Winemaker Mike Smith of Myriad Cellars & Quivet Cellars
Winemaker Mike Smith of Myriad Cellars & Quivet Cellars is a true purist in choosing vineyards, and aging and developing artisan wines. He talks about how he follows his simple philosophy: creating the most natural and expressive wines California can offer. He obtains fruit from the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, and believes the extra expense of using rare French Oak for aging is well worth the superb results—subtlety not achievable with lesser methods.
Myriad's fruit is purchased from the prestigious Spring Mountain District above Napa Valley. Wines produced from this vineyard express intense and concentrated flavors coupled with polished mountain tannins. Dark, firm, rich and structured. Their wines age gracefully, producing more overall complexity and balance. Quivet Cellars produces very limited quantities of handcrafted boutique Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah by selecting specific rows of fruit from Spring Mountain, Kenefick Ranch and Las Madres Vineyard. The premium fruit is uniquely crushed, aged in rare French Oak and masterfully blended.
Mike samples and discusses those results for us: several of his 2009 vintage Syrahs among those they have generously made available to the New York International Wine Auction, a great event for a great cause.
