tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1 2008-07-02T20:22:15Z Weekly musings from the Napa Valley Winery Exchange's resident wine guru, Don Gillette. Movable Type Publishing Platform 4.01 tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.85 2008-07-02T20:12:48Z 2008-07-02T20:22:15Z

Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area had been covered by a shifting halo of smoke for over a week, the primary cause being a series of lightning-induced brush fires: 120 in Mendocino alone. Last Saturday, Pattie and I...

Don www.nvwe.com Pinot Days and to enjoy two wine auction "lots" that they had successfully bid for. They came to Bacar fresh from blending their own five case Custom Pinot Noir Lot at Kosta Browne. They were rested and ready to enjoy a Wine Dinner for 8 at Bacar. Pattie and I were their guests, along with Mike and Suzanne Ibe, friends of the Dubners from out of town. Our hosts were Joe & Pat Harbison, investors in Bacar and owners of tiny Harbison winery in Napa Valley. We enjoyed some of their terrific 2005 Napa Cabernet (not yet released) and a lovely 2004 Santa Barbara Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was a twenty-five case bottling, made for their private use, by Au Bon Climat's Jim Clendennen. We also shared, as a warmup to Pinot Days, Patz & Hall and Marcissan Pinots. A hot dinner topic was the Harbison's search for a winemaker for their new project. They have finished the planting of a new property, on vineyard land adjacent to Screaming Eagle's. 175 Pinot Makers Pinot Days was held the following Sunday at Fort Mason Center, helpfully located at the opposite end of town from the bumper-to-bumper traffic of San Francisco's annual Gay Freedom Day Parade. The public was set to arrive at 1:00pm, while the trade entered (after glitches caused by some non-working ticket scanners) at 11:00am. Six NVWE staffers attended, while GM Denise "held the fort" at the wine store. Each staffer carried a crib sheet, highlighting: must stops; new producers; and interesting works in progress they should check-out. The layout was alphabetical. I began at B, with 3 wines from Benovia (my favorite new producer), followed by 4 more Pinots at Black Kite. This was a mistake, as both Ancien and Arista were to run out of wine before I worked myself around to A again at four o'clock. In this sense, Pinot Days is itself a work in progress, as many small-production wineries struggle with how best to allocate their limited supply of samples. Fine Pinot Noir is essentially a "small-lot" product, wherever it is grown. Pinot thrives in often sharply-delimited locations, must be carefully fermented in small containers, and tastes unrewarding unless the crop yields are kept small. When our store has 150 Pinots in stock, as it sometimes does, 125 or more are likely to be under 400 case production. Pinot producers in our state are typically tiny, so pouring at a large gathering of tasters like Pinot Days can make a serious dent in their supply. Last year, Chasseur brought their great 2005 Pinots to PD. Owner Bill Hunter looked near to despair when his samples ran out within an hour of the arrival of the public. He had poured a case of most of his wines, no small thing, when you realize that many of his 2005s were under 100 case production and one was under 30. Bill could not afford to bring his much smaller crop of 2006s to Pinot Days. I hope he will reconsider when his fabulous and considerably more plentiful 2007s are ready. Next week, part two: Our "staff favorites" and some new guys to watch... ]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.84 2008-06-23T15:37:58Z 2008-06-25T16:51:06Z

I just tasted through ten recent Qupe winery releases and was struck by what a good group they were. Each was elegantly food-balanced and delicious. Although none was dramatic, all were well focused and several were beautifully expressive. Bob Lindquist...

Don www.nvwe.com Qupe was a pioneer of sorts, begun by a man with a passion for Rhone Valley wines, at a time when the raw material needed to emulate them was nearly non-existant in the New World. I met Bob in 1979, when he phoned me to ask for my participation, in the guise of a local Rhone wine authority, in an upcoming Rhone-reds tasting being held by the Ventura-Oxnard chapter of Vino: of which he was the president. My co-authority was to be Bob's friend, Jim Clendennan, later to launch Au Bon Climat. At the time, each was working at a Santa Barbara County winery, although Jim had recently returned from helping with a Rhone Valley harvest. Jim had lots of information on regional wine-making practices to relate, while I was to supply the merchants perspective. Both Bob and Jim were night-time and weekend customers of the Santa Barbara City wine store I was managing. The city of Santa Barbara lies 50 miles south of the wine growing area and I was typically working week days, so our paths had yet to cross. Our paths have crossed with more frequency since then, and always with pleasure. Good and Plenty The new Qupe wines are all attractive, but I have my favorites. I was impressed by the food-worthiness of the 2007 Bien Nacido Cuvee, a Viognier-Chardonnay mix that cried-out for grilled veggies or pineapple curry. The unblended 2007 Viognier set a course between the grapes mineral side and its more floral-fruity expression. It leaned toward the mineral, but at no real loss of fruit definition. The 2006 Bien Nacido "Block Eleven" Chardonnay, always a popular wine and good seller, was their best in memory. It delivered elegantly defined lemon custard, baked apple and biscuit flavors. The 2007 Marsanne and the 2006 Los Oilvos Cuvee both seemed ill defined and hard to understand when the cork was first pulled, but each grew progressively more delicious with airing. The Marsanne, which was almost neutral in character when opened, developed a cornucopia of flavors which included kiwi, melon, Key lime and orange marmalade. The Los Olivos Cuvee, a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache, opened with heavy Mourvedre-dominated flavors of dark earth, tree bark and black pepper, but then shifted dramatically. With airing, the wine became bright and focused, with a supple texture and racy flavors of red raspberry, red cherry, red plum and pink peppercorn. I revisited the Los Olivos Cuvee three times. I couldn't stop thinking how good it might have been with my dinner of the previous night. I had served herb and bread crumb encrusted pork chops along-side Spanish rice. It was tasty with a pale ale, but would have been terrific with the Qupe. I will have to make it again soon!]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.83 2008-06-16T16:37:16Z 2008-06-16T16:59:33Z

