Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly 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. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
Email Don directly with your wine-related questions.
Napa Valley, Saturday, November 17th - part two
Down in the Valley
After a delicious lunch at St Helena's "Go Fish" (I had raw Oysters and Uni, followed by a terrific grilled fish salad), we headed north to Twomey. Owned by the Silver Oak folks and specializing in Merlot, Twomey is quietly building a Russian River-based Pinot Noir portfolio, the reason for our visit. The Pinot is, thus far, winery direct only. Plans are for an expansion to wine-store sales soon, so I hoped to see if they knew how to make the stuff.
It would seem that they do. The 2005 bottling was expensive, but elegant, focused, long and age-worthy, with classic Rochioli-esque fruit. This was not entirely unexpected, as that fruit was purchased from "Westside Farms" vineyard. It should be an easy transition for Twomey when their own vineyards start producing, since the land they are developing is along Westside Road, just north of Rochioli's property.
Rombauer, was the last stop, for a bit of deliciously sip-able Chardonnay and a look at what keeps their perennially-packed tasting room humming. The other highlights, as in the past, were the delicious wines sold only at the estate: the slightly sweet Napa Zin, the Zin Port and a remarkably successful 2005 Late Harvest Chardonnay. Boxes and boxes of these specialty bottlings marched out the door as we tasted
Our mutual friends Don and Dana Gallagher (owners of Trespass Vineyard) joined Mark, Carmen, Greg and I for dinner at Martini House. The St Helena restaurant lived up to its new Michelin Star.
I had a plate of wonderfully sauced Venison, which was a great companion to the delicious 2005 Trespass Rendezvous (An as yet unreleased Meritage: 50% Cab Franc, 40% Merlot, 10% Cab Sauvignon), and an even better partner to the fantastic 2004 Whitehall Lane Leonardini Vineyard Cabernet that Mark supplied. Sadly, the '04 Leonardini, the best bottling ever from that vineyard, is expected to be sold at the winery exclusively. We are trying our best to talk them out of a case or two.
Don and Dana also brought a very impressive 2003 Baldacci Brenda's Cab, which was much the best Baldacci wine I have ever enjoyed. I brought my last bottle of 1983 Zilliken Saarberger Rauch Gold Cap Auslese for desert. It was delicious, but not as fabulous as its processors, being just a bit corked. Oh well.
After a long, easy and successful day, I said goodbyes and reentered the real world. The real world, that Saturday night, meant pea soup fog for the next 60 miles. Oh well. I turned the volume up on an old Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band CD and hit the road. As you can see, I made it home to tell the tale.