the last week of October into November. Flavors will be red toned fruit with more acidity.
- 2024 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were harvested in late August and early September. For your later ripening grapes, if you did not harvest in by the first week in October, you were harvesting in a hurry due to the heat.
- Canopy management was key.
- We expect that we will have dense colored wines.
- Mount Veeder is one of the coolest areas in the valley. It is a late ripening area.
- They are cutting back on their Petite Verdot. They didn’t need as much as they had. They will convert those vines to Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Malbec does remarkedly well for them on Mount Veeder. It a nice addition in their “Henry’s Keep” wine.
- Cabernet Franc is a nice blender grape for them.
- Only 1% of the grapes from Napa Valley come from Mount Veeder.
- Mount Veeder is the least productive AVA.
- Brandlin was planted in 1926 by Henry Brandlin. It is about ½ way up Mount Veeder. The soil is mainly blue shale.
- Mt. Brave and Lakoya are further up the mountain. They have more volcanic soils.
- The Sauvignon Blanc is made in large format barrels. 3-year-old wood and with no toasting.
- Their “Old Vine Zin” is really a field blend of Zinfandel, Charbono, and other varietals.
Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Brandlin that we covered with Steve. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Brandlin website.
- Brandlin 2023 Sauvignon Blanc “Estate” (Mount Veeder) $50 (KWGTP 91.5)
- Brandlin 2021 Red Blend “Estate Cuvée” (Mount Veeder) $75 (KWGTP 92)
- Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Estate” (Mount Veeder) $110 (KWGTP 94)
- Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “Henry’s Keep” (Mount Veeder) $135 (KWGTP 93.5)
- Brandlin 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon “ThS” (Mount Veeder) $175 (KWGTP 95)
You can find reviews of past and future Brandlin wines that we cover on the Brandlin KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken