From Boonfly to Buster's- Napa Valley day two

The second day of Napa Valley April 2013 began much differently than the first. Rather than the twists and turns of a mountain road, we rolled into a Napa industrial park to taste the wines of Buccella before heading up the valley. Each visit very different from the last.

Jon contemplating a non-sequitur

Founded in 2002, Buccella highlights the sleek and luxurious side of Napa Valley. Its wines blend fruit from vineyards in the southerly AVA’s, highlighting the cooler Yountville and Coombsville regions. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, these are in barrel for 20 months in new French oak. The winemaker is Rebekah Wineburg, with consulting by Celia Welch. We tasted the three 2010 releases with Rebekah – all noteworthy for their overall boldness and richness, and underscored by a velvety feel of pure luxury on the palate.

Justin & Jon with Rebekah Wineburg in the winery at Buccella

The 2010 Buccella Merlot, Napa Valley comes primarily from Hyde Vineyard fruit and includes 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. The notes were leathery-floral black cherry, adding a mélange of spice, coffee and tea depth on the palate. This was remarkably silky and seamlessly layered with polished tannins, along with beautiful weight, feel, and depth. The 2010 Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 86% Cab with the balance a blend of the remaining Bordeaux varietals. This showed similarly seamless layers of polish and bold elegance, adding in more densely packed savory notes of graphite, vanilla bean, roasted espresso, and black olive – along with red currant and cherry fruit – a strikingly beautiful young wine. Last, the 2010 Buccella Cuvée Katrina Eileen is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with a bigger denser structure set apart by mineral, floral and darker fruit notes, on top of cedar and savory spice notes. A little bigger and broader tannins on this wine, along with consistent elegance and polish. The wines of Buccella are unmistakably modern and decadent, while showing great elegance and beauty.

At Rutherford Grove Winery (photo by Justin)

Rutherford Grove lies along the busy Highway 29 corridor heading up into St. Helena. The winery and its ownership, the Pestoni family, have a long history in Napa Valley. It’s an interesting place, in that judging by the looks of its facility and packaging I might have thought the production was much larger and more widely distributed than it is - it has the look of a bigger brand. In reality it’s only about a 5000 case production, spread across several bottlings and sold primarily out of the tasting room. All of the wines are estate-grown, coming from 60 acres of vineyards spread through the Rutherford, St. Helena, Howell Mountain, and Lake County AVA’s. Interestingly, there’s also a huge Pestoni-owned composting facility behind the winery.

At Rutherford Grove

The lineup of wines ranged from Sauvignon Blanc, Sangiovese, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah – then on to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. My highlights included the 2011 Rutherford Grove Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, Rutherford - from the Musque clone, showing a grassy kiwi profile with nice and bright mineral/slate high tones. The 2008 Rutherford Grove Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Rutherford showed nice cedar and earth notes throughout with savory dark fruit draped in tobacco leaf and leathery depth on the palate, along with nice supple tannins- really good as a young drinking Rutherford Cab with nice flavors, balance & depth, and a good price. I also really liked the 2007 Rutherford Grove Petite Sirah Spring Creek Vineyard, Napa Valley, St. Helena for its big wild dark fruit and integrated savory depth, along a large structure- very nice.

Tucked away in the Diamond Mountain district near Calistoga, Von Strasser Winery was founded in 1990. In 1985 Rudy Von Strasser became the first American to intern at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, moving on to stints at Trefethen and Newton prior to launching Von Strasser. The winery is located on a historic winery property, part of which was parceled off to become the Diamond Creek vineyards. Von Strasser ended up modernizing the facility and digging caves into the hillside.

At Von Strasser, Diamond Mountain

The Von Strasser wines are primarily single vineyard Diamond Mountain Cabernet. Stylistically these bridged a gap between the brawny fruit and firm structure you might find on Spring Mountain, and the rich polished wines of the valley floor. Throughout the lineup I really liked the dynamic of elegant and subtle flavors with rich fruit over deceptively powerful structures. We tasted four single vineyard wines from the 2009 vintage – all of which I thought were outstanding.

