Head for the mountains of Napa Valley

To find classically styled wines and a more down-to-earth side of Napa Valley, just look to the mountains. The hairpin roads up and down Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain, and Howell Mountains on a bright and sunny late April day were filled with twists and turns - leading to great wines, history, and personality.

Mayacamas Vineyards certainly provided all of the above. It also ended up being a sentimental time to visit the historic vineyard and winery on Mt. Veeder, as the sale to Charles Banks/Terroir Capital was announced early the following week. Bob Travers and family owned Mayacamas through the previous 45 years and brought the property, a vineyard dating back to the 1880's, to international prominence through its involvement in the 1976 Judgment of Paris and the famed evolution of its wines since. Taking an at-times uncommercial path in its style, Mayacamas became known internationally for extremely long-lived mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay that stayed true to their style, despite popular trends.

The very old press at Mayacamas

In touring the winery, it was striking to see the oldness of the place. From the old continuous screw press, to the built-in concrete fermenter, to the large oak tanks, to the musky cellars - not something you see everyday in Napa Valley. Neither were the 50+ year old Cabernet Sauvignon vines. All of this will surely see a makeover with the new ownership and incoming winemaking/vineyard team of Andy Erickson and Annie Favia. Nostalgia aside, appearances suggest that the makeover is probably coming at the appropriate time. I do hope that large oak tanks will still be used to age the Cabernet Sauvignon before it goes into small barrels - something the winery has traditionally done. I'm guessing this is a key factor to the Mayacamas style.

The cave at Mayacamas

Old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon at Mayacamas

We tasted a pair of Chardonnays from the 2010 and 2006 vintage. Both were impressive in their brightness and complexity. The Chardonnay is fermented in a built-in concrete fermenter and goes to barrel without malolactic fermentation. The 2006 Mayacamas Chardonnay, Mt Veeder, Napa Valley was reveling in its advanced earth and spice notes, complementing the stone and citrus fruit and filling out a big toasty structure. Great Chardonnay and even more amazing to consider the release price of $30. The 2007 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt Veeder, Napa Valley was showing big earthy brambly structure along with juicy black cherry, currant, leather, mineral and anise. Definitely one for a later date, but a fun glimpse into its future.

Smith Madrone Vineyard- Cook's Flat blocks top-center

My third trip up Spring Mountain to Smith Madrone Vineyards was a great chance to show my friends Justin and Jon what makes brothers Charles and Stu Smith's winery and vineyards so special. There's quite a bit of history here too, with the Smiths founding the winery and vineyards in 1971 high atop Spring Mountain on an old vineyard site. There they dry-farm their Bordeaux varietals, Chardonnay, and Riesling. This is always a fun visit - Charles and Stu are colorful characters, the winery is quaint and rustic, and the views of the valley floor from the vineyard are amazing.

Justin sharing his crazy viticulture ideas with Stu Smtih

A lunch and tasting with the Smiths

Charles Smith teaching me about political cartoonist, Bill Mauldin

We tasted the current releases. The 2010 Smith Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley was showing nice slate and citrus, balanced and rich, with silky spice depth. The 2007 Cabs were especially impressive. The 2007 Smith Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley was especially notable for its rich silky structure showing notes of black tea, olive, blackcurrant, cassis and vanilla - along with firm tannins and plenty of depth on the finish. This has the structure of past vintages, with nice accessibility as a new release. The 2007 Smith Madrone Cook's Flat Reserve was produced to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the winery. 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc, it comes from select blocks in the vineyard and is aged in new French barriques (The estate Cab is aged in American oak). This shows similar flavors to the estate cab, with added depth and structure. Very polished and balanced, and very Bordeaux-like. It's a much higher price point than the estate Cab, but definitely a special wine.

Carole explaining the view at Lagier Meredith

Back on Mount Veeder, the Lagier Meredith Vineyard sits high atop an epic driveway through the trees. Stephen Lagier & Carole Meredith developed vineyards on the property after purchasing in 1986. Stephen was making wine at Robert Mondavi and Carole was a professor of viticulture and enology at Cal-Davis. They grow primarily Syrah, along with Mondeuse, Malbec and Zinfandel. The 4.5 acre east-facing vineyard sits at about 1300 feet on fractured shale and sandstone soils. Justin, Jon and I sat with Carole and Stephen and enjoyed a beautiful bright and rich 2012 Rosé, along with their 2010 Lagier Meredith Syrah, Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley- which was showing nice peppercorn, black olive, floral and currant notes with added layers of flavor on the palate, along with a deep elegant and silky structure. Also of note were Carole's delicious Niçoise cured olives grown on the property.

Last was an ill-fated trip up Howell Mountain. Scheduling difficulties and St Helena traffic had gotten me behind schedule. We were late to Black Sears Vineyard & Winery, and our host Chris had to head out. He left us the 2011 Black Sears estate Zinfandel to taste, but it was corked. Their wines sell out quickly - the 2010 Zin is gone and the 2011 won't even be released for another year. Luck ran out on the day, but it's a beautiful vineyard to get a chance to visit with or without the wine. 

Zinfandel at Black Sears

More to come from late April 2013 in Napa Valley. For full tasting notes on the wines tasted on this day, click the link.