Sunday night was both foggy and breezy in San Francisco. We spent part of it on a friend's porch, before one of those elevated fire boxes you see in the barbecue departments of hardware stores. It was a cheerful toy....

Don www.nvwe.com When Brookside closed, one of its executives bought the winery's barrels and relocated them to Cucamonga Valley. There, Rancho de Philo was founded. I believe their "Triple Cream Sherry" comes from California's last authentic Solera. My friends had little to lament, cheerfully drinking the real thing, but it is a pity they could not have seen the local variety in its heyday. I have their assurance though, that if I again appear with a good bottle of Sherry and give them adequate warning; I will find another cheery fire, and some toasted nuts, fresh figs and blue cheese, to keep it company.]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.82 2008-06-09T17:13:53Z 2008-06-12T20:44:00Z

I see more television than I want to and some of that under duress. I have a teenage daughter, and time spent watching American Idol etc., is extra time I get with her. There is a program though, on the...

Don www.nvwe.com International Mystery Night, is two hours long and shows, in rotation, four imported mysteries each month. One might be a Finnish who-done-it, another a German version of an American-style cop drama, or a Russian production of Sherlock Holmes. Once per month we get to watch great Italian television. Before his death, Andrea Camilleri wrote some eight novels and 20 or so short stories about a fictional Sicilian police chief and gourmand: Inspector Montalbano. The Montalbano books are brilliantly written, wonderfully portraying life in that rocky, sea-bound place. They were hugely popular in Europe and eventually each story became a movie produced for Italian television. Bob Long, of Long Vineyards, had turned me onto the books in the 1990s, as the English translations began to appear. Before his death, Camilleri participated in the production of the stories for Italian television, so everything about them was authentic, and the casting and cinematography were especially brilliant. They were filmed in the ancient Sicilian town of Ragusa, which is renamed Vigata, in the stories. When they appeared on San Francisco TV, I was hooked immediately. What does this have to do with wine?. Well, each story follows both a mystery and Montalbano's passion for Sicilian sea-foods. For a California kid like me, it is remarkable just to see him sit down, amidst the beautiful settings in that ancient place, to eat seafood caught and prepared just hours before. I am driven to distraction, as the chef approaches Montalbano's table with a platter of freshly caught sardines to say: "I know three equally perfect ways to prepare these wonderful fish. Which would be your personal preference?". At that point I usually find myself fantasizing over which wine I would drink with that fish, were I lucky enough to be served. Should it be a steely Diatom or Peay Chardonnay, or a Palmina Pinot Gris? Recently I had, for the first time, a California Vermentino. Vermentino is a grape variety native to Sicily, and the gorgeous 2007 Mahoney Vermentino from the Las Brisas Vineyard in Carneros, sent my imagination into free fall! Lately, every time I taste a wonderfully vivid new white wine (and there have been plenty of terrific 2007s), I imagine stone verandas with Mediterranean views. I see myself looking down at Squid Ink Risotto, or a plate of perfectly seasoned grilled Octopus. If this keeps up I will have to get a passport, or at least set up a table at the beach. ]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.81 2008-06-02T19:07:08Z 2008-06-02T19:12:14Z

Unromantic tasks At NVWE, we taste, on the average, 30 to 100+ wines per week. That does not include bottlings we may see at other venues. Most of the samples we try are forgettable, and many times a brief glance...

