John Sutcliffe is a Friend of Mine

I have a little secret to share with you: some of the world’s finest wines are being produced in a small ranching community called McElmo Canyon, about 15 miles outside of Cortez, Colorado. The winery producing this phenomenal, yet under-the-radar wine is Sutcliffe Vineyards, owned and operated by the incredibly verbose and gregarious Welshman cowboy, John Sutcliffe. For just under a decade, John has been producing wine of surprising quality in a state known for overly-sugarfied, sappy…wait, Colorado isn’t known for its wine at all. Dismissing the typical distributor system, he has relied on word of mouth, wine dinners at the finest restaurants in the nation, and old fashioned schlepping to move his annual production of just over 2000 cases. Seemingly, this model is working as his boutique wine is now shipped to restaurants and resorts in New York, San Francisco, Dusseldorf, London, the Turks and Caicos islands, and soon Beijing. I recently sat down with Mr. Sutcliffe at the Artichoke Café for an enlightening discussion and not a few glasses of his newly released Viognier and Syrah.

IQ: How did a Welsh rugby player, raised with a chauffeur, who went to the same school as Winston Churchill, become a winemaker in the backwoods of southern Colorado?

JS: Well, it was never a lofty dream, we planted vines almost aesthetically on the farm while running cattle and growing hay. We grew the grapes, pressed them, and they tasted good. Making wine in the canyon feels almost biblical, mate. We’re completely frozen in winter and spring, roasted to death in the summer, blown away, I mean practically desiccated in the Autumn. But, we make great wine.

IQ: Describe your winemaking philosophy.

JS: Incredible patience. I’m a farmer, and everything I do stems from there. It sounds trite, but I know that everything is done in the vineyard. Listen, I firmly believe that our interference is damaging. I’m serious about this. Given that you are getting the best possible grapes, the gentlest low-tech press, the best French oak barrels, the happiest vineyard workers, all of which you’ll find at my ranch, the less interference the better. You know mate, there is a movement afoot that stresses both the idea of terroir [the French concept that the conditions under which grapes grow, including the composition of the soil and unique weather conditions, contribute a specific flavor to the wines] and leaner wines. It’s becoming quite fashionable to make lean wines. Now, I’m a firm believer in terroir, but what if your terroir wants you to make giant, lush fruit bombs with high alcohol levels. Our terroir defines the word extreme, so our wines reflect the harsh landscape and climate. We just acquired an incredible asset in Joe Buckel, formerly the wine maker at Flowers in Sonoma. Flowers was one of the most celebrated wineries in the country, and we’re delighted to have him on board. He wouldn’t be such a good fit if we didn’t share the same philosophy.

IQ: What winemaking region in the world does McElmo Canyon most resemble?

JS: You know I’m asked this question quite often, and I’m always at a loss for an answer. Nothing has the severity of winter or the blistering summer. Compounding both, we have an incredibly high altitude, which magnifies the effects of cold, heat and sun. But, the very things that terrify and terrorize us are what make the wines great and so special.

IQ: What is the most memorable wine you’ve ever drunk?

JS: Although I’m a red wine drinker, the wine that changed my idea of wine forever was a “Le Montrachet” [a grand cru burgundy with a prohibitive price tag, made from the Chardonnay grape] from the early 70’s. I don’t recall the producer, but I tasted it in New York soon after opening Tavern on the Green. So lush, and long. It seemed like bottled sunshine, which, I suppose, it was.

IQ: I’ve tried your Signature Chardonnay, and always compared it to white Burgundy, did that bottle shape your expectations of what the grape could become?

JS: Once you’ve tasted a wine with such power and grace…well it’s like having seen Coltrane or Charlie Parker, you can’t go back from it.

IQ: What’s the best wine you’ve ever made?

JS: We’ve been tasting the 08’s, which is our best harvest with Joe. I’m expecting to do a Bordeaux blend that we’ll call “Trawsfynydd” [pronounced traus-VEN-ith] which is the village in which my grandmother grew up in Wales. After barrel-tasting the different components, I’m sure that this will be the finest 100 cases that we’ve ever seen.


Despite the ridiculously unpronounceable name, the “Trawsfynydd” seems to promise a bright future for this boutique winery in southern Colorado. And it seems as though the secret of John Sutcliffe’s wines is getting out. His most recent wine dinner at the Artichoke Café was sold out a month in advance.


Sutcliffe Vineyards Viognier, 2008 – The nose is like walking through an orchard of peaches in the spring as well as late summer, when both the blossoms are in full bloom and the fruit is falling-off-the-branch ripe. Almost lurid. On the palette the wine shows the big roundness that the 14.5% alcohol promised, but without any off-putting fuminess one gets from high-booze wines. It has the viscosity that should accompany this ancient Rhone varietal. The peachy aspect remains intact throughout the long finish. 20 seconds after the initial sip, and one is left with a pleasant, almond bitterness. Sophisticated, stunning and altogether sexy.

Sutcliffe Vineyards Syrah, 2007 – Gorgeous nose that is full of over-ripe blueberries and fresh cracked black pepper. After a half hour in the glass, secondary aromas that reminded me of leather and really good beef jerky began to rise from the glass. A bit of tobacco made me regret quitting smoking. The first sip was eye-opening in its power. A rush of fruit, backed by some serious tannins, which are rare for this varietal. Also rare for such a lusciously rich wine is acid, which in this case was refreshingly high.

After tasting all of John’s wines for three vintages now, these two wines typify what I’ve come to expect: they will all taste correct according to the grape varietal, but they will also intrigue and amuse. I imagine that this is what John Sutcliffe adds to his particular terroir, an indescribable charm that sets him apart from any other winemaker I’ve met.