February 27, 2012 – Wine: Two 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons

While dining with coworkers, I had an opportunity to taste two wonderful wines side-by-side.  Both wines were poured directly into the glass without decanting (in a restaurant, this is not uncommon) and allowed to breathe there.

2006 Saint Clement Oroppas (Bordeaux blend)

This wine affords a more complete palette experience, with flavors covering every square centimeter of the tongue.  The red fruit flavors are delivered with more intensity and persistence than the Provenance wine.  The nose is beautiful as well.  The finish features some of the dark notes common with this vintage.

2006 Provenance Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard

This vineyard is famed for producing some of Napa’s most famous Cabernets.  This wine was my favorite of the two.  While the tannins in the Provenance were much softer, the red fruit flavors were focused and pure, primarily cranberry, black cherry, and currant.  There was only a trace of the 2006 vintage signature dark flavors.  This wine hits the palette with a remarkable richness and elegance which made it my clear favorite of the dinner.  Both wines were truly remarkable, but the Provenance wine appealed to me in a special way.

Provenance Vineyards, February 8th, 2012

Winery - 7 / Wines - 7
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Large tasting room with flooring recovered from used wine barrels.  Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
www.provenancevineyards.com

I first visited Provenance Winery back in August of 2005.  The following November, I joined their wine club.  I have been hooked on Provenance ever since.  Even as I struggled with having too many bottles in my cellar and cutting back on my wine clubs, the Provenance wine club was just not one of the ones I could let go.  Why?  I enjoy the tasting room, the wines are delicious and elegant, and the quality of their top wines exceeds that of other wines that sell for much more.  I will admit that I am biased toward this place.  I tell folks it is my favorite winery in Napa Valley.

Traveling north on the main highway in Rutherford, just past the historic Beaulieu Vineyards, you will find a large red warehouse on the left that is Provenance Vineyards.  The tasting room inside is an ample space with high ceilings.  There is plenty of room to enjoy a tasting of their wines - there can be a crowd of 15 people in there but only the noise level would give that away.  The tasting room floor is a fascinating work – it was constructed from the staves of old wine barrels, some bearing the marks of the winemaker Tom Rinaldi.  A large, semi-circular tasting bar occupies the center of the space, while an intimate sitting area lies off in the corner looking out a window to the vineyards.  Behind the tasting bar, large windows provide a view into the winery operations part of the warehouse. 

Several times a year the winery will host special events on the weekends, pairing interesting foods with their wines or previewing their next releases directly from the barrel.  And often, towards the end of the workday, the wine maker will hang out in the tasting room to gauge people’s opinion of the wines.  It can be a great opportunity to learn a little something about winemaking, too.

Provenance always has a number of wines available on their tasting menu.  Depending upon what interests you, you can choose from different flights of wines to taste.  As a club member, I have access to the entire menu – picking just a few can be a challenge.  I tasted the 2007 Carneros Merlot, the 2008 Barrel-Select Rutherford Cabernet, the 2008 St. Helena Cabernet, and the 2007 Hewitt Cabernet.  The Hewitt is usually part of the winery’s more expensive flight, but is accessible to club members.  The wines all feature an elegant, well-balanced style with ample complexity and delicious fruit.  The Hewitt is by far my favorite wine of Napa Valley (when factoring in price).

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 7 and the wines offered as a 7.  This has been consistent as long as I have been visiting Provenance Vineyards.

February 21, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Domain Chandon Pinot Noir Russian River La Riviere

I remember tasting this wine at the winery three years ago.  It was a rich Pinot Noir delivering red cherry and strawberry flavors with good structure (a cab-drinker’s Pinot).  When I opened the bottle tonight, I allowed the wine to breathe in the decanter for an hour and a half before drinking it.  The fruit flavors had darkened (and muted some) since I first tasted it, the body had lightened up slightly and had achieved a near-perfect balance.  There was classic Pinot Noir minerality and a finish that lasted beyond 30 seconds.  Overall, this is very nice wine.  About 45 minutes later, the nose opened up, as did the fruit, amping up the wow factor, while still maintaining its balance.  I have one more bottle and I’ll open it after another two years in the cellar.

February 20, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Pahlmeyer Red

This afternoon I needed a good friend’s internet expertise to help me connect my blog to the active reading public.  The compensation for this near-selfless act was a half-bottle of 2005 Pahlmeyer Red Wine, which I purchased solely based upon Robert Parker’s 96 point score.  The wine offers a slightly restrained nose dominated by red fruits.  On the palette, the wine offers very precise primary flavors of classic cabernet sauvignon red fruits (currant, cherry, etc.).  The texture was very elegant.  We were both quite pleased with this cellar selection.  I had to visit the wine shop later in the day for other business, so I picked up a replacement bottle while it is still available.

