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Beaucanon (St. Helena)
Visiting the tasting room in 2000, I liked many of the wines
here, but felt that the best of them were a bit overpriced relative
to quality. The Cab Franc on their discount label La Crosse,
however, was surprisingly good for the $10 price, with a balanced
food-friendly clarity.
1998 La Crosse Cabernet Franc Napa Valley (tasted '00 - '03)
$10
Nose slightly more cherry and pepper than a typical Cab Franc,
but also strongly perfumed with the characteristic violets and
rose. By 2003 it developed delicate plum and chocolate/coconut
character, deeper and darker, with hints of caramel and sweet
oak, still bright and clean. Medium to light bodied palate, softening
with age. At its best after four years, but some VA developing.
Cleansing, fresh and plummy, with firm tannins. (13.5% alc.)
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa (tasted 5/04)
Upon first opening, tasted somewhat one-dimensional, with cherry
cassis fruit still showing signs of youth, with medium acidity
and balanced tannin plus some rusty minerality. Left covered
for 24 hours, some earthy layers developed in the nose, with
dusty roadside smells, some tar and coffee, smoke and a hint
of artichoke. In the mouth it still tasted a bit simple, but
with more dark fruit and more apparent acidity. A solid if somewhat
manufactured-seeming effort.
BV (Rutherford)
One of the older wineries in Napa, now rather corporate, generally
making good value, medium-bodied French-style reds that compliment
food. Their flagship George Latour Cabernet is a big, honest,
balanced and brightly acidic wine, perhaps not as age-worthy
as its $80 retail price would imply (10-15 years at best); but
to its credit, it isn't cloying and over-oaked like many of the
Rutherford newcomers trying to sell at the same price point.
1997 Coastal Cabernet ($8) (notes on 3/03)
Nose of cloves and dusty peppercorns (more like pepper-tree blossoms),
hints of mineral dust, strawberry seed and cassis, toasted French
oak profile, slightly alcoholic heat. Palate is bright and thin,
cherry juice with a lingering green mouthfeel, slightly low ripeness
but good spicy acidity. Clean flavors. Not great, but a good
value table wine, in my opinion. (13% alc.)
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon George Latour (tasted 10/03) $38-80
When a cork problem showed up at BV, combined with a tough sell
on the '98 vintage, Latour showed up for a brief time discounted
half-off, and definitely worth it. Still a deeply complex wine,
with steely blue fruit tannins, lingering rounded oily finsih,
almost impenetrable hard metallic qualities. The new French oak
hasn't overpowered these intense grapes. I want to taste this
again in a few years.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford ($20) (tasted 3/03)
Nose showing bright cherries and distinctive Rutherford mineral
tones of a dusty dirt road in summertime, with coffee, tobacco,
bitter chocolate and oak vanillins. The palate shows deep extracted
fruit, raspberry brambles, cocoa butter, mild acidity and soft
tannins. The finish hovers around an oily fruit smoothness. A
very well balanced and characteristic Californian wine, and a
personal favorite for the money ($16 at Costco.) (13.8% alc.)
Castle Rock - Napa
(888-327-3777)
I discovered these wines through my friend JK at Oakville Grocery,
and I am very impressed with the price to flavor ratio - surprisingly
affordable, yet beautifully ripe and deep enough to be interesting.
2000 Syrah (Napa) (tasted 3/03) ($10)
Nose begins with light sweet vanillins from the oak, then mildly
smokey plum and hints of black pepper, thick and ripe fruit,
a bit earthy, with a wave in the direction toward the barnyard
and blueberry smells of an austere Cote-Rotie. The palate comes
forward with cherry fruit tones, hint of black pepper, slight
smoke. Lingering fruity finish with cherry pits and a hint of
chalk (like fruit flavored "Tums" but not sweet.) A
lush affordable table wine, perfect with smoked duck. (13.5%
alc.)
2001 Pinot Noir (Sonoma) (tasted 3/03) ($11)
Soft and floral; for Pinot Noir, it leans more towards cherry
fruit than Burgundian mushroom. Smooth sweet smells of ripe red
fruit, red-vines liquourice, a hint of sweet pipe tobacco and
oak vanillins, rose petals? The palate is friendly, low acidity,
medium tannin and well extracted, with a lingering Pinot brambliness
that tastes honest and grapey. I like this wine very much, excellent
with strong cheeses or salmon in dill sauce. (13.5% alc.)
Chateau Potelle - Mt. Veeder
This small family winery makes exceptional well-structured wines
that exhibit complexity and ageworthy qualities balanced with
ripe mountain fruit. Marketta and Jean-Noël Fourmeaux came
to California in 1980 to research the wine business, they decided
to stay and purchased property on Mt. Veeder, high above Napa
valley. They continue to receive awards from the press while
making honest and serious wines.