Choosing a top 2- the 2009 Von Strasser Cabernet Sauvignon Post Vineyard, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain showed aromas of vanilla, clove, blackcurrant and red-floral with a complex palate – mineral, juicy cherry, violet, with subtle savory depth – well-integrated with fine polished tannins and a big juicy finish. The 2009 Von Strasser Cabernet Sauvignon Sori Bricco Vineyard, Napa Valley ,Diamond Mountain showed nice lightly sweet aromas of vanilla, anise, spice, cassis and butterscotch. The palate was richly opulent, yet elegant, with notes of blackcurrant, mineral, floral, subtle spice and earthy depth. It finished big with silky-firm tannins. Luxurious and layered- excellent.

View of Kronos Vineyard

Last stop was a refresher visit to Corison Winery. I visited Corison in July 2012 and tasted a very nice assortment of Cathy Corison’s Napa Valley and Kronos Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons (new and library releases). This time around I wanted to show my travel companions the wines, so we visited and tasted through a similarly special lineup. Click the link for my 2012 comments on visiting the winery.

"Fly is Open!"- Thanks to tasting room staff at Corison!

Stay tuned for thoughts on the rest of the April 2013 trip. We spent the rest of the weekend in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Click here for a full list of tasting notes on Buccella, Rutherford Grove, Von Strasser and Corison.  

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.

A Saturday in Napa Valley in pictures and tasting notes

Last weekend I got away from the Central Coast for a couple of days, visiting Napa Valley and the Russian River Valley area in Sonoma Co. 

Saturday found me in Napa Valley tasting wine with Charles Smith at Smith Madrone in the Spring Mountain AVA; at Corison Winery hosted by Hardy Wallace; and then on to the Envy Winery tasting room in Calistoga to taste new releases from Mike Smith's Myriad Cellars as well as several of his Carter Cellars 2010 reds.

Smith Madrone

It was a nice mix of old-school Napa wines at Smith Madrone and Corison (no reds newer than 2006 tasted in either), and silky and voluptuous modern Cabernet from the Mike Smith wines (mostly 2010's). I enjoyed all three stops- very different experiences and wines that really showcased the diversity and personal experience that can be found in Napa Valley if you dig beneath the surface.

Smith Madrone is completely old school mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with burly brawny savory flavors, black fruit and massive structure. Their Chardonnay is structured as well with green stone fruit and acid along with brisk spice. The Riesling is a beautiful thing as well. It's an old winery structure with a workshop-like tasting area in the winery, surrounded by their mountain-top vineyards set among century-old olive trees.

At Corison you taste in the cellar and walk out into the Kronos estate vineyard, a phylloxera-surviving vineyard predating the massive replantings of Napa Cab in the early 90's (40+ year old vines). The Cabs are ageworthy, balanced and elegant.

Corison Kronos Vineyard- St. Helena

Old-Vine Cab at Kronos

The Mike Smith wines of Myriad and Carter are of the modern variety, showing balanced and integrated flavors set among creamy silky structures. The best of which showed emerging savory notes that should fill out with the fruit in time.

Tasting Myriad and Carter (Carter in half-bottles)

Below are my favorite wines from the day (click the link for price and tech info)-

Smith Madrone 2009 Chardonnay Estate Bottled, Napa Valley- Spring Mountain-

Melon, tropical with light floral, lees and toast accents. Crisp and lively on the palate with good balance and rich depth along a flourishing finish. Very good.

Smith Madrone 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled, Napa Valley- Spring Mountain-

The bouquet is stacked like bricks and mortar- cassis, slate, plum, lavender and cherry. On the palate the savory leathery cedar shows around tight fruit. Firm round tannin and touches of mineral on the finish. The stuffing is there. Good length. Enjoyed tasting but won't touch this for some time.

Smith Madrone 2011 Riesling Estate Bottled, Napa Valley- Spring Mountain-

Aromas of kiwi, orange, slate and white flowers. Crisp and brisk palate, well balanced with bright fruit and depth. Long finish. Excellent.