Blog verification: ABTH6VQ8NUXU

This entry should server to verify that I am the publisher of this blog.  ABTH6VQ8NUXU

February 18, 2012 – Dinner Party with Wine

For a friend’s "milestone" birthday party, I offered to supply some wine.  Most of it was from my cellar, but there were a couple of “fresher” bottles that I picked up as well.  I was able to get at least about 3 ounces of each (except for 1 I only tasted), and a few I enjoyed a full glass.  Here are the wines:

2006 St. Clement Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley:  complex, nice red fruit and classic ’06 flavors
2006 Provenance Merlot Napa Valley:  smooth as silk, nice red fruit (at its peak)
2007 Estancia Meritage Paso Robles: really soft cab-blend, good fruits, may be dormant now
2007 Bell Cellars Claret: complex, classic ’07 flavors, good balance (last bottle at store)
2007 Sean Minor Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley: the least expensive of the bunch, but a very nice cab, a little intensity on the mid-palette
2006 C. G. Di Arie Zinfandel Amador County: this is a rich, wonderfully balanced Zinfandel that delivers great fruit and structure, and a touch of elegance (my favorite tonight)

Tamber Bey Vineyards, February 8th, 2012

Winery - 7 / Wines - 6
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Sunny outdoor tasting patio for dry weather visits.  Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.
www.tamberbey.com

Tasting room relocated to Calistoga
(check out the web site above)

My third stop was to the tasting room of Tamber Bey Vineyards in St. Helena.  If you are already planning to explore downtown St. Helena, then you are steps away from the Tamber Bey tasting room.  Anyone with an affinity for horses and cabernet should consider planning a visit here.  There are no winery operations here, just wines.  The winery is located just north of Yountville off the main road and is not open to the general public.

From the outside, the tasting room presents a humble adobe façade bathed in neutral colors.  Inside is another story.  A large, open, and well-lit tasting room offers sit down tasting at a spacious counter or in a cozy living room setting in front of a faux fireplace.  Horse lovers will appreciate the décor, which suggests the inside of a Beverly Hills stable – very elegant and spotless.  Colors are all neutral, allowing the natural copper and wood tones to grab your focus.  A painting of three horses that appears on one of their wine’s labels is prominently displayed on the wall of the living area.  A westward facing window floods the tasting room with natural light in the afternoon.

The tasting room offers two wine-tasting experiences.  I chose the simpler flight of three wines.  The wines offered include a Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, and a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville.  The wines were all well balanced, with good weight, nice fruit and complexity.  The wines are young and begging for a couple of years of aging.  My favorite was the Rabiconao Bordeaux-style blend.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 7 and the wines offered as a 6. 

February 14, 2012 - Wine: 2004 Franciscan Magnificat

Tonight I opened a half bottle (375ml) of 2004 Franciscan Magnificat.  As soon as it was out of the bottle, a delicious bouquet of fruit wafted from the decanter.  I left the wine in the decanter for an hour before trying it.  By then the nose had subdued.  On the palette, the wine had primary flavors of minerals and leather, with secondary flavors of dark fruits.  Good complexity and balance, some intensity on the mid-palette, and a finish that persisted for 30 seconds.  It seems the fruit in this wine is starting to shut down.  I’ll give the next bottle a year before trying it again.

My family and I differ on our perspectives about decanting.  My sister wants to experience the wine as it evolves.  I want to start drinking it once it has entered its relaxed state after opening.  When you only have a half-bottle to enjoy, I feel that the extra wait is worth the reward.

Honig Vineyard & Winery, February 8th, 2012

Winery - 7 / Wines - 6
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Sunny outdoor tasting patio for dry weather visits.  Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
http://www.honigwine.com/

My second stop of the day was at Honig Vineyard & Winery.  I had tasted their wines in earlier vintages and was eager to experience their tasting room.  The winery is tucked in a bit from the road, but the entrance is well marked with a handsome, permanent sign.  From the outside, this winery appears more rustic than some others, but that is due in large part to the tall landscaping surrounding the tasting patio.  Once inside the patio, this winery’s grace and elegance shine.  For those days with less welcoming weather, a nicely appointed tasting room awaits. 

Inside the tasting room are a sit-down table and a cozy sofa area for tasting, as well as a stand-up tasting counter where you can admire the neatly stacked bottles of wine against the wall.  The room is decorated in three rich colors: chocolate, milk, and caramel (on the beautiful hardwood floors).  From the tasting room, you look out onto the patio through large glass doors.  The patio is nicely furnished with wrought-iron chairs and umbrella-topped tables.  Surrounded by greenery, the patio is the ideal place to relax and enjoy the wines offered (weather permitting).

