DAY 1- Napa South (part 2)

Thursday-4/22/10

Rudd Winery & Vineyards

After lunch at the Soda Canyon store, we headed up the Silverado Trail into Oakville for a tasting at Rudd Winery & Vineyards. Rudd is a beautiful property on the corner of Oakville Crossroad and Silverado Trail near such luminaries as Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle. Food and wine entrepreneur Leslie Rudd bought the property in 1996, bringing it to prominence with the help of famous names such as former winemaker David Ramey and consulting vineyard manager David Abreu. Thanks to Jeff and Kendall for treating us to an informal overview of Rudd's current releases.

-2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Mt. Veeder- 87% Sauv Blanc, 13% Semillon. Native yeasts, partial barrel fermentation. Straw and honeysuckle with citrus and tropical notes. Full but a bit soft. Nice finishing notes of stone fruit and apple---good to very good---$45.
-2007 Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard, Russian River Valley- 50 year old vines. Native yeast, full malo, 15 months in French oak-57% new. Rich and gold. Opens with green apple and butterscotch with additional notes of caramel, stone fruit, and light minerals. Big and full style---good to very good---$65.
-2006 Crossroads Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville- 76% Cab Sauv, 13% Cab Franc, 7% Merlot, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot. Native yeast, 20 months in 83% new French oak. Inky and dense. Expressive black and red fruit with black tea, coffee, and herbs. Silky tannins and a long finish---excellent---$65.
-2006 Oakville Estate Proprietary Red, Oakville- 80% Cab Sauv, 9% Cab Franc, 8% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot. Native yeast, 20 months in 100% new Fine Grained French oak. Slightly lighter appearance than the Crossroads. Black fruit, vanilla- a little closed on the nose. Opened up into spice box, cigar box, black tea, coffee, and herbal notes with underlying soft black fruit. Tannins are spicy, firm, and long---excellent to stellar---needs 5 to 10 years to reach stellar potential---$125.

We also tasted the 2006 Edge Hill Estate Mixed Blacks, St. Helena. This is a field blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Grenache, Mourvedre, & Alicante Bouschet. I didn't get good notes on this one, but enjoyed it. Very much in the dark, brooding, and gamey style.

All in all these were outstanding wines, especially the two cabs. Both delivering bold and rich flavors with great depth and good balance. The whites were good, but a little into the creamy and buttery-rich territory without the zing of acidity that I look for.

The view from the patio at Rudd

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Hess Collection

We headed up into the hills of Mt. Veeder to taste the wines at Hess. This was an informal tour of the art museum with the wines at the tasting bar. The art makes this a worthwhile visit- very interesting contemporary paintings, sculptures, and photography. The vineyards are tucked in and blocked off behind the winery- hard to get to the views that you think you might get given the elevation. Heading into the tasting bar, there's a pretty cool look-see into the barrel aging cellar.

-2008 Small Block Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County- Musqué clone, Short cooperage in neutral French oak. Straw, mineral, stone fruit, green apple, pear-nice and crisp---good---$19.
-2007 Chardonnay, Mt. Veeder- 18 months in 50% new French oak, no malo. Really strong toasty notes with wet stone and tropical fruit---good---$35.
-2009 Small Block Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley- 99% Zinfandel, 1% Petite Sirah; 12 months in French Oak (2-3 years old). Black fruit and spice-brambly. Light bodied with black raspberry notes---good---$36.
-2009 Small Block Syrah Rosé, Napa Valley- Fermented in neutral oak. Strawberry and candied cherry- fresh and lively---average to good---price??
-2007 Small Block Syrah, Napa Valley- 98% Syrah, 2% Viognier. 17 months in 20% new French oak. Lots of black raspberry and black cherry with peppery firm tannins and lengthy finish---good to very good---$36.
-2006 19 Block Cuvée, Mt. Veeder- 69% Cab Sauv, 11% Malbec, 10% Syrah, 5% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Cab Franc. 16 months in 50% new French oak. Tight nose- cassis, blackberry, and spice- firm with a nice finish---very good---$36.
-2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder- 86% Cab Sauv, 12% Malbec, 1% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. 18 months in 50% new French oak. Tight nose- black fruit and dried herbs opened up into spice box, tobacco, cedar, and black fruit with spice-driven tannins and a lengthy finish---very good---$48.

