Some Random Thoughts From Napa Last Week

WINE TALK
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Sorry about no detailed tasting notes here…it was a vacation and not an RMP tasting event. I will however throw out some thoughts and impressions that I have on the wines we tried.

First, all the 2008 Napa Sauvignon Blancs we had were very, very good. No grassy or weedy wines this trip. All of them were fruit forward with crisp acidity. Top of the list were the Herb Lamb, Selene, Cliff Lede, Larkmead and Miner. While a bit more $$$ than the NZ SB’s, I found the HL and Larkmead bottlings two that I would and will seek out.

The 2006 cabs across the board were all very good to outstanding with Howell Mountain wines showing really well. The 2007 wines are all that they are cracked up to be and won’t disappoint anybody that is a fan of big, ripe and fruit driven cabernet from Napa. Even the Cab Franc and Merlot based blends from Realm are at the top of the quality pyramid.

Outpost has hit another Zinfandel homerun with their '07 as well as a pretty damn good Grenache.

The '06 Seven Stones that I tasted with Roy is as good as anything that '06 has produced that I have had so far. Very velvetly tannins and good weight on the palate. If the 2007 is better, like everyone is saying, then I cannot wait to get some.

The Anderson Conn Valley 2007’s are all coming along very nicely in barrel. We tried the Eloge, Right Bank and Cab Reserve. I will be a purchaser of the Right Bank. As a side note, we did taste with The Todd and we had a 2008 barrel sample of Ghost Horse as well as a 2005 Spectre and Ghost Horse regular bottling. Again, these are the equal of any wine made in the world from Cabernet grapes…but they are WAY out of my price range.

Paradigm is still producing some of the best wines that are under the radar out there. We had the '05 Cab, as well as a '99, with Ren. Very suptle and soft. Again, I am a buyer of this one.

As stated above, the Realm wines are firing on all cylinders for both the '06 and '07 vintage. Nothing we had was anything short of stellar, with the '07s just slightly beating out the '06s. The Dr. Crane and Farella’s were the tops from '06 and the Cab Franc dominant (the name escapes me) was the best '07.

Alpha Omega is IMHO the next big thing on the horizon. Everything we tried from a 2005 Chardonnay to a barrel sample of 2007 BTK Cab Sauv was stellar. The winemaker, Jean Hoefliger, took an hour out of crush to sit down and taste with us and give an insite into his winemaking philosophy. What they are doing there is amazing. The wine of the trip for me was the 100% CS barrel sample from BTK. The Era, as well as their proprietary red blend, from both '06 and '07 are nothing short of amazing. So much so that I was forced to join their wine club and purchase tow mags of the '06 Proprietary Red on the spot…anything to guarantee me an offer of the '07 BTK Cab.

Oh…and the Steak Frites at Bouchon sucked.

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Thanks Tex. California North Coast Sauvignon Blancs are really an underappreciated treasure IMO.

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Thanks for the notes Tex!

I will agree with Seven Stones 06. I thought it was outstanding and better than any 06s I have had. And in fact, better than many big name wines in any year. I have some shipping to me soon as a result. I loved it.

I wish you could have tried the Rudd SB. That is killer too!

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add Modus Operandi to your SB hit list. best i have tasted under $35. glass stopper top too.

i was there last Weds and would have loved to have had a glass but night and day were packed.

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We felt the same way; althought I preferred the 07, and my buddy Mike preferred the 06. Awesome juice.

Overall, the 2007 fruit tasted on Friday and Saturday was [welldone.gif]