Don www.nvwe.com Unromantic tasks At NVWE, we taste, on the average, 30 to 100+ wines per week. That does not include bottlings we may see at other venues. Most of the samples we try are forgettable, and many times a brief glance at a label is enough to suggest that work, not pleasure, awaits. In the course of a week we nearly always find a few wines we would be proud to carry, and sometimes we find a real gem or two. So we don't miss any beauties, I try to taste every wine that is poured. I may at times be the only one here that does so, as co-workers who get to the store later in the day are free to avoid trying any samples already reviewed as hopelessly uninteresting, or toxic. Last week Denise, our GM, was on a tasting panel at the SF Chronicle. She returned looking beat, and I asked what she had tasted and if anything was exciting. She had "blind tasted" fifty+ Sauvignon Blancs and found six or seven worthy of note. She would learn the names of her favorites when she called-in the next day. In her absence, we had examined a small and rather ho-hum group. The next day, however, was different. An Unusual Day There are days when five different salesmen pour wines for us, but very few days when all five show up looking excited. That happened last week. It wasn't just that they had good wine to pour and hoped for a sale (which of course they did), but they were exhilarated to be pouring something they thought would shake us out of our complacency. Our staff has long-expected a rush of fine 2005 Cabernets. We remember how good they tasted in barrel and know there will be good supply: a relief after a wonderful but small 2004 crop. We have also lately come to suspect that the 2007 whites, in general, will be the best in recent memory. In one day we saw dramatic evidence that suggests we were right on both counts. So what were we drinking? A list of goodies I will start with the Chardonnays, if not in the order they were poured. We got an early look at a lush and perfectly ripe 2007 from Hollywood & Vine. I loved Newton's just released 2006 Unfiltered, an especially unctuous version; and found Richard Partridge's 2006 as focused, if not quite as rich as his wonderful 2005. The 2007 Diatom Huber Vineyard wants age, but certainly impressed, if not so much as Diatom's fabulously Chablis-like Clos Pepe bottling. A 2006 Dutton-Goldfield RRV Dutton Ranch was as close to classic Pouilly Fuisse as California can get. We saw five brilliant Cabs, two that were new to me. The 2005 Grassi was a juicy-gutsy Atlas Peak bottling with pretty dried herb nuances; while the super-focused 2005 Lindstrom, from Stags Leap, was long and structured. Sage has released an equally terrific 2005 Mt. Veeder Meritage, called Veedercrest; while Celia Masyczek's 2005 Cora Cabernet (ultra-scarce) was the picture of depth and refinement. The late-released 2004 Brown Estate Cab combined the ripeness of 2004, with the jammy-citric notes characteristic of the bottling. There were gorgeous bottlings from other varietals, including a vivid 2006 Peter Franus Napa Zin and a tasty 2007 Franus Carneros Sauvignon Blanc; the later eclipsed by Cora's even deeper Napa '07. Samsara poured a fine 2006 Ampelos Vineyard Pinot Noir, a somewhat under-developed little brother of their considerably more dramatic Melville '06. Kamen had a truly first-rate 2005 Estate Syrah, which was every bit as eye-catching as Samsara's Melville Pinot. Etude's new 2007 Pinot Gris was less floral than their lovely 2006, but proved just as rich. Our near-perfect day was rounded-out by two fine 2006 "value" bottlings: A $22.95 William Knuttel Sonoma Coast Pinot; and a tasty $16.95 Napa Merlot, from Sean Minor. Overall, it was quite a group, one that successfully brought some romance back into the job.]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.80 2008-05-19T20:30:43Z 2008-05-19T21:02:20Z

Roar, the brilliant Santa Lucia Highlands winery that is named after the sound of the wind through its vineyards, is now crushing its grapes and making its wines in San Francisco. A recent visit indicated that 2007 was as successful...

Don www.nvwe.com The Lion Steps Up The Roar Garys' Pinot Vineyard is planted entirely to Pisoni clone, although portions are on different rootstocks. We tried two barrels of 2007. The first, from a Remond barrel (new, I think), had sweet-natured aromas of red cherry, sweet rose, grenadine, dried orange and boysenberry, but was firm and surprisingly powerful on the palate, with a hard minerality, plenty of tannin, and flavors of grenadine, crabapple syrup, boysenberry jam and smoky vanilla. A similar barrel, but with juice from a different rootstock, was denser still, with an earthier, smokier impression and a penetrating finish of sweet raspberry, cherry, orange liqueur and minerals. It showed plenty of tannin and has a great future ahead. Roar also bottles a Pisoni Vineyard bottling and their 2005 was one of my favorite Pinots of the last few years. The Pisoni clone is justifiably famous and, as in Rosella's, is exclusive throughout this vineyard. We tried two barrels and then an "approximate final blend". Our first sample, from a new Hermitage barrel, cut from the Troncais forest in France, was a show-stopper. It was a wildly fruity, Grand Opera cascade of aroma and flavor, with pomegranate syrup, red raspberry, sweet crabapple syrup, leather, peppery braised beef, dried orange, Maraschino cherry, yellow rose, toast and vanilla. It had penetrating intensity, length and focus and was altogether distinctive. The Remond barrel sample that followed was a creature of much greater restraint, but of real beauty. The aromas were an elegant mix of cherry, cinnamon, red plum, red rose petal, minerals and roasted grain. It was sleek in mouth-feel and super-long, with great grip. The finish was finely polished and elegantly layered with cereal grain, cinnamon, yellow rose, red raspberry and red currant fruit, and it had a truly fine sense of "grip". Roar's final blending decisions were about to be made and owners Gary and Rosella Franscioni would soon be joining consultant Adam Lee and Ed to finish that process. Ed was kind enough to let us taste what he though might be the final Pisoni blend. It was a tremendously impressive wine; deep, grapey, sinewy and full of grip, with flamboyant fruit that fanned out seamlessly from the first sniff to the final swallow. Scents of raspberry syrup, Mr. Lincoln rose, grenadine, orange peel, pink peppercorn and powdered sumac were all clearly apparent in the aromas, while the mid-palate and finish were a tightly structured, energy packed concentrate of the same elements. Clearly a wine for the cellar, it was also clearly a potentially great wine. Ed was a great host, as have been Gary and Rosella, over the years. It was a pleasure to discover that their previous success may be just a prelude to something even greater! ]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.79 2008-05-12T19:41:54Z 2008-05-12T19:43:42Z

Last week I attended the annual Oakville Growers trade-tasting event called "Taste of Oakville". We receive a much sought-after invitation each year, for what is almost entirely a tasting of first-class Cabernet. This tasting can bring together in the same...