Overall good quality, Hess consistently delivers a pretty good value for the price. Interestingly, my pal Justin started his crazy trend of buying large format wines here with a Jeroboam of the Allomi Vineyard Cabernet... fun stuff.



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Peju Province Winery

I wanted to have a crack at a Rutherford stop tasting a Rutherford Cabernet while on the trip. Peju was just about the only option left (open until 6) as we were back down on the valley floor at 5:30. Granted, I'm always a little skeptical of the potential service when going into a tasting room to taste shortly before closing; Peju managed to hit way below my lowered expectations. Our personal pourer had very little to add when talking about the wines and acted uninterested. He even went so far as to tell us that he doesn't really drink much wine and usually sticks with Two Buck Chuck. Out of the three in my party, two of us work in the wine business and we're all fairly wine savvy. We were actively trying to engage over the course of our tasting.

We tasted through their Napa Valley blends- the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, the 2006 Merlot, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2006 Syrah. All were decent, albeit unremarkable wines in their respective categories and price points. I asked several times about tasting their Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and was denied, seeing an open bottle on my way out. I guess Two Buck Chuck knew we weren't properly presented the wines- as we weren't charged for the tasting. I would have gladly paid to taste the Rutherford Cabernet, and would have considered buying a bottle. This was a waste of time. Perhaps it's the bad taste in my mouth talking, but Peju comes off as a fancied-up Hwy 29 tourist trap winery with little or no substance.

note 4/30- Peju's P.R. Specialist contacted me to apologize for my group's dissatisfaction, with an invitation to contact her directly the next time I come to Napa. While I stand by my notes, I give them credit for their eagerness to contact me so quickly after I wrote the piece. Given the communication, I may consider giving them another chance in the future.

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Overall, day 1 was three great stops, one pretty good one, and one poor one. The ones that required planning were all winners. We grabbed a nice dinner at Leslie Rudd's Press in St. Helena. Great appetizers-oysters, truffled mac & cheese, and filet au poivre sliders... then a blue plate special- pork chops, grits, and asparagus... good stuff. Then it was off over Spring Mountain back to Rohnert Park to get ready to drive out to Hirsch to start day 2.

Link to all Napa day 1 pics.

DAY 1- Napa south (part 1)

Thursday 4/22/2010

Shafer Vineyards

As we drove up to the venerable Shafer Vineyards in Stags Leap, my first thought was of the understated nature of the property. Pretty hillside vineyards and a nice modern winery, but nothing that screams of the utter joy of wine that awaits you. This was the first stop of the trip- why not start big?

Running a minute late, we joined the group out on the patio as our host pointed out the Hillside Select vineyards surrounding the winery, and talked about Shafer's sustainable farming practices. It was all fairly simple, more of an orientation than a tour. The treat came when we were taken into the cellar to see the 2008 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon being bottled. Winemaker Elias Fernandez was overseeing everything, and was kind enough to say hello to everyone. We tasted the 2008 One Point Five in the cellar- with beautifully forward fruit and elegantly layered spice and tannins that should develop and integrate while the wine rests in bottle awaiting release.

We tasted through the Shafer wines in a sun room overlooking the patio and vineyards- a magnificent setting. To highlight the tasting, John Shafer came out and shared a few moments of his time with the group. It's a highly structured tasting, so we didn't get too caught up in every detail of Shafer's winemaking process. As a whole, the wines are balanced and classically styled, but unmistakably Californian. Bold and rich, but unmistakably luxurious and silky. The tasting was capped off with some insanely good chocolates paired with a nice port-style dessert wine only available at the winery. What a magnificent kick-off to the trip!


-2008 Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, Carneros- 75% barrel fermented, no malo, wild yeast. Straw, green apple & stone fruit, pear, light oaky vanilla notes. Crisp and bright with great balance---Excellent---$48
-2007 Merlot Napa Valley- Caramel apple, cherry, plum. Elegant with silky spice tannins and mint on the finish---Very Good to Excellent---$48
-2007 One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap- Dense and full. Vanilla, butterscotch, cassis, tobacco. Gliding red & black fruits that soar into cedar and spice box notes on the tannins and finish. Silky and velvety---Excellent to Stellar---$70
-2006 Relentless, Napa Valley Syrah/Petite Sirah- Co-fermented. Inky and full. Cassis, leather, white pepper, with meaty notes. Meaty black fruits, pepper-bold but elegant with firm peppery grip and spicy finish---Very Good to Excellent---$70
-2005 Hillside Select, Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon- 32 months in 100% new French Oak. Dense and full. Vanilla, green olive, cassis, currant, and cedar on the nose. Waves of cassis, cigar box, herbs, vanilla, cedar, and red berries that are elegant and silky. Firm white pepper tannins lead into a finish of berries and olive---Excellent to Stellar, but will move to "Stellar to Classic" as the red and black berry notes develop and the tannins further integrate with many years in the bottle---$215

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White Rock Vineyards

It was a short drive southeast into the Soda Canyon area off the Silverado Trail. Soda Canyon is not an official AVA, but like the hillsides of Stags Leap it features a slightly cooler climate than the valley floor. With a long history, the White Rock Vineyards were reclaimed by Henri Vandendriessche in 1977. Henri pointed us around his vineyards, planted to Bordeaux reds and Burgundian white- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, & Petite Verdot; along with two Dijon clones of Chardonnay. The vineyards have been farmed organically since the early 1980's.

The winery is totally underground, with an extensive cave where Henri also leases space to other small labels in Napa. One of the cooler things I've seen while touring wine caves, were the massive enclaves they carved out in the walls to age the bottled Bordeaux blends- totally unique. Henri and his family have been here for many years- low key in Soda Canyon, making just a few thousand cases each year of their classic Bordeaux style reds and Burgundian style whites. Henri's sons Michael and Christopher, are now winegrower and winemaker respectively. These are lean and European style wines by Napa standards- very enjoyable and well priced. This was a great stop-one of those cool "off the radar" places that are so much fun to visit.

-2007 Chardonnay, Napa Valley- Fermented in barrel w/natural yeast, 10% malo, 10 months on lees in 5% new French Oak. Lean. Peach, straw, and pear- vibrant apple and tropical fruit. Good balance and finish---very good---$30.
-2008 Reserve Chardonnay, Napa Valley- 50% malo. Richer color. Honey, peach, apple- balanced and lively- finishes long with butterscotch and pear---very good to excellent---price?
-2005 Claret, Napa Valley- 40% Cab Sauv, 35% Merlot, 14% Petite Verdot, 11% Cab Franc; 22 months in French Oak- 33% new. Caramel, dark berries, cigar box aromas descend into tart red berries, anise, herbs, and pepper through to the finish. Firm and balanced---very good---$36
-2004 Laureate, Napa Valley- 75% Cab Sauv, 20% Cab Franc, 3% Merlot, 2% Petite Verdot; 22 months in French Oak- 33% new. Lively color. Red fruit & boysenberry- fresh herbs, leather, and tobacco. Big tannins, integrated and long---very good to excellent---$50.

Next- more notes on the remainder of Day 1. Click the link for more photos of Napa day 1.

Tour of Napa Valley and Sonoma County Growing Areas- April 2010- Summary

Justin, Jon, and I enjoying some Seavey Cab

Sonoma Coast-Hirsch Vineyards, looking out to the Pacific

I’ve completed a 5 day tour of the major growing areas of Napa Valley and Sonoma County. In 5 days, I tasted wines from 24 different producers in diverse areas- from the Stags Leap district in Napa, to the mountaintops of the far Sonoma Coast overlooking the Pacific, to seemingly everywhere in between.

The itinerary was planned well in advance, with a few last minute changes. The plan was to taste and tour in as many of the Napa Valley and Sonoma County AVA’s as possible. All told, I visited Stags Leap, Soda Canyon (Napa Valley AVA), Oakville, Mt. Veeder, Rutherford, Spring Mountain, Calistoga, St. Helena, Conn Valley (Napa Valley AVA), and Carneros in the Napa Valley. In Sonoma, I visited the far Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Green Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill, and Sonoma Valley. With few exceptions, each of the wineries that were visited sampled at least a couple of wines made from grapes grown in their region of location. Ideally, this allows for some sense of terroir to come out of the trip.

