Bolen Family Estates

Adrienne Shubin of the blog "The Rich Life on a Budget" admiring a bottle of Bolen Merlot

Worlds Best Merlot

Have I got one hell of a Merlot for you to try, Bolen Family Estates.  Bolen has the stated goal of producing the best Merlot in the world.  This epic Merlot is produced from Beckstoffer fruit and barrel aged for “as long as it takes to be perfect.” Sometimes that means 3 plus years before this juice hits the bottle.

Inside the cave where the tastings happen

Less that 500 Cases

Guess what, you aren't going to find this juice in the wine shop in your home town. With a total production of less than 500 cases the best way to get to this wine is to visit the cave where it is produced.  This wine is made available to people on the mailing list and to visitors to the wine cave.

Mike Bolen proudly sampling his own work

Hosted by the Owners

Tastings are personally conducted by either Mike or Eric Bolen. The experience of hanging out with the owners and sampling their passion is amazing. Sitting out in my vehicle I always hear that cave echo with laughter.

 

Pulling wine from the barrel with a wine thief

Barrel Samples

Using what is affectionately called a “wine thief” the Bolens' pull samples from various vintages still in barrel. Not only do you get to taste multiple vintages of the same wine you also get to sample the same wine in different barrels. Mind blowing experience if you haven’t done this before.

Bottles of the Red Field Blend

Red Field Blend

Bolen is all about that Merlot, but there is another wine made here. Ultra small production (about 50 cases!) of what is called the Red Field Blend. This wine comes from a mixed planted vineyard from Bolen’s personal estate. This wine is basically blended in the vineyard. Once picked the fruit is mixed and fermented together as opposed to separating out the Merlot from the Cab and blending it in the bottle. The result? Juice of the Gods!!!!! Be warned, with a 50 case supply per harvest of this stuff it doesn't last long.

My SUV waiting outside the cave waiting for the cases to be loaded up

Schedule A Visit

The easiest way to visit Bolen Family Estates is to book my services and let me handle the details (sorry I couldn't resist the chance for a plug.) Should you use some other company or (gasp) drive yourself, you can contact Mike at 707-294-7540 or email visit@bolenwine.com