Don www.nvwe.com Fall High Rollers Cabernet Club box. Some of my other Cab favorites were: 2005 Ghost Block; 2005 Rudd; 2005 Stanton; 2005 Tamber Bey; 2005 Plump Jack; 2005 Oakville East "Exposure"; 2004 Bond "Vecina" & 2004 Bond "St. Eden"; 2005 Mondavi "Reserve" and 2004 Harlan. Also impressive were: 2005 Venge Merlot; 2004 Paradigm Merlot; 2004 Paradigm Cab, 2005 Oakville Ranch Cab; 2005 Hoopes Cab (bottled the day before and showing it); and 2005 Mondavi "Oakville". A few of the above have been released, while others will trickle out over the coming months. Some, like the Bond, Harlan and a few others are always scarce, but have been made even more so by advance publicity. The just-released Harlan, for instance, has already earned a Wine Advocate score of 98 points. As you might expect, its price reflects that. Oh well...]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.78 2008-05-05T16:29:31Z 2008-05-05T17:22:01Z

Ridge Vineyards is celebrating an anniversary this year and we recently emailed a special offer on some of their new releases, so I thought it appropriate to reprint an article written in 1942 about the property that they so famously...

Don www.nvwe.com This article appeared in the ABC of America's Wines, written by Mary Frost Mabon and published by Alfred A Knopf. The book was long out-of-print when I found my copy in a used bookstore in Santa Barbara, California, in the late 1970s. The book has two-page summaries of the prominent wineries of the era, of which there were a surprising number considering this was only a few years after the repeal of Prohibition. Ridge was founded in the 1960s in the hills above Cupertino, reviving the vineyards that had previously been farmed by the Montebello Wine Company. It is interesting that they produced both bulk and premium wines, with the flagship being Estate Cabernet. From the book: Montebello Wine Co. [St. Helena, California] The Montebello Wine Co. was founded in 1894. The company, with producing winery at St. Helena, also still owns the historic old Montebello cellar picturesquely situated atop the hills between the Bay and the Pacific near Cupertino in the Santa Clara Valley. A good deal of the output of Montebello is sold in bulk, but its bottled-at-the-winery wines appear on better wine lists in California (as on the Bohemian Club list) and are rapidly becoming more widely distributed. The red wines are really excellent. You might remember, in addition to the Cabernet listed below, its Montebello Burgundy and Santa Clara Barbera Brands and Prices Montebello is the best brand for drys and desserts. Santa Clara is the secondary brand for drys and desserts. Approximate prices: around $1.00 for the top brand, both dry table and dessert; around 50 cents for the secondary brand; ditto. Distribution in New York, New England states, Oregon, Nevada, and Maryland. Outstanding Wines Dry Table Reds Montebello Cabernet. This is easily the vineyard's best wine, blended with enough Cabernet to give distinction and quality. Medium-bodied, it is robust enough to stand up with strong-flavored food; Italian restaurants around the Bay area like to serve it with pizza or chicken cacciatore.]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.77 2008-04-28T15:44:03Z 2008-04-28T15:45:02Z

The greater number of the wines we taste each year are sampled at our store, although we visit wine country as often as circumstances allow. The commercial tastings we attend are scattered throughout the year, often in seasonal clusters. Three...

Don www.nvwe.com http://www.pinotdays.com]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.76 2008-04-22T07:13:22Z 2008-04-22T07:14:24Z

I know that I will soon grow tired of talking about Pinot Noir, if not of tasting it. As someone who tries between 40 and 200 wines per week I would hope and expect to have a diverse set of...

Don www.nvwe.com I know that I will soon grow tired of talking about Pinot Noir, if not of tasting it. As someone who tries between 40 and 200 wines per week I would hope and expect to have a diverse set of wine topics, yet this one keeps jumping into view. I have said before that 2006 is going to be an important "reserve" vintage. By this, I meant that those who kept their best fruit separate would almost certainly be able to market some great wine. I am convinced that there is so much outstanding fruit available that 2006 must be seen as a great vintage, although it's up-and-down nature has proven worrisome to most winemakers. That opinion has been primarily based on northern California releases, but in the last few weeks I have seen more clear evidence of the same pattern in the important southern Pinot appellations. Some good ones Laetitia both sells fruit and markets a variety of Pinots from their large property. Their two outstanding, if quite different, bottlings are labeled Les Galets and La Colline. The 2006s are brilliant, with the darker, plusher Les Galets a fruit-forward beauty, packed with Bing cherries and Oolong tea, and the tightly-wound and even more cellar-worthy La Colline a racy mix of red currant, pomegranate, red licorice and roasted grain. Tantara, a small Santa Maria Valley Pinot specialist, also makes a Le Colline. Tantara's 2006 is brilliant, and is a near clone of the Laetitia. These folks have made wonderfully age-worthy Pisoni bottlings for years and their 2006 is impressive, if not quite as focused as their La Colline, or as fruit forward as their delicious cherry and red rose dominated Soloman Hills. These are just a tip of the Tantara iceberg, as this little winery will sometimes market more than twenty wines. At Home in the Highlands I won't go into detail about the myriad of fine Santa Lucia Highlands Pinots I have lately seen, but watch out for the just-released 2006s from Morgan and Loring and Siduri. I plan to try anything and everything made from Rosella's vineyard in '06, as it looks to have been generally even more successful than the Garys', although the Kosta-Browne versions may be close to even. Not much has yet appeared from the Pisoni, so the jury is still out, although Gary Pisoni's Estate, scheduled for fall release, is certainly a killer. Belle Glos' Las Alturas 2006 is another fine effort, while the '06 Paraiso Estate and Summerland's Monterey are hot values. The Black Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains, is the first fine SCM I have seen, although it's early yet. Next week, I promise to return to Cabs and Chardonnays, etc... tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.74 2008-04-14T18:30:52Z 2008-04-14T18:31:59Z