I tasted Cabernet Sauvignon throughout the trip. The vintages varied, mostly from 2005’s to 2007’s, making it difficult to draw much of a first hand definitive conclusion about the vintages, especially the 2007’s. However, I think my notes in the days that follow will show a diverse range of styles in California Cabs currently on the market. Much of the Pinot Noir that I tasted was from the 2007 vintage, displaying a silky rich fruit profile and lots of oaky spice with varying degrees of earthiness. The Chardonnays were made in a myriad of styles from lean to rich and everything in between- most from the 2007 and 2008 vintage. There were some enjoyable Zinfandels on display throughout, as well as many other varietals. On balance, I thought the quality was very high across the board. This could be a reflection of my plans matching my tastes and interests, but I thought a consistency in character and balance was demonstrated throughout the trip- from more classically styles wines to the bigger, riper, more oak-laden wines.

Late April was a great time to visit. The vines were a few weeks past budbreak and were starting to show lots of green. You could see buds on the vine preparing for the upcoming flowering. At the same time, it was early enough in the season to get a good look at the trunks and the cordons, and to gain some insight on the different vineyard practices when it comes to training and trellising. It’s also a pretty relaxed time in wine country, so it was a good opportunity to meet a few proprietors and winemakers along the way. The weather was sunny and clear- in the mid 70’s everyday. With a wet winter and early spring, the landscape was nice and green.

Over the next week or two, I’ll post a day by day summary of the places visited and the wines tasted. There will be photos and links to more photos. If you’re a junkie for California wine, I hope you enjoy. Cheers!

Napa- part 1 photos

Okay, it's been a few days between posts. I've been traveling in the Napa and Sonoma wine country. The plan is to post full reports and tasting notes of my winery visits when I get back. In the meantime, here's a link to my Napa day 1 photos. More to come...

Finding The Sweet Spot

Clark Smith is a winemaker and consultant with a controversial specialization. He uses the reverse osmosis and micro-oxygenation techniques to change alcohol levels in his wines, and helps other winemakers put them into practice. The philosophy is coined Grapecraft; essentially using the most advanced and modern techniques to bring the wine into proper balance- or as stated on their website, "The practical art of connecting the human soul to the soul of a place by rendering its grapes into liquid music." He speaks of winemaking as a kinship to cooking, not merely to science.

The Grapecraft website gets into great detail on the philosophy and the techniques-I highly recommend checking the links to get more information. Certainly this is the other side of the coin from the natural wine argument. Grapecraft would argue that these methods are bringing wine into its most natural and balanced expression. Personally, I do think the goal to make wine in as natural a manner as possible is desirable and of interest. However I'm not an ideologue when it comes to this. Give me a good philosophical basis for the means to making wine, and I'm game.

Grapecraft produces wines under three primary labels- WineSmith, CheapSkate, and Penny Farthing. These wines are sourced from a variety of sites, and are priced at a variety of price points under $20. My friend and colleague, Justin, bought a sampler pack of the Penny Farthing Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007. The wine is sourced primarily from Lodi grapes, and is labeled at 13.5% alcohol by volume (AbV). This gives it an actual leeway of anywhere between 12% and 13.99%, as anything under 14% has a 1.5% wiggle room up to the 14% barrier. The sampler pack included 4 bottles of the Penny Farthing Cabernet starting with the unaltered version of the wine at 15.1% AbV, and 3 other versions altered with reverse osmosis at 14.2, 13.95, and 13.7 AbV's respectively. One of these wines has the "sweet spot", a term that Grapecraft uses to describe that magic AbV where the wine comes into balance.