On the tasting menu you’ll find a Sauvignon Blanc, a Cabernet Sauvignon blended from multiple Napa Valley vineyards, a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from an earlier vintage, and a late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc dessert wine.  I skipped the dessert wine for many reasons (mostly time), but I enjoyed the balance of the wines overall, the extra intensity of the Napa Valley cabernet, and the elegance of the older single-vineyard cabernet.  The wines all deliver on fruit and complexity, without over delivering.  The Napa Valley Cabernet Blend could benefit from a couple of years of aging.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 7 and the wines offered as a 6. 

February 10, 2012 - Wine: 2004 Rubicon Estate Red

Tonight I opened a half bottle (375ml) of 2004 Rubicon Estate Red.  As soon as the cork was out of the bottle, the wine gave forth a beautiful nose full of rich, dark fruits.  I let the wine decant for about 90 minutes before drinking it.  On the palette, the wine is rich, loaded with fruits but nicely layered with secondary flavors, and ends with a persistent finish that lasts for nearly a minute.  While the wine is delicious today, the balance is a little off and the wine is still edgy, so I will hold off for two more years before popping a second bottle.

Most of my wine collection is in half bottles.  This allows me to enjoy more quality at the expense of quantity.  For me, I prefer this trade-off as it allows me to enjoy a wonderful glass of wine during the week and awaken fully functioning the next day.  This bottle format fits my lifestyle to a tee: decadent without excess.

Caymus Vineyards, February 8th, 2012

Winery - 6 / Wines - 6  (at the tasting counter)
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Comfortable, casual tasting room with an emphasis on simple elegance.  Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
http://www.caymus.com/

My first (successful) stop of the day was at Caymus Vineyards. Having already been frustrated by so many unavailable wineries that day, I wanted a “sure thing”.   Since I had already spent a good deal of time driving, I wanted something nearby.  Being the next winery down the road fit the bill.  And being familiar with the quality of wines produced there, I knew I had an enjoyable tasting ahead of me.

As you drive into the parking lot of the winery, you notice a sort of simple elegance.  The parking area is surfaced with pea gravel rather than asphalt.  The winery building is surrounded by vineyards, and a stone wall isolates the parking area from the street.  The landscaping was well groomed and dormant for the season, and there was a lot of freshly prepared dirt.  I got the impression that the front was in a sort of transition as they were preparing to set up a more elaborate outside environment for tastings and events, but I did not confirm this with the winery. 

I had visited Caymus Vineyards back in 2008 and enjoyed the experience.  At that time, they offered a sit-down tasting with an intimate lecture, where they pour you the wines at a dining table and discuss attributes of each wine, add some historical notes about the winery owners, and answer any questions you may have.  They typically accommodate four to eight people at these sit-down tastings, so expect to meet some new people if you are alone or traveling as a couple.  A reservation is required for this experience.

On this visit, my only choice for tasting was the stand-up counter which they added recently.  There is no reservation required to taste at the counter.  This is a much more relaxed environment than the sit-down tasting.  While the sit-down tasting includes four wines, including their winery-only offerings (a Zinfandel and an age-worthy Sauvignon Blanc) and their flagship Special Selection Cabernet, the tasting counter offers just three wines, including their Napa Valley Cabernet blend.  The other wines offered were a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from their Belle Glos label.  (It is not uncommon for a tasting room to feature wines from other winery labels owned by the same parent company.)  The red wines I tasted had a rich intensity on the palette and featured sweet black fruits primarily.  The wines were all complex, nicely styled, and intense, but clearly are very young and in need of a few years in the cellar.  Te tasting fee was $15.

The tasting room was richly appointed using casual materials.  The counter is done in a broad-grained wood with a dark stain.  The floor is done in tile that creates an earthy, old-world feeling.  The walls are painted a muted beige color that nicely integrates all of the elements.  There are windows looking out into the garden area in front of the winery.  And, if you peek past the doorway behind the counter, you can catch a glimpse of a storage area for some of the wine barrels.  In addition to the wines, there is some branded merchandise available for sale.  The tasting area is a fun place for adults, so bring a friend or two.

Based on this experience, I would rate the winery as a 6 and the wines offered as a 6.  As I recall from my previous visit, the sit-down tasting was much more enjoyable and worth the extra cost.  (It didn’t hurt that they were pouring wines from the fantastic 2005 vintage.)

(As a note, I have yet to visit a winery where I have scored the wines a 9, and I scored the sit-down tasting a 7 during my previous visit to Caymus.)

False Starts

On Wednesday, February 8th, I headed up to Napa Valley with plans to visit four wineries, including two new places and two revisits.  I wanted to start at Steltzner Vineyards before getting some lunch in Yountville and heading up to Frog’s Leap Winery.  I pulled into the parking lot at Steltzner and took a few pictures of the young mustard popping up.  Then I stepped inside the familiar building to the tasting room and … it was all gone.  The room was completely vacant.  It turns out that Steltzner had sold a portion of their vineyards, including the tasting room and offices, to Plumpjack Winery, who will be starting a new project there.  So, I decided to get my lunch next.

