Don's Gillette's Wine Blog
Musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Read Don's full bio...
Email Don directly with your wine-related questions.
Walking in the Red Earth
I woke up last Saturday with teeth gritted, ready to face the rain. Enough was predicted to suggest that frayed nerves and exhaustion would supplant the pleasures of the easy cruise around Napa I had promised my friend Mark.
"There is a God": I mumbled, as I drove past the north pier of the Golden Gate Bridge. Once again the local weather man (possibly after sharing some more ceremonial peyote with his friend and mentor, Don Juan) had the forecast wrong.
This was to be a four winery day and we were planning to be fortified for it. I was heading north to join Mark, who was treating us to breakfast and dinner. Linda Neal, of Tierra Roja Vineyard and Winery, was promising lunch.
Mark's visit had been twice-postponed and he sought a well-earned respite from Philadelphia temperatures. I was two years late in excepting Linda's invitation for an on-site inspection of her great vineyard.
Tierra Roja - red earth - occupies a beautifully situated, west-facing slope, above the Silverado Trail. Linda's driveway appears almost as a brief extension at the end of Oakville Cross Road. Mark and I came to walk the property and re-taste the 2005 Cabernet, yet the weather and the lunch she provided were so spectacular that they proved as noteworthy as the wine.
We entered the driveway at 12:15pm. By then the sky was piercingly blue and the lunch had been moved outside. Within minutes, we had shed our coats and Mark had donned his sunglasses. We had expected a bit of bread and cheese, or maybe some bruschetta, but Linda (clearly a serious chef) had about seven courses laid out!
Lunch included the best artichoke I have ever tasted (steamed, marinaded overnight and then grilled); the tenderest lamb roast I have ever encountered; Linda's home-made pickled figs; and the promise of hot cookies for the road! She seemed determined that the food would be a match for the wine.
As for the wine? The most coveted annual tasting invitation among California Cabernet lovers is called the "Taste of Oakville". It is the only trade venue where Oakville cult wines like Harlan, Bond, Dalla Valle, Screaming Eagle and the like can be tasted side-by-side. I never miss this event, and Tierra Roja has been my own favorite Taste of Oakville for two years running.
What does it taste like? I usually describe it as a slightly more masculine sibling of its neighbor, Screaming Eagle. It has a vivid ruby color and is boldly structured and precisely focused. It coats the palate with a lingering cascade of ripe red cherry, red currant, red licorice, vanilla, cinnamon and other baking spices: all this firmed by the hard mineral undercurrent that is a signature of Oakville Cabernet.
Pretending to Work
We walked off the effects of lunch and great Cabernet with a climb up through the vineyard, followed by a pruning lesson from Linda. Although her wine has seen only three vintages released, Linda has been personally grooming and tending the organically-farmed property since 1987. The view from Tierra Roja is wonderful on a bright day like this, with Screaming Eagle only one of the famous vineyards Linda can smile down upon.
As you may imagine, we stayed too long and had to bolt out of the driveway for our next appointment. We left warm and cheerful and our stomachs were full of great food, yet we were both soon cursing as - halfway down the valley - we discovered that the cookies had been forgotten!
Next week: the other three stops...