Justin organized a gathering of wine-interested friends to blind taste the wines and assess the different qualities of each. The bottles were wrapped in aluminum foil and marked with letters A. B, C, or D. At the end of the tasting we all guessed which wine matched the mystery AbV, and named our sweet spot wine, before unveiling the identities of each bottle. Below are my notes and overall assessments for each wine-

Wine A-
Color/body assessment- medium to full body. violet-garnet color and a rich appearance with medium density.
Nose- subtle red fruit, black fruit, and pepper
Palate- red fruit, baking spice, and pepper. A little light across the palate before finishing with fading tannins.
Overall- A decent wine. It developed character in the glass but dropped off across the palate and on the finish. My least favorite of the 4- I guessed this as the 13.95% AbV.

Wine B-
Color/body assessment- medium bodied. a richer purple with garnet highlights. medium extraction in appearance.
Nose- a little muted at first, developed into similar red/black fruits and notes of pepper.
Palate- more defined fruit- currants & other berries, and a mixture of spices & cedar- full weight on the middle, showing good structure and a lingering finish with spicy & gripping tannins.
Overall- A nice classically styled wine with solid fruit, spice, balance, and structure. Opened up with air. Very solid for an under $20 Cabernet. My favorite of the 4- I guessed this as the 13.7 AbV.

Wine C-
Color/body assessment- appeared fullest in body. violet/purple with a dense appearance.
Nose- similar to A & B- peppery spice notes with a little more defined note of currant.
Palate- Red fruit and cassis, full and ripe on the middle palate and finishing with sweet & spicy tannins.
Overall- Drank almost like a Zinfandel with defined ripe red and dark fruits with a little sweetness and heat. I liked its opulence, it maintained structural integrity without going over the top... definitely came off as the "big" wine of the 4. My second favorite- I guessed this as the 15.1 AbV.

Wine D-
Color/body assessment- full body. violet and dense in appearance.
Nose- muted olive, light black fruit notes- opened up slightly with time.
Palate- red fruit, peppery spice notes, full through the middle palate. finished with light tannins.
Overall- This one had a little promise, but fell off on the end. It felt a little disjointed but had nice primary character. My #3 of the 4 wines- I guessed this at 14.2 AbV.

Overall, the wine had some similar characteristics at all 4 alcohol levels. Color, appearance, aromas, and primary flavors were all in the same ballpark- only minor variations. Where the wines really showed their differences was in their weight on the palate and overall structure. Wines A and D both dropped off toward the finish. Wine A had a hollow middle along with a very light finish. Wine D showed some weight across the palate, but again had a pretty non-descript finish. To me, these two wines were the most similar.

The consensus among the group was that Wines B and C were the best. Most went with Wine B- it showed great structure and style with very well developed flavors. It walked a nice line between finesse, power, and flavor. It appeared the lightest and had the most developed tannins along with the best balance- causing me to put it the low of the four in AbV. Wine C was the yang to wine A's yin. It was a big and full throttle red with ripe fruit and a bit of heat. It retained enough structure and balance to keep it enjoyable. These factors had me guessing it to be the 15.1.

The unveiling-

Oddly enough, after wrapping the bottles and moving them outside to the patio, the unveiling revealed them to be in the correct A-D order-

Wine A- 13.7% AbV
Wine B- 13.95% AbV
Wine C- 14.2% AbV
Wine D- 15.1% AbV

Alas, I didn't get any of the four exactly right. However I did have the two highest and two lowest grouped correctly. In retrospect, the results make a lot of sense. Wines A and D were the least balanced. Wine D was possibly taken out of balance by too high an alcohol level, the ethanol likely overpowering the tannins. Counter-intuitively, it didn't taste overpowering or overripe at 15.1%. On the other hand, Wine A could have lost balance due to the fruit lacking the body from the alcohol to allow the tannins to come through.

In my opinion, Wine C was near the sweet spot. The alcohol gave an edge to the fruit and only diminished the tannins very slightly. Wine B is where all the components came together in harmony, and the tannins and structure really shined through. This allowed the fruit to most fully express itself. The sweet spot was found at Wine B. Fittingly, Wines B & C were right in the middle of the range at 13.95 and 14.2 respectively.

Overall this was a fascinating exercise. I appreciate Justin's effort to secure the wines and organize the tasting. You can contact Winecraft about the tasting kit. It's a fun way learn about balance in wine, and a great wine tasting to organize with friends.