On the road to Yountville, I passed an interesting winery I had not noticed before (which is easy to do).  I decided to stop there after picking up my sandwich.  As I returned, I pulled onto the side street by Goosecross Cellars and noticed the imposing gate blocking the main access to the winery.  I’m guessing that they were not welcoming the public that day, so I decided to find someplace else along my route to Frog’s Leap.

Driving north along the Silverado trail, I recognized Paraduxx Winery just ahead and decided to try their wines.  I have passed by so many times without stopping that I was starting to feel that perhaps I was missing out on something (especially since I enjoyed my experience at Goldeneye, which is part of the same company).  As I reached the driveway entrance to Paraduxx, a sign blocking the entrance read “Closed for private event”.  Strike three!

Had this been baseball, I would have been done for the inning.  By now, I had lost enough time tracking down inaccessible wineries with accessible wines that I decided to blow off my first stop and proceed to the second.  I love the drive along Rutherford Cross Road as it winds gently along Conn Creek.  I soon reached the driveway to Frog’s Leap Winery, when I experienced de ja vu.  There, blocking the entrance to the driveway, was a sign that read “Closed for private event”.  Strike four?  (Is that possible?)

I suppose it helps to call each winery in advance to avoid issues with private events and tasting room closures.  It also helps to plan a backup winery or two.  The odd part to this experience was the number of unavailable tasting rooms lined up in a row.  This was the first that I had ever experienced anything like this.  I hope too that it will be the last for a while.  In any case, the afternoon was still young so I stopped at the closest place down the road.  I’ll write more on that visit in my next post.

Welcome to Napa Bound

On this site I'll try to share with you my experiences as I visit many of the wineries in Napa Valley and elsewhere in California.   Much of the focus of this feature will be about the wineries themselves, not so much about reviewing individual wines.  From time to time, I’ll visit other California wineries, including some of those in my own back yard here in San Jose.  There are some highly noteworthy wines in this and other parts of the state that compete favorably on the world wine market.

There is something enriching about a visit to Napa Valley, even before the wine starts to pour.  Every season has something special to offer.  On a sunny day in February and March, the bare vines poke their dark silhouettes through a blanket of shimmering mustard blooms.  In May and June, the same vineyards are rich with greenery.  By early October, giant bunches of nearly black grape clusters dangle from the vines.  By mid-November, the leaves start to turn a shade that ranges from golden yellow to cranberry red.  By Christmas, the vineyards have dozed off, dropping their foliage to the ground.  After the harvest come the smells that waft through the brisk air as all the fruit, recently harvested, ferments and winds its way into barrel.  I find the aroma of a barrel storage room intoxicating, as the fruit and oak begins its journey together toward what will become a delightful glass of wine in a few years time.

My motivation for starting this feature comes from my friends, who have often asked me what places to visit in Napa Valley.  I also run into visitors at wineries who started at a better known place, not knowing where to go next.  Your question might naturally be, “What qualifies me to give advice on visiting wineries in Napa Valley?”  Of the nearly 400 wineries now in Napa Valley, I have visited only 65 of them (about 15% or so).  There are many wineries in Napa Valley that do not offer tasting to the public, so when considering only wineries open to the public, that percentage is actually significantly higher.  I have also visited a number of wineries in other parts of California and can combine what I have learned there with my experiences in Napa Valley.

My first trip to Napa Valley was in the summer of 2005.  During the next four years, I joined four different wine clubs in the area, and found myself visiting every three to five weeks, each time visiting four wineries.  I also found myself with a basement full of wine, so I dropped two of the club memberships (and the frequency of my visits).  In 2007, I started to keep track of the different places I had visited.  I now maintain a simple spreadsheet that lists the wineries I have visited so far.  On each trip to Napa Valley I try to visit at least one new winery.  Most of the time I am successful at this, but sometimes I just want to revisit a few places I know to see how the latest vintage is developing.

Each time I head to Napa, I’ll try to list the places that I visited on that trip.  I’ll try to capture a few pictures with my cell phone, and describe my experience, from the drive to the winery to leaning on the counter in the tasting room, to sobering up outside before heading onto the next place.  I’ll also give a summary impression of the wines, commenting more on the winemaker’s style than on the enjoyment of any individual glass.  I’ll describe what I like about the tasting room, or what puts me off about it.  And I’ll end with a simple, numeric assessment that I have adopted in my winery list.  In it, I rate my impression of the winery and the wines separately on a scale of one to nine.  A rating of five is average for a Napa Valley winery.  For this, I needed a benchmark, average Napa Valley winery.  As it turns out, the first winery I ever visited in Napa Valley is my benchmark, Beaulieu Vineyards (BV).  Like many folks, I chose my first stop to be someplace well known.

That’s it for now.