Corison 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-

Big aromas of cassis, plum, blueberry, vanilla, cedar and olive. Black currant and cassis on the palate with rocky mineral and blue floral accents. Just traces of oak. Elegant feel and weight. Fine/firm tannin and a full finish filled with floral fruit and dried herb notes. Excellent.

Corison 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 

Cedar & leather, cassis, kirsch, licorice and blueberry nose- nice complexity. The palate begins with melted mineral notes ushering in blueberry and black cherry. Tea leaf, black olive and cedar depth. Layered and balanced and complex. Fine tannins holding firm, with a layered full finish. Outstanding.

Corison 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Kronos Vineyard, Napa Valley- 

Aromas of cassis, leather, violet and blueberry. Begins with high-toned blue fruit and moves to black cherry, tea, olive and cedar. Medium weight and polished on the palate. Fine tannins and a full finish. Excellent. 

Myriad 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 

A bit tight on the nose at first, it comes on with graphite, cassis and tobacco leaf. Layered flavors on the palate- creme de cassis, tea, leather, tobacco, blueberry, blackberry and spice. Full bodied and velvety in feel and tannin. Full finish with notes of red fruit. Very nice.

Myriad 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Dr. Crane Vineyard, Napa Valley- St. Helena-

Aromas of tobacco leaf, cedar, spice, cassis and black currant. Pretty notes of mint, clove, red currant and mineral on the palate. Integrated oak. Velvety and polished. Tannins are firm. Spice, melted rock and red fruit on the finish. Good depth and length. Excellent.

Carter Cellars 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard The O.G.- Oakville-

Subtle nose of tea, clove, red currant and anise. Layered primary anise, spice, cola and plum on the palate with ashy earth, cocoa, vanilla and espresso depth. Concentrated and gliding through the palate with silky fine tannin, firm with rock and red fruit on a long finish. Very nice.

2011- Sans Blog

Damn... what happened? The last time I posted the blog was called "Wineheimer" and it was September of 2010. It's been crazy busy since then with a wine sales job taking most of my time and energy.

2012 will bring a new location and hopefully the time and energy to post again. I'm relocating to Santa Barbara CA, and hopefully will be posting wine blogs in the new location from a new perspective. I'm no longer in the wine business, so I feel comfortable relaunching the blog from the perspective of a wine enthusiast and overall superfan!

In the meantime I'm posting a photo recap of my highlights of 2011.  The links below are photos from my vineyard travels of 2011... Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, Monterey, Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley, Columbia Valley. If you like vineyard pictures ad nauseum you'll want to check these out.

SANTA BARBARA 2011

PASO ROBLES 2011

MONTEREY, SAN BENITO, SANTA CRUZ

NAPA VALLEY

SONOMA COUNTY

MORE NAPA VALLEY

WILLAMETTE VALLEY 1

WILLAMETTE VALLEY 2

WALLA WALLA VALLEY

CHATEAU CHAMPOUX (please note that my team won the grape stomping championship!) and RED MOUNTAIN

Day 3- Napa Valley-north

4/24/2010

Robert Keenan Winery

Saturday we headed back into Napa Valley, this time covering areas north of Rutherford. Starting on Spring Mountain at Robert Keenan, all of the stops were potential highlights. Back in the 1970's Keenan restored the winery and vineyards, which had originally been cultivated before prohibition. Now they regularly churn out acclaimed wines under the guidance of consulting winemaker Nils Venge, who in 1985 became the first American winemaker to receive a perfect score from Robert Parker for his 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Keenan is known for big, briary Cabernet and Merlot with restrained and elegant fruit.

The mountain cabin-esque winery is perched on the slopes of Spring Mountain, overlooking the vineyards and the valley farther below. The tasting bar and table overlooks the barrels, under cathedral wood ceilings. A cool setting befitting the mountain location. We were served a great assortment of cheeses along with the wines. Very nice, but casual at the same time. Overall the wines were very enjoyable, a nice way to start the day.