Benovia We did not barrel-taste at Benovia, but did try their full line-up of 2006s, fulfilling a long-held desire to visit the property. James and I had emailed the winery, or spoken to GM Bob Mosby, on about twenty occasions...

Don www.nvwe.com Benovia We did not barrel-taste at Benovia, but did try their full line-up of 2006s, fulfilling a long-held desire to visit the property. James and I had emailed the winery, or spoken to GM Bob Mosby, on about twenty occasions over the last two years. Benovia first caught our attention when they purchased the Cohn vineyard (most often seen in the past, as a vineyard designated bottling from Kosta Brown). We had also learned that they were developing new vineyards of their own in the RRV. Later we found that they contracted with a few of our favorite Pinot growers. It was obvious that they had serious plans for the grape, although it was uncertain that they would offer the wines through any wine store. Since our initial contact, I had had opportunities at Pinot tasting venues to try barrel samples of the 2006 Benovia Cohn bottling and an as-yet unnamed proprietary reserve blend. Both were extremely impressive, so we continued to call the winery, to keep our foot in the door. This spring Bob told us that Benovia had decided to let NVWE sell their wines and had samples on the way of their first Pinot and, unexpectedly, a tiny-production Chardonnay. When we got to taste them, we thought both were spectacular debuts, and it was with a re-taste of these that we began our winery tour. The 2006 Chardonnay La Pommeraie was absolutely gorgeous, with wonderfully vibrant RRV fruit and a creamy-nutty underlay that suggested Chassagne-Montrachet. Benovia owns no Chardonnay vineyards, but had wisely contracted for fruit from Martinelli's famous Zio Tony vineyard. The 2006 Benovia Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, is a blend from several vineyards, and this was my third bottle-tasting of it. It showed beautifully defined fruit and a lovely texture that coated the palate through a long finish. The fruit was centered on boysenberry, cherry, red plum, accented by a splendid array of sweet and savory spices. Destined for fall released (hopefully to us as well as the winery's direct mail customers) are three more Pinots. They bottled 225 cases of the Cohn bottling, which had aromatic accents that suggested violet, lavender and orange peel, over very ripe cherry, red raspberry and pomegranate. The wine was very long, with dark earthy hints and some roasted grain notes and loads of sweet fruit at the finish. The proprietary reserve is still without a name (Bob is inviting suggestions), but it was was my favorite. Sadly, they only bottled 175 cases. It is a blend of fruit from Cohn, Martinelli's wonderful Seven Mules, and the terrific Dutton Ranch property called Manzana. It showed a superb nose of Amarena and Maraschino cherry, boysenberry, red plum, pomegranate, red rose, vanilla cream and pink peppercorn. It was deep and sinewy on the palate, with grippy tannins and a super-long finish of cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, cereal grain and some darker, earthier notes. Benovia also bottled 250 cases of an Anderson Valley Pinot, from the highly regarded Savoy vineyard. Like the other fall releases, it was just bottled. At this point it has a tightly-wound, gutsy impression, with aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, earth and vanilla. It was the only wine we tried that seemed bottle-shocky, so I hope to give it a re-taste in the fall. The Cohn vineyard is planted to Zinfandel as well and in 2006 it produced 275 cases of a powerhouse. It has aromas of pomegranate syrup, crushed flowers, passion fruit, cherry liqueur and pepper and flavors that are both super-ripe and cuttingly crisp. It will get better for three or four years and it reminded me strongly of the great Sodini vineyard Zins I used to get from Rocchioli. Kastania Kastania, owned by "Hoot" Smith and his wife Linda, was our last stop. Kastania was a highly regarded fruit source for several years before it became a winery, so customers may recognize the name. The name has most often been seen as a reserve-level Pinot from Landmark, and more recently as the same from Willowbrook. The Smiths made the extremely wise decision to hire Leslie Cisneros (of Arista fame) as winemaker. Napa Valley Winery Exchange debuted the Kastania label with a delicious Estate Pinot and an even better Proprietor's Reserve bottling from the very fine 2005 vintage. We tried two barrels of 2007 Kastania. The Estate barrel was a three clone blend, comprised of 667, 115 and Pommard. it offered bright boysenberry and wild strawberry, with sweet smoke, dried orange peel, vanilla cream and roasted grain scents, and showed a fairly gutsy mouth-feel, with flavors of boysenberry, red plum, dried cranberry, smoke, roasted grain and peppery bouillon. The Proprietor's Reserve barrel had a similar clonal mix, but was deeper, oakier and more tightly wound. The aromas were of sweet red plum, boysenberry, sweet smoke, yellow rose, coriander seed and minerals, while the flavors were a very long, cutting-crisp melange of boysenberry, Maraschino cherry. red plum, roasted grain, yellow rose, pink peppercorn and leather. This one had penetrating flavor and was pristinely focused. We also tried the recently bottled and soon to be released 2006s, although they were still a bit tight. The Estate version was more delicate than its 2005 counterpart, but had pretty scents of strawberry-rhubarb pie, rose, pink peppercorn and vanilla. On the palate, the impression of delicacy was more apparent, continuing through a lingering finish that reprised the aromas. The 2006 Proprietor's Reserve was darker and predictably smokier, with strawberry, cherry, yellow rose and white pepper prominent in both the aroma and flavor. The finish was long, but still tightly wrapped. As with the fine 2005, this one will take several months after its release to show all it has to offer. Well sated, but starting to droop, the four of us said our thank yous and hit the road. It had been a long day, marked by pleasure, intellectual stimulation and in my case, writer's cramp. tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.73 2008-04-07T18:27:32Z 2008-04-07T18:33:53Z

