Rather than pile on with a stern opposition to the ‘do California wines suck?’ thread, I figured I’d pile on with a thread on how clearly they do not (yes, I understand the author was likely, or hopefully, being sarcastic…)
Yesterday Jen and I had the chance to visit some Berserker-recommended wineries - Keever Vineyards and Bressler Vineyards - as well as hang out with Berserker all-stars Steve Lagier and Carole Meredith. I’m going to prepare a blog/story for the static pages (the same that I’m asking a few of the offline attendees in the coming days/weeks to do), that will include photos, but I couldn’t wait too long to share how impressed I am with California winemaking, as a member of both the California Flavor Train and the AFWE.
Keever’s wines were all great, and we actually really enjoyed a tour of the facility (normally we don’t like those - we have seen many a winery, know how it works, yadda yadda, but this visit, with our fantastic tour guide Olga Keever, was a real pleasure). Their 2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is, by far, the standout wine, and absolutely spectacular. I truly hope I can find some budget room to grab a few bottles, as it hits the sweet spot of texture, mouthfeel, fruit, complexity, and is packed with superfine dusty tannins. I’m continually amazed how those who did 2010 ‘right’ really nailed it. A difficult vintage because of the low yields thanks to the sunburn late in the season, I’ve had some absolutely fantastic cabs from 2010 in Napa.
We had an all-too-brief visit with Bob Bressler, pressed for time, and need to visit again. What a fascinating guy to chat with, and his house is ridiculously enviable (like the Keever’s house, too! These people truly are living the dream…), including the fun modern art he has chosen for it. We sat out on the covered patio, enjoying his 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, which was amazingly approachable, for a wine that appears to me to be very classically styled - very traditional, old school in nature, which is right up my alley. Fantastic vineyard spot, and his vines looked so healthy - we talked about red splotch, but his vineyard had none, clearly. Loved his cellar, which reminded me of Eric LeVine’s cellar on a smaller scale, and I was surprised at how many it held! Most definitely I need to re-examine Bob’s wines again, when I’m not rushed to get up the mountain to Steve and Carole’s place.
If you don’t mind driving up scary one-lane mountain passes, you MUST visit our Berserker friends Steve Lagier and Carole Meredith! The views are absolutely stupid (watch for the blog/story feature, when I write it, which I’ll link here, as I will have photos on it). What view would you like? Want to see Atlas Peak? How about the valley floor? How about the ocean? Yeah, they’ve got that, all accented with vineyards. Unreal. I must, must, must go back. Of course, there are the wines, and it’s always difficult to determine if you enjoy the amazing wines they produce (as opposed to Parker’s claim, Carole is the farmer, Steve the winemaker) or the conversations you have with them more. The jury’s still out for me. I immediately grabbed the 2011 Mondeuse (RP 73), as it is both the first and possibly the last Mondeuse I’ll ever get to try - TRUE Mondeuse, as Carole likes to assert. A beautiful wine that is both elegant and rich, and great with food (as we experienced at Napa Valley Wine and Cigar last month, when I first had it). The 2011 Syrah (RP 90) was surprisingly approachable as well, giving me little strength to keep the rest of my meager Lagier Meredith collection in the cellar. Jen’s favorite was the Bordeaux-blend from Chester’s Anvil (I can’t remember the name), and I think my favorite was the 2011 Malbec (RP 75, lol), which was beautifully dark-fruited, rich, and plenty of acid. I can ask Steve for more notes about it, as he drank from my glass. For dinner, Carole and Steve brought some 2001 Paloma Merlot (#1 Wine Spectator top 100 wines 2003), 2001 Lagier Meredith Syrah (#99 WS top 100 wines 2003, thus bookending the list), and 1998 Lagier Meredith Syrah, their first commercial vintage. What a TREAT it was to taste their 01 and 98 Syrahs - wow. The first we opened was the 01, which shocked me at how much grip it still had. Tannic, mostly resolved, but still super grippy - I immediately stated that this wine needed a fatty meat to pair with it, so Steve obliged and ordered the gigantic lamb shank which he destroyed in minutes. The '98 was also showing some amazing youth along with its age, and this was more acidic - so much so, it reminded me of Nebbiolo, which ironically Carole ‘doesn’t get’ - perhaps she hasn’t had enough! Paired with my pasta with duck ragu, it was spectacular. Both were elegant wines, beautifully structured, and like all of the wines we had this day, was a TRUE expression of the grape and the vintage. This is so very important to me, as so many California wines (Cardinale, for example) are, and taste, engineered. The grapes grow so well in California, so to have a day full of honest wines made to express the beauty of the fruit and the particular qualities of the vintage was just so refreshing, and solidified further my love for CA wines.
So much for ‘brief’, huh?
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