Katz Opens His Aperture

Posted on   August 23,2020   By John Compisi

Aperture Cellars, the love child of noted winemaker Jesse Katz, is located on Old Redwood Highway in Healdsburg, California within the Russian River appellation. Katz has been called a wunderkind for his youthfulness, both in age and appearance, but most aptly for his ability to make phenomenal wines where ever he goes. He was the first winemaker to ever make the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list. He was also recognized in the Wine Enthusiast ‘40 Under 40 Tastemaker’ list.

Established in 2009, Aperture Cellars is Katz’s first venture as a grower/winery owner and he is backed by a small collection of astute investors who helped bring this vision to life over the past several years. Katz’s famous photographer father, Andy Katz, is equally represented in this joint venture through the strikingly appointed hospitality space which features the senior Katz photographic art lining the walls and a huge skylight in the center of the space designed to look like a camera aperture. These features alone make visiting a must!

Katz, the winemaker, developed his palate early in life while traveling the world with his dad but his real education and development came through stints on various winemaking teams in Argentina and the United States with the likes of Screaming Eagle, Viña Cobos (founded by Paul Hobbs), Bodega Noemia and later Lancaster and Roth Estates in Sonoma County.

At a time when Sonoma County is making it tougher for new wineries and tasting rooms to be developed for fear of creating a mono-culture/economy and more traffic, Katz was able to navigate these issues and brought his property online in 2019 with the tasting room originally scheduled for an April and then July 2020 grand opening. Despite the challenges and restrictions created by the COVID-19 virus and the California and Sonoma County responses to it, we where able to visit recently for an outside seating by Katz ‘masked’ estate hosts. (By the way, virtual tastings, de rigueur today, are available Monday through Friday with three different options.)

The Bordeaux varietals in his wines come from the 32-acre estate in Healdsburg as well as 140 tightly controlled vineyard acres in the Alexander Valley, Geyserville, the Bennett Valley and Clarksburg, CA.

We enjoyed several but will highlight our favorites here.

The 2019 Barrel-Fermented Chenin Blanc was quite exquisite. The grapes were from Clarksburg, a wine growing region just west of Sacramento. We enjoyed the crisp, SauvBlancesque, flavors in this wine. Chenin Blanc used to be widely available but most vineyards were ripped out to grow more profitable grapes. A perfect everyday wine at $30.

The 2017 Bordeaux Red Blend is great for sipping but excellent with food. The blend is 50% Merlot and 50% Malbec from the Alexander Valley. This blend has great balance, structure and beautiful mouthfeel. We first enjoyed this wine with a take-out dinner from Valette as the features wine. Well worth the $55 price tag.

Aperture Cellars 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is a relative bargain for luxury Cabernets at $70 per bottle. At 85% Cab and the remaining 15% being Merlot and Malbec depending upon the vintage. The wine is a classic Cabernet with concentrated flavors and noteworthy balance.

Finally, we found the barrel sample of the 2018 Del Rio Vineyard Cabernet to be ready to drink now but it will not be released until Mid-November. Aged for 20 months in 50% new French oak, this Cab expresses the balanced tannins and classic flavors of a 100% Cabernet. At $125 (based upon the 2017 pricing) this is a deluxe Cab in the classic style.

Since 2012, Katz has produced a wine that is 100% Malbec under his Devil Proof label. We didn’t get to taste it but it is available for sale in a 3-bottle set for $450. Based upon his history in Argentina and his passion for Malbec, its our guess that this wine, even at $150 per bottle, is a price worth paying.

Jesse Katz, like his father Andy, is a true artist who expresses himself through his passion for wine. We can, unequivocally, recommend an Aperture Cellars tasting experience, outside, or if possible, inside to enjoy the other art form, Andy’s pictures.