Elizabeth Spencer Wines, March 31, 2013

www.elizabethspencerwines.com

The one problem I can think of with the Elizabeth Spencer Wines tasting room is that it is too convenient to the main highway.  Nearly every time I pass through Rutherford, there it is, beckoning with its quaint exterior and tasty wines.  Ordinarily I make an effort to resist, but I figured my friend might have more wine to pick up, so I had better check.  Sure enough, his February wine club shipment was chilling in their cellar.  Since I would be seeing him in the next two weeks, I picked up his bottles and brought them with me.  I really do enjoy visiting the tasting room, even on a rainy day such as today.  I have always been attracted by brickwork, latticework, and wine racks, and this place offers all three.

The quaint exterior of Elizabeth Spencer's tasting room.

Of course, it would be a crime to step into the tasting room and not taste any wine, especially with the staff so generously offering up a sample or two (or four?).  I started off with a pour of the 2011 GPS red blend, which was reasonably ripe for the vintage.  I followed with the 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Special Cuvee), the 2010 Sonoma Chardonnay (which was in his shipment), and the 2010 Rutherford Cabernet (also in his shipment).  I enjoyed the Napa Valley cuvee best, but this Rutherford Cabernet will be very nice in a few years.

A full review was written already about Elizabeth Spencer Wines during my visit on November 2^nd, 2012.