Truth be told, Mike asked me to post his notes on the WB boards.
In time, I’ll post my notes.
This is a tale of numbers……
25, 32, 29, 121, and 0
25 is the number of wines tasted the first day, and 32 the number tasted the second. Note they were consumed entirely. Spitting is a nasty habit. ;- ) 29 and 121 are the roads we most traveled in Napa and Sonoma, and 0 is the number of points the Raiders managed during a dismal outing against the Jets.
On with the story……
Sometime after 9:00 at night Eastern Standard Time one Tuesday in mid-April the mail exchange started. The schedule was out for the upcoming NFL season and the wine tour plans needed attention. Last year was the Willamette Valley so this year Napa and Sonoma Valleys were going to be the call. The trip had become an annual tradition and the rules were simple this year. Pick you favorite 5 wineries and then we would map out the most logical way to get to them. Add a couple of decent dinners at wine country restaurants, a Raiders game on Sunday and the flights home would be full of peaceful memories.
The wineries that were chosen nicely fell into a neat line up Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail the first day and then from the top of Spring Mountain across to Sonoma and back to Napa the next.
Some wines commented on below are discussed more specifically and some comments are simply general in nature. It was a full couple of days.
On to the notes:
Day One:
Alpha Omega
This is one that had been more highly recommended than any of the others and expectations were high. Dan had told me about it and another friend in the industry assured me that AO would be the next 100 point wine producing winery in the valley. Pulling up to the place at just before 10am our expectations were met with the look of the property and tasting room. Top class structure and a few beautiful tasting rooms a few feet from the actual sorting and production areas of the winery.
We were seated in one of the private rooms with Rick the Tasting Room Manager. In spite of his having the remnants of a cold, he gave s all of the background and tasting information required to get started. We even took a tour of the business end of the winery and saw the extreme care and detail that went into the cold barrel fermented wines of AO. Towards the end of the tour, Jean who makes the wines joined us and we returned to the tasting room for a nice chat and insight into what he was working towards with his wines. His presence, knowledge and enthusiasm were infectious and I left very impressed and looking forward to a return trip.
The wines:
Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2008
A wine which straddles the fence between the fruitiness of the French style and the grassy herbal characters of New Zealand’s offering. More fruity than grassy and very refreshing. Pale straw color and crisp acidity. $34 is admittedly a bit steep for a good SB but this one is well worth making the effort to get to know.
Chardonnay Napa Valley 2006
Crisp, and had nice minerality. Still though there was the pervasive buttery character common to so many California Chards. Not flabby at all though. $46
Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2006
Intense on the nose and intense on the palate with dark red fruits and pepper first and then more in the way of blue fruit later. A fair description is an intense left bank blend. Enjoyable but $82 seems an awful lot to ask for this.
ERA Napa Valley 2006
Silky, beautiful, clearly crafted with every ounce of skill of the winemaker. Not the best year for the grapes but a great year for this wine. Beautifully integrated fine tannins. Black Cherry, Cedar, and a bit of fun from the Franc in there. Not a good wine, this is a great wine. $160
ERA Napa Valley 2007 (unreleased)
Big fruit, intense nose and palate and a finish that stays until dinner time. The tannins are a bit rougher than the 2006 but the intensity and acidity is also a bit higher. One suspects both will benefit from at least 10 years in the bottle. As with the ’06, not good wine, a great wine. $160
Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon (unreleased)
Pure cabernet sauvignon. Exploding with cherries, cedar, and all that is pure cabernet goodness. When this becomes available and that will likely only be to people on the winery’s list, it will be worth every single penny. Nectar is too brutal of a description. Maybe liquid silk is better.
Darioush
Perhaps the winery I most wanted to visit due to having Dan de Polo who runs the place. Our meeting in Tokyo where he was to promote the winery and the new release of Sideways (story takes place in Napa in this remake) allowed me to try most of the wines available for the regular winery tasting. I had been so impressed with a few of them in Tokyo I knew the winery visit was worth the time. I did not know how much of an understatement that would prove to be. Dan was on his way out to make picking decisions when w got there so we had a brief hello and then we were joined by Paul from the winery who is one the most passionate about his product and knowledgeable about it as well that I have ever met. I felt we were given the royal treatment and I also suspect that many who visit there leave feeling the same way. This winery is really a cut above many of the rest in the valley. We saw a cutaway of the soil at the basement level and that was a great way to see what they really work with there. Very illuminating. We also tried the two barrels of pure Cabernet Sauvignon that go into the Darius II wine that is available to mailing list members. First one then the other and finally a blend of the two. Simply Wow!!
Viognier
Fresh crisp stone fruit explosions but a mysterious violet or maybe jasmine tea fragrance also. This wine is no less than seductive. Produced from the Oak Knoll vineyard and is a reasonable deal at $39 Saw it in restaurants around town at $75.
Chardonnay
This wine touches the spirit of any lover of the great wines of Chablis. Crisp, not overly oaked, green apple and grapefruit. Produced in the south of the valley from Oak Knoll vineyards as well. $43.