2001 Cougar Pass ($22) (tasted 4/04)
30% Syrah, 26% Merlot, 26% Zinfandel, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sweet fruit profile, with metallic notes of rust or tin, red
cherries and wirey tightness in the nose. Big and grapey in the
mouth, with ripe blueberry-plum and rounded texture, with some
well integrated cigar box oak notes.
2001 Syrah Paso Robles (tasted 4/04)
The nose indicates a tough tight wine, with blueberry, tin, and
anise notes underlayed by sweet taffy oak; yet the palate offers
much more approachable floral fruit (roses and violets) with
dark tar (black liquorice?) and coffee-like tannins, with a lingering
sweet finish.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder ($55) (tasted 4/04)
Still a baby, with tough brambly nose and inky black fruit, caramel
oak, tobacco, coffee and dry grasses. Revisit this in five years
to discover more earthy complexity and softer acid/tannin structure.
A big clean Cabernet.
Chimney Rock (Stag's Leap)
A winery with some obvious money behind it (deBeers diamonds,
apparently) making good big Napa cabs in the typical Napa style,
tending not to be overoaked, and retaining some clarity and structure.
Expensive like its brethren in the neighborhood. These brief
tasting notes from October 2003, at the winery.
1997 Cabernet Sauvignon ($60 approx)
Mineral nose, basic cherries and chocolate, a bit hot, a bit
simple. Still quite tannic, still has many years left for developement
possibilities.
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon ($58)
More cedary and pencil shaving qualities than the other years,
some green pepper, cinnamon toast, cherry juice and dried fruit,
quite strong and acidic on the palate, somewhat astringent.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon ($58)
Mocha, cinnamon and fireplace in the nose, rose petals, cassis
and cherries of course. Oily tannins in the mouth, with a buttery
feeling, some ash finishing in the oak profile along with caramel.
Softer and more fruity than '97 or '98.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon ($48)
The softest of the four years in this vertical tasting. More
cherry-like than tar, some chocolate. Soft, big, floral and feminine.
1999 Cabernet Franc ($40)
Lots of sweet oak in the nose (too much, maybe) then soft fresh
and dusty flower scents, like peach blossoms. Clean acidity and
light soft fruit. Not very complex on the palate, but very pleasant.
Overpriced.
2000 Elevage ($72)
Deep dark fruit, chocolate, cassis, burlwood, tar, strong tannins,
needs some time to develop and soften. Spicy cinnamon oak finish.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($100)
huge fruit, huge oak, still very young, coating tannins and explosive
fruit in the mouth, almost like soapy perfume. Still a baby.
2001 Rosé of Cabernet Franc ($15)
A dry rose with some finesse. Tropical berry notes (a hint vegetal,
possibly from the bottle being open in tasting room). Very crisp
and dry on the palate, with buttered toast flavors, lemon and
smoke.
Del Bondio
1289 Bella Oaks Lane, Napa, CA 94558
Phone: 888-223-DELB
Email: delb@napanet.net
The Del Bondio family has grown fruit in Oakville and Rutherford
since 1910, when prunes dominated the Napa valley. Replanting
to vineyards 40 years ago, they began selling grapes to surrounding
wineries, recently Frogs Leap and Downing Family. The new generation
began a label in 1997, with father Rich Poncia and son Shawn
Sellers at the helm, winemaker Randy Mason consulting.
I met Poncia on a recent rainy November morning at the construction
site of his new winery building. In coveralls and boots, more
farmer than entrepreneur, Poncia looked a bit like Jerry Garcia.
Del Bondio's vineyard has organic certification. Their compost
operations convert grape wastes into natural fertilizer. Around
the vineyards, boxes on poles offered homes for owls, hawks and
bats to rid pests without poisons.
2001 Syrah Oakville Napa Valley ($25)
A fascinating contrast between a candy nose and austere tannic
flavors. Perfumes of sugared cherries, coffee, soft caramel oak.
Very acidic dry palate with rose oil, black coffee, and strong
lingering tannins. Tough and bright, would pair perfectly with
fatty meat like leg of lamb. 1000 cases made.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley ($38)
A Rutherford cab that shows clean varietal flavor without the
typical heavy oak treatment so common in this region. Nose with
pepper, brambly cherries, earth and musk wrapped in delicate
sweet oak. Very clean and cedary on the palate, a bit thin and
bright, with red cherry fruit. The finish lasts longer than the
thin center-palate would imply, with a hint of tobacco and subdued
oak character. A clear honest Napa cab. 2400 cases made. (The
1998 and 2000 Cabernets have a similar profile but thinner palate.
So far I think the 1999 is the best of these three vintages for
Del Bondio.)
