Larkmead
We started the day off up a Larkmead as I am a wine club member there. Such a great historic property that offer up a great environment to get going early in the morning. I wish we could have gotten a taste of the LMV Salon and/or the Solari Reserve. But due to their limited production and release, I will have to settle for my own bottles once they ship.
2007 Firebelle: Merlot driven proprietary red that has plenty of mocha and chocolate notes. Big, round mouth feel with sweet tannins. Definitely one of the better merlot based blends in Napa
2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: Still a big and massive as on release. Dense, dark fruits that have massive tannic structure. The wine probably will need several more years to integrate all the oak and tannin into the wine. Still, there is nothing harsh here, and fans of big, in your face wines will like this.
2007 Estate Syrah: Warm weather syrah that is more restrained than its Central Coast Rhone Ranger counterparts. Good red fruits with bright acidity along with just a taste of meaty gaminess. Definitely a short term drinker.
2005 Meadowlark: Cabernet and syrah blend that was made solely in 2005. Fairly simple and needs to be consumed earlier rather than later.
EMH Vineyards
After Larkmead, we made our way over to board member Merrill Linquist’s home and vineyard just a stone’s throw away from the Araujo vineyard. At under 1 acre, the vineyard is just a blip on the radar, but the wines coming from there are really, really nice.
2005 Black Cat: Sweet licorice with dark cherries and gritty tannins. IMO, this wine needs a few more years to really come around and strut its stuff.
2006 Black Cat: Softer and rounder than the 2005 with less tannin and grip. Dark fruits dominate here and the oak is well integrated. Out of the whole lineup, this was my favorite wine.
2007 Black Cat: Dark cherries with subtle and soft tannins. Graphite with a bit of herbaceousness, but not green. Approachable now, just like a great number of 2007s are.
2008 Black Cat: Very reticent on the nose. Just a little shut down on the palate with fine tannins. Comes around with good concentration of red fruits. Like so many of the 2008s, I think this one will surprise folks in a couple of years as 2007 is overshadowing everything.
2009 Black Cat Barrel Sample: For a barrel sample, the wine is actually very approachable. Still has some grippy tannins, but not very much oak up front.
2008 Rivers Marie Thieriot Vineyard: Will brought this along as Merrill said she had never had a bottle. Just like the last bottle, this does not disappoint. Such a well rounded and complete wine. Round and expansive mouth feel, good acidity with tropical notes and a great finish. Too bad there isn’t very much of this to go around.
Chateauneuf de Pott
We took the long and winding road up to Aaron Pott’s little hideaway up on Mt. Veeder. We had some great heirloom tomatoes with Burrata, oven roasted asparagus and vine grilled beef tenderloin. Awesome scene for a mid-afternoon lunch.
2005 Illumination Sauvignon Blanc: Aaron made less than 30 cases of this while at Quintessa, and I don’t think it was ever commercially released. Not your typical crisp and fruity Napa SB. This wine is not a summer 100 degree day chugging wine….rather it is a concentrated and somewhat funky (not bad, but interesting) wine. Great color that resembles a slightly aged Sauternes. Great nose of stone fruits with a waft of honeysuckle. Palate was thick and unctuous, but sweet or cloying. Too bad Aaron was not left to his devices at Quintessa as this style would definitely have a place in wine-geekdom.
2007 Pantagruel: Still the best domestic Cabernet Franc that I have had (until Wolf Family later in the week). Awesome floral nose of violets coupled with a distinct spiciness. Palate is full of bright red fruits and fine tannins with no real oak to speak of now. Really integrated and drinking so good right now. Count yourself lucky if you have any of this at all.
2007 Kaliholmanok: Spring Mountain Cab that is drinking better than I remember it from last year. Still has some of those Spring Mountain tannins and grip, but the fruit is pushing its way through now. Probably will be better in three or four years.
2007 St. Ralph The Liar Howell Mountain Cab that is drinking like, well, Howell Mountain Cab. Dark and brooding with good tannin grip and acidity. Palate is full of sweet licorice and dark cherries. If you like them big, then this is the one.
2008 Seven Stones Barrel Sample: No clue that Aaron was gonna pull this sample and taste us on it. IIRC, we were the first to get one. Inky purple with massive concentration. Dark fruits with great tannin structure. Amazingly approachable at such a young age, and for a barrel sample. Again, this is a wine that cements the fact that 2008 is going to be an outstanding vintage for winemakers that knew what they were doing and didn’t get completely taken up with 2007. IMNSHO, this wine will be better than both the 2006 and 2007…easily.
2009 Mt. Veeder Malbec Barrel Sample: Aaron is working with Steve Lagier on this I believe. Still very, very primary and a tad grapey. Full of black pepper and spice with some massively grippy tannins. Don’t know what the end goal is with this one. Possibly a stand alone, or might get blended.
2009 Action SLD Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Sample: Sourced from Quixote Vineyard where Aaron is the winemaker. Very creamy and was showing quite a bit of heat and ETOH. Nothing else really coming through.
1994 Talley Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest: Completely random desert wine that Aaron pulled to go with blackberry pie. Dark amber with butterscotch and roasted hazelnuts on the nose. Sweet, but not cloying with butterscotch carrying over to the palate along with marzipan. Very interesting look back at how a CA sweet wine can age.