Range: 1 to 9 (9 is best, 5 is average)
Quiet tasting room south of Calistoga. Pinot Noirs and Merlot.
www.twomey.com
When I first discovered Twomey Cellars, they had a Merlot and a Sauvignon Blanc that they poured. It wasn’t until a while later that I discovered they also make some fantastic Pinot Noir wines from four different wine-growing regions in California. While the Calistoga tasting room is nice in its own right, it cannot compare to the magnificence of the Russian River tasting room that they also operate. Luckily, the same wines are poured in both places. If you are a fan of Pinot Noir (a Pinotphile?), there are only a few options for you in Napa Valley, and even fewer that offer a lineup of Pinot Noir sourced from the best regions in the state of California. Here at Twomey, you have the opportunity to compare Pinot Noir grown in the Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, along the Sonoma Coast, and Santa Maria to the south. You may have to return a few times to experience them all, but they often have two or more open so you can compare them side-by-side.
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| The cozy tasting room at Twomey Cellars in Calistoga |
The Twomey Calistoga tasting room is done in an elegant farm-house style, with large patio surrounding the building like a veranda would. The exterior of the building, including the framing around the doors and windows, is all white. The simple gabled roof is a medium gray that lends a richness to the white. There is a garden with a fountain off to one side where you can take in the fall color. Inside, the tasting room is modest, though nicely appointed. A curved tasting counter occupies one side of the tasting room, while a large window exposes some of the cellar operations to guests. There is also a wine archive which has large windows for peering in and is framed in rich woodwork. The dark gray floor tiles offset the white walls nicely and tie in the woodwork nicely. Subdued natural light makes its way inside through a few windows, but there is no direct sunlight because of the porch overhang and the northern orientation of the room. There are a few tasteful items for sale, including some women’s clothing accessories.
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| The wine library inside the Twomey Calistoga tasting room |
On this visit, I was fortunate to be able to compare three of Twomey’s Pinot Noirs. (Often you are limited to just two.) I started with the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, which shows that 2013 will be nearly as good a vintage for this grape as it was in 2012, albeit a crisper palette for the 2013’s. This was followed by the three 2012 Pinot Noirs: Anderson Valley, Bien Nacido (Santa Maria), and Russia River Valley. Of these, the Anderson Valley Pinot was performing the best. (The Russian River Valley Pinot may be starting to shut down.) Finally, I enjoyed the 2010 Merlot. While the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir was my favorite this time, the 2010 Merlot was remarkable in its own right.
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.
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