Description
RED CELLAR TRIO WINE CLUB SELECTION
The Fat Dragon story began in May 2008. At the time, Dani was working for Wynn Resorts, as the founding executive director of wine, in Las Vegas and Macau, China. Before that, she spent seven years in New York City as the corporate wine director at the Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group. While in Hong Kong on business, attending a prestigious Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wine tasting being held at Happy Valley, one of the oldest horse racecourses in Asia—while most of us would have sat back and enjoyed a vertical tasting of the most expensive wines in the world—Dani snuck away to place a bet. She looked at the lineup and, unbeknownst to her at the time, picked the long shot at 44-1 odds—a horse called Fat Dragon. She bet all the Hong Kong Dollars she had in her pocket on Fat Dragon to win—and he won! It was destiny. While Dani went on to blow all of her winnings that night and that could have been the end of the story, she returned to the US and told Mike. His reaction was, “Wow, that’s a great name for the future wine brand we’ve always dreamed of creating together!” And so began the search for the perfect place to call home and start Fat Dragon. Fast-forward to 2018. The couple found a beautiful 30-acre property that had 16.5 acres of derelict vineyard, but amazing terroir located just outside the quaint town of Healdsburg, California.
In order to execute their vision of producing world-class wines, they gutted the property; once the vineyard was cleared, all new hardware, irrigation systems, drainage, and deer fencing were installed. The vineyard was replanted to two clones of Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhône varietals such as Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre. In 2019, a new agricultural well was drilled. The buildings were all renovated or rebuilt, and then they waited…and waited. It took three years to produce the first commercial crop in 2022, finally bottling that first vintage in the spring of 2024.
The 2022 estate GSM is a blend of 43% Mourvédre, 37% Syrah, 19% Grenache grown on the eastern bench of Dry Creek Valley. Hand sorted, whole cluster fermentation. Aged 18 months in hogshead, puncheon barrels. 75 cases produced. Classic aromas of bramble fruit and baking spices. The medium-full bodied palate exhibits roasted plum, blueberry jam and blackberry coulis, followed by vanilla and toasted caramel. Ripe and ready, the mouth coating tannins add length and structure to the finish.
