Gabriele and I got back recently from a short San Francisco vacation. We spent Saturday 5/3 in Napa county, after being given some really good advice on what wineries to hit. Of course we didn’t get to a fraction of the original target list, but still had an incredible day.
Chateau Montelena (www.montelena.com) is justifiably famous for its consistently excellent wine, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s in northern Napa and we hit it first, then worked our way back south. The grounds and the architecture were beautiful, the main building dating back to the 1880s. Our host made sure to mention that a Chateau Montelena 1973 was the top ranked Chardonnay chosen in the famous 1976 Paris tasting that really put California wines on the map. He said there would soon be a movie coming out about that event: http://www.montelena.com/our_winery/paris.html
The 2006 Napa Chardonnay we tasted was nice, citrus-y and very light oak, not typically Californian. We also tried a 2006 Potter Valley Reisling, which was on the dry side for Reisling and that Gabe liked. But we were really there for the reds.
The first one we had was a 2005 Montelena Estate Zinfandel, which was a lot lighter and easy drinking that other heavy, alcoholic Zins. We then sampled the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet, which was excellent. Lots of smooth fruit back by solid tannins, with a distinct taste of cedar. Great choice in the $40-45 price point.
It suffered however in comparison to the last tasting. We sampled the 2004 Montelena Estate Cabernet, one of the most respected for more than two decades and just released in March. It was extremely rich in the mouth but still smooth, totally balanced, and probably only a fraction of how good it will be in 8-10 years. If you’ve got $125 for a bottle of wine, this is the one. The best single wine we tasted all day.
After a pleasant walk around Jade Lake, we were on our way down the road to St. Clement winery (http://www.stclement.com/stclement/home.jsp). Right off Rt. 29, it had a nice, laid back atmosphere, a charming farmhouse set on top of a hill, and a reds only tasting menu. All were good, except for a Merlot I didn’t like. But based on the retail prices listed on the menu, none were great values IMO.
2003 Abbott’s Vineyard Merlot — I’m not a fan of Merlot so biased, but way too thick on the tongue, powerful licorice taste, cloying finish.
2004 Napa Valley Cabernet — very drinkable, straight-forward fruit, nothing complicated, very quick and mild aftertaste. Blended with 20% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. A decent California cab, but at $36 a bit overpriced.
2005 Oroppas — another Cabernet, 93% with 7% Merlot. The menu claims a 91 ranking from Parker. It had a very nice, richer aroma than the first Cab. Grapes harvested from five different regions in Napa. The wine was much more basic than the bouquet suggested, nice flavor, nice body, a typically good Napa Cab. But now the retail was up to $55.
2003 Star Vineyard Cabernet — OK, now we got a bit more interesting and complex. 78% Cab, 17% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This has a nice aroma but followed it up strong fruit with really nice body and structure. The finish was lingering and had hints of vanilla and black pepper. The menu says 93 points from the Wine Enthusiast, but only 415 cases were produced, so I doubt available outside of the area. The retail was listed as $80.
2003 Howell Mountain Cabernet — Clearly this was set up to finish the tasting with a big bang. 100% Cabernet, with a 92 ranking from Parker. It had a very nice, deep aroma and nice fruit, but huge tannins. Needs to sit for a few more years IMO. Another tiny run of 372 cases, and also $80.
Next up was Duckhorn (http://www.duckhorn.com/), strongly suggested by our good friends Bridgette and John in San Francisco. We had to make a reservation, and it was expensive at $55. But we’re so glad we did — by chance we caught their Cinco de Mayo Open House, and had a fabulous time. Lots of wine, plenty of appetizer type food (important detail if you’re tasting wine all day) and warm sunshine.
Gabe and I are red drinkers, but they started things off with a 2007 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc that was delicious. It was juicy and melony without being too heavy and sweet, with good Sauvignon Blanc acids to cut the fruit and be refreshing on a hot day. We found it for $25 at Total Wine here in Virginia.
Since there were so many wines offered and I don’t like Merlot too much, I focused on the Cabs. Gabe liked the 2005 Napa Valley Merlot, saying it was smooth, fruit forward and had nice body. It was 86% Merlot with 10% Cab, 3% Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Grapes from throughout the Napa region. According to the event menu priced at $52. Interestingly, she thought the 2005 Napa Valley Estate Grown Merlot was similar but not quite as good, and it goes for $85.
I found the Cabs to be good, not great and with unexpected aftertastes. The 2004 Napa Valley Estate Grown Cabernet was good but had a finish I wasn’t expecting from a Napa Cab. Maybe the 10% Franc has something to do with it, along with 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Merlot. I didn’t like the spicy, almost floral finish — it just didn’t come together for me. At $95 retail, I would have expected a better experience.
The next two were the same price point, and fairly similar. The 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Patzimaro Vineyard has even more of the unusual finish, with 15% Franc to 85% Cabernet. It was also very quick on the palate, no California Cab type finish. The 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Rector Creek Vineyard has a bit more of a traditional taste and finish, with 9% Merlot and 5% Franc. These tastings didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the moment — the food was very good, and the hospitality of the vineyard and staff outstanding. But I was surprised I didn’t enjoy these wines more.
We did have a positive Cab experience, however. Duckhorn decanted some 1.5 liter bottles of their 1989 Napa Valley Cabernet. The wine was 100% Cabernet, and it was fun to drink something so long in the bottle. Here’s what I was looking for — strong fruit but extremely balanced, a lingering finish with hints of raspberry, medium body with a lingering finish that still had some tannins left. Really nice experience that I’d recommend much more strongly than the contemporary wines. Only price listed was for the 1.5L, $175.
Working our way back down Rt. 29, we finished our day tour at Domaine Chandon (http://www.chandon.com/web/homepage.cfm). Gabe is a bigger fan of champagne than I am, but our very enthusiastic guide/pourer made sure there were things to interest me as well. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he let us do a mix/match across different tastings.
We started with the Brut Classic, a solid dry California sparkler with nice fruit for $22. We then sampled the etoile Rose, a richer and more complex bubbly aged five years and with lots of flavor layers. Good for having with rich food, 90 points Wine Spectator, $50. Blanc de Noirs is made from Pinot Noir and Meuniere grapes and got 89 from Wine Enthusiast, tasted more effervescent than the others to me and with a nice finish, $22.
My personal favorite of the sparklers was the Reserve Pinot Noir Brut, just a little creamy in texture and with hints of hazelnut and cherry. 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, $30. Gabe’s favorite was a very interesting combination of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meuniere, Chardonnay and Muscat called Riche. It’s got a lot of fruit flavors and could almost be a lighter, sparkling dessert wine.
My favorite wine was a really nice Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir L’Argile Carneros was beautifully balanced, nice fruit and a light body but with plenty of character and a nice finish. This is a Pinot that can stand up to and enhance lots of dishes besides fish. It retails for $65, and it’s worth it.
After Chandon we drove around a bit until our dinner reservation at Greystone, another epicurean treat posted on earlier. [See here] The entire day was a memory to savor, and we hope to be back out that way before too long.