PRODUCER: Brick & Mortar
REGION: Sonoma Coast
WINEMAKERS: Matt Iaconis
Brick & Mortar work with coastal and high elevation vineyards within Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley and Napa Valley which capture the elegance and purity of cool-climate Northern California fruit. The wines are made with minimal intervention, highlighting texture, freshness and balance, a glimpse of the dynamic time and place of vintage and vineyard.
WINERY HISTORY
Founded in 2011 by husband and wife, Matt (winemaking) and Alexis (business) laconis, the name serves as a metaphor for their foundational philosophy: the brick and mortar of their approach is to highlight the vineyard with minimal intervention.
The couple met for the first time at Michelin 3-Star The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, where Alexis was working as sommelier, and Matt - then a recent hire - was working nights to pay for grapes to make his first wines. Their shared love especially for the best Champagne and Burgundy brought them together and inspired their projects. Alexis and Matt began Brick & Mortar with just 84 cases of Pinot Noir two years later, and continued to study and taste the wines from Burgundy and Champagne that truly inspired vineyard choices and style for their own wines.
VITICULTURE & WINEMAKING
At the heart of the wines are long-time relationships with growers in select coastal vineyards above the fog line in Napa Valley, Sonoma Coast and Mendocino County. Matt and Alexis value vineyards planted at elevation, affected by coastal breezes, north-facing or sloped, to create a dynamic growing environment where a slower ripening can produce grapes with more maturity, character and texture but less sugar.
Matt’s goal in winemaking is to preserve the natural acidity and texture in the fruit. He uses only the native yeasts and minimal sulphur, maturation is in a mixture of new and used 500L puncheons: François Frères and Damy. Chardonnay is foot-trodden in bins and left for 8-12 hours before being pressed directly into puncheon for primary fermentation. Depending on the cuvée, the Chardonnays age on lees without stirring for 8-20 months in barrel before bottling. Pinot Noir is also foot-trodden to start fermentation which takes place slowly and at as cool temperatures as possible with two punch-downs per day, then pressed directly to barrel and aged for 8-20 months without racking. These are bright, fresh, food-friendly wines which very much deliver on their claim to be “inspired by Europe yet rooted in California."
The fruit for their Sonoma Coast Chardonnay comes from the Ocean View vineyard, in the heart of Russian River Valley, a stone’s throw away from the iconic Kistler and Ritchie Vineyards. Thanks to the moderate climate of the Middle Reach region of the Russian River Valley, the wine exhibits beautiful depth of flavour while maintaining its inherent brightness. Their Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes from a single vineyard in the cool climate of Carneros, just 5 miles from the San Pablo Bay. Coastal proximity brings pure, chiselled natural aromatics to be preserved in the wine of great natural acidity and rich flavor.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
