Hendry Ranch Wines, December 21, 2013

Winery - 6 / Wines - 7
Range:  1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Small winery operation close by Napa.  Cabernets, Zinfandel, and whites.  By reservation.
www.hendrywines.com

It had been four years since my last visit to Hendry Winery just east of the town of Napa.  The winery is on the road up to Hess Collection (and to the Mayacamas mountain range) just as the curves start and before going “up” at all.  The tiny winery sign is what originally caught my eye and engaged my curiosity years ago, and is the same easily missed sign that visitors need to watch for when driving there.  The winery building is set back a ways from the road behind a row of eucalyptus trees and is hard to discern while driving by.  I was taking some friends wine tasting who had shared a few half-bottles of the Hendry 2006 Zinfandel and I thought they would enjoy tasting the other wines they make there.  When planning to visit Hendry, you will need to make a reservation and plan at least 90 minutes for your visit.  While the tasting experience is educational, the teacher has a gift of gab that doesn’t quit.

The Hendry Winery operations and tasting building

From the outside, the Hendry operations building seems rustic and understated.  Dark redwood siding and a long porch overhang give this building a look that fits perfectly on a farm (which it is).  A large oak shades the front patio to the building, which is elevated about 15 feet, providing a sweeping vantage point for viewing the surrounding vineyards.  Nearly all the wine bottled by Hendry is grown on this very estate, which is rare considering the number of different wines they produce.  Inside, the décor is minimal, but authentic.  Two large tables divide the main room into two tasting areas.  Guests are seated at one of the tables and provided with their own glass, a dump vessel, and a map of the estate’s vineyard blocks.  Just behind the main tasting room is my favorite room – the wine library.  Looking through the windows into the library you see the beautiful woodwork that makes up the storage bins holding their wines.  In the middle of the library is a table used for staging wines which is made of similar materials.  The flooring throughout the tasting room is a richly painted concrete with an old rug taking up the center to help deaden any echoes.

Inside the Hendry Winery main tasting room

Hendry would rather that you sample all of their wines than have a hearty helping of just a few of them, so each wine is poured in ½ ounce samples (rather than the usual 1+ ounce).  In this way you taste about the same volume of wine after the nine different wines have been poured.  The tasting starts with three white wines: a 2012 Pinot Gris, a 2012 Unoaked Chardonnay, and a 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (which was my favorite white).  Next come the six red wines: a 2010 Pinot Noir, a 2010 Blocks 22 & 8 Zinfandel, a 2010 Block 28 Zinfandel, a 2011 Primitivo, a 2009 Red (a Bordeaux-style blend), and a 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of the reds, the Block 28 Zinfandel was my favorite and I brought a bottle home.


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 visit.