Elan Vineyards
4500 Atlas Peak Rd., Napa, CA 94558
Phone: 707-252-3339
Website: www.elanvineyards.com
Email: elanwine@aol.com
Patrick Elliott-Smith lived in France during his teens, where
he tasted some of the great Bordeaux from his grandfather's cellar.
He and his brother came to California the early '70s, bought
property on the slopes of Atlas Peak and began farming.
After procuring property near the summit in 1979, he lived
in a teepee while clearing brush and planting Cabernet vines.
He sold his grapes to Caymus, who used them to add structure
to their Special Select, a wine which now sells for well over
$100.
Elliott-Smith started Elan in 1992, making fewer than 1000
cases annually from his own Cabernet grapes. He built a house
of rammed earth where the teepee once stood, vineyards surrounding
it, cellar beneath. Patrick's wife Linda helps run the business,
their two children help charm the guests.
1992 Elan Cabernet Sauvignon
Amazingly clean and youthful after 10 years in the bottle. Complex
smells of fireplace ash, pepper and cloves from integrated oak,
raspberry fruit that opens into the rusty blueberry quality of
the younger Elan vintages; but overall more grapey, less herbal
than the younger wines. The palate softens into chocolate and
graphite minerality as it breathes. Quite delicate and lovely,
showing amazing ageworthiness for these grapes.
1995 Elan Cabernet Sauvignon
It seems that Elan almost inverts the usual vintage profiles,
austere in ripe years and softer during tough years. This '95
shows much more fruit than the '97, surprising considering the
vintages. Maybe it's the altitude? This is huge, tough and lovely.
More caramel, chocolate and blueberries in the nose, less tar
and rust than '97, much more generous. A bit of iodine on the
palate, with the blueberry fruit receding behind herbal lime
citrus acidity, but softer in the finish with orange oil, fully
integrated oak and a hint of dusty tar.
1997 Elan Cabernet Sauvignon
An austere wine, full of dusty herbal complexity. Challenging
aromas of Herbs de Provence, sage, graphite, rust, fishtank,
dusty roadside tar after an early rain. The usually predominant
Elan steely blueberry fruit actually hides in the background
behind all this herbaceousness until it hits the palate. There
it is: blueberries and raw meat with sweet oak and a twist in
the direction of tart cherries as it fades alongside cocoa tannins.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon ($45)
A huge complex nose with blueberry fruit, cola, cocoa, iron rust
minerality, mint leaves, hints of anise, cedar, sage and tar.
Huge and oily in the mouth, lingering with big chocolatey dark
fruit, a touch of black liquorice,
and deep lasting tannins. One of Elan's more gentle years, showing
lovely deep fruit. Not anything like a simple fruity Napa cab,
but more serious and likely to live long in the cellar.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon ($45)
A crusty big cab. Might have a similar profile to the 1995 (chocolate,
ripe blueberry, rust) but harder, more metallic, hints of coffee,
higher tannin, more austere. Two years of 70% new French oak
didn't overpower this giant wine, whose mountain austerity reminds
me of a big Pomerol. Makes the 1999 seem soft by comparison.
Set this one down for at least 5-10 years.
Guenoc
Well, OK, it's not exactly Napa. Guenoc lies north of Calistoga
in the northern extremity of the Napa valley, and they buy their
grapes from all around. They make excellent affordable wines,
with perhaps some slightly flattened "predictable"
qualities.
1999 Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast ($12)
One of the better bargain Cabernets. Nose of red cherry fruit,
sweet and floral, hints of brambly tannin, pepper and vanilla
oak. A very good balance of flavors, with mid-palate fruit, medium
tannin and acidity, lingering brightness. A simple and excellent
wine centered around the fruit, not hiding any flaws.
Jade Mountain (Napa)
2000 Mourvedre Contra Costa Evangelho Vineyard (tasted 3/03)
($17)
This wine is a big bomb of coconut and ripe cherries, fruity
and oily in the mouth. The nose shows dust and cocoa butter,
coconut, sweet red fruits, loamy soil, taffy, hints of garden
herbs and some oxidation artifacts that blow off after about
ten minutes. The flavors are big, ripe and chocolatey, slightly
sweet, fruit forward and a touch simple, but with a velvety smooth
and buttery mouth feel. A typically Californian take on a very
Rhone grape. (14.9% alc.)
Joseph Phelps (St. Helena)
1996 Joseph Phelps, Insignia, meritage (tasted 12/02)
Sadly going downhill, with a nose dominated by vegetal smells.
The palate shows better character, with low acidity, hint of
cinnamon, but flabby and fading. What a shame. Insignia might
not be quite as ageworthy as Phelps claims, or this may have
been a bad year (the bottle had been well-kept.)
