Spring Valley Vineyard

         ESTATE GROWN 2008

                  FREDERICK – RED WINE

 

From some of the finest grapes grown in Washington comes Frederick. 50% Cabernet, 29% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit  Verdot, 2% Malbec.

 

Day one we tasted big tannis, dark fruit, and cloves.

 

Day two the tannins faded, and the vanilla appeared along with jammy fruit, cigar box flavor and anise.

 

This wine is on sale at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits for $46.99. Buy to drink now or cellar for a future celebration.

 

St. Supery – Elu

 

We were recently fortunate enough to drink through the current releases of the St. Supery line of wines. They were good! There was one wine that was exceptional but made us give extra thought to the comment/claim the winery representative made. While describing the wine, he mentioned the longevity would be…… well longer than I believe a Napa wine can last (unless you are trying to make home made vinegar). The blend in the 2007 Elu is:66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc. It is also aged in 100% French Oak for 30 months. Yes this recipe, along with the fine growing season that 2007 offered, sounds like the perfect recipe for a twenty year old cellar wine. But we have been tricked before and have vowed to at the very least not drink vinegar. Napa wine (in my opinion) just tastes it’s best under ten years of age.

 

Intrigued by the longevity claim we purchased a case and will drink a bottle each year or two in the hope that it keeps getting better. Since it is pretty darn good to start with one can only imagine that delights five years from now. Again, if it ages as claimed.

 

We tasted in our usual two night fashion, night one freshly opened and night two fully breathed and at its most honest.

 

The first night the wine was big! Flavors of tobacco and leather (tough stuff) but still smooth and elegant. The second night it tasted a bit like an aged Bordeaux (as it was created). There was a velvet mouth feel, it was well balanced and had flavors of chocolate and dark berries. If forced to drink in one night I would have finished it in the first night.

 

Stay tuned. We will try another bottle a year from now and update the progress. I hope they are right that it will only get better with age, because it is pretty darned good right now!

 

Ten years of Jordan.

 We were invited to, and wisely accepted, a ten year vertical tasting of Jordan Cabernet. 1999 to 2008 were our selected wines and they did not disappoint.  The 2003 made me reflect on my rule of thumb that most California wines do not make it ten years and most often are showing their old age after five years. I would like to have tasted the 2003 two years ago, my guess is that it was at it's peak and showing incredible. That I will never know, one can only speculate.  All ten vintages still held their fruit and elegance. Clearly the wine making team at Jordan has a patience and style to make wines that will last.

 We were also fortunate to taste the 2009 and 2010 Chardonnays. Both incredibly balanced and elegant, awesome food Chardonnays for the special occasion. If you have never tried or it's been some time since you tried Jordan wines, you should come to Glen Lake Wine and Spirits and pick up a bottle.

Its getting old, maybe.

 

In an effort to not pour expensive wine down the drain I have been pulling older vintage wine from my basement rather than open new wines to drink. It is my New Year resolution to pay more attention to our wine and drink older vintages before letting them go bad. Why it is hard to pour an expensive bottle of cabernet on a Tuesday night? It is as mysterious as why we don't drink champagne save special occasions. There are times a special bottle of wine will be much more appreciated on a Tuesday than a Saturday, birthday, or some other special occasion. 

 This Tuesday night I pulled a 2005 Duckhorn Napa Cabernet. Duckhorn makes great wine, I generally think of their Merlots as cellar worthy rather than the Cabernets but something made me put the Cabernet away a couple years ago. When released the 2005 showed flavors of current, plum, blackberry, black cherry and delicious vanilla. It also had the promise of lasting 10 years or longer, but I did not make that mistake, again!

 My first look at the wine in my glass gave me pause, the faded brown color surely meant the wine was aged too long. But the color was deceiving, as the Cabernet still had decent fruit. I still think it would have been much better a year or two ago. Tanya disagreed and thought it had held up nicely and was opened at just the right time.

As is our custom we saved the second half of the bottle for the next day to taste the wine after being open for a day. I did think that it would be totally shot by the second day due to its age. Boy was I off on this wine, it was excellent day two. It showed wounderful fruit and balance. I would have guessed it was a 2007 if tasting blind. Truly a great bottle of wine that I am thankful we didn't let grow too old.

The adventure continues!

 

Our continuing quest to visit every winery in Napa Valley added a few more notches the past few days. The kids had some time off school so we hit the road to wine country.

First stop; Alcaltraz. I know it is not a winery but the kids wanted to tour "the rock" and they have been very patient during the many tours we have dragged them. The old prison was an excellent educational stop (although some nice cabernet would add to the tour).

 With the kids scared straight we headed out of San Francisco to Napa.The weather was unusually cool for the time of year, but the rain stopped after the first day allowing for dry cool winery tours.

The list of visits was:

1. Ladera

2. Caymus

3. Franciscan (I know it is about the 10th time but we really like Franciscan and they do let us use their guest house)

4. Frank Family Vineyards

5. Freemark Abbey

6. Silver Oak

7. B.R. Cohn (Yes, Sonoma. I have it in print that I do enjoy more than just Napa)

8. Jacuzzi

9. Cline (The guest house at Cline was a wonderful retreat for the family, no t.v. or Internet)

A great trip, wine country never disappoints!

 

Sonoma...........

