Grgich Hill Winery Visit

WINE TALK
1

While on travel last week out to Sacramento I had the opportunity to sneak over to Napa to visit some wineries. I tried to call Anderson’s Conn Valley, but no one answered or returned my call, so off I went with no “plan”.

The drive from Sacramento was beautiful (blue sky and 96 deg F) as I approached over the eastern hills and by some real pretty and large lakes. Looks like a lot of great fishing as many people pulled boats with down riggers on the other side of the road.

I finally hit Rte 29 in Calistoga and headed south. Went past Sattui and did not even recognize the place. Then I saw Grgich Hills, a winery that kind of put me on the path to real wine. Circa 1984 and a bunch of Navy officers head to Napa, thirsty and loaded with sour dough bread and cheese. Our final stop was Grgich Hills where they were closing, but after they found out we were sailors from fleet week in San Fran, they let us in and we tasted until we decided to leave.
The Grgich Chard and Fume Blanc were amazing, but pricy at the time ($18 Chard and $14 FB). We grabbed cases and some Zin for good measure. So with a bit of lost youth and fond memories I stopped to taste a Grgich Hills after last visiting 25 years ago. A really nice experience ensued and a wake-up call as to why I ever stopped buying these wines. The issue was price back then as Grgich raised prices and I found acceptable alternatives as many producers were closing the quality gap so Grgich was not a QPR anymore. Well prices today are more than fair when compared to the new upstarts in the valley. I will seek these out once again and I did take a few back with me. Now the wines: not detailed but impressions

2007 Fume Blanc – crisp and clean. Very refreshing with that lovely grassy profile that I realize I miss a bit with all the New Zealand SB I have been drinking. A bit pricy for this wine as you can get Cloudy bay for less, but is in distinctive in style, so with discount at retail I would buy it.

2006 Chardonnay, Napa – Again very refreshing as a non-malo Chard can be. Lots of flavor and nice structure. The nose and palate were equally satisfying. I just picked some up at Costco yesterday.

2005 Chardonnay, Carneros Selection – The not available at retail and a deeper more complex version of the Napa Chard….yes I’ll take one home with me and let it sleep for several years.

2005 Merlot – Hey very round and plush but structure and a Cab drinkers Merlot

Not a bad wine yet…

2006 Zinfandel – Muted on the nose and palate, perhaps a bit too young. The final sip was worked and aerated quite a bit and then there it is…loads of fruit and structure that went into a long finish. Give it a few years they enjoy.

2006 Miljenko’s Old Vines Zinfandel – Another not available at retail and it is some nice juice from 100 year old vines. Yes, I’ll take one of those bad boys home also.

2005 Cabernet, Napa – Best wine yet. Great depth and structure and if given time a beauty…yes I’ll take one home also.
2000 Cabernet, Napa – Offered as a demonstration of a mature wine and boy was this yummy! Yes a 2000 to boot! Dare I ask…$135…ah no thanks… good wine but let’s get real here.

2006 Violetta Desert Wine – Really nice with plenty of acid to keep it from being cloying. Not Sauternes, but a pretty good effort.

So, I re-discovered a winery that brought me to the dance some 25 years ago. Gee, now why do I buy Montelena Chard every year…Miljenko Grgich was the wine maker when Monty beat the French in 1976, his own label is pretty tasty if you ask me. Somehow, I lost sight of that in this journey, but I guess we all come home eventually.

2

Thanks for the notes, Bob… it sounds like a nice, nostalgic visit! I enjoyed my one visit to the Grgich tasting room. I liked Violetta too, but I remember thinking that the price was very high. Do you remember how much it was?

3

I generally like the Grgich lineup too - if only (as you noted) prices were more reasonable. Had an 01 Cab recently that was really nice.

4

I never was a fan of their tasting for a weird reason. I think they switch to bio dynamic farming riding the use of pesticides. Were there an abundance of fruit flies in the tasting room when you were there?

The wines are still nice though.

5

There definitely was when I was there, funny you bring it up!

6

We went to the Grgich festival on 4th of July weekend for many years. We have enjoyed their wines for many years. Many of their older Zins from the mid-80s are still drinking well. I have heard with no verification that wines have declined in recent years.

7

No flies when I was there.

8

I believe the price was $85 for a 375 ml [wow.gif] . I can get some killer Sauternes in larger formats for that.

9

Good God! I think maybe it was $75ish when we were there a couple of years ago, and those were my thoughts exactly.

10

Dick,

I think they were always pretty good and back in the day they were kind of above the pack. Well, the pack caught up so they kind of stood out as being pricey, so I looked elsewhere. Now they look like a good value as they have not ramped prices like most in the valley. I can’t speak if they suffered a drop in quality as I was not a buyer for a long time, but the wines showed well last week.

11

Great trip down memory lane, Bob. Excellent report. I’ve had bad luck at Grgich the past couple times I’ve gone. Not with the wines – I find the Fume Blanc and Chard to always be excellent – but with annoying crowds of very pretty people. I don’t blend in well with them [help.gif]