Spring Things

Well, folks, let's start this Spring update off right with a recent photo of Ric and potential winery heir apparent, Baby Jack:

Three generations, two doo-rags, one nation.

In other news, Karl Lawrence aficionado Ken Yzurdiaga made his last warehouse run. Now that he's stocked up with enough KL to last far into retirement, he's moving to Nevada:

Here's Karl Lawrence Cycle Team member, Bob Fores:

Bob's ridden the Tour of Napa Valley with us four times. He organizes Ride for Mom each year in Modesto, the day before Mother's Day. Here he is last weekend at the after party with a bottle of his favorite wine. 

And while we're on the subject of bike ride organizers, here's Jack McGlynn:

Jack organizes the PCH ride from Carmel to San Simeon, which has been on the cycling circuit for 41 years. Here he is after this year's ride a couple weeks ago with his two prized possesions: a bottle of Karl Lawrence and his new Renovo wooden bicycle frame (a surprise gift to Jack from the PCH riders this year).

Ric in front of the Bixby Bridge on this year's PCH Ride.

And to put an end to the bicycle-fueled update, here's a couple shots from the Stones' concert in Oakland: 

The usual suspects: Dave and Ginge Jamieson with Cheryl and Ric outside Oracle Arena.

A view from the "cheap" seats. 

That's all for now, folks! Hopefully we'll have some actual wine news for you in the near future.

Tasting Notes, Inventory, and Visitors

Before some tasting notes from the pros, we'd like to inform you that the 2010 3Ls are all sold out. Head over to our shop at karllawrence.com to see what you can still get your hands on. Now for the fun stuff.

Assistant winemaker Mike Henry, along with the dynamic duo, Richard Zulch and Craig Issacs, got together to give the '09 reserves a quick taste. 

After the three of them discussed each one in the warehouse, Mike took the bottles home for a more "thorough" tasting. Here's what they determined:

Henry Brothers' Ranch 

Dense dark fruits, "red mountain" dust, pepper on the nose. Bold forward red fruits turning to dark black fruits, eucalyptus, pomegranate, spicy dark chocolate. Very "mountainy."

Richard & Craig said the HBR "has a finish a mile long; it will last forever." 

Gary Morisoli

Bright nose, black cherry, woody. Definitely shows "Rutherford dust." Very structured, elegant, a bit firm. Nice balanced dark fruits and vanilla woodiness.

Dr. Crane 

Spicy plum "chutney" on the nose. Black fruits, chocolate covered cherry. Long finish. More chocolatey than the others.

To Kalon

Very floral and perfumey sweet nose, plush. Rich and "slutty." Very bold and dense dark fruits. Definitely needs time to spread out. Most opulent of the four.

--

Mike also suggests waiting at least 5 years before opening any of these four. So patience, friends. 

The three of them, as well as Ric, agreed the Henry Brothers' Ranch definitely stands out from the three Valley wines.

To finish up this KL update, here's some recent photos:

Kirsten Modrich from the Marin swung by the office with her mother, Margaret, and her two children, Johann, and Sophia:

Afshin Arya from Rocklin, CA also came by to pick up a case:

Finally, Cycle Team Karl Lawrence had to make another appearance. Here's the crew "training" near Los Alamos:

Celebration of Life: Jim Barrett

As many of you know, one of Napa Valley's legends, Jim Barrett, passed away a couple of weeks ago. During harvest last year, Jim, and the rest of his and Ric's tennis crew, swung by Karl Lawrence.

We blogged about the office's brief shine of celebrity spotlight then, and would love to post the photos again. So here they are.

Here's Jim holding a painting of himself at the court done by St. Helena artist, Greg De Lucca:

Ric was happy to see the above picture used in Jim's celebration of life slideshow Tuesday at the Meritage in Napa. There were 500 people in attendance. Greg's painting was on display, as well.

Here's the whole tennis crew. At the ceremony, the gang sported their tennis gear and all stood up together as a tribute to Jim.

Jim was their leader, organizing four doubles matches a week. With Jim gone, the crew is leaderless, but will keep on playing in his memory. 

Spring Update

Kicking things off right, we'd like to give a big shout-out to our local boy, Walker Ryan, who's landed his first magazine cover. Here he is holding the April 2013 issue of Transworld Skateboarding, one of the premier mags in the industry:

Walker just recently had a part in Transworld's skateboarding film Perpetual Motion which premiered last week in L.A. and San Francisco. The cover was the cherry on top for the year he's spent filming for the video.

Walker's parents have been drinking Karl Lawrence since he first stepped on a skateboard and we've been lucky enough to see him shredding the sidewalks of St. Helena for the last 20 years. 

He was instrumental in our town's mission to build a skatepark, and has never forgotten his roots despite his constant flux of global travel. Even his shaggy 16-year-old sillouhette can be seen in the middle of the park's sign!

If you've been by the office, you've seen his first pro-model skateboard hanging on the wall. By your next visit, we should have the mag hanging next to it. Here's a closer look:

Make sure to get a copy for yourself. They'll be hitting stores and stands this week. For more on Transworld and Perpetual Motion, check out skateboarding.transworld.net.

In other news, Cycling Team Karl Lawrence recently summited Mt. Diablo. Here's Ric, Bob Fores, Mark Jensen, and Dave Jamieson to prove it:

The mountain earns its name by providing 4,000 ft. of elevation in just a 10-mile climb. The crew logged a total of 35 miles for the trip.

And for all of you wondering about our inventory:

- All of our Aldin is sold out! 
- Only a few case of '09 remain. 
- The '10 is selling at a fast clip.  
- The '10 Reserves should be released in late March, after the bottles are labeled.

That's it for now. If you have any ordering questions and/or bicycle requests, you can email ric@karllawrence.com. 

Karl Lawrence says Aloha

Albert Holt has been with us since the early days. Here's him and Cheryl in Hawaii. 

Al took Ric and Cheryl to the Top of Waikiki and gave them his two cents on the plethora of great Hawaiian golf links.

Besides drinking Karl Lawrence, Albert stays busy running AL's Kona Coffee. Give them a look! www.alskonacoffee.com

2013 Happenings

Ken Yzurdiaga heard that the Karl Lawrence warehouse would be closing down within the year, so he stopped by to help clear it out. Y'all can help, too!

Also, Ric guided his KL friends on a cycle tour of the back roads of the Upper Napa Valley.  

On their trek to the shore of Lake Hennessy, they encountered one car on the final ten mile loop. Bob Fores, on the right, organizes the Ride For Mom ride in Modesto. You can ride with Ric there on May 13. Check it out at www.rideformom.com.

Also, if you happen to have the blues on Valentines Day, head down to the Cameo Cinema the day after  to boogie-woogie  with Mitch Woods and his Rocket 88s. 

Ric helped book Mitch. The blues man's been a longtime fan of Karl Lawrence and really knows how to throw a party. 

You can't beat wine and the blues. Especially at the Cameo, where all three of Ric's kids have worked. 

Mitch Woods: mitchwoods.com. The Cameo Cinema: cameocinema.com.

Baby Jack and the 2010 Release!

In our first blog post of 2013, three-month-old Jack Solo Henry helps his dad, Jefferson, notify everyone that our Karl Lawrence 2010 is available TODAY!

It was his first email blast, and let us be the first to say, he made us proud...

Check our website for ordering information.