Realm Cellars (12pm) - Our host Ashley was super nice. She poured the 2016 Fidelio, 2011 Tempest, 2007 The Bard, 2015 The Bard, and 2010 Coombsville. I hope you all loaded up your allocation on 2015 Bard, it has great QPR at $110. Inky black fruit with an elegant richness, showing signs that it will outperform its predecessor at year eight. However, our favorite wine this day was their library sale of the Tempest at $100. It was drinking fantastic with classic aged-Merlot cedar, chocolate and tobacco notes. The Fidelio at $65 is has even better QPR and I still have not found a better SauvBlanc at a lesser price point. If you haven’t visited this winery, I encourage you get on their mailing list and request a visit. They have such an amazing property with so much potential, perched above Stags Leap. I can only imagine this winery will continue to retain it’s constituency and become even more exclusive. Even though their host confirmed that is not their intention, it’s just the reality of this hip brand.
Carter Cellars (2pm) - Dan Blaine was the man as usual, our host who knows the Carter operation inside and out. He had the 2015 lineup ready to roll on arrival that started with Fortuna, then Weitz, Carter, La Bam, Three Kings and lastly The Grand Daddy. By the time we hit The Weitz, we had smiles on our face. After we tried The Three Kings, I’m now applauding and giving high fives! The Grand Daddy was just as incredible with slightly more depth. However, The Three Kings took the win this round. Unfortunately, I was late to the Valley this year and missed out trying the OG and LasPLV. From what I hear, they are even a notch better. Either way, the 2015 Carter wines we tried were incredible! Noticeably better than the 2014s and at this early stage, better than the 2013s. However, only time will tell if the 2013s will outperform the 2015s. I can confidently say that Carter Cellars BTK wines are the best QPR in Napa. Thankfully, they haven’t increased their prices more than $5 each vintage over the last several years.
Larkmead (330pm) - It was my first visit to this winery. I’m partial to modern-country property design styles, so I must say, I loved the layout, especially the great room where we tasted which peers out amongst the vineyard in the center of the valley floor. During our tasting, their winemaker Dan Petroski joined us to help explain winemaking technique and why their wine costs have gone up- primarily due to increases in vineyard costs to become more sustainable. Dan brought out the 2015 The Lark to share, which still didn’t even have a label. Just FYI, the 2013 The Lark isn’t releasing to their wine club until Oct 1st. The fruit has this incredible depth but still very primal at this stage, it’s the power of the wine that gets me as a collector so excited. RP’s review about it lasting 50 years is probably spot on, it’s a monster!
Dinner at Bouchon – Enjoyed the ricotta raviolis with truffles and crème brulee for dessert.