The Wines-
-2007 Chardonnay, Spring Mountain- 80% Barrel fermented in French & American oak, weekly lees stirring, and no malo. Butterscotch, pear, and peach with light caramel and subtle fruit. Light mineral notes- balanced and nice---very good---$29.

-2006 Merlot, Napa Valley- 97% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. A blend of Spring Mountain and Carneros fruit. Aged 18 months in 33% new French and American oak. Boysenberry and black cherry greets the nose- lean and rich black fruit with firm tannins and earthy herbal and coffee notes---very good---$36.

-2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain- 86% Spring Mountain, 14% Pope Valley fruit. 20 months in 33% new French & American oak. Fig and red berries usher in black & red fruit, light spice, and pepper notes. Lean and firm with a peppery finish---very good with excellent potential---$45.

-2006 Zinfandel, Napa Valley- 70% estate. A Napa Valley blend with aging in French and American oak. Gamey black raspberry & blueberry with spice and pepper. Lean with light creamy tannins---very good---$34.

-2006 Mernet Reserve, Spring Mountain- 50% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc. Black pepper, violet, and black fruit with spice and creamy tannins. Long with earth and spice notes---excellent---$96.

-2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain- 100% estate, no aging info given. Dense extraction. Earthy and pungent black raspberry notes- elegant on the palate with dried herbs and allspice along with dark fruits and creme de menthe laced tannins that linger---excellent with stellar potential---$96.

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Storybook Mountain Vineyards


Storybook Mountain north of Calistoga is the Zin-haven of Jerry Seps- the pioneer of ultra-premium Zinfandel in Northern Napa Valley over the last 30 years. Our tour started in the redwoods around the winery and lead up into the vineyards, where we saw Mr. Seps working the organic vineyards. The expanse of east-facing hillside vineyards like an offering for Mt. St. Helena in the distance . We tasted the wines deep in the aging caves. Along with another group we ran across, the tasting turned out to be more like a cocktail party. All was good though, we met Fritz Stuhlmuller from Stuhlmuller Vineyards- a great dude who set us up on some good stuff for the following day. The visit to Storybook was a lot of fun- great surroundings, cool caves, and fantastic wine.


The Wines-

-2009 Estate Zin Gris, Napa Valley- Barrel fermented, Zinfandel rosé. Cherry blossom and strawberry- fresh and crisp---very good---$19.

-2007 Mayacamus Range Estate Zinfandel, Napa Valley- Vanilla, nutmeg, and blackberries along with mint, spice rack, and cigar box notes. Supple tannins with lingering spice- elegant---excellent---$34.

-2006 Anteaus Estate, Napa Valley- Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Merlot. Non-inoculated fermentation, French oak aged. Black currant, fig, tobacco with cigar box, cassis, and spice. Long with silky tannins---very good to excellent---$40.

-2006 Seps Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- Smoky pipe tobacco, herbs, figs, and currants. Rich & bold fruit, fine balance, light and silky tannins with a white peppery finish---excellent---$65. -2006 Estate Reserve Zinfandel, Napa Valley- Gamey, black cherry, blackberry, coffee, black tea, a gamut of spices and more fruit. Silky and wrapped in clove-laced tannins with layers of flavors throughout---excellent to stellar---$55.

-The 2008 Seps Estate Zinfandel was really nice as well***

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Joseph Phelps Vineyards


After all that Zin, we needed to refuel with some killer beef tri-tip at Buster's Southern Barbecue in Calistoga. With the mission accomplished, it was off to Joseph Phelps for a quick terrace tasting. The plan here was to taste Insignia, completing a trifecta with Hillside Select, Monte Bello of classic California Cabernet tasted on the trip. Instead of their formal tastings, we tasted outside on the terrace patio- a great setup. You can taste and relax at your own pace- overlooking the vineyards and soaking up the scenery. Overall the wines leading up to Insignia were good quality, albeit a little overpriced and non-distinctive. The 2006 Insignia was excellent as expected.

