Took a quick trip to Napa earlier this month for a few days. Some notes and general thoughts below.
Nacra Estate
Recommended to me by Ketan Mody, who am I to argue. This is an upcoming wine and estate by Gavin Sharrocks. He is of a similar mindset as Ketan, where farming the right way and making a wine true-to-site is of utmost importance. A trek up some winding roads of Mount Veeder eventually you find the house where he stays. Very happily greeted by his German Shepherd Nala who is a very good girl and really wants you to throw a stick to play fetch.
The vineyard itself is 10+ acres on a much bigger property. The focus here is head-trained dry farmed vines, dense cover crop to naturally vitalize the soil, among other farming strategies that I don’t exactly remember. He’s growing Cab sauv and franc, maybe a touch of other varietals but I can’t remember now. First vintage from this property will be 2024. I think ultimately he plans to make 1 wine, but I was able to taste separate block based on soil types.
Three cabernet blocks/wines were picked on September 11th and came in around 13.5%ish alcohol. These wines were based on soil type and they showed noticeably differently. Some were fermented and aged in concrete, others in large oak vessels. I should have taken a photo! The Cabernet franc was picked on September 30th I believe and had similar alcohol.
The CS were all quite lovely and extremely aromatic. You can smell them from across the room. There is classic Veeder power in the glass. Stylistically, these wines are a notch riper than Ketan’s. This is not a criticism, but simply what the wines are. Plenty of good fruit at proper ripeness with powerful mountain structure underneath. These should be on your radar for a project to support: a young guy living on a piece of land that he is intently farming and making wine from.
If you like Ketan’s wines but want something with a touch more ripeness/fruit, sign up for this list. I’m not sure he has a website yet though, so stay tuned. EDIT: turns out there is a website, search nacra estate
View from outside the house
In the vineyard with Nala
Beta-Jasud
Not sure how much more we can write about the man and the wines. But I won’t be the one to stop!
This time we jumped into his van and took a road trip up some winding roads in Santa Rosa to his winery. Of course, it is on a mountain top and essentially carved into it. Really a unique set up!
He grabbed a wine thief and we went after it. Tried more wines than I can recall. We did a barrel comparison for some of the wines and it is so clear that some barrels and more true to his style than others.
Jasud 23 is magic. Tension, tenacity, life force, vitality. The 23 own rooted is a notch up. I tried the 24 from barrel as well and it shows some further ripeness from the July heat but maintains all the energy and elegance still. These wines are special and should be the cornerstone of any cellar. Napa from another era. Tons of complexity, grace, elegance, weightless power.
We also did a very interesting comparison of the 23 Jasud where he left one block to hang 1 week longer and it came out one brix riper. You can tell it is still a Jasud, but so much of the energy and life force was stripped from the wine just by a touch more ripeness. Really opened my eyes to how much of the valley is just missing the mark on ripeness and showing a wine that is true of place. Of course, not everyone is going to have phenolic ripeness at appropriate brix and thus are forced to hang for longer. This is also farming and irrigation driven to an extent.
The beta wines—do not sleep on Montecillo. The 22 is awesome and the 24 might be better than the 23 honestly speaking. He’s also making a wine from a Santa Cruz Mountains vineyard that I can’t remember the name, but wow was it incredible. More red fruited in style. He’s also making a wine from Coombsville and it has the classic cool blue and dark fruit with profound mineral structure underneath. The SCM cab was really a stunner to my palate. Ketan told me that with some of his Beta vineyards, the relationship is allowing his team to direct the farming at those sites. Very exciting!
Afterwards we had some dinner and too many good wines with friends. What an awesome start to the trip.
Kinsman Eades
I met with Shae at wheeler farms, which is quite an incredible facility. For those that don’t know, Shae and Nigel are from Australia and managed to sneak their way out of Margaret River and over to Napa. They both were working for others and then decided to make a bit of wine on their own seemingly as an accident. The way Shae puts it, Nigel made an offer on some fruit fully expecting to not get it, and got a phone call saying it was his. A couple days later Sleeping Lady called and also said his offer for fruit was accepted. She wanted a new house, he wanted fruit to make wine, and I think we know the rest of the story.
Time seemingly flew by and I tried a bunch of the wines. The aberro syrah is very good—it strikes a fine balance between leaning to old world meaty-olivey-game with proper fruit notes. Lots complexity on this young wine that I fully expect to age very well. I tried a good number of the 22s and they were well balanced with good structure. Frankly I was surprised considering everything I had heard about the vintage, but they seemed to have made some excellent wines. I did also get to try the 19 and 21 Rhadamanthus, and the 21 still haunts me. If you have one, put it away for 15 years. If you have a couple, put one away from 10 and another away for 20. It will knock your socks off when you eventually find your way to it.