Duel
A classic Cabernet Shiraz. Anybody that has enjoyed the Australian offerings from Margaret River will enjoy this as well. Lots of red fruit came through for me. $48.
Merlot
One of the highlights of the tasting. A merlot that is so complex and full of cedar and other almost Cab characteristics that it makes you realize what a truly great Merlot can be. This is no wine for the person too impatient for a Cab to mature. This is a wine that is ready right now but can enjoy its own time to mature and will be rewarding as each year goes by. A truly great Merlot. $48.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Spectacular and not at all Parker-esque. Long finish after intense nose and intense palate. Deep color and complexity makes this one to buy 5 of and open one each year for the next five years. Mt. Veeder fruit. At $80 this is a steal.
Darius II
This is one that is available only via the winery’s First Offering private list. It is comprised of two barrels of juice, one of which is 25 year old vines and the other much younger. It is the best of the best, and oh it shows. Tasted both barrels and the first was all dark cherries and cedar. The second had a clear white pepper aspect as well. Each on their own was a pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon and the combined they simply blew me away. Best Cab. Tasting of the weekend for me. $150
EMH
Merrill, the owner, invited us to her home for a tasting of her Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon. Her grapes grow literally in her front yard and that yard has the very highest pedigree neighbors of the valley. We sat at her kitchen table and were presented with an extraordinarily well organized and thoughtful tasting set up. Every detail had been attended to including the little labels for the glasses so that in our increasing inebriation we could differentiate. She was a hostess of wonderful style and poured us three wines, the ’03, ‘05’ and ’07. Treats all, but the standout was the 2007 for me. The ’05 was more fruit, red, dark, and very appealing on the nose. The ’05 was all that with a mild vegetal character also. The ’07 lit up my mouth though. Fragrant and mysterious with violets in there as well. Wow! One of the great cabs of the valley to be sure and one I recommend anyone to buy. It retails for about $75 but is a bit cheaper bought from the source. I could have stayed all day and chatted and enjoyed the very generous pours and beautiful home. Even met the famous namesake of the wine and her son.
Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon (2003, 2005, 2007)
Rudd
Beautiful property approached on a long winding road through the grapes. The winery itself is a warren of tunnels deceivingly hidden below the main house. The grounds house a garden with a miniature replica of one of the fountains in Las Vegas and it is complete down to the lights and music. Descending in to the cellars reveals a lot about the scope of their production. Warm tunnels, cool tunnels, barrels and barrels and barrels. Kenny, the winery director, showed us all of it and explained it thoroughly. Very interesting tour. We tasted a few of their offerings and of those a stand out was the Edge Hill Mixed Blacks. So much so that we did not know what would follow it. Well the answer was not even wine. But rather a proprietary gin the make that has distinct lemon notes on top of the juniper berry and it would make a stellar mixer. The cabs were beyond reproach and this winery deserves a couple hours of anybody’s time.
Tasted:
Sauvignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Proprietary Red
Edge Hill Mixed Blacks
2006 Crossroads Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
Gin No. 209
Dinner was at Redd which is good but not great. Noisy as anything and service is rather indifferent. I would rate it a great place for a group of friends for a casual dinner, but do not bother with more than shorts and a t-shirt, the rest of the crowd didn’t. Food was trying hard to be great and came out average. Try several starters to get the feeling of the kitchen and have a chuckle as they pour their by the glass wine at the bar rather than showing the bottle at the table. I was very inspired to go initially and in hindsight would recommend it but not as a top notch place.
We had a bottle of Nikolaihof “Hefeabzug” Wachau Austria 2008 for $58 and it was a great choice with the lighter dishes we enjoyed. A nice contrast to some of the Viognier and other whites we had that day.
The day was far from done and we next headed to what turned out to be one of the coolest wine stores I have ever visited. Randy and Carrie run Napa Valley Wine & Cigar and it houses an insane selection of wine from several hundred a bottle right down to very affordable $25 bottles. Welcomed with a hug because Dan knew them we sat down in their tasting space (think about using this place for events people, it rocks!) and Randy poured a bottle of Ketcham Pinot Noir. Michael Browne of Kosta Browne lends his hand to this and it is a great Pinot and a pauper’s price. Huge fruit and long lingering finish. Great chat and a tour of a massive humidor and then the wine room itself. Between this and Back Room in the center of town, you have everything you need in a wine store. This place has the added capability to host events so it gets bonus points. Plus two way cool hosts.
Terra Valentine
Day two started at the top of Spring Mountain. The road winds and winds and in BMW it would have been heaven. The Avis rental we had did a great job though and we arrived at the picturesque winery at 10:30 for our tour there. The tour started with a walk of the winery while enjoying first a glass of a fruity little Viognier and then a fairly subdued Rosé. The most outstanding feature other than a solid stone building reminiscent of castles in Europe was the automatic punchdown machinery. Like an automatic milking machine it regularly punches down the caps with slatted semi-circle punches half the diameter off the tank. There were many tanks and this all took place simultaneously. As the punchdowns were done in the way they were the need for pour overs was negated by great exposure to all sides of the cap. This winery is so highly regarded that it is used b y a few winemakers I the valley after careful vetting by the folks at Terra Valentine. This is a gorgeous facility from a production perspective. And with the drive being as beautiful a it is, I highly recommend the visit.
