Some wines are born.
Others return.
Dylan’s Ghost is a revival. Once moved quietly through the ethers, never loud, never obvious, but always remembered.
The name comes from a real absence. A Dylan who passed years ago. Not a myth, not a character, just a presence that lingered. The idea that what matters most doesn’t disappear when it leaves the room. It echoes. It influences. It shapes what comes next.
“We are not haunted by what is gone, but by what remains unfinished.”
— Anonymous journal, Northern California, late 19th century
This is wine made with that philosophy in mind.
At the center is Robert Smith, whose path through California wine includes time at the famously unconventional Quixote Winery — a place known for breaking rules without losing seriousness. That sensibility lives here: wines that are expressive and textured, but never theatrical; structured, but never rigid.
Dylan’s Ghost is not about nostalgia. It’s about continuity, what carries forward even when the name fades from view.
“I’ve never been interested in making wines that perform on cue. I’m drawn to wines that reveal themselves over time, wines with tension, texture, and a sense of place that isn’t smoothed away. My goal is always the same: stay out of the way just enough to let the vineyard speak, but be present enough to give it shape.”
2023
Cinder Gulch
Red Hills Lake County
cabernet sauvignon
Cabernet with altitude, edge, and restraint. Volcanic soils, high elevation, and cool nights give this wine its quiet authority.
Tasting Notes
Opaque ruby with a violet rim. Aromas of cassis, blackberry, graphite, and crushed stone rise first, followed by hints of bay leaf and dark cocoa. The palate is structured and focused—black fruit framed by firm, linear tannins and a core of volcanic minerality. Fresh acidity keeps the wine lifted, finishing long and dry with subtle savory notes.
“What endures is not what shines brightest, but what holds its ground.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
2023
Sonoma Valley
Proprietary red wine
A layered, shadowed red built on intuition rather than formula. This is Sonoma Valley seen through memory, not a single moment, but an accumulation of them.
Tasting Notes
Deep garnet in the glass. The nose opens slowly with black cherry, dried rose petal, forest floor, and a subtle trace of clove and cedar. On the palate, the wine is supple but coiled—dark red fruit, tea leaf, and savory herbs carried by fine-grained tannins. The finish lingers with quiet tension, resolving into soft spice and mineral tones rather than sweetness.
“Truth rarely announces itself. It waits for those willing to linger.”
— George Santayana
Two wines. Two places.
One idea: that influence outlives origin.
Dylan’s Ghost exists in the space between what was and what remains, crafted with intention, shaped by real places, and guided by a belief that some names don’t vanish. They just wait.
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