The Wines-

-2006 Freestone "Ovation" Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast- 15 months in French oak, 60% new. Buttered popcorn on the nose with pear, candied apple, and butterscotch. Balanced with good acid. Not overly buttery. Finishes with the oaky vanilla---very good---$45.

-2007 Viognier, Napa Valley- Stainless steel fermented with 10 months in French oak. Partial malo. Meyer lemon, yellow apple, and floral notes with tart lime on the palate. Tart with good balance---very good---$50.

-2006 Freestone Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast- 100% estate grown with 15 month in 65% new French oak. Black and red cherries, red curry, and tea. Silky notes of cherry and spice on the palate. Nice, but a little loose in structure---good---$55.

-2006 Merlot, Napa Valley- Aged 18 months in 40% new French oak. Smoked black fruit on the nose turns fleshy and tart on the palate. Spicy tannins and fine structure---very good---$40.

-2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 2% Petite Verdot, and 2% Malbec. Aged 19 months in 50% new French and American oak. Tight cherry, basil, and mint notes- silky red fruit with spice rack. Steady tannins finishing with mint and leather---very good---$54.

-2006 Insignia, Napa Valley- 24 months in 100% new French oak. Fully extracted. Dusty spices, leather, cigar box, and berries with currants, anise, and herbs. Firm and finishing long with herbs & spice and red fruit---excellent---$200.

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Seavey Vineyard


We wound our way down Conn Valley Road- a short little departure from the valley floor that really feels far off the beaten path- finally arriving at Seavey. Seavey is essentially an old dairy farm in Conn Valley, restored into a winery and vineyards in 1981 by William Seavey. The winery is an old stone building overlooking what remains of the dairy farm. The vineyards are off in the distance on gentle low mountain slopes and across the pasture toward Lake Hennessey and Pritchard Hill. The vineyards are sustainable farmed and the winery is solar powered. All wines are 100% estate grown. The winemaking is overseen by consulting winemaking superstar Philippe Melka.

Oddly enough, we ran across the same group we saw at Storybook Mountain and had the pleasure to ride their coattails and taste some 1997 Cab. It was a lot of fun, and the wine was unbelievable... the best of the trip.


The Wines-

-2007 Merlot, Napa Valley- 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 18 months in 50% new French oak. Tobacco, black fruit, and tea with black pepper, coffee, black raspberry, and currants. Firm and gripping lingering mocha notes---excellent---$45.

-2007 Caravina Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with 19 months in 40% new French oak. Coffee, raspberry, and tea with oak and cedar notes. Waves of vanilla, mocha, black fruits, leather, and cigar box. Firm and gripping with a long deep finish---excellent---$55.

-2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Verdot. 19 months in 50% new French oak. Extracted. Vanilla, tobacco, and peppery black fruit aromas. Silky on the palate with vanilla, cracked pepper laced black fruit, and nutmeg. Clove wrapped tannins that are firm but supple. Very lengthy finish with fruit, spice, and pepper---stellar with classic potential---$105.

-1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley- 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petite Verdot. 18 months in 40% new French oak. Extracted. On the nose I got barnyard, meaty, gamey, coffee, currant, fig, and cassis notes-profound. On the palate it was creamy notes of vanilla, nutmeg, and cloves with loads of baking spice and cracked pepper. The tannins are lush with fruit and spice- very long. This could make you cry tears of joy!---classic---$205.

-2008 Chardonnay, Napa Valley- Whole cluster pressed and fermented using indigenous and inoculated yeast, barrel fermented in 33% new French oak. Green apple, blue cheese, and yeast with more rich cheese notes, red apple, and citrus. Interesting, excellent balance. Mineral notes and good acidity finishing long---excellent---$40.

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We had planned to taste at Cade on Howell Mountain, but didn't make it before they closed. We did get some cool pictures though. Dinner was at Girl And The Fig in Sonoma- steak tartar appetizer with a grilled salmon- it totally lived up the hype. Day 3 was an amazing day! Click the link for day 3 pictures.

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.