We tasted 5 more wines in the library of the mansion and were offered guided comments on which of the provided cheeses and salami etc to pair with which wine.
Viognier 2007 (Russian River) $30
Rose (Napa Valley) 2008 $20
Pinot Noir (Russian River) 2006
Extremely complex nose with peppery overtones. Unfined and Unfiltered this has a cloudy appearance. On the palate strawberries burst forth with maybe a hint of something vegetal. $38
Amore (90% Sangiovese, 7% Cabernet, 3% Merlot)
Fantastic party wine for your wine loving friends. Light fruit, in a light ruby wine tinge with a bit of oak but mainly red berries. Great wine to enjoy a lot of in the sunshine. $35
Spring Mountain District (95% Cabernet, 3% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc)
Plums, dark cherries, and all that goes with a very good mountain cabernet at a great price. $38
Yverdon Cabernet 2005 $70
Wurtele Cabernet 2005 $60
These two are the crown jewels and the pour of these left me so spellbound I did not take notes. They are not ready yet and I would wait maybe 3-5 years at least but the wait will be well worth it. Big bold and very sassy cabernets.
Copain
An hour away but a drive that felt like 15 minutes lay the most beautiful vista of the day. This was the gentle slopes and lake outside the front doors of the Copain tasting room. One could literally spend the entire day in a chair looking at that view and never tire of it.
Copain has some of the best Cost Performance wines available, and we tried a few of them. All were very good but the three standouts came last.
2007 Roussanne $35
2007 Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley $30
2006 James Berry Les Copains, Paso Robles $40
2007 Tous Ensembles Syrah, Mendocino County $20
2007 Monument Tree Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley $50
Light pinkish color, very clear. Notes of pomegranate with medium intensity. Not much of a finish but until then it is quite lovely.
2006 Thompson Syrah, Santa Barbara $40
Full of figs and prunes. Juniper berries or maybe cranberries were there also, with a hint of molasses.
2007 Kiser ”En Haut” Pinot Noir
Loads of cherries and great finish compared to the Monument Tree.
Audelssa
Tucked away in a little corner called Glen Ellen we found the Audelssa tasting room. Designed like a Greek house perhaps, there is plenty of space for all. We had a crazy busy schedule fro tasting so we did not take as long as we should have, but we did manage to try several of the wines in an extremely relaxing and cozy atmosphere. The wines were all relatively light and drinkable now. I thought the standout was the Zinfandel for its easy freshness. The left and right bank reds, (Summit and Summit Reserve respectively) were a great pair and deserve a place at any dinner featuring Audelssa’s wines. I thought the finish on all the wines was a bit short and that they lacked some complexity, but this may have been my own very imperfect palate.
Tasted:
2007 Tephra $28
(this means “ash” in Greek and is used because this is the soil type up on the slope where the grapes are grown.)
2007 Zinfandel $42
An entirely easy to drink and almost Pinot-esque Zinfandel. Great bright red fruit. $42
2006 Merlot $60
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon $36
2007 Summit $52
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Reserve $90
2007 Summit, Estate Reserve $125
Sojourn
Now here was a place that had come highly recommended and was a treat of a way to finish the day. Pinot after Pinot after Pinot. I am currently in a bit of a Pinot phase and choose Pinot above pretty much everything else recently. So this tasting was one that I was very prepared to enjoy. Craig who owns Sojourn sat down out of a very busy schedule and poured us no less than ten of his wines. I give this the winery of the day award.
2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
New Zealand style light colored Pinot with very complex fruit providing a medium long finish. A bit of a warm mouth feel hinting at high alcohol, but this wine checks in at 14.2%. $36
All the other wines we tasted here deserve increasingly laudatory comments so you can imagine how impressive the juice from this little house off the square in Sonoma is. Value for money and extreme quality will make this a regular occupier f shelf space in my cellar.
2007 Alder Springs, Mendocino County, Pinot Noir $48
2008 Gaps Crown Vineyard, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $48
2008 Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $48
2008 Windsor Oaks Vineyard, Russian River Valley (unreleased)
2006 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $48
2006 Mountain Terraces Vineyard, Sonoma Valley, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $75
2007 Home Ranch Vineyard, Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $39
2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Russian River Valley Cuvee Pinot Noir
And then dinner. One of the best things about food in the wine country is it is simply awesome. Saturday night at The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma was no exception. Wonderful service, informed sommelier and good food accompanied by a bottle of Francois Villard, 2007 Les Contours de Deponcins (Viognier) at $54 made for a great finish to the day.