I did not get to try any 23s, but based on everything I tried I am confident they will be worth grabbing any bottle you can.
MOWE
Went over to Dustin and Renee’s house for dinner and wine. This is not a tasting—this is just hanging out and talking with friends. Renee made an incredible lasagna and Dustin was very generous in opening the 22 red and white as well as the 23 red and white. If you liked the 22 sauv blanc (which I did), holy hell the 23 is even better. Take the structure, power, and energy of the 22 and turn it up a notch to the 23. Most people in the valley view Sauv Blanc as a cash flow wine. Dustin and Renee clearly do not. This is top level SB at a ridiculous price. Further, as the night went on the wine opened and put on more body and weight. These will age extremely well.
The 22 cab sauv is very good, so much so that it is essentially the only ‘22 Napa red that French Laundry has on their list (other than what they essentially have to take to keep their allocation). The way Dustin puts it, they told him “thanks but no thanks, not interested in any ‘22 Napa reds.” He asked him to try it, so they did. And then they called him asking how much he had left. It is very remarkable for a new project to land on the TFL wine list for their debut wine.
And the 23 cabernet? It’s going to be special. Beautiful rose petal and true red berries with such a classy balance of structure and power. An obvious step up from the ’22 which itself was very very good.
Good people, good food, good wine. What else can you want?
Bergman
I’ve been to this estate a couple times now, and every time it’s as beautiful as ever. Tucked deep within spring mountain, coming through the gate is a like a reprieve in a dense forest. A really lovely drive up some winding roads. Pam was in NYC and this time was hosted by Brett. Again, this is like hanging out with friends. We walked the grounds with a glass of the ‘22 chardonnay. There’s a beautiful garden at the top of the hill and I took a couple blood oranges with me. They were so so good.
The winery itself is gorgeous and fully functional. Carved into the hillside next to which their chardonnay is being grown. An exposed rock wall in the cave also shows the terroir underneath their land.
Each iteration of their chardonnay has been better than the next. The ‘22 was very good, and while I did not try the ‘23 I have every expectation that it will supersede its predecessors. The ’21 red is as good as ever. The ’22 red is also much better than the vintage would lead you to believe (a trend at estates that are committed to quality in all aspects). There is clear and obvious structure here with the capability to age. I did not sample the ’23 but all signs and discussion point to it being outstanding.
The commitment to uncompromising quality at every level is so clear at Bergman. Saying “no expense spared,” while probably true, is just missing the point. Any process or approach to the wine or farming here is at an apex level. I don’t know of many places that do this.
Rivers-Marie
Clearly a board favorite and I had to go to Calistoga anyway so I decided to check it out. I sat out on the back deck and looked out onto the landscape on a gorgeous spring day. The facility itself, while visually attractive, is a fully functional winemaking space. I was hosted by Frank who was great to chat with and had some interesting insights onto what’s going on in the valley. Of the wines I tried, I found the ’23 Platt Chardonnay to be the best of the bunch. A great chard vineyard in a great vintage made with some Burgundian respect, what else could you ask for?
Palisades-Canyon
There’s been quite a bit of buzz about this new project, likely because Graeme MacDonald is making the wines. But truly speaking, there’s more here than just a star-studded winemaker. These are old Petite Sirah vines grown in a head-trained fashion at the base of a giant canyon that acts like a funnel for airflow coming down the valley.
Steve and Felicia were incredibly gracious hosts. The planted acreage might be ~10 (can’t remember exactly), but the property itself is about 800 acres. They plan to keep it that way to preserve some natural beauty of the place, and also open it up to some hiking trails. They also enjoy a bit of farming themselves, with some new goats and a llama on the property. We walked and talked as time flew by, and eventually made our way down to the house to taste the wines along with some home-made fresh goat cheese and pepper-jelly that Steve has been making!
This is a unique place with some unique wines. I don’t have much experience with Chenin Blanc, but I can say the quality of the wine is very high. They are making it in a style that is similar to the “black chardonnay” method done by many white wine makers. My understanding or interpretation might be wrong, but the gist I gathered is they actually allow the initial run of wine and must to oxidize and turn the wine brown/black, and then these oxidized particles fall out of the wine leaving behind a much more stable and “pure” expression of the juice. The cabernet is also very good and made from younger vines on the property. It shows true to the Calistoga climate and has the Graeme MacDonald touch to structure and earthy notes. Very accessibly priced for a Graeme-made wine and will age beautifully.