1997 Le Mistral (tasted 2/03) ($20)
43% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 12% Mourvedre, 8% Petite Syrah, 7% Alicante
Bouschet makes this a clear contender for a California attempt
at a classic Chatauneuf du Pape blend -- only, at the peak of
ripeness. A beautiful and balanced wine, crisp, complex and food-friendly.
By 2003 the nose had become cocoa butter, hints of oxidation
(clean, not vegetal), cherries, chocolate, brambles, lingering
vanillins and some oak terpines, quite smooth, ornate and rich.
As it opened, complex vanilla perfumes started to volitalize
and become spicy. Brambly tannins came up on the palate first,
then cherry fruit and cocoa. The finish showed good firm acidity
and lingering dry dusty tannins. The light oxidation and smoothness
tells me that this wine is at its best right now, could last
a year or two longer, but may start to slide into low fruit and
high oxidation. Overall not for long-ageing. (13.5% alc.)
Louis M. Martini (St. Helena)
What sad news came in 2002, when Gallo bought Louis Martini.
They said they were trying to solidify the traditional "family
owned" wineries in California. If Gallo is a "family"
then so is Bill Gates and Microsoft. Martini is an old California
winery that has continued to make high quality wines with no-nonsense
clarity and some subtlety, selling at a bargain price. You wouldn't
want to age a Martini wine longer than 5-10 years, but it will
certainly show good character during that time.
1997 Merlot California ($7) (tasted 3/03)
A french style Merlot with California simplicity, a bit reminiscent
of Languedoc. Nose shows dry limestone mineral, like tarmac at
the start of a rain, cherries, and hints of tobacco and sweat.
Some mild cork problems have appeared on some of the bottles
from this vintage, despite the fact that the corks are composite.
Subtle vanillins creep underneath the minerals, cocoa butter
and fruits, but I like the way this wine hides its oak. The fruit
is clear and fresh on the palate, bright acidity, light and slightly
simple, with a raspberry-plum finish.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma ($12) (tasted 10/02)
Cassis and simple berries, dust and a bit of graphite. Round
slightly oily palate, some christmas spices, clean acidity, a
pleasant table wine, and an excellent value.
Merryvale
I love Merryvale's high end Bordeaux-style blend "Profile"
but I think it's way too expensive at around $90. This winery
also makes very good quality mid-priced wines under the Starmont
designation, but they sometimes share some of those perfumed
over-oaked Rutherford qualities that make them pair well only
with big meaty food.
2000 Starmont Cabernet
Nose of sweet spicy vanilla tones, hints of cherry cough syrup,
milk chocolate, cinamon and toffee. The oak overpowers the fruit
a bit. Palate has up-front cherries and cassis, hints of blueberry,
velvety tannins, very soft and low acidity. The medium dry finish
has strong new-oak characters of cinnamon candy and chocolate.
Neibaum-Coppola
Maybe I just don't get it. I have been to fancy tastings at the
Coppola estate, which proudly asserts its heritage as the old
Inglenook Winery, famous among the first great California wineries.
Yet I keep thinking that these wines are overpriced and overhyped.
Maybe I would like them better if they were cheaper and didn't
come with Hollywood and restaurant chains attatched. So much
for marketing. I like these wines for their honesty at times,
but otherwise I think they're all about the name.
2000 Merlot Blue Diamond (Rutherford) (tasted 3/03)
Nose of leather, blueberries, plums, oaky sweetness, turning
vegetal with some mercaptan flaws. The palate luckily doesn't
show the same vegetal character, instead with a quirky big earthy
flavor, low tannins and medium acidity, oily ripe plummy fruit.
The flaws tell me this wine should not be aged. (13.5% alc.)
2001 Merlot Blue Diamond (tasted 2/04)
Nose of plums and black cherries, liquorice, chocolate, vanilla
taffy oak. Palate shows big dusty tannins, jammy plum fruit,
better acidity and cleaner than the 2000. Quite good. (13.5%
alc.)
Pine Ridge
Pine Ridge makes serious, structured wines with a clean fruit
profile that shows clearly through a very delicate oak treatment.
Considering their consistent quality, I respect them for resisting
the temptation to hike their prices during the boom in the late
Nineties. These aren't cheap wines, but some of them stayed priced
within reason relative to quality.
*2000 Crimson Creek Merlot (tasted 10/03) $27
Beatiful wine and probably a good value for the quality. 50/50
blend between Carneros and Rutherford fruit, with 86% Merlot,
8% Cab Sauv, 4% Cab Franc, 2% Malbec, almost like a St. Emillion
Bordeaux blend. Giant cherry fruit nose, slightly stemmy tannins,
briar patch characters. Tarry on the palate, with deeply structured
tannins, oily and serious with a long lingering finish hinting
of coffee, tobacco and caramel.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford (tasted 10/03) $39
Complex smells of cinnamon oak, bay leaf menthol, coffee, pencil
shavings, smoke, black pepper and blood. Spicy in the mouth,
bright with good acid structure, cranberry fruit which softens
into sweeter oak notes. Late in the palate, a hint of pink peppercorns
enters, and lingers with some tannic dryness.
