March 4, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Hourglass Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The first time I opened this wine was back in April of 2011.  At that time, this wine was nice, but not great.  It had superb balance and softness, but was rather one-dimensional and lacked those special qualities of the vintage.  Needless to say, at the price I paid, I was very disappointed.  Tonight was time for redemption, as the wine displayed so much personality that it was hard to tell that the two wine experiences are related, let alone from the same batch.  The texture was rich and smooth, with a multidimensional palette featuring boysenberry, blackberry, cherry, tobacco, mineral, tar, and a touch of lemon on the finish.  I now feel that I am quite satisfied with my purchase. 
 

2005 Hourglass Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

April 26, 2014 – Recovering my disk after the triple threat

Last Sunday night, I was typing up my recent visit to Hestan Vineyard’s Yountville tasting room when my computer automatically shut down, rebooted, and rebooted again without reaching the login screen.  Then, the computer would crash frequently with the infamous Blue Screen of Death.  I could make this happen on command by attempting to use System Restore – the tell-tale sign of a virus infection.  And the two reboots were symptoms of a driver being installed.  It would seem that one of my programs had been hacked by a nasty virus.  On top of this, last year I installed some software that was expecting an older version of Windows and would pop up an error message every 15 minutes.  Try as I may, I was forced with reimaging my disk drive to fix this problem.  Finally, while investigating the virus issue, I ran the disk diagnostic and discovered an unrecoverable bad spot in the middle of the disk.  All three of these problems were solved by replacing my hard disk and reinstalling everything.  Fortunately I was able to back up my files (I had to unplug from the network to prevent crashes), so all was not lost – just delayed.

So, this is why I have been absent for the past week.  I do apologize for not having new content available.  I will continue to publish new content regularly now that I am back online.  Unfortunately, I lost the first half of my Hestan write-up when my system rebooted – the solution to my problems resulted in a newer version of Microsoft Word that did not recognize the old auto-save file.  Oh well, at least my experience there was not forgotten.  Look for it soon.

And, above all, thanks for your patience.

Provenance Vineyards, February 22, 2014

www.provenancevineyards.com

In addition to my order pick-ups at Saint Clement Vineyards, I had a wine club shipment to pick up at Provenance Vineyards.  This day I was traveling alone and it was nice to finish my journey at a winery where the folks knew my name.  Having been a wine club member here at Provenance for over eight years, I have come to know some of the staff, and they have come to know me too.  The setting at Provenance is both casual and comfortable, with a touch of elegance to back it up.  With every visit I continue to admire the hardwood floor made from the ends (staves) of old wine barrels.  They also have a couple of comfortable leather chairs sitting in front of a large window overlooking the front lawn and across to the vines.  But when I come alone, I stay close to the tasting bar to stay connected to the staff and others experiencing the winery.

Because I behaved myself at Saint Clement, I was able to sample a broader selection of wines at Provenance.  I started off with the 2011 Cabernet Franc, which surprised me for being better than I had expected any 2011 reds to come out.  Next I tried my two favorites on the menu, the 2010 Barrell Select Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 To Kalon Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon.  Next I tried one of the new wines in my shipment, the 2010 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, and ended with the 2009 Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of all of these wines, my favorite continues to be the 2009 To Kalon Cabernet for its depth, balance, and great ripe fruit.

A full review was written already about Provenance Vineyards during my visit on February 8^th, 2012.

Lunar eclipse entertains local vines tonight

The lunar eclipse is nearly at its peak here in California.  Fortunately, I live just south of the fog line and was able to grab a shot of the last sliver of light emanating from the full moon.  I struggled for some time trying to capture a good shot, but every picture seemed blurred on the camera's LCD display.  Then I found this shot and looked at it on my laptop and was surprised.  I hope you enjoy it too.

Tonight's lunar eclipse just moments before its peak.

March 1, 2014 – Wine: 2006 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Something about the 2006 vintage rubs me the wrong way.  When you read the harvest reports for the vintage, there is much mention about the abundance of winter rains, and the luxurious hang time that the vines experienced.  And yet, there is no mention of the week-long period of 100+ degree (F) temperatures, culminating in three days of 115 degree heat.  (I recall how grateful I was to be invited to Lake Tahoe during those three days where the temperature fluctuated between 77 and 90 degrees.)  Every vintage has its characteristic (2007 was blueberry), and I believe that this heat wave left a steely acidic note in the grapes that many wine makers tried to oak out of the wine.  I tasted this in Pinot Noirs, Cabernets, Merlots, and even some white wines.  (Syrah, Zinfandel, and Sangiovese seemed to fair much better.)  So, I decided to only accept wine-club shipments for that vintage, and I only opted to purchase a handful of 2006’s.  This Corison Cabernet was one of the wines that I opted to acquire a few extra bottles of.  Tonight I am so glad that I did.  This wine has evolved beyond the vintage, with a complex mixture of delicious red fruits including cranberry and black currant, as well as leather, tar, and mineral notes all wonderfully balanced and ever so subtly rich (sans steel).

