I first met Clay Mauritson more than 20 years ago. At the time, I was on a local distributor’s wine team, and he was the Assistant National Sales Manager for Kenwood wines. Clay, as it turned out, came from a very long line of grape growers in the Dry Creek area, and Clay’s great-great-great grandfather was the first to plant vines in the Rockpile district in 1884. By the 1960s, their ranch covered 4,000 acres when the Army Corps of Engineers decided the land was needed to build Lake Sonoma. The government paid 58 cents an acre, and the family found most of its original ranch was suddenly underwater. The Mauritson family continued to grow grapes in Rockpile, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley.

Clay describes growing up as part of a sixth-generation grape-growing family, “I often joke that my childhood was more like indentured servitude. If we weren’t in school or playing sports, we were working in the vineyard. In all honesty, I thought I never wanted to see another grapevine for the rest of my life. But like the saying goes, sometimes in life, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” In high school, Mauritson had been recruited by most of the PAC-10 schools, but a high school shoulder injury tempered the interest somewhat. He started as an outside linebacker for Oregon University, go Ducks, and played in the 1995 Rose Bowl and the 1996 Cotton Bowl. When he re-injured the shoulder before his senior year, and his rehab effort ultimately failed, he found himself staring at his first summer off in ages.

On Clay’s return to Sonoma, he knew he didn’t want to work in the family vineyards, and his dad didn’t want his to sit on the couch all summer, so Clay took on an internship with a family friend and good customer, Mike Lee winemaker and owner at nearby Kenwood Vineyards. Clay soon realized that growing grapes was a chore but found making wine was his passion. During the several years he spent at Kenwood, he found he was good at winemaking and excelled at marketing and other business aspects of the wine industry. This was when I first met Clay Mauritson as the Assistant National Sales Manager for Kenwood Wines. As we got to know him, he let us in on a little side adventure he was trying to develop with seed money from his father, Mauritson Winery. Their first Mauritson vintage was 1998 Dry Creek Zinfandel, with 125 cases released; today, the winery’s average total release is 12,000 cases.

The Mauritsons have a historical connection to the highly sought-after Rockpile Appellation. In 1884, Clay’s great, great, great grandfather was the first to plant grapes here and sent them back home to Sweden. Sheep ranching and hunting clubs dominated this area for 100 years before Rockpile’s modern grape-growing history. Lake Sonoma Reservoir was filled after the dam’s completion in 1983, leaving only the soil-poor ridgetops; although not good for sheep, it provided a perfect climate for superior wine grapes, which now is Rockpile AVA. 

To qualify as part of the Rockpile AVA, vineyards must be over 800’ elevation. At this elevation, you have no fog, incredibly unique in that the Pacific is less than 16 miles to the west. If you have ever been near a coastline, you realize fog is a constant. This area’s no fog zone is due to the fact that Lake Sonoma is over 200 ft deep and has 2,500 surface acres, which holds its temperature very well. This large body of consistent temperature creates an inversion layer, sucking the fog down to the lake’s surface and limiting the fog exposure to the AVA. The lack of fog increases the amount of sun exposure but decreases the amount of moisture available to the vines. The lack of water leads to smaller berries, loose bunches, little to no bunch rot or botrytis, and overall higher quality fruit. 

The higher elevation, combined with the close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, creates unique climatic influences. The moderate temperatures, constant high winds, and lack of fog present an optimal growing environment for the highest quality fruit. The temperature in Rockpile is exceptionally moderate. The average daily high temperatures are lower than the neighboring valleys, while the average lows are higher due to the compounding of the Lake Sonoma maritime effect. There is less temperature fluctuation, allowing the vines long, steady growth. The mild highs and lows prevent shock to the vine, which would inhibit photosynthesis. The moderate temperatures are also a factor in the uniformity of ripening unique to Rockpile. This is the only place in the world with these special growing conditions.