2000 Onyx (tasted 10/03) $50
60% Malbec, 16% Merlot, 24% Tannat. A huge mouthful of fruit
with oily toasty qualities, ripe and chocolatey. Nose is a bit
hot, with peppery undercurrents that imply more tannin than the
mouth feels. Somewhat low acidity, rounded soft and very ripe
in the mouth, with a sweet caramel finish.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District (tasted 10/03)
$70
Pine Ridge's flagship Cabernet with 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Malbec
and 5% Merlot. An explosive nose of cassis and coffee, red liquorice,
cardomom, anise and cherries. Bigger fruit and less lean than
the Rutherford Cab, more creamy on the palate, more chocolate
and ripe cherries. Supple and fruity but well structured.
2000 Andrus Reserve (tasted 10/03) $135
Blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.
Opaque color with a hint of briarpatch in the nose. The nose
is still a bit tight and simple, needs a few years. Inky fruit
extraction shows itself in the soft and sensual palate, with
an extremely long fruity finish, velvety soft tannic structure,
and a finish that fades slowly like long reverb: first with caramel
oak, then oily tannins, longer into mocha chocolate then fading
into cinamon and ash.
2002 Chardonnay Carneros Dijon Clones (tasted 10/03) $27
Smokey nose, buttery but not cloying, tropical pineapple and
toast. Very smooth on the palate, with Meyer lemon, clean bright
woodiness, oaky finish in the glass.
Pride Mountain Vineyards
and Robert Foley
4026 Spring Mountain Road, St. Helena CA 94574
Phone: 707-963-4949
Email: contactus@pridewines.com
Winemaker Bob Foley is a master at balance, making big wines
that show good fruit, acidity, tannin, and spicy complexity.
When he bottles his own label, the balance point sits at the
extreme of saturated flavors: crazy big wines. It helps that
his grapes come from one of the best high-elevation growing regions
in California, above the Napa Valley on Spring Mountain.
These wines are expensive, and they get high points in the
wine press. They deserve the accolades, but I wish the prices
could come down a bit so I could buy more! Foley releases only
two wines on his own label, Charbono and Claret. The Charbono
is a fruit-driven spicy wine with smokey spicy flavors. His gigantic
Claret uses the same grapes as the Pride Reserve Cabernet (around
$150/bottle), blended to his own tastes and sold at "only"
$100.
2001 Pride Merlot ($48)
Intense nose of chocolate, cassis, black cherries, caramel oak,
a hint of brambles and clove, some dark floral overtones (violets).
Giant fruit on the palate, black cherry with coffee, velvety
large tannins. The tannins and fruit linger for a very long time.
5382 cases (14.1% alc.)
2001 Robert Foley Claret ($100)
This wine makes everything else seem small, a bully wearing velvet
gloves. Big everything: tannin, oak, fruit, nose, palate, finish,
etc. Deep sweet black cherry nose surrounded by caramel taffy
oak, chocolate mint, almonds, cinnamon and winter spices. I pictured
zabaglione for some reason: marsala in sweet heavy cream with
ripe berries. The flavors conquered the mouth with monstrous
sweet black fruit, bitter chocolate, splinters and rock hard
tannins (seemingly integrated due to overwhelming fruit and oak),
almost impenetrably deep with an endless finish (still lingering
5 minutes after.) After five hours in the glass, it opened into
coconut, dark chocolate, blackberries and liquorice. The next
day (in the same glass) it tasted like black cherries, caramel
oak, milk chocolate and wet leaves. A crazy megawine.
2002 Pride Chardonnay ($35)
A sweet nose of caramel apples, butter and a hint of citrus.
Full ripeness, soft malolactic flavors of butterscotch and toasted
pineapple, lingering oak sweetness but with enough acidity to
keep it from getting cloying. 1484 cases (14.3% alc.)
2002 Pride Viognier ($40)
Floral and fleshy-fruit perfumes show great depth and subtlety.
Tropical flowers, peaches or apricots, not much oak at all (a
refreshing change that will make this pair well with food.) Crisp
yet lingering in the mouth, a viscous mouth feel, with a sense
of sweetness despite full dryness and high acidity. Not a trace
of bitterness in the long smokey finish. Clean, complex and lovely.
1867 cases (13.9% alc.)