I believe our store was the first to sell Chasseur wines, when we debuted Bill Hunter's (Chasseur is French, for hunter) 1994 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay. He produced 48 cases and we, by dint of our obvious enthusiasm and easy proximity...

Don www.nvwe.com appellation bottlings as a testing laboratory for those new vineyards, ultimately discarding some and elevating others to vineyard designated status after they demonstrated their merit. We are all seeing the rewards now, as the quality of fruit he now receives is consistently high enough to at least qualify for Chasseur's appellation bottlings. Bill thinks he will never have to market a second label again. When, as in 1996, he chooses not to produce some of the vineyard designates, it costs him money, but it actually serves to enrich the blends, to the benefit of his customers and his reputation. I will discuss Bill's brilliant 2006 and 2007 Chardonnays another day, as the topic here is Pinot. We tasted his three 2006 vineyard designated Pinots, all now in bottle. I found the Blank Road wildly floral and packed with sweet herbs and juicy cherry and currant fruit. The Freestone (from the fine Cleary Ranch, near the south-west edge of the RRV) is a bright, structured, vividly focused, intense and clearly age-worthy bottling, with red currant, raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate, yellow rose, coriander seed, roasted grain, pink peppercorn, etc in lock-step formation. It seems like a slightly leaner clone of the 2004 or 2005. 2006 introduces the Umino Vineyard, and it is a real discovery, located a bit south-east of the Cleary property. The 2006 is blast of fruit and the picture of harmony. It is a palate-coating wave of Amarena cherry, sweet red plum, boysenberry, dried orange peel, roasted grain, pink peppercorn, sumac, fresh rose, smoke and hunters broth. Truly yummy, and just a puppy! 2007 in barrel Bill's Sexton Road bottling comes from the Cornerstone vineyard, east of Freestone, and we tasted 3 barrels representing clones 777, 828 and 114. The first two showed earthy/gamey/bouillon notes in support of rich Bing cherry fruit, while the 114 was a blast of Amarena cherry, sweet plum, yellow rose and pink peppercorn, floating on a rich wave of roasted grain. We tried only one barrel from Bill's new Ferguson vineyard, a property just west of the Cleary Ranch. The wine was focused, very rich and quietly zesty, with red plum, sweet red cherry, orange peel and white and black peppercorn scents and flavors, with a slightly citric shift at the finish. Ray Hill is another new west-end RRV property, located between Cornerstone and Cleary. The barrel we tasted was a beauty, with loads of boysenberry, sweet cherry, red plum, dried orange, roasted grain and coriander seed scents and flavors, backed by a distinctive sweet-earthiness. It carried a brilliant combination of sweet-savory and rich-elegant impressions that seemed to jump from the glass. We tried two barrels of the Holder vineyard Pinot. This new one is from a vineyard on Graton Road, north of Cleary Ranch. Clone 115 had restrained aromatics, but great length. Clone 667 was deep and spicy on the mid-palate, with white pepper, sweet red cherry, red plum, boysenberry, smoke, roasted grain and hints of Oolong tea. I can't wait to see what they will be like, when blended together. Sylvia's vineyard is a Dutton ranch property located considerably north-east of Bill's other sources, and it produces his most requested Pinot. The sole barrel we tasted was almost syrupy-ripe, with aromas of spiced plum, dried cherry, dried cranberry, candied orange peel, etc. It was super forward and almost too rich and obvious for a Chasseur Pinot, yet it had a sappy mouth-feel and tannins to balance its richness, and It certainly was delicious. We tried four barrels of Umino, which gets my vote as the most captivating property from Chasseur's dramatic new vineyard list. Clone 115 was deep and classy in aroma, bright at the mid-palate, and lingering. The profile was of red plum, red licorice, pink peppercorn, red raspberry and roasted grain. I found clone 667 super-forward, deep, sappy, long and altogether distinctive. Mr. Lincoln rose, beet, powdered sumac, Amarena cherry, baking spice, leather, roasted grain, coriander and raspberry syrup all appeared in my comments on this spectacular barrel. Umino clone 459 seemed a perfect compliment to the 667, offering grandly rich, ultra-long flavors of cherry, dried orange, grain, red plum, leather, pink peppercorn and roasted meat. The 777 was super sinewy-grippy, with guts and structure, but a river of flavor. Its boysenberry, red cherry, pomegranate, red raspberry, red rose, smoke, white pepper and roasted grain panorama was only slightly reined-in by its firm spine of tannin. Two barrels of Blank Road were offered, from clone 777 and clone 115. The former was a surprisingly complete package of sweetly fruity and richly savory flavors. With red plum, sweet red cherry, boysenberry and violet; seamlessly layered with leather, smoke, white pepper, mineral and grain elements. The later was overtly riper, showing raspberry syrup, red currant liqueur, dried orange peel, Maraschino cherry, leather, grain and coriander seed. Freestone is always the most structured Chasseur Pinot and is typically the most pristinely focused. No vintage has yet reached full maturity, but I believe it is Bill's signature wine, the one he will ultimately be proudest of. Clone 115 was dead-on, with orange peel, red raspberry, red plum, boysenberry, pink peppercorn, coriander, grain, Maraschino cherry and strong mineral accents in a tightly coiled and classy package. The 777 was more opulent, with Amarena cherry, raspberry, pink peppercorn, yellow rose, leather and mineral notes of great length, and a mid-palate mouth-feel that was wonderfully sinewy. The finish was super-long, focused and structured. This should be the fourth great Freestone in a row, but Lord knows when it will be fully mature. Next week: Part Four Benovia and Kastania ]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.71 2008-04-03T16:02:58Z 2008-04-07T18:26:35Z

