Wine producer Lawrence Fairchild
Yes, yes, we all know what Freud reputedly said about taking symbolism too far, “that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
But ask Lawrence Fairchild and he’ll tell you that it can also be a vineyard. It’s what he’s called his vineyard, in fact, some 600 feet above Lake Hennessey, where he produces elegant Cabernet.
“I called my 2-acre plot ‘Sigaro,’ which is Italian for ‘cigar,’” says Lawrence, because there’s nothing I enjoy more than taking a walk around the vineyard at dusk, inspecting the vines and puffing on a premium-quality cigar.”
Napaman was invited to sit down with Lawrence, who is a consultant to start-up, service-oriented companies, but which are not pure-tech, to taste two new Fairchild Estate releases:
2007 Fairchild Estate George III
This wine is a blend of Cabernet (88 percent) from Beckstoffer’s George III vineyard off Skellenger Lane in Rutherford, and of Cabernet from Beckstoffer’s portion of the To Kalon Vineyard (12 percent). $125 per bottle.
2007 Fairchild Estate Sigaro
The Cabernet for this wine is 100 percent from Lawrence’s home vineyard, which is organically farmed by vineyard manager Jim Barbour. $150 per bottle.
The consulting winemaker for both wines is he’s-everywhere-at-once-and-yet-he’s-oh-so-talented Paul Hobbs.
Napaman: If the Sigaro were a singer, rock group or entertainer, who would it be?
Fairchild: Without question, Pavarotti. The wine is elegant, it tastes European, and works supremely well with sophisticated fare.
Napaman: I think instead of me gushing about your wine, how abut YOU, the producer, describe it for a change?
Fairchild: The Sigaro is slightly riper than a top-growth Bordeaux. It has some of that same minerality but the acids are lush. The wine has good nerve, a core of subtle black cherry and finishes with currants. Above all the wine has elegance, much more fruit than you would find in a Bordeaux wine, and much less obtrusive oak than you find in so many California Cabs.
Napaman: What’s the best part of being a wine producer?
Fairchild: I love the agricultural elements, walking in the vineyard, caring for the land, getting my hands dirty. I grew up in a rural setting in Nebraska and relate to agriculture.
Napaman: What’s the worst part of being a wine producer?
Fairchild: The capital intensity and the detail to pull the project off correctly. The time and attention to detail.
Napaman: When would you suggest readers drink the 2007 vintage of your wines?
Fairchild: I am just starting to drink the 2006 Cabernets and they are still young. I think the 2007s will start to drink well two to five years from now.
Napaman: What would you suggest serving with the 2007 Sigaro Cabernet?
Fairchild: I’d start with a venison pate and follow this with a grilled duck breast, or roasted lamb shank. Something slightly gamey would complement this wine beautifully.
Napaman: What wine did you have with dinner last night?
Fairchild: We enjoyed the 2007 C.Beck Petite Sirah -- it was outstanding!
Interested in acquiring some of Lawrence Fairchild’s
two limited release 2007 wines (only 105 cases of each produced)? Contact 750
Wines, 1224 Adams St., St. Helena. Tel: 707-963-0750.
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