2002 Robert Foley Vineyards Charbono, Napa Valley ($35)
Nose of young unintegrated oak, toasted caramel, hints of cherry,
dark earthy chocolate, some VA, low-frequency notes. Flavors
reminiscent of barbecue, lots of acidity, lots of fruit extraction,
medium low tannin. A slightly quirky wine whose spicy smokiness
would pair perfectly with barbecued ribs.
Van Der Heyden (Napa, south Eldorado Trail)
Van der Heyden has occasionally been one of my favorite small
Napa wineries, making brilliant huge late harvest wines and some
German style sweet white table wines. Not cheap, and getting
a bit overpriced as they strive for uniqueness, these wines have
huge fruit and deep complexity. The tasting room consists of
a tin shed with the charming curmudgeonly André Van der
Heyden himself sitting behind his desk pouring wines and lecturing
like a tape machine (with great pride) about his wines. The Van
der Heyden family sold their house in Piedmont CA in the mid
1970's to follow a dream, turning his winemaking hobby into a
full time career. He has won many gold medals since then, but
continues to do it all at a tiny scale. His son-in-law acts as
chief vintner, baby grandson charming the visitors with his antics.
I try to take visiting friends here for tastings just to experience
the unique wines and funky family atmosphere.
I am still puzzling over their Cabernet Sauvignon, which I
think they age too long in the barrel. I bought some 1998 on
futures when I had a barrel sampling. It tasted beautiful then,
with deep nutty complexity, citrus and winter spices. They didn't
release the wine for almost a year after that, and when I tasted
it a few years later ('03) it showed signs of serious "volitile
acidity" - a euphimism for turning into vinegar because
of too much exposure to oxygen in the barrel.
1997 Zinfandel Amador County Late Harvest (tasted 10/03) $45
for 350 ml
Some oxidation with vegetal notes in the nose, drying dusty tannins,
large acidity, nose of strawberry and chocolate but also a bit
too much oak and air. Lingering sweetness and long plum/chocolate
finish make up for any vegetal smells. Too expensive.
1998 White Table Wine (tasted 2/03) $11
Nose of apples, pears, hints of terpentine, clove and Christmas
spices, minute trace of tobacco and brown sugar. Sweet palate
with apples, pears, peaches, lingering spicyness matches the
nose, with a fresh fruit finish. The age has amplified the terpines
a bit. This wine is best when young.
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 12/03) $65
When first opened, completely overtaken by acetaldehyde, medicinal
smells, weirdness. Two days later - as I write this: astonishingly,
much of the acetaldehyde had blown off. Comparing previous notes
with the glass in front of me... Two days ago: VA, Band-Aids,
chocolate, gardenia flowers, citrons, pickled bergamot orange
peel. Intense astringent palate of unsweetened chocolate mint,
very spicy and very oaky. Today: Smells of deep dark Belgian
chocolate, jasmine and orange blossoms, allspice, cloves, dry
sycamore leaves, camphor, subtle acetaldehyde but drinkable.
The palate is still somewhat astringent and medicinal, with iodine,
camphor, bergamot oil and mint. Next time I open one of these
bottles, I'll decant it three days before serving.
1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (tasted 10/03) $50
I think this has been aged too long in oak, and suffers from
some oxidation effects -- volatile acidity, acetaldehyde. Nose
of chocolate and cassis, bright berry and deep cherry. Puckery
mid-palate acidity, viscous buttery finish. Potentially a lovely
huge wine, I think it sat too long in barrel.
2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Late Harvest Napa Valley (tasted 10/03)
$150
Van Der Heyden claims to be the only winery in the world to make
a late harvest Cabernet, a very risky undertaking considering
the late ripening fruit. This wine shows perfect age effects,
light oxidation that adds complexity, a huge chocolatey nose
with hints of beautiful dark sweet fruit. Surprisingly not cloyingly
sweet in the palate, but with clean acidity and firm tannins.
The almost endless finish in the mouth leaves a toasted apple/butter
flavor like tarte tatin, bready and sweet. Frightingly expensive
but lovely to taste.
2001 Chardonnay Napa Valley Estate (tasted 10/03) $22
Tropical fruit profile of mango and lime, pineapple, honeydew
melon, green apple. Crisp acidity, not too much oak. Sweet smells,
dry palate, lovely.
2001 Merlot Napa Valley Estate (tasted 10/03) $?
A giant wine, very structured with good tannin and acidity, nose
of chocolate and a hint of sawdust (unintegrated oak). Some
seediness from the tannins. One of the biggest Merlots I've tasted.
Other Napa Wines
1999 Atalon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (tasted 12/02)
Red cherries, ocean, hints of bay, tobacco, toasted oak smells.
The nose is restrained, the flavors are big oaky fruit, tobacco
and lingering cherries. Definitely a good industrial-method Napa
cab, but not memorable.