 

I have been accused of focusing on one small area in California for my wine choices. O.K., I'll admit I have a small bit of favoritism to Napa Valley. Despite what some have accused, I do drink wines from all over the world; today I ventured a few short miles from Napa over the mountain to Sonoma.

Rodney Strong wines were presented and very well received. This line of wines was so well received that I took in all the varietals and placed them on sale at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits. Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. While all five are a bargain, the Merlot especially shines! 

Merlot......

 

While it is common for customers to spend $40 or more on cabernet at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits , they rarely spend more than $20 on Merlot. If it has been awhile since you have tried fine merlot, I would highly suggest Northstar Columbia Valley 2007. At $39.99 this wine knocked my socks off; easily surpassing some of it's $40 cabernet brothers in flavor and value. 

 

2007 La Sirena – Cabernet Sauvignon 

A few weeks ago my wife and I were treated to lunch by a wine wholesaler. We get together with her every couple months to talk business and enjoy a meal together. Wine is always present at these meals, though it is generally not the reason for the meeting. There is never a sales pitch or pressure to add new wines to our store.

This lunch, while still no pressure, did offer a little sales pitch. She had recently acquired a new wine to sell and with the very small amount available was trying to figure out where to sell it. A couple of “the big retailers” came to mind but ultimately she thought this wine was best represented with a small - hands on, wine shop. Since she was taking the Glen Lake Wine and Spirits owners to lunch anyway a little sales pitch was in the cards.

With our food order in place, out of her wine carrying case comes………2007 La Sirena Cabernet. While we did not recognize the label, all that need be said was it is Heidi Barrett’s wine.  One of the most famous Napa winemakers ever! Heidi has several 100 point Robert Parker cabernets under her belt. When you get a chance to taste her wine you are thankful.

Heidi has quite the history in Napa Valley. She is married to Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena, which is not a bad place to call home. She did not make wine with her husband, but instead got her start at Buehler and created a reputation in Napa that is unsurpassed. This woman makes incredible cabernet wherever she goes. From Buehler she moved on to Screaming Eagle, which is synonymous with Napa Valley cult wine. A six-liter of her 1992 Screaming Eagle sold for $500,000.00 at the 2000 Napa wine auction, in 2001 a vertical of the same wines sold for $650,000.00. Both sales setting auction records.

While I have not been fortunate enough to sample Screaming Eagle, the 2007 La Sirena is similar in style and blend to the wines she made there. It is comprised of 86% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, and 2% cabernet franc. It has an incredibly balanced structure with flavors of blackberry, black cherry, vanilla, and cedar. It tastes delicious today but has potential to cellar 20 years.

 

 

 

Family Fun in Wine Country 

 

It’s been a while but I have finally been inspired to blog. My source of inspiration: three days in wine country with my family. This is precisely what made me blog 15 months ago. The kids had a few days with no school, we all needed a break, and the consensus was wine country.

First stop, Amador County with Terra d’ Oro. The fine folks from Terra know how to take care of their clients. Chris Leamy, head wine-maker, toured us through the busy winery. Considering that we arrived during harvest, with two teenaged daughters, Chris went way above and beyond the call of duty. Special consideration and extra time was spent teaching the kids the vineyard and wine business even though the parents had been there and done that. After an extensive tour of winery operations we were off to the tasting room. Seventeen of Terra’s finest for the adults and non-alcoholic grape juice for the kids. We all enjoyed, although the parents may have enjoyed more at that point of the visit. With the tasting done it was up to the guest home for dinner. Again going above and beyond, Terra prepared dinner while the kids had a late October, outdoor swim and Mom and Dad unpacked. Dinner was awesome with delicious appetizers to start, zinfandel-marinated ribs for the main dish, and Crème Brule cupcake to finish. Chris stayed until the end - entertaining and encouraging/educating the kids about the wine business.

We were up bright and early the next morning to set off for Napa. Groth Vineyards and Winery was our next stop on a beautiful October morning. Many of the cabernet grapes still hung on vine very late this year. It will most likely be a great year with a low yield (high prices!) Groth is settled on some of the finest cabernet growing land in the world and the tasting did not disappoint. The reserve cabernet was one of the highlights of our trip, although the vineyard dogs gathered a bit more attention from my family! Departing Groth we headed up valley to grab some lunch at the Oakville grocery store. We were not the only people in Napa with this lunch in mind. The iconic Oakville Grocery was elbow to elbow; it is unbelievable how many folks visit this small store. I guess it is just one of those places to stop when in Napa.

With lunch under our belts, we traveled up the road to Beringer. Although my wife and I have visited Beringer on several occasions over the years we decided it was a must see for the kids. Touring the old winery caves you can feel the history. While many people think of white zinfandel when speaking of Beringer, there is so much more to please the pallet. They produce awesome Napa Valley cabernet, chardonnay, merlot and sauvignon blanc. All of which we tasted that day. Especially impressive is the 2007 private reserve cabernet, which we just happen to have at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits. To close our tastings for the day we went to St. Clement just a couple blocks north of Beringer. St. Clement is nestled into the hills and offers a fantastic view of the valley. We tasted the chardonnay first then moved on to what they do best - cabernet. Their cabernets are very hearty and not for the faint of tongue. Dinner in Calistoga, followed by window shopping in the many stores the rustic, northern most, town of Calistoga offers rounded the perfect day.

Our last day in wine Country took us to Sonoma, very early, for a 9:30am tasting at Ferrari-Carano. We have never had a 9:30