April 8, 2013 – Wine: 2001 Macauley Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

As I am noticing with most of the half-bottles in my collection from California’s 2001 vintage, this bottle is a little past its peak.  While still nicely balanced, and even developing a little power, its lush fruit is waning and becoming secondary on the palette.  The nose is still potent, but the palette is a little fruit-restrained, featuring flavors of leather, sour cherry, plum, cocoa powder, and minerals … even after a three-hour decant.  I expect that the 750ml bottle is now in near perfect form for drinking.

2001 Macualey Cabernet Sauvignon (photo by Christophe Le Rouzo)

Freemark Abbey, March 1, 2013

http://www.freemarkabbey.com/

Wine club pick-ups seemed to set the theme for this trip to Napa Valley.  Three of my four stops were to wineries where I was picking up wine club shipments for myself or for my friend.  Freemark Abbey was no exception.  This was to be my first wine club shipment form Freemark Abbey and I was looking forward to visiting the new tasting room for wine club members.  As I was eagerly walking up the steps to the entry of the members’ tasting room, a staff member gently stopped me and directed my back to the historic tasting room I had experienced during my prior visit.  Alas, the members’ tasting room is closed mid-week during the slow winter months.  I guess I can still look forward to visiting the members’ tasting room when I return in May or June for my next wine club shipment.

Looking up into the old oak at Freemark Abbey winery.

Inside the historic tasting room, I was well tended-to.  I opted to taste four red wines, one of which was just over ten years past its harvest in 2002 (a terrific vintage for Cabernet).  I started with the 2009 Howell Mountain Merlot, followed by the 2002 Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, then the outstanding 2002 Bosch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, and lastly the 2009 Zinfandel.  While the 2002 Bosch Vineyard Cabernet was an incredible wine, its library pricing puts it well beyond my financial reach.  Factoring in the price, my favorite wine of the flight was the 2009 Zinfandel.
 
A full review was written already about Freemark Abbey during my visit on December 28^th, 2012.

April 4, 2013 – Wine: 2000 Ridge Monte Bello

I have to admit … after opening the 2001 Monte Bello, I was curious about the 2000 Monte Bello.  When I first opened a (half) bottle back in 2007, I found that the structure was a little flat.  The wine was wonderfully smooth and balanced with good fruit, but it lacked the structure and power typical of a Monte Bello.  In mid 2010, the wine was doing a little better structure wise.  This time, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Upon uncorking the wine, it gave off a raspberry nose.  After decanting for an hour, this wine showed much more structure and power than it had previously (more so than the 2001, though not nearly as elegant).  This balanced and complex wine revealed flavors of red cherry, cranberry, pepper, mineral, and leather.  I opened this bottle in honor of my mother’s birthday, and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

April 2, 2013 – Two very nice red wines

It is always fun to compare two wines, regardless of how similar or distinct they may be.  Opening half-bottles makes this easier to do.  In this case, I compared two older wines from the 2001 and 2002 California vintages.  One wine is a blend of classic Bordeaux varietals grown on the mountain tops near Cupertino, while the other is a Cabernet grown in a canyon in the south-eastern corner Napa Valley.  The biggest difference, though, seems to be in the style of each of the wine makers.

2001 Ridge Monte Bello

This mountain wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot.  Wine maker Paul Draper’s style with the Monte Bello is focused on control, elegance, and precision.  The wine has a beautiful nose with a definite note of mint on the nose.  The wine is supremely elegant and sublimely smooth, gliding across the tongue as only silk can do.  While not powerful in the way the other wine was, this wine was perfectly balanced and medium bodied with sweet tannins.  On the palette I noticed red and black currants, cherry, mint, leather, and minerals.  This was the most elegant wine I have ever experienced.


2001 Ridge Monte Bello (red meritage)

 2002 Carter Cellars Coliseum Block Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine comes from the steep slopes of Soda Canyon in the south-eastern corner of Napa Valley.  Nearly all of the grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon.  Wine maker Mark Carter’s style is more intense while retaining balance.  The vintage fruits are also more typical of 2002, with subtle notes of pencil lead starting to develop along with the lush fruits.  I noted sweet plum, blackberry, leather, black currant, mineral, cherry, mint, tobacco and tar.  While substituting power for the Ridge’s elegance, this wine offered up much more complexity.


2002 Carter Cellars Coliseum Block Cabernet Sauvignon

Elizabeth Spencer Wines, March 1, 2013

www.elizabethspencerwines.com

Since I helped to bend my friend’s arm to get him to join Elizabeth Spencer’s wine club, I figured I at least owe it to him to swing by the quaint tasting room in Rutherford to pick up his wine club shipments.  He saves a few dollars on shipping and I get to taste their wines – a win-win situation.  I have always enjoyed the folks at the Elizabeth Spenser tasting room as they make every effort to arrange a tasting flight that suits your interests.  The fact that there isn’t a disagreeable wine offered makes it harder to narrow in on your flight, but they will help you through this part.  When the weather is ideal, you can take your glass out to the patio to enjoy in the fresh afternoon air, too.  I stayed inside today to enjoy the brickwork and wine racks that lend an interesting pattern to the tasting room walls.


The relaxing tasting patio at Elizabeth Spencer Winery

  I limited my tasting flight to just three wines (to make up for the generosity at the previous stop).  I started off with the 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, then enjoyed the 2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, and finished with the 2009 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.  I was a little surprised to find that the 2009 Cabernet was my favorite, considering my inclination towards 2007 Cabernets and towards wines grown on Howell Mountain.

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

March 21, 2013 – Wine: 2007 Wolf Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc

When I first saw this on the store shelf last fall in a half bottle, I thought to myself: a 2007 Cabernet Franc … how bad can that be?  I left the store without buying any, but the next time I returned, the wine was still there.  By then I had done a little reading on the wine and decided to pick up two half-bottles to take home.  Since this was a 2007, it already had a couple of years of bottle age, so I decided to open one to evaluate it.  My mom really enjoys Cabernet Franc so I decided to share this wine with her.  This wine offered up very bright, vintage-typical fruits including blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, leather, and tea with a slight note of steel on the finish.  While the wine is still tannic and worthy of another five years of cellaring, it is nicely balanced today and really opened up after a 45 minute decant.


2007 Wolf Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc



March 10, 2013 – Wine: 2005 Elyse Petite Syrah

One of the fun aspects about shopping for wine in Napa Valley is that, in many cases, you can preview what you are about to buy just by swinging by the winery where the wine was bottled.  Back in November of 2007, a half-bottle of 2005 Elyse Petite Sirah caught my eye in a grocery store.  Lacking any experience at the time with this varietal, I wanted to know what I was getting into and how many bottles I should consider getting.  The market was in Yountville, and Elyse winery was just on the other side of Highway 29, so I made a quick run to Elyse.  I was able to preview the wine, get an understanding of its tannins, fruit, structure, and overall quality, and I decided to get a couple of half-bottles.  The winery was sold out in that format, so I had to run back to the grocery store to acquire the wine.

My notes from the initial tasting suggested holding onto the wine until 2012.  By April 2011, my curiosity had piqued and I decided to open the first bottle.  While the wine was nice then, featuring good balance, chocolate notes and great fruits, it still was not quite ready.  Tonight I relented and opened the last bottle and was pleasantly rewarded for having waited.  After 90 minutes of breathing, this wine was smooth, balanced, and very nicely flavored with leather, black raspberry, blackberry, mineral, and unsweetened chocolate.  As a side note, I found all of the wines from Elyse to be well balanced, nicely styled, and quite delicious – well worth a visit.