2001 Behrens & Hitchcock Petite Sirah, Spring Mountain,
Napa
Quite lovely and soft, with a slightly hot nose of alcohol, but
full of fresh raspberry, sweet cherry and a touch of pondwater.
Soft and not tannic on the palate, with black cherry and milk
chocolate, dry grasses and sweet cinnamon oak. Slightly simple
but well centered and mouth filling.
1994 Beringer Private Reserve (Napa Valley) (tasted 12/03)
Showing beautiful age effects, cherry fruit leather, dusty tar,
red vines liquorice, and fragrant Italian herbs, especially oregano.
The palate showed excellent structure, bright spicy cherry fruit,
oily smooth mouth-feel and still some feisty acidity after nine
years. This seems the perfect age for this bottle.
1999 Cloud View, Napa Valley (tasted 12/02)
44% Merlot, 56% Cabernet Sauv. Smells like chocolate and pepper,
light and fresh, Bordeaux-like in its ageworthy acidity and tannins.
Vanilla oak, plummy fruit, hint of eucalyptus. Tingling acidity
on the palate tells me this wine is too young. Still shows excellent
balance and solid structure. The oak needs more time to integrate.
1999 Conn Valley Eloge (Napa Valley) (tasted 12/02)
65% Cab, 25% Cab Franc, 10% Merlot
Strong graphite in the nose, cedar and a background of red cherry
fruit. On the palate, the fruit showed surprising restraint within
a complex tannic-acidic profile of black tea, bitter cocoa, and
pencils. I didn't get a chance to return to this wine to see
if the fruit worked its way forward from under the tightness,
but it might show fascinating complexity in 5-10 years.
1997 DOMINUS, Napa Valley Red Wine, Christian Moueix (tasted
12/02)
At first very tight, pencil shavings, cocoa butter, blueberry
and sweet spicy smells. The palate is big and complex, centered
and hard to pull apart. Cocoa butter and ferric meat flavors,
opening toward cheesey - blue cheese or maybe feta? Hmmm... Wow,
what a big wine.
1994 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 4/04)
A very tough Napa cab, with so much tannin and acidity that it
seems
it could age for another decade and still taste young and tight.
Nose shows anise and sweet herbs, cherry cola, wet tar, opening
to dusty books and oak, and later into red cherries. Feisty palate
with grassy tannins, cherry and cinnamon, with a slightly wirey
Sweet-Tarts candy finish, trailing off into pinched dusty tannins.
1996 Dyer Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa) (tasted
12/03)
Pure California Cab, but showing such strong acidity that it
could sit a few more years. Nose shows dark chocolate and light
bright red cherries. Tingling acidity on the tongue, like cherry
Sweet-Tarts candy. The somewhat simple bright fruit falls away
into chocolate and acidity.
2000 Fife Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 2/04)
Shows an unusual soft oily mouth feel for Spring Mountain fruit.
An odd barnyard softness that may be Brett, but not out of control.
Nose of very heavy oak treatment that might need a few years
to tame, soft cassis/cherry. Intense black cherry oiliness in
the mouth, seems like fairly low acidity, bacon fat, with a finish
that gets brighter in the mouth with dry haystack and red cherry.
1991 Groth Reserve, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, (tasted
12/02)
Complex mells of live-oak mulch, lovely old fruit, black and
green peppercorns, rich and spicy, generous and complex. Palate
is spicy and dry, very peppery, extremely deep and interesting.
2001 Hundred Acre, Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vyd. (tasted
4/04)
Concentrated profile of a big Napa cab, but with high altitude
clean lines and perfect structure supporting its enormous ripe
fruit. Black cherry, chocolate, dry grasses, oaky caramel and
graham cracker sweetness. Very balanced palate, an almost perfect
harmony between dark fruit, sweet oak, rounded tannins and clean
acidity. Astonishingly balanced and refined for such a massively
ripe cabernet.
1998 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville) (tasted 12/03)
I liked this wine so much I wrote down the phone number from
the back of the bottle (707-251-5551.) Generous and soft fruit
with a good strong backbone, it typified the best of ripe Napa
Valley Cab. Complex nose of black cherry and cassis fruit with
notes of peppermint, chocolate, graphite, taffy oak, opening
up to traces of humus, grass and pondwater. Sweet fruit explodes
on the palate with floral cherries and lingering oily finish
with cocoa tannins. (14.9% alc.)
1997 Richard Perry Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
A lovely giant berry bomb with somewhat simple profile. An explosive
nose of brambly blackberry fruit, dusty gravel and ripe berry
seeds that hint at big tannins. Indeed, a mouthfull of berry
juice, rich dark chocolate and tannin, with a lingering note
of oak spice and sweet residual dark fruit. I could spread this
on toast.