A complicated tasting process Barrel and clonal selection each have a profound effect on the quality and character of Pinot Noir. The widespread use of European cooperage in California began in earnest in the 1970s and is one of the...

Don www.nvwe.com heritage stock of Pinot Noir clones. About 1990 the wine school at UC Davis and this French organization began cooperatively swapping clones. When a "Dijon clone" arrives at UC Davis, it is verified as disease-free, assigned a number (clone 667, 828, etc.) and propagated for use by California vintners. Prior to the introduction of the Dijon clones, local growers would plant from our own local heritage clones. These had source-based names such as Swan (from the Joseph Swan vineyard), Pommard (possibly from Rochioli), Calera, Mount Eden, Chalone, or Martini, etc. The original source of each was French, but their provenance was usually uncertain otherwise. What they had in common was that they were not, as a group, cold weather clones. It was already clear before their arrival, that the Dijon clones would have an enormous impact. In places like the Green Valley (a sub-appellation of the more famous Russian River Valley) the local soil/terroir situation seemed nearly ideal for Pinot Noir cultivation, if growers only had cold weather clones. Equally viable terroir existed in Santa Barbara, Santa Lucia, the Sonoma Coast, Mendocino and in coastal valleys up and down the state. Twenty five years later, a California Pinot grower might now be expected to plant to any mixture of local and Dijon clones, and such a mix is typical. Our growers have also learned farming techniques which allow the cool weather cultivation of many of our own heritage clones. These days, the clonal diversity and cooperage options can make barrel tasting from a single vineyard both complicated to record and hard to easily relate to the reader. At Halleck I have written in the past about my appreciation of the barrel mix at Halleck. Time constraints (Jennifer had a plane to catch) dictated the depth of our look at their 2007s. A one barrel review of their 2007 Estate vineyard Pinot (more supple, if less dramatic the the 2006, with lots of "rooty" notes, red berries and white pepper and great sophistication) and their upcoming Sebastopol Hills blend (showing lovely harmony and plenty of forward fruit, like their Three Sons blend) was all we had, although we tasted extensively from both of their 2007 Farm vineyard and Hallberg vineyard offerings. We tried a composite blend of the Hallberg, followed by three cooperage choices of clone 777 and two of clone 115. The quality of fruit expression of each was terrific, with the 777 versions showing more citrus and red fruits, while the 115 brought more savory depth. The Cadus barrels pushed citric notes forward, while the Remond barrels brought depth and harmony, and the Latour cooperage (so typical of Latour barrels) brought a dark smoke and bouillon note. Throughout the Hallberg group, the fruit was pervasive, offering a cascade of scents and flavors that included: Bing cherry, crab apple syrup, sweet red plum, yellow rose, boysenberry, orange custard, roasted grain and bouillon, along with polished, grippy tannins and great length. We tasted Farm barrels, mostly clone 115, which were packed with dark cherry, white and black peppercorn, beet, sweet red plum, cereal grain, sweet vanilla, etc. The texture was sappy/sinewy and the length outstanding throughout. The fruit shown by the Halleck samples, as a whole, was indicative of great vintage Pinot. I can't wait to see these in bottle! Cal Star, Rick Davis' own label, will produce two bottlings in 2007. His Londer vineyard Pinot showed lovely Bing cherry, red plum and cereal grain notes, while his Sonoma Coast blend was brighter and more citric, with red cherry, red plum, dry red rose and white pepper in a nice balance. Next week, Part Three: Chasseur]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.70 2008-03-24T21:08:39Z 2008-03-24T21:13:29Z

There has been a steady murmur from winemakers up and down our state about the 2007 Pinots. If early enthusiasm is any kind of a marker, this is the perfect vintage. We naturally have an interest in the accuracy of...

