Elizabeth Spencer Wines, November 2, 2012

Winery - 6 / Wines - 7
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Quaint, cozy, brick tasting room.  Reds, whites, and rosé wines.
www.elizabethspencerwines.com

There are two things that I like about Elizabeth Spencer.  The first is the consistent quality to be found in all of their wines.  The second is the fact that their tasting room stays open a bit longer than most in Napa Valley – until 6:00 during the spring and summer.  Of course, like most places, if you haven’t started to enjoy your first pour by 5:30, you won’t be able to get started.  My wine-tasting buddy first recommended Elizabeth Spencer to me just over a year ago as a new place to check out.  He adores their wines, and I appreciate that they bottle their wonderful Napa Valley Cabernet in half bottles.  This time, my friend felt compelled to join their wine club.
 

The charming entrance to Elizabeth Spencer

The Elizabeth Spencer tasting room is tiny, but don’t let that stop you from visiting.  They have an ample patio where they usually pour their wines.  If you choose to taste inside, you can hang around the U-shaped tasting counter and admire the brickwork, the woodwork, and the wine rack that lines one complete wall of the room, with all the wine bottle capsules neatly arranged in a tidy grid.  Although the main source of natural light faces north, the tasting room does get a good dose of light from the windows and French-door that make up the wall.  These folks really have made the best of a small situation, creating an environment that feels more cozy and intimate than cramped.  Of course, nothing beats the curb-appeal of this place – the brick exterior just sings charm as you walk up to the door.

The Elizabeth Spencer tasting room.

The tasting menu varies with each visit, depending upon which wines have recently been released.  They will offer you more than four pours, so be sure to count what you are poured if you will be driving afterwards.  (If you’ll be heading across the street to the Rutherford Grill afterwards, enjoy it all and sober up over some food.)  On my visit, they poured a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, the Knights Valley Merlot, and the Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.  I enjoyed every wine, but the Mount Veeder Cabernet was my favorite.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 6 and the wines offered as a 7.  This is consistent with my previous visits.