TN's: Boswell reds and whites

WINE TALK
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I had the pleasure of tasting their current line up of wines yesterday. I took no formal notes, so will provide my general impressions. Although this is not relevant to the my opinion of the wines themselves, I am reasonably confident in saying that this winery has its act together in all the right ways and is positioned to make a name for itself in the coming years as a winery to respect and admire. They are also a hub for some of the most interesting and exciting projects that I am aware of. As if that there were not enough, Josh Peeples comes across as one of the most rational, patient wine proprietors I have met and in my opinion has an eye and mind for discerning what is really important in creating excellent wine. In sum, I suspect that this is one of the best wineries that most people have not heard of. Yet…

As for the wines. I was very nervous about tasting the wines. I was so impressed about what was going on around me I was worried that the wine would not meet my expectations. Even though I now live in California, the blunt New Yorker in me is still alive and well and it is very hard for me to say I like something that I don’t like.

Josh first offered me tastes of 4 of his White wines. Ordinarily I hate white wine, especially over oaked American Chardonnay, and I can count on the fingers on one hand the number of times I have actually liked a white wine (and I have never once been impressed by one). In the entirety of my wine collection I currently own only one bottle of white wine.

I like… no, I enjoyed! all 4 of the white wines Josh served me. 3 were Boswell Chardonnays’ from 2007 and one was the 2006 Jacuelynn Cuvee Blanc. As Josh so aptly put it, these were white wines made for those who prefer red cabernets. They had rich, juicy fruit, nice round mouth feels, and oak levels that were (IMO) spot on. Super well done and such a nice surprise I am actually going to buy some. If I had to score these wines with my limited experience with whites I would say his whites would score in the 90 to 95 range.


I then tried 2 iterations of the 2006 Boswell cabernet, the Tapestry and the Estate. Given the context of the overall average nature of the vintage, these were both really, really good wines. I like the Estate more, the Tapestry was to my palate a little more restrained and earthy. The fruit was rich, the structure solid, and the sweet, fine tannins already in nice balance. I would score these in the 92 to 94 range.

Then I tried the 3 2007 Jacquelynn reds, the Cuvee, the Oakville cabernet and the Beckstoffer To Kalon cabernet. Given the hype about the 2007 vintage being a super star these wines only serve to further support the praise. The wines were really well made, elegant but not light, rich and concentrated but not jammy or over the top, and despite having a very strong backbone of (immaculately constructed) tannins, the tannins were already well integrated with and kept in check by the fruit. To me this means that these wines despite being lush and delicious now (a mere 2 months post bottling), will likely last for decades and improve as the wine further integrates and matures. If I had to score the Cuvee I’d say the 93/94 range, the Oakville 94-96, and the Beckstoffer a 96+ (with proper decanting and/or with some more cellar time this could easily go higher than 96).


To cap off the tasting Josh poured me some of his 2008 Jacquelynn Late Harvest. Again, I am not a desert wine expert. Sure I have had Y’quem and Tokaji and liked them, I have had the Far Niente desert wine once, and although I certainly liked it, I have never quite understood the hype or the prices fetched for some of these wines. But this desert wine, to the best of my recollection, was my favorite tasting desert wine. Really thick and sweet and rich but not syrupy or gooey.


All in all, a great experience. I fear that if this winery takes off and explodes in popularity that in time I won’t be able to afford some of its wines, but for now I give them the well deserved accolades they deserve.

[welldone.gif] [worship.gif]

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I really enjoyed the 07 cabs when I had it from barrel last year, Glad to hear they are shaping up even better. I am a huge fan of the Jacqueline white cuvee but boy is it pricey! But it has layers of complexity with zesty acidity built on a big frame. A “big” white but without all that vanilla and butter

edit: Curtis you are absolutely right, Josh is one of the nicest guys out there.

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Was there a few months ago and agree with everything you said Curtis. Picked up a couple cabs but if memory serves they were 06s. Not sure they were pouring the 07s yet

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It’s been a while since I visited Chateau Boswell. The line-up certainly seems to have expanded. The 2003 Chardonnay was superb; the 2004 was very good, though a step down. Still have a few of them left.

I picked up a couple of the Jaquelynne wines, but couldn’t justify the cost of the estate cab when compared to Monte Bello.

I’d be interested to hear more about the 3 chards - prices and vineyard sources

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Charlie,
The 2007 Jacquelynn Cuvee Blanc is $45. I am unable to discern whether this is cheap, expensive, or fair priced as I have few reference points. But I did like it so, to me, it seemed reasonable in price.

Greg,
The 07’s were bottled in May. The fact that they were tasting such limited production wines was a real treat!

Dave,
The whites range in cost from $45 to $95. Josh told me tons and tons about how they were made and where the grapes come from. I remember none of it. I bet if you e-mailed him he would be happy to give you all the details you would want. Also, and possibly quite relevant, they now have a new wine maker (Luc Morlet from Peter Michael) and for the last couple of vintages it is my suspicion that quality has changed for the better. There are extremely few winemakers who style I know well enough that I seek them out (Thomas Brown is my main favorite) but I am going to try to learn much more about this Luc guy as he seems to be poised to be one of the next break out star of Napa. These wines taste really good!

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Hey Curtis,

I guess I got the price wrong, for some reason I thought it was $75. Must have remembered incorrectly!

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I have to agree; tasting with Josh is a great experience. He is an extremely generous and knowledgeable fellow. The wines have improved considerably over the past few vintages.

Curtis; If you like what you tasted at Boswell, I would recommend you try the wines Luc makes under his eponymous label Morlet. The chards and pinots are lovely.

Cheers!
Marshall [wink.gif]

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Thanks for the heads up Marshall. Hopefully he is or will make some cab’s, too…

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Realm is made at Boswell. Kongsgaard was made at Boswell for years. It is well-known in the valley that they know how to do stuff over there. [winner.gif]