2006 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Saint Clement Vineyards, February 22, 2014

www.stclement.com

After telling my friends about the terrific deals at Saint Clement during my visit in January, I was asked to order for some of them some of the same wines on special.  I also wanted a few more of these well-priced bottles and ordered more for myself.  Since I was practically across the street at Freemark Abbey, I figured it made sense to stop by Saint Clement and pick up my wines.  I was directed from the tasting bar inside classic farmhouse back to the winemaker’s studio on the patio behind the farmhouse.  The winemaker’s house is what I would describe as Yosemite-modern style, with an emphasis on stone and wood in the décor.  Some of the wine club’s events take place in this same building, and as I recall, the main entertaining hall is quite a comfortable place, including a fireplace and leather lounge chairs.  But this time, I was continuing my enjoyment of the fantastic February weather (about 68 degrees outside) and sat down on the patio to enjoy my pours.  There were a number of folks also outside, and I struck up a conversation with some of them.

The patio outside the Winemaker's Studio at Saint Clement

I really wanted to try all the single-vineyard Cabernets that they had open that afternoon, but I had to limit my intake after the generosity at the release party just prior.  So, I chose two wines from the menu that I knew I would enjoy, and allowed the staff to twist my arm ever so slightly to try one new Cabernet.  I started with the 2010 Star Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (from Rutherford) which has been my favorite in many vintages.  I followed with the 2010 Steinhauer Ranch Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (from Howell Mountain), and was easily coerced into trying the new 2010 Paras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (from Mount Veeder).  Of these, the Star Vineyard Cabernet continues to be my favorite and is delicious.


A full review was written already about Saint Clement Vineyards during my visit on May 12^th, 2012.

February 27, 2014 – Wine: 2007 Honig Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine fits right in my price sweet-spot.  I regularly open a half-bottle of red wine that costs about $20 or less.  A trusted friend of mine had recommended Honig Cabernet, so I sought out a half-case of half-bottles of the 2007 vintage.  The way that all the 2007’s were turning out, I really couldn’t lose.  At first (in 2011), this wine was jammy, then tannic, then it started to come into balance.  Tonight, though, this wine strutted its stuff like never before, as all the elements came into ideal balance and the tannins had integrated nicely.  The wine has always expressed vintage-typical fruit, and tonight it delivered with flavors of blackberry, blueberry, black licorice, tea, and minerals.  Luckily I managed to save two more to enjoy later this year.  This wine was well-worth the time and the money.

Freemark Abbey Winery, February 22, 2014

www.freemarkabbey.com

This is the reason to join a wine club.  The discounts on the wine are a terrific economic incentive, and the exclusive attention in the tasting room may be another.  Only a few wine collectors like me tend to join for the member-only wine releases.  All of that is nice, but the wine release party for the flagship wine is probably enough to make joining the wine club worthwhile.  When I arrived, I first picked up my shipment and returned it to my car (after tasting a couple of gems).  Then I headed down to the large lawn tucked away behind the two tasting rooms.  There, in the glorious sunshine, a band played a number of fun tunes from decades past.  Just beyond the band was the portal to the lower level winery operations floor, where they were pouring their flagship wine, the 2009 Sycamore Cabernet.  Even better than the wine were the h’orderves being shuttled about.  They had a lamb dish, a chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce garnish, and my favorite, a pulled-pork on polenta dish that drew me back for more.

The lawn at Freemark Abbey under spectacular skies

Of course, the event was not about the h’orderves, nor the music, but the wine.  Upon entering the winery operations area and registering, you are handed a pour of the newly released 2009 Sycamore Cabernet Sauvignon.  Then, at a second table, they were pouring a short vertical of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintages.  Many people favored the 2006, but I preferred the 2004 as a close second to the 2009.  Then, the staff mentioned that these recent vintages were all on sale at 25% off the price of the newest 2009 Sycamore, so I headed up to the members’ tasting room to try the 2007 vintage.  This wine was by far the tastiest of the five vintages, and I bought a bottle.  (I may have convinced a couple other people to follow my lead too.)  I am pleased to have the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Sycamore Cabernets in my collection now and am eagerly looking forward to opening them all.


A full review was written already about Freemark Abbey during my visit on December 28^th, 2012.

February 21, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Carter Cellars Revilo Cabernet Sauvignon

Like many wines from the 2005 vintage, I was impressed by this one when it was first released, but after about two years, the wine had shut down so much that I was beginning to feel that I had been taken advantage of (especially at $50 per half-bottle).  So, I followed my own advice and let the remaining half-bottles sit in the cellar untouched.  Tonight I opened the second bottle and was surprised and quite pleased with the results of my patience.  The first bottle was unbalanced and noticeably disintegrated, but tonight the wine was beautifully balanced with resolved tannins and nice presentation of vintage-typical red fruits.  I noted deep flavors cherry, cranberry, pomegranate, leather, and controlled minerals.  I now feel as though I am getting my money’s worth.