To me, the real star at this property is the Petite Sirah. My general perception is that old gnarly vines generally seem to make really good wine. This wine is no exception. This is not an over the top, ripe, jammy, tannic beast. This has depth and nuance and complexity to it with a backbone of structure that is not overtly overwhelming. It will age very well and open up further, but can also be had relatively young with some nicely grilled foods.
Aerika Estate
I don’t know where to start with this other than to say I was blown away.
Mountain Cabernet made in an old-era style. Young-proprietors doing things the right way with ownership and skin in the game. Emphasis on farming. Winemaking that is truly reflective of a place. This is an upcoming project by Julia van der Vink and Rob Black. Both have star studded resumes working with the likes of Screaming Eagle, Harlan, MacDonald, Jasud, etc. I met Julia at the top of Mount Veeder, and multiple times along our walk through the property I had to stop in awe. This place and site is just incredible, with a gorgeous view of the San Pablo Bay (and even San Francisco!).
The terrain here is quite tough and rugged, the vines are taking their time to come online and it is a work in progress still. Part of that is driven by an approach to farming for quality first, not yield. Everything is being done in uncompromising quality with a focus on terroir that is seemingly lost from so many Napa wines these days. While they wait for their young vines to come online, they are making wine from purchased fruit of their neighbors. Some of them are also welcoming the Aerika farming team to farm their vines, if not guide them. Truly a commitment to the terroir of Mount Veeder and learning the land before their home-grown fruit is ready.
The property itself is Diamond Creek like in that it has multiple sun exposures, dramatic elevation changes, and a variety of soil types. Not to mention how breezy is it up there with wind funneling through the vineyard keeping things cool. My photos don’t do this place justice but try to use it as a comparison.
I did try some wines they are making from neighboring properties. The 2023 Wing Canyon red wine is a blend from a neighboring property with some gnarly old vines. The ABV here is ~13.3% if I remember correctly. This wine just screams complexity and terroir. Incredible purity of fruit with haunting complexity of earth and mountain shrub/garrigue, and a classic Veeder structure. I say this with no hesitation, this wine is up there with Jasud. I also tried a ’23 Wildwoods Cabernet and ’24 Sky Zinfandel. They were excellent, but the Wing Canyon blend is just burned in my memory.
I mentioned to Julia my recent experience with the Wing Canyon Cabernet, I brought a ’96 to a Napa vs BDX blind tasting and it blew away the competition, and frankly was one of the best wines I’ve ever had. These are hard to find now, as the Wing Canyon property burned in the fires and the library was lost, and maybe half the vines survived. To have tried what Julia+Rob made in ’23 and having tried an aged Wing Canyon wine was something of a full circle moment. So much so that we hopped in Julia’s truck and went down to the Wing Canyon vineyard to tell the owners, Bill and Kathy, in their home. They are nearing retirement and are part of the original group of Napa mountain vintners. It is so clear and obvious that their relationship with Julia is special, and it’s probably why they’re having her make wine from their fruit.
This is a special project made by awesome people. The place itself is oozing with life force and energy, and the wines being made from its neighbors reflect that ethos. If you want to support a project from young-proprietors doing things the right way with skin in the game, and making wine in a legitimately classic style, sign up for this list.
Iggy, who is a very very good boy, leading the way
Roy Piper
To cap off the trip, I met with Roy for lunch at Cook in St. Helena. He brought his 2016, which is drinking gloriously right now and has at least 15 years in the tank still. He’s as good of a guy in person as he is on this forum and in his videos. Always fun to get some inside perspective on what’s going on in the valley and what to keep an eye out for. Insider scoop in some way. Just an awesome guy with some really good wine.
Final thoughts
- Some people made good 22s, others did not. I would not write off the vintage across the board, but you should know the style of the winemaker/winery, and if possible try before committing to large purchases.
- 23 is going to be very very good, though multiple people I spoke with basically said “it’s the first cool vintage in 15 years, and most people got bit by the heat of '22.” A couple folks even said 21 could end up being better. I suppose we will find out in time.
- Things seem to be drawing away from ultraripe ultraoaked wines. Maybe I am just finding the people making lower ABV wines, but I do think a serious conversation about ripeness, farming, pick dates, ABV, etc., has been spurred by the likes of Ketan, Harlan, Julia+Rob, et al.
Lastly, there’s still good people making good wine in Napa. If you seek out good people, good wine is certain to be near.