2001 Orin Swift, "The Prisoner" (tasted 3/04)
51% Zin, 20% Syrah, 13% charbono, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3%
Petite Syrah. Jammy red raspberry fruit, some soapy perfumes
(high pH?), hints of white pepper. Good strong tannins in the
mouth with a slightly waxy finish.
2000 Palio Vecchio Merlot Luna Vineyards (Napa Valley) (tasted
4/03)
This bottle had been open for a while, and is a bit oxidized.
The nose is herbal, with a note of fennel greens, blueberry,
vanilla oak, humus earth and sweet fruit. The palate is plummy
with a bright finish, deep but simple, fruity. Typical California
ripeness, a fruity wine, not for ageing.
1997 Paoletti "Non-Plus ULTRA" Napa Valley Red Table
Wine, (tasted 12/02)
One of my own personal favorites in a night of tasting among
an allstar lineup. Nose of bright red fruit, towards pencily
cedar, tobacco and coffee. Big acidity on the palate, balanced
between cherry and cassis, bittersweet chocolate, black pepper
and tobacco. Cleansing, centered, balanced and classic.
2000 Prager Claire Napa Reisling
Sweet perfumes of honey and clover blossoms, limes, nutmeg and
a hint of terpentine. Heavy sweet flavors of very ripe pineapple,
fuji apples and honey. It lacks some of the acidity that helps
add clarity to cold-weather Reislings. (7% alc.)
1999 Quail Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (tasted 2/04)
A batch of these showed up at blow-out prices, possobly because
of a bad batch of composite corks, many of which have left a
subtle TCA smell in the wine. Older Quail Ridge that I've tasted
had a tendency toward Band-Aid smells, but these '99 bottles
showed more variation than usual. Finally I had a good one, which
showed classic Napa Cab flavors. This has a nose with intense
cassis and dark chocolate, sandlewood perfume, hints of coconut
and cinamon (clean integrated oak characters, mostly) with additional
subtle hints of iodine and pondwater. Inky tingling palate with
oily acidity, clinging dusty cocoa tannins, clean cherry fruit
and some tobacco toward the finish.
1996 V. Sattui Zinfandel Suzanne's Vineyard (Rutherford)
(tasted 1/04) Nose shows coconut and hints of acetaldehyde, caraway
seed, bitter chocolate, some alcohol heat. Palate offers a rush
of clear red fruit and cocoa tannins, dying off quickly. Over
time it opens into raisiny ripeness.
1984 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (tasted 12/02)
French-like minerality, oceanic, clamshells (calcium), dry summer
grass, blueberries, olive oil. Opens to anise and complex mushroom
earthiness. Palate is cedary, with graphite and other mineral
characters, but still with tastes of very fresh fruit and clean
acidity. A big pleasant surprise to taste such good age characters
on a much overhyped wine.
1999 Stags' Leap Reserve Cabernet (tasted 12/02)
Plummy black fruit nose, cassis, sensual and soft. This one is
all about ripe fruit. Palate soft and smooth, velvety, buttery.
Finishes with a hint of lime or cumin and a bit of bitter oak
tannin. Yum.
1995 Sullivan Vineyards Rutherford, "Coeur de Vigne"
(tasted 12/02)
80% CS, 20% Merlot. Nose of horse saddle leather, cherries, cassis,
lapsang souchong tea, cigar smoke, and mint. French oak character,
I think. Palate shows very bright acidity, clean and crisp tannins,
not a big fruit bomb like some of the others, more toasty and
spicy.
2000 Switchback Ridge Petite Sirah Peterson Family Vineyard
(tasted 3/04)
Bob Foley does it again, making one of the biggest and most complex
wines among a night of big flavors night. Intense nose of cherry
Cool Aid, fennel, salt, limestone, Mediterranean herbs (white
sage?) with almost impenetrable depth. After three hours in a
glass, come some hints of Brett and Band Aid (in a good way).
Very well-structured acidity and tannin.
2000 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon (Spring Mountain)
(Tasted 3/04)
Soft sweet oaky nose with vanilla and caramel, dark milk chocolate,
black cherries, horse sweat and wet hay (a bit of Brett?) An
oily palate shows tar and black olives, strong leathery tannins,
tight and slightly brooding.
1999 Vine Cliff Merlot (tasted 3/04)
Clean spicy cherry nose, bitter chocolate and a hint of pondwater,
some tight acidity, rust, a hint of Band-aids. Fruit-driven palate
with high acidity and good firm tannins, showing good balance.
Clear cherry fruit with a touch of mint and cedar, but not overoaked.
Deep and clean flavors.
2001 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa (tasted 6/04)
Balanced smells of warm woody oak, classic black cherry/cassis
Napa Cab profile, loamy soil with a hint of iodine. Beautiful
ripe palate with full-bodied fruit and cinnamon spice, still
young. Seems structured for the long haul.
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