A search didn’t turn up much, at least as far as my poor abilities go anyways. Anyone know how their wines are? Gonna be in Napa on Spring Mountain and have the afternoon free. Was looking for a more old school place for an afternoon tasting. And preferably a place with wines somewhat reasonably priced.
Here is one response I got while planning for a trip there, check out that thread for more info (Napa / Sonoma Trip Help - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers):
Some of their 2013 wines popped up on Lastbottle. My friends enjoyed their Syrah. I found the 2013 chardonnay to be balanced and really well done. Definitely had a Napa flair but was nowhere close to being over the hill which was impressive to me especially given what I paid for it. I will pop a 2013 Pinot tonight if I remember and get back to you.
As far as tasting with them in Napa goes, I have no idea.
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Thanks. Seems not much info about them out there.
The Chards are good, the Pinot Noir has a good reputation but I don’t think I’ve tried it.
-Al
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The original School House vineyard was planted a long time ago (late 1800s), not sure the age of the current vines. It was also one of the original cult wineries back when there weren’t very many cult wineries in California.
-Al
I believe I’ve still a single bottle of School House Pinot from the 80’s. I’ll have to check.
School house is a wonderful old-school Napa winery which has been owned by John Gantry and making Pinot noir from the property for 50 years or more. I buy their stuff every year and have found them to be consistently great Pinot noir with the potential to age (If you do go to taste there ask them about their 50 year vertical tasting that they did a few years ago). John is pretty old with a lot of medical problems these days, but still putters around the Vineyard. Their beautiful old house burned down in the most recent Napa fires but the vines were unharmed. His wife Nancy is lovely and is still around the property. Tastings are generally handled by Tim Mosher, who was brought on board when John and Nancy started getting too old to do regular tastings.
In summary, as someone who is has drank their wines for over 10 years I would highly recommend going for a visit. They’re Pinot is outstanding and produced from cuttings from DRC. The chard is good and definitely not in a typical California style. The Rhône varietals punch way above their weight as far as quality price ratio.
If you go, you should make a reservation and tell Tim that Geoff Allen sent you.
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John Gantner and Nancy Walker are the owners. The story I heard was that the Pinot vines were originally planted down in the valley but Andre Tchelistcheff suggested that the valley was too hot for Pinot, so John Gantner Sr. moved them to Spring Mountain. And I also heard that the cuttings came from DRC. I was invited, along with Bob Foley, to attend that 50-year vertical but had plans which took me out of town. This is an outdated article (Bob Foley hasn’t made the Schoolhouse wines for 15 years) but has some good info. | The Prince of Pinot
Wasn’t Bruce Scotland winemaker up there so many years ago?
I’m not familiar with that name, but maybe.
Thanks! This has pushed me over and I’ll contact them to make an appointment.
I did a tasting at a lws a few years back of all the 2016 wines. They had a zin and Syrah blend that was my least favorite. The Pinot was good. The Chardonnay was exceptional and I bought 3. Have enjoyed two and still have one. Would be an interesting tasting. IiRC they are on Spring Mountain but barely above St Helena so not a long drive up
Yes, the 2016 Chardonnay is one of their Chards I’ve tried and enjoyed. It was carried in one of my (high end) grocery stores for a while.
-Al
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The 2013 Pinot we tried last night was really interesting. Just beautiful inviting nose of red cherries, cedar, woodsy spice, a hint of vanilla, lots of rose petal. Definitely a wine you could come back to and just keep smelling.
The palate was almost austere, the tannins a little grippy and almost green. Elevated acidity. Not your typical Napa pinot, light bodied. Less fruity and more spicy. Starting to show its age with dry earthy elements emerging. I think the palate may be coming out of its shut down phase and I’m interested to see where this is in 2-3 years.
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Thanks. I typically like more old style Napa wines and this sounds up my wheel house. Appreciate the note
I was on the list from the late 90s to maybe mid-aughts (when I dropped off of all DTC lists for about a decade). I really liked the Pinots and the Zin-based ‘Mescolanza’ which was the field blend. I think they have two different field blends now, the Zin based one and then one based on Rhone varieties. Definitely old school in style, not big blowsy wines.
I might still have a 1997 Pinot from there buried somewhere in the cellar - probably need to excavate that very soon.