A family winemaking tradition inspired by my grandfather
Jose Najar Sanchez, AKA “Chapo”!
Najar Cellars was born of a family winemaking tradition started by my grandfather, Jose “Chapo” Najar Sanchez. Jose came to the United States from Spain in the early 1900’s after being recruited from his job in Morocco to work as a carpenter in the mines in Miami-Globe, Arizona and brought his love of winemaking with him. When wine was hard to come by during prohibition, he got a permit to make up to 200 gallons for personal use. He got together with some of his other European friends each year and they pooled together funds to buy a truckload of Primitivo grapes from Lodi, California. According to my dad, Joaquin, Jose would have my dad whole cluster stomp the grapes in open topped oak barrels which he then sealed to ferment, producing an Italian style wine rich with flavors of dark dried fruits and nutty overtones.
Fast forward nearly a hundred years, when I happened to take a soils course at Yavapai Community College that I thought would be helpful in my job as a hydrologist. With my background in Geology I started to see how the earth and soil contribute to the flavor of the grapes and thus to the flavor of the wine and the interconnectedness between the earth, the soil, the grapes and humanity’s history with wine. I remembered the stories of my grandfather and felt inspired to take up his tradition and carry it forward into a legacy for my family that brought together the past and present and to pass that history along to my children and grandchildren in the future.
I learned during that time that Yavapai College had a budding wine program so I decided to pursue a degree in enology and viticulture. I completed my degree and started making wine at home, winning two medals in the Arizona Emerging Winemaker competition and ultimately was honored to be accepted into the Four Eight Wineworks Alternating Proprietorship winemaker’s co-op. I moved my family to the Sonoita Elgin AVA (American Viticulture Area) to pursue the dream of creating an estate winery and vineyard at the headwaters of the Babocomari River. We are planting our first acres of grapes, with varietals from Italy, Southern France and of course Spain, in honor of Jose. We look forward to continuing our journey in celebration of our family tradition and invite you to enjoy it with us.
Saludos! (Cheers!)
Alebrije
Alebrije: A brightly colored Mexican sculpture of a mythical animal.
The idea for Alebrije was born following a spiritual encounter with a hawk while visiting Hassayampa Vineyards to plan the harvest of the Tannat grapes used in this wine. The vineyard owner’s son had passed away unexpectedly not long before, and that chance meeting with what I felt was his spirit animal inspired me to create this wine for him. As bright and spirited as the man himself, this old world style red bled of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat also pays homage to my wife’s love of all things Tuscan. Harvest date- October.
Tech Notes: Alcohol by volume (ABV) 14.8% PH 3.8 Titratable Acidity 5.9 grams/liter Residual Sugar 30 mg/100 ml
Lift your glass for a tribute to Aaron Segura, red, youthful, bold, free-spirited, a non-vintage classic celebration of life, timeless. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Sangiovese grapes sourced from Golden Rule Vineyards. Notes of black cherry and blackberry with lasting tannins. Made to age, Peace.
Alemana
2018 Alemana
Alemana- Spanish for German- is a celebration of the Riesling grapes grown locally here in Arizona by Carlson Creek Vineyards, Willcox Bench AVA. This 2018 single varietal Riesling is bright, fruity, complex and balanced. Harvested for light body and brightness. Whole cluster cold maceration for two days to extract the sugar and flavor from the berries followed by a whole cluster press. Aged two years, stainless steel tank followed by 9 months in neutral oak. Unfiltered and Unfined. Harvest date- August 17th, 2018.
2017 Alemana
Our 2017 Alemana was created to be a play on whites- we made this dry Riesling in the style of a Chardonnay. It has a heavier body and pronounced oak notes . Aged in neutral oak barrels for three years, this wine exhibits a deeper color and flavor than the traditional bright fruitiness of our 2018 Alemana. Unfiltered and Unfined. Harvest date- August 9th 2017.
Clandestino
2016 Clandestino
Clandestino, meaning clandestine or secret, was picked by an allstar team of enology students and volunteers under a harvest moon from Hassayampa Vineyard and Farm in Northern Arizona. The name itself conjures the image of the harvesters working in the dark under the light of the moon, and also honors the Clandestinos from history that have come over the border to pick fruit. Barrel aged for four years in neutral oak, this wine is bold, tannic, rich and herbaceous with classic Barbera characteristics. It is a grape that does well in Arizona, maintaining its acidity even as it ripens more under our generous sun. This wine was minimally processed using gravity in lieu of pumps. Unfiltered and unfined. Harvest date- September 17th 2016.
Gallinero
2017 Gallinero
Gallinero- our first adventure with a Spanish grape, Graciano. Spanish wine is where the heart lies as 3 of my four grandparents came from Spain. My mothers parents had a cabin in Northern Arizona called El Gallinero, Spanish for henhouse- so named because when they first got it my grandmother said it looked like a chicken coop. Add to that the fact that my grandfather had three daughters and it was affectionately dubbed “the henhouse”. When we bought our land in Elgin, my wife and I made a deal- if I could plant grapes, she could raise chickens. So in honor of the Gallineros in our lives we created this plucky red. A sultry purple color with distinct floral and fruit- think violets and mulberries- this Graciano will warm the palate and the heart. Unfiltered and Unfined. Harvested from Flying Kite Vineyard in Elgin, AZ- Sonoita/Elgin AVA- with a crew of Southern Arizona friends. Harvest Date- September 2nd 2017.
La Mariposa
2019 La Mariposa
La Mariposa- Our 2019 Chardonnay embodies the spirit of the butterfly. Barrel fermented and barrel aged in neutral oak, the natural malolactic fermentation imparts the buttery flavor found in a traditional Chardonnay but it is light bodied and delicate like its namesake. Harvested from Tucker’s Vineyard in Pearce, AZ after a series of heavy monsoon storms that knocked out the trellises, this wine is also a testament to the endurance of its grapes. Harvest date- August 7th 2019.
La Mina
2018 La Mina
100% Tempranillo Grapes sourced from, 50% Al Buhl Memorial Vineyard, 50% Milic (Juan Alba) Vineyard. Notes of raspberry, balanced acid with a creamy mouthfeel.
Talia
2017 Talia
Our 2017 Talia- named for our youngest daughter Natalie- was made with award winning Sangiovese grapes from Hassayampa Vineyard and Farm in Northern Arizona. This wine is barrel aged and was made as a lighter, french style rose. This was our first Rose, picked by a group of friends, and was made with love. Specifically harvested for a Rose, this wine turned out to be soft and delicate and opens up into a beautiful medley of flavors, blending the characteristic strawberry of a sangiovese with a light toasted marshmallow from the oak. Harvest date- September 4, 2017.
2018 Talia
We loved our 2017 Talia so much we decided to continue our love affair with the Sangiovese Rose and try another vintage in 2018, this time with Southern Arizona grapes. These grapes came from Golden Rule Vineyard in Cochise, AZ, a vineyard with a distinctive terroir that you can taste in the wine. The hotter sun and lower rainfall in the area means the grapes ripen faster and with higher brix, translating to a fuller body and a more intense flavor. Barrel aged in neutral oak this wine went through a natural malolactic fermentation and has a buttery, creamy texture to it’s strawberry base notes. Harvest date- September 17, 2018.