Scott McLeod

Hello Angels,
Just a quick note to let you know that I am continuing with Naked as a grower of premium grapes but discontinuing my active role as a winemaker for Naked. If you've followed my 'story,' I have a few irons in the fire and they need more of my attention than they did in the past.

I've been blessed with some amazing opportunities in the wine world and I've enjoyed all of them. Currently our farming side of our business is up to 180 acres of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon from both El Dorado and Monterey Counties. As the Monterey vineyard is coming into production, it will take a lot more of my time, especially at harvest. I also started a wine laboratory called WineXRay five years ago to study color and tannin migration into wine during maceration. We have over fifty clients now and it is a lot to manage and the harvest period is only so long. More hours required. I also serve as Consulting Winemaker for five projects that also leave little time for anything but work during the Fall.

But here's the good news..Matt Parish is taking over some of these projects for me. As you will see, we have teamed up to make The Pilot Hill Gang, the Merlot, and the Reserve Cabernet from El Dorado. Matt and I worked together for four seasons at Beringer where Matt was Director of Winemaking and I was Consulting Winemaker Luxury Division. We understand how each of our palates work and drive each other to constantly improve. Don't forget, these wines come from our vineyards and that is where greatness starts.

So cheers Angels, to future vintages.
Scott

I was completely taken by surprise with this wine. I would normally have paid upwards of $80.00 for this quality in Napa. It is a little young, and would definitely benefit from some aging but I would not have a problem drinking it now. Scott McLeod is a winemaker I will be following.

Excellent! Rivals every Kendall Jackson I have ever experienced...Bravo!

"Spring" 2015...one of the coldest I have seen in thirty years in the Cabernet business.. So far, February was warmer than March, March was warmer than April, and April was warmer than May. Very bizarre.

This is a photo of spring in the Foothills at our El Dorado property where the Reserve Cabernet and the Pilot Hill Gang CS/MR blend originate. The west sloping larger blocks are for the Pilot Hill Gang. The tightly spaced and steeper rows go into the Reserve Cabernet bottling. I will be making a Merlot his year (2014) from the Merlot that is in the extreme upper left hand corner. It gets less sun due to the shading of the hill in front of it making it perfect for Merlot.

Back in March, when we had budbreak, I thought for sure we would have an early harvest. But the weather has been so cold that I now think we are late, meaning we 'lost' almost three weeks of the growing season so far. It's bound to warm up, I think...

Took it to a dinner party and it was a big hit. I'm very satisfied with the quality of this wine for the price.

This is a great chard, and I'm sorry to see its out of stock! Naked wines doesn't offer too many white wines, an most of the ones I've had so far are acceptable, but not a white I truly love. I truly love this one. I like a nice dry oaky chard with character, and this has all three.
Make me some more ok?

Here is a photo of the 'Reserve' Cabernet minutes before harvest. As is typical in the foothills at harvest time, the canopy is tired and the oldest leaves are beginning to dry up and fall. We go through the vineyard with a blower ahead of the picking crew to blow these dried leaves out of the fruit zone. If we don't, they can end up in the wine and we don't want that to happen.

Note the small berries and the straggly clusters. We don't get a lot of fruit off of each vine but crop level is partly responsible for the 'Reserve' bottling designation.

Scott

The first glass was not to my liking. The next day it began to taste better and I drank two glasses, but I believe I am not a fan of chardonnays.

Yep, this is a big 'un alright. I tried about a glass and a half last night, then let the bottle sit overnight. The air definitely helped. Not overwhelmingly tannic, but still somewhat tight and dense, even the next day. The fruit is more generous with some air, which balances out the more vegetal/herbal characters.
I waited almost until 2016 to open it (within a few hours!) per the winemaker's suggestion. Knowing what it tastes like makes me even more excited about the 2 bottles I have left, I think they'll age very well.
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Revisiting 5-12-17
Amazing nose of black currant, fennel, olives, herbs. Smooth drinking with minimal aeration. Bit of tannin at the end. Seriously great wine!

++++++++++++++++
11/3/20

Just lovely. Nose does lean towards the vegetal side, but with some black currents and cherries.
So smooth, tannins have mostly aged away, leaving some cocoa and nice fruit.

A little bit of oxidation creeping in, I’m glad I didn’t age this any longer than I did.