Elizabeth Spencer – October 20, 2014

www.elizabethspencerwines.com

We ended our trip to Napa Valley at Elizabeth Spencer’s tasting room in Rutherford.  I wanted to finish our trip relaxing in the late afternoon sun on the patio there enjoying their lovely reds.  And, since Elizabeth Spencer makes a broad selection of whites, my travel companions were quite pleased too.  The patio is very relaxing in comfortable weather such as we were enjoying, and it was just warm enough for my guests to enjoy their white wines, yet cool enough for my reds.  This turned out to be a lovely way to wrap up our winery visits.

The bottle I bought is near the upper left on the racks at Elizabeth Spencer.

I began my flight with a taste of the GPS blend, which is a (secret) mixture of red grapes grown along the northern California coast.  Next I tried the 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which I have thoroughly enjoyed every time I have tasted it.  I followed that with the 2010 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2010 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, which was my favorite of this flight.  (During my last visit, the Rutherford Cabernet was my favorite.)  I decided that I enjoyed the Rutherford Cabernet enough to warrant bringing home a bottle for a special occasion sometime in the next five to ten years.

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

October 24, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Bell Cellars Talianna Red Wine

This wine is an unusual blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah (rather than your typical Bordeaux-style blend).  It also happens to be the flagship red blend of Bell Cellars.  I first discovered the 2002 vintage of this wine shortly after joining the Bell Cellars wine club during a tasting visit at the winery.  This wine stood out for its remarkable depth, balance, and flavor.  I bought a bottle of the 2002, and later a bottle of the 2004 after tasting each.  When the 2005 was released, I bought a bottle of it too (without tasting it first) and held onto it until tonight.  This wine seems to enter a special drinking window that starts about eight to ten years after harvest.  Tonight, I decided it was time to open this bottle of 2005, and even though it was one of my more expensive bottles, I felt it was time to give up on waiting for a reason to pull the cork.  The wine offers a fantastic nose, a nearly rich palette, wonderful depth and balance, and terrific complexity, weaving red fruits will all kinds of other sensations.  This bottle is one of my top ten favorite Cabernets from the 2005 vintage.

2005 Bell Cellars Talianna blend

Provenance Vineyards – October 20, 2014

www.provenancevineyards.com

I like to take people to Provenance Vineyards to show off the quality of their wines.  Folks who enjoy white wines often take a liking to one of the three Sauvignon Blanc wines they make there.  And for those that enjoy red wines, there is a good variety, including some outstanding Merlots.  Lately I have found myself encouraging people to try the 2010 Three Palms Merlot because I was so impressed by it.  More often than not, the folks I encourage end up taking a liking to this wine too.  I also stopped by to pick up my September wine club shipment.  But after learning what was being shipped, I opted to replace my shipment (too many Malbecs) with other wines, which required that I contact the wine-club representative (who had already left for the day because of illness).  I guess I’ll just have to come back again to get my wines.

The completed tasting patio at Provenance Vineyards

I worked my way through the new releases of some of my favorite Cabernets that Provenance offers.  I started with the 2010 Three Palms Cabernet Sauvignon, which is still young and a little reserved (but showing promise).  I next tasted one of my favorites, the 2010 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Select, followed by the 2010 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon 2 (aka TK2), and the 2012 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of these, the TK2 Cabernet was my favorite, but the Barrel Select Cabernet is the best value.

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

October 13, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Ramey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (750ml + 375ml)

Last month, during my travels in Seattle, a dear friend who moved there invited my mom and me to dinner.  My friend would be cooking salmon, and he gave me the task of bringing the wine (which I gladly accepted).  (Later it would turn out that I would be grilling the fish, too, but that is my pleasure.)  I know that the fashionable pairing with fish is a white wine, and Salmon would have demanded a full bodied Chardonnay with higher acids.  But my favorite wine to pair with salmon is Napa Valley Cabernet.  Of course, my friend’s first comment was that I, a typical Californian, had so predictably picked a Napa Valley Cabernet over all the terrific wines made in Washington.  But this was a 2005 Ramey that I had tasted when younger, so I confidently ignored my friend's comment and simply popped the cork.   That shut my friend up, who ended up fighting with my mom and me over the last few ounces in the bottle.  The wine went perfectly with the gorgeous fillet of salmon I was grilling up too.  The wine was still plush like a younger 2005, with all of its fruit intact, but with ideal balance and showing some of the best red fruits that 2005 had to offer.  I had to reveal the store where I purchased the wine so my friend could pick up another bottle.

The big bottle of 2005 Ramey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Of course, that Seattle bottle got me thinking about the 375ml bottle of the same wine that I had slumbering in my basement (for six years now).  So, I relented and popped the cork tonight on this bottle.  The similarities between the two wines were not surprising, but the subtle differences were remarkable.  Whereas the 750ml bottle featured a palette of beautiful red fruits, including cranberry, currants, blackberry, as well as subtle minerals and leather, the 375ml was actually more complex.  In the half-bottle, I noticed much of the same flavors, but also noted more prominent black fruit flavors which were more subtle in the 750ml bottle.  Usually, I prefer the performance of the half-bottle to the full-bottle of the same wine because it has developed more character, but this time I was enamored with the lush red fruits of the larger bottle.

Saint Clement Vineyards, October 20, 2014

www.stclement.com

Next stop on the agenda was Saint Clement, after stopping to pick up some sandwiches at Ranch Market Too in Yountville.  My hope was to sit under the oaks on the patio and enjoy our lunch as we tasted wine in this glorious weather we were enjoying.  But, when we arrived at Saint Clement, they directed us to the next level above the patio, set out a red table cloth across the picnic table, and gave us a private, sunny tasting experience overlooking Napa Valley.  My guests really enjoyed picnicking with our delicious sandwiches, our spectacular view, and our wine tasting selections.  It was during this visit that I learned that the tasting room at Saint Clement will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning November 1, 2014.  This will impact when I can come to pick up my wine club shipments as I prefer mid-week visits.

The fine picnic tables at Saint Clement Vineyards

Before taking our wines out to the picnic table, I was poured a taste of one of the wines in my wine-club shipment, the 2011 Johanna red blend.  Then, at the table, I tasted the 2009 Napa Valley Merlot, the 2011 Oroppas, the 2010 Steinhauer Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2010 Armstrong Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of all these wines, the Steinhauer Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as my favorite.  The interesting thing is that during my last visit, this same wine was less impressive, a little thinner, and shorter finishing.  It is amazing how much a wine can develop in just a month or two.  My guests enjoyed the 2012 Abbott’s Vineyard Chardonnay so I bought a bottle to take home with us.

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