This past weekend was the '09 version of Auction Napa Valley. Clearly a casualty of the economy, the auction itself was far more subdued than in the past. Impressions from Friday’s barrel tasting:
’07 Phelps Insignia Auction Reserve - this is a special barrel selection of Insignia that is created for the auction. Drinkable now, this is a terrific wine that will get even better with time. Big, with sweet tannins and good complexity already, a very long finish that goes and goes.
’07 Shafer Hillside Select - Among the best barrel samples of HSS that I have ever tasted, and I have tasted barrels from the '97 vintage on. This was the real deal, and fun to drink now. I stood behind the Shafer barrel with Doug Shafer for 30 minutes and downed more than a few pours of this while we had fun. A special wine that I can’t wait to try from the bottle.
’07 Jones Family - this is a winery that I bought in the 90’s, but somehow lost track of. They seem to be getting better and better, and in my opinion are flying beneath the radar unnecessarily. Very good wine.
’07 Darioush - Sheila liked this more than me, but it is a very good and very complete wine that needs time in the bottle to show its stuff.
’07 Reynolds Family - an underrated producer that makes some very nice wines. This had a very interesting spice note on the nose that I have not experienced before in a cab. Interesting wine, soft, probably won’t make old bones but nice to drink now and over the next few years.
’07 Harris Estate Treva’s Vineyard - I was looking forward to this after Bob’s rating, but it was difficult to compare to the other more forward cabs at the tasting. This will be a very nice wine but will clearly need time.
’07 Pride Special Barrel - this was a one of a kind barrel made up of the vintner’s select cabernet and merlot (I think I have that right). I thought it was a terrific wine that was a step up from the recent Pride releases that I have sampled.
’07 Beringer Bancroft Vineyard Cab - terrific wine. I haven’t had a Beringer wine in a few years, and was pleasantly surprised by this wine. Worth looking for.
’07 CE2V Secret Clone - very good wine. Always an underrated producer, Mitch Cosentino continues to churn out high quality wines in Napa.
’07 D.R. Stephens Cabernet - tannic, big wine. Needs time but will be very good.
’07 Ghost Block - didn’t really care for this. Big, tannic, wasn’t showing a lot more than that to me.
’07 Peju Bordeaux Blend 50/50 - I have always liked this producer, but this wasn’t the best wine I have ever had from them. A fine wine, but outclassed by many others on this day.
’07 Vineyard 29 - excellent wine. Always a fine producer, these are getting better and better to my palate.
I tasted others, but these are the ones that I can remember. Always a fun tasting.
We also had the opportunity to have the '00 Harlan, both out of 750 on Thursday night at the President’s dinner, and out of mag on Saturday at a luncheon at Harlan. The magnum on Saturday completely outclassed the 750 bottle from Thursday. In addition to the '00 on Saturday, Bill Harlan also served the '05. Normally, I prefer some age on Harlan wines, but this one is a candidate to drink now based on how it was performing on this day. Wonderful wine. Not sure how long I will be able to keep my hands off of this one.
Lastly, we had a wonderful dinner on Friday evening at the home of Joe Wender and Ann Colgin prepared and served by Thomas Keller and his staff. As you would expect, the meal was sublime. It was made even more special by the wines served, which included '99 Tychson Hill, '2002 Cariad, and the '05 Estate. I didn’t take notes, but I really enjoyed all of the wines. I especially enjoyed the unlimited pours of each! ![[good.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/f84c5acc11486ee4baba6dee6cf61dbd133abb18.gif "thumbsup"){kind=small}
On our way out, we were each given a very nice bad that included a 375 of the '05 Estate, which I thought was very cool. Joe and Ann were the consumate hosts for a very fine evening.
Unfortunately the overall take at the auction was down this year, but it still raised close to $6 million for the Napa charities.