Rockpile is one of the newest certified American Viticultural Areas in California, receiving AVA status on April 29th, 2002. I’ve always been interested in the origin of names for vineyards. The name for this area can be traced to a thriving Pomo Indian village 200 years ago called ‘kabe-chana,’ meaning ‘place with a heap of rocks.’ At 15,000 acres and less than 160 under vine, it also makes Rockpile the smallest AVA in California. Mauritson owns 550 acres with 40 acres of vines, making it the largest vineyard holder of Rockpile vineyards. Mauritsons Rockpile Vineyard is located at the Northwest edge of Dry Creek Valley AVA, where the two appellations actually overlap. Running through Mauritson’s Rockpile Ridge Vineyards is the Healdsburg–Rogers Creek Fault, a dominant earthquake fault in Northern California, and you can see why the story of Rockpile is so dramatic. 

Integral to Mauritson is winemaker Emma Hall. She joined Mauritson in 2011 and was promoted winemaker in 2019. Emma, besides being an All-American water polo champion from UC San Diego, previously worked at Carmenet and MacRostie. She also owns, with her winemaking husband, SeaWolf Wines. Emma shares with Clay the belief that the best wines capture a specific sense of place, as well as express the unique conditions of each vintage. Clay told me she is a magician in dialing in the specific fermentation protocols and exact oak profile for a singular wine, much better than he can. The 2019 Mauritson Rockpile Cabernet finishes were totally under her control. Clay often tells visitors to the winery: “Winemaking is 95% fruit and 5% the winemaker not screwing it up!”

Ripe red and black fruits dusted with sweet loam, mineral, and baker’s chocolate. With further aeration, this Cabernet Sauvignon reveals distinctive notes of dried underbrush and candied violet. Full and fleshy, with incredible purity through the mid-palate; juicy red fruits, vanilla notes, and a return of mineral. Energetic and persistent. Please enjoy this beautiful wine over the next 10+ years.

76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot,

20 months in oak barrels 100% French, 740 cases produced

Blended with 13% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot and displaying a deep ruby-purple color, the 2019 Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard has broody tar and blackcurrants on the nose to begin, unfolding as it airs in the glass to wafts of lavender and menthol. The full-bodied palate is powerful and grainy, with bright acidity to balance its concentrated fruits, and it finishes long and spicy. Drink Date 2022 – 2032 Wine Advocate 95 pts

From a high-elevation site and blended with 13% Malbec and 10% Petit Verdot, this red is inky dark, with soft, supple and well-integrated tannin and oak. Hints of dried herb, mint and currant are complemented by richer notes of dark chocolate and vanilla. Wine Enthusiast 92 pts

The lifted confectionary tones of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockpile Ridge Vineyard include baked blackberry, cocoa, and crushed flowers. This translates to the palate, which offers ripe, mouth-filling, plummy fruit as well as sweet berries and fine, dusty tannins. Jeb Dunnuck 90 pts

Mauritson Wines Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon 2019   

Tim and I were very excited to try Mauritson’s Rockpile Cabernet 2019 after talking to Clay. I’ve always known him for his world-class single vineyard Zinfandels, but he was in store a couple of months ago, and we had a chance to try his Rockpile Cab. It was wonderful so I wanted to try it again because that’s my job. The color was an opaque ruby with color to the rim. First impression of aromas was lots of cassis, dark cherry, and a touch of spice. In the mouth, we found blackberry, black currant, plum, leather, cumin, chocolate, and sweet tannins balanced with good acids—a long finish with bitter cherry. Flavors were compact and evolved so much more as we swirled our glasses. I want to go and try this again in an hour, but I’m pretty sure it will be gone by then because great wines have a habit of doing that. The wine is that good. Tim called this a sipping wine and saw himself on his back porch, leaf peeping with glass in hand. I saw myself gnawing on a t-bone with this glass of wine. We got a good price on this great wine because we took all that they had of their small production, and they did not make any 2020 because of the fires. This is a wine you will not want to miss out on. A very limited quantity is available.

Regular Price: $64.99

*Sale Price is on 3 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 6-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

After harvest, we take the entire crew up to our Rockpile Ridge Vineyard and eat In-n-Out burgers. The best part of our post-harvest tradition is that everyone climbs an old oak tree. I think our record is getting 20 people in the tree at once!

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

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