Don www.nvwe.com young vines. Great vintage Cabs are wines that you can stand back and look up at. The perfect Pinot vintage will produce wines that are truly seamless and endlessly seductive. Wines that possess wonderful clarity and exotic depth, along with splendid mouth-feel. In such wines, fruit acidity looses its citric edge, but its zest is retained, being subsumed into the other elements of flavor and texture. The result is a wave of scent and taste that pulls you into the wine. Pinots made from older vines have an extra dimension of structure and significantly more depth, so they hit even grander heights as they mature. I have come to believe that the primary quality differences between the best California Pinots and their French counterparts are vine age, and the expertise the grower gains as he grows old, working those vines. One of the things I expect to find in Pinot from a great vintage is an impression of "grip". This is an old-fashioned word, which I personally define as the mouth-feel a wine has when the tannins are dense, yet fully integrated into the texture and flavor profile. In Pinots with grip, the tannins seem to have grown-up in support of the even richer fruit, rather than been added by winemaking decision. The tannin adds weight and is clearly noticeable, but it never intrudes on the forward-moving wave of fruit by clipping the finish, or otherwise blunting the impression of elegance. The mouth-feel of such Pinot strikes me as "sinewy" or full of "sap". Four and a half stops We made three stops in the Russian River Valley and one in the Sonoma Coast, spending our first hour and a half drinking Pinot with Jennifer Halleck and winemaker Rick Davis at Halleck Winery. We tasted from 11 barrels of Jennifer's 2007 crop, followed by a 2 barrel sampling of Rick's own 2007 Calstar Pinot. Chasseur's Bill Hunter surprised us with a stand-up lunch, which fortified us for the three hours we spent tapping 5 of his 2007 & 2006 Chardonnay barrels, 16 of his 2007 Pinot barrels and enjoying his three 2006 vineyard-designated Pinot bottlings. Bill is releasing only those three from 2006, after offering five in 2005. He could conceivably market as many as eleven from 2007, a vintage he is ecstatic about. At Benovia, our host Bob Mosby, poured his line-up of recently bottled 2006 Pinots, along with a 2007 Pinot Rose and a 2006 Zio Toni vineyard Chardonnay. This was a long-delayed visit, as I have been eagerly anticipating the debut of Benovia Pinot for almost three years. Our last visit was in Petaluma, part of the Sonoma Coast AVA, at a vineyard located south of the RRV, near US Highway 101. Kastania's vineyard's owners, Hoot (note the owl on the label) and Linda Smith used to sell their Pinot grapes. Since 2005 they have marketed two bottlings of their own as well, and had the good sense to hire Leslie Cisneros (winemaker at Arista) to help make them. Kastania's bottled 2006s and barrel 2007s, and a tiny production 2005 Meritage, rounded out our tasting day. Next week, Part Two: What the Wines said about 2007]]> tag:nvwe.com,2008:/blog//1.69 2008-03-17T17:26:08Z 2008-03-17T17:53:53Z

Frank and I went to a tasting at San Francisco City Hall last week. It was a nice venue for it, close to our store, and an even more beautiful building inside than out. Our host was the Napa Valley...

Don www.nvwe.com most corporate CEOs have a long and loving relationship with this particular forbidden fruit. It's still a bit early to know how many vintners took a bite in 2005, as many wineries are still pouring 2004s (Heitz is just now showing their lovely 2003 "Martha's"). Judging by the group I saw at City Hall, even some small producers were munching, although I can't really cite anyone there who ate the whole thing. Certainly there were some good 2005 Cabs at the event, but many were lackluster. What do you get when you over-crop an otherwise great vintage? Well, the wines I am discussing seemed uniformly rich, but there just wasn't enough fruit to dominate the oak. The fruit was broadly Cabernet-like, but showed only modest concentration and even less definition. Soft tannins were the norm, but their presence represented less a stylistic choice, than a further proof of over-cropping. Boring and Wimpy, my two favorite pals. What can I say about a Cabernet-dominated event where the most memorable wine was a Merlot? I have to say it again: I am convinced that 2005 is going to be a great vintage. Just a few days before the Napa Vintners showcase, I attended a similar Cabernet-dominated tasting where a few of the real 2005s stood up. Anyone wanting to see one of those need only try the 2005 Versant, coming later this month. That wine will tell you all you need to know. By the way, the Merlot I liked so much was the 2005 Coho Winery "Michael Black Vineyard". It was a truly gorgeous wine, worth its $65 tariff. It's due in tomorrow. ]]>