A Californian Legend

I was lucky enough recently to get the opportunity to try a bottle of the 1997 Stag's Leap SLV Cabernet Sauvignon, just to confuse people, there are two producers using the name Stags Leap, they are Stags' Leap Winery and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Notice the different use of the apostrophe in the Stag's and that one uses Winery and the other uses Wine Cellars in the name, the winery I'm referring to in this is the latter of the two.

Founded in 1970 by Nathan Fay, on the Silverado Trail just as the renaissance for wine production in Napa was really starting to bloom, prohibition had reduced the number of wineries to less than 20 at this point from a peak of 140+. The winery was really brought to prominence in the controversial 1976 Paris tasting, where English wine Critic Steven Spurrier, who at the time owned a wine merchant and wine school in Paris. Curious to see how the new pretenders from America stood up to similar varietals from First and other classified-growth red Bordeaux and white Burgundies, he organised a blind wine tasting as part of the American Bicentennial activities in Paris. The French tasters were chosen from professionals within the french wine industry all with impeccable professional credentials.

Once all the wines had been tasted, the 9 judges added up there scores to see which wine had won, but to there horror, the unthinkable had happened, the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon (the first vintage to be produced with grapes from vines that were a mere three years old) was judged to be the best, beating Bordeaux first growths such as Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion, thus propelling Stag's Leap Wine Cellars into Stardom, the Californian Chardonnay also beat the best that Burgundy could throw at it!

The SLV vineyard was originally planted in 1970 as Stag's Leap Vineyards, hence the name! Where the vines that produced the winning 1973 vintage, now produce fruit with a much greater depth of flavour, and since 1986 have been farmed in a sustainable way, using cover crops, meticulous canopy management and other natural pests to help minimise intervention as much possible.

In the glass, you got a deep red colour, with the edges starting to show an orangery/garnet colour highlighting it's age. The wine still had quite pronounced fruit aromas of cassis and plum, with some peppery spice coming through from the background, on the palate these all came through but with chocolate and leather notes added to it, combine this with a very silky texture as the tannins had mellowed in it's age, there was so much depth of flavour and complexity from the oak, fruit and it's age, which just made it an absolutely stunning drink, and i can see why it won the infamous 1976 tasting.

A Cracking Pinot Noir from Etude in Carneros

Last year I was sent a present from a friend in New Jersey who I’ve done tasting for in the past, unfortunately I don’t get to go over there every time, I have do them over Skype, which is always fun, anyway I digress. The bottle they sent me was a 2006 Deer Camp Carneros Pinot Noir, from the Etude winery in Napa valley.

Founded 25 years ago by Tony Soter, as what he describes as a philosophical state of mind, which is now a state of the art wine making facility. Now in the hands of current winemaker Jon Priest and viticulturist Franci Ashton in their pursuit of oenological perfection.

The Deer Camp Pinot Noir was their first single vineyard designated Pinot Noir, from vineyards situated in the northwest corner of the Carneros appellation, western facing and feature well drained, rocky, Kidd Stony Loam soils. The Deer Camp name comes from an old deer camp structure that stands at the base of the vineyard.

In the glass this wine had a deep, dark cherry colour, with wonderful intense aromas of dark fruit, Cherries and Blueberries, while on the palate you get all the fruit and a touch of savoury herbs, Bay leaves. To go with this you get very fine, elegant tannins which add a silky texture to the wine, a great acidity to balance all this and the length of flavour that keeps going on and on, making an incredibly well-crafted wine.

For me this was an amazing wine, which I can’t recommend highly enough, and I have to say for me rivals anything that is produced in Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s homeland.

A Californian Riesling from Hagafen in Napa

Having been introduced to the wines from Hagafen in Napa Valley before by a friend, on my visit to California last year I had to make sure we paid them a visit and call in on their tasting room to sample some of their other delights. I’d been brought back a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc (read my review here) and after going to their website I really wanted to try some of the other varietals they did, the reds were rich and full of flavours and all with great structures, but the one wine that really stood out to me, and the wife to be, was their 2010 Rancho Wieruszowski Vineyard White Riesling.

In the glass it had a bright, pale lemon yellow colour, with very pronounced aromas of stone fruit, peaches, apricots and citrus such as mandarin. On the palate it was off-dry, with all the flavours of stone fruits and mandarins, but it also had a touch of minerality to which all just added to its wonderful complexity. It had just the right amount of acidity to cut through the weetness of the wine perfectly, making it a well balanced wine, with great complexity and that touch of class.

Unfortunately they’re not available in the UK, but if you get the chance to go to Napa Valley, then make sure you pay these guys a visit on the Silverado Trail, but not just for their fantastic wines but also for the views.

A Legend Lives On

Earlier in the year I was invited to join in on a world wide toast to celebrate the birthday of the late, great Robert Mondavi, to help me celebrate I’d been sent a bottle of their 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, lucky me.

One of the great American wine making pioneers, Robert Mondavi built his first winery in 1966, which was the first major winery in the Napa valley since prohibition had ended. He was a pioneer of putting the Varietal on the label, not naming them generically, he also turned the around the fortunes of the unpopular varietal, Sauvignon Blanc in the US by naming it Fume Blanc. Another one of his many accolades is that of creating one of America’s greatest wines, Opus One, a joint collaboration with Baron Phillipe de Rothschild which had begun as a chat, on Mondavi’s visit to his vineyards in Bordeaux during 1978.

Although it says it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon on the label, it is actually a blend consisting of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, according to the tasting notes, the website says it is a much more eclectic mix of varietals. The wine is fermented in a combination of oak and stainless steel tanks, spending a maturation period of 14 months in oak, of which 20% are new oak.

In the glass you got an opaque inky purple colour, with very pronounced aromas of dark fruits, blackcurrant, plums and cherries with a tiny bit of sweet spice coming through from the background. On the palate you got all the aromas coming through in waves at you, combine this with a good amount of acidity and masses of fine silky tannins, and you got a pretty amazing wine, but that’s what you’d expect when you pay these sorts of prices.

This is a full bodied wine, that at this young stage drinks nicely now but can age for a good few years yet, but really, to get the best from it now, you should really drink it with food. This is a wine that’s definitely worth giving a go if you’re looking to spend a bit a more on nice bottle, but remember it will benefit greatly by being opened a good couple of hours before drinking, and if possible even decanting.

A Trip to a Napa Winery on the Silverado Trail

Earlier in the year I got the opportunity to drag the wife to be on a short trip around Napa, would have liked it to be a longer trip, but we did have lot of things planned that we wanted to do, so as you do, I bought several bottles home with me. The first winery we visited was the Black Stallion winery, which is situated on the Silverado Trail, in the Oak Knoll district which is the southern growing region in the Napa valley.

The 32 acres site originally housed an equestrian centre, the Silverado Horseman's Centre, hence the name Black Stallion, after several years of construction they opened there doors in 2007, the original indoor track now houses the wine making production, but if you look around closely you can still see remnants of the original horse stalls. At present they only produce in very small case lots, and unfortunately only available through the tasting room and there online store, which they are only able to ship within the US, however, I thought they are definitely worth mentioning in case you get to go to Napa and get the opportunity to visit them.

The two wines that we brought back with us were their 2008 Shiraz which we purchased; they only produce 510 cases of this wine, just to show you how limited there production is, and the 2009 Pinot Grigio from Monterey, which we’d been given.

On pouring the ‘08 Shiraz, it had a deep almost opaque ruby colour, with very pronounced aromas of dark fruit and spice, which was just amazing. On the palate you instantly got the flavours of dark cherries and black currants, then came through the sweet spices of clove cinnamon and a touch of black pepper, after that in the background you could also find the flavours of cocoa and violets coming through. This Shiraz was, if you hadn’t guessed absolutely stunning, it had great complexity and length of flavours that just came at you wave after wave, combined with a touch of acidity to make your mouth water and juicy tannins, the wine maker really had crafted a well balanced and beautifully drinking wine.

For the ‘09 Pinot Grigio, they only produced 610 cases of this particular wine, in the glass it had a pale apple white colour, with delicate aromas of peach, grapefruit and slightly florally characteristics. On the palate it was much more pear and grapefruit, with a hint of honey thrown in, than the peach aromas you got on the nose, with a good amount of acidity it was a well balanced and enjoyable wine, which would be great chilled on a really hot day.

As I’ve already said, these wines are not available in the UK, but if you are heading out to California then I would highly recommend a stop off at the winery, it was beautiful place, with a great winery and some fantastic wines for you to try!

A Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc from A Great Napa Vineyard

Earlier in the year I was given a bottle Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc 2010, by a friend who had just returned from a trip to San Francisco. The vineyard and tasting room is situated on the Silverado Trail, one mile south of the renowned Stags Leap District; they also have two vineyards on the eastern benchland of Napa. Founded by Irit and Ernie Weir in 1979, with the aim of this is to produce high quality fine wines and according to Jewish dietary laws, producing wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah (Shiraz), Riesling and Zinfandel in small lots, which results in a total production of only 8,000 cases.

On pouring the wine you got a bright but very pale Apple green colour, with quite pronounced aromas of citrus, grapefruit and lime, I then got a tiny hint of stone fruit in the background. On the palate, the favours came across as the aromas, grapefruit, lime and again that tiny hint of stone fruit. Which were just fantastic, along with this it had just the right amount of acidity to go with the fruit favours and make your mouth water.

I have to admit, if I hadn't know it was a Sauvignon Blanc, embarrassingly I have to say I could have mistaken it for a Riesling. It was an excellently balanced wine that was very refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable to drink. If you can get hold of a bottle then I'd definately recommend it, with the added bonus that it's Kosher, just in case you needed it to be!

Having realised that I had got very out of touch with whites, I felt I needed to re-associate my self with some of the great white grapes. I was fortunate enough to spending a week’s holiday in San Francisco, and took the opportunity to hire a car and drive up to Napa with the plan to taste as many whites as I could. Having tasted this Sauvignon Blanc we headed first of all to Hagafen’s tasting room, and really started to understand the difference between this and their Rieslings, and they were fantastic, so much so, I bought a bottle of their White Riesling, Rancho Wieruszowski Vineyard 2010, looking forward to reviewing it soon!

A Tour of Napa Valley

Post contributed by Vanessa McDonald

In early October 2010, I had the pleasure of a weekend stay at The Vino Bello Resort in Napa Valley, California. This resort is a wine lover’s dream and I can recommend the location for a quiet retreat or even a meal from the restaurant.

A trip to Napa is not complete without some sort of winery tour and the county offers tours and tastings for every budget and pace, from private limo, coach and train tours that take you to 11 vineyards in a day to the more leisurely option of hot air ballooning at sunrise.

I was with my elder parents so the hotel recommended Platypus Tours. This tour company picks you up and drop you off at your hotel or B&B, provides a picnic lunch and generally keeps you plied with bottled water and bread as needed throughout the day. Our driver and tour guide (Karl) was born and raised in Napa and an absolute font of knowledge on everything in the area. If you can seek out local recommendations, do so as we were able to visit those wineries who were in the midst of harvesting that day and meet the owners of several wineries in the process; not always an option on the larger, more formal train or bus tours. I’ve detailed the 3 of the wineries visited below, enjoy and hope that you get to sample the delights for yourself soon:

Alpha Omega: This winey is located in the Rutherford valley and is one of Napa’s few boutique wineries. Jean Hoefliger has teamed up with the influential Michel Rolland to create a stunning series of wines. This was by far the most sophisticated wine of the day but, also the priciest with their flagship wine going for $170 a bottle. Napa is famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon and AO’s does not disappoint with a rich fruit taste of dark cherry, blackberry and cassis giving way to velvety aftertaste of rose petals and fresh plum.

The grounds are also stunning, with a relaxed feel despite how modern and sophisticated the tasting bar area is. There are plush white couches that encourage visitors to rest and take in the stunning surroundings. This is where we sat had our picnic lunch overlooking the winery.

Hagafen: this was the only winery I made several purchases at during the day. Renowned for being Napa Valley’s only kosher winery, this stuff is no Mankiewicz. The winery also gained notoriety when Regan served it at a White House luncheon (it’s since been served at luncheons by every sitting President –the walls of the main hall are covered with menus detailing what was served). The Sauvignon Blanc is truly delicious; clean and crisp with a hint of pineapple and a creamy mix of apricot, citrus, and grapefruit. The creaminess is said to come from the hot days and cool nights these Eastern Foothills receive. A clear winner on the day for me!

The Andretti Winery: Full disclosure, I had had enough by this time so I stayed in the courtyard and ate the fresh grapes that we were able to help ourselves too from the field but, as you’ll see from the link –the courtyard in the late afternoon sun is stunning and genuinely feels like you’re sitting in Tuscany. The specialty here is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Zinfandel that were offered for $30 for a tasting which I found to be too expensive. Those who chose to imbibe were also offered a tasting of the port style wine, made from grapes of a single vintage and bottled after three years in French Oak. It had a strong aroma of dark chocolate, blackberry and caramel as well as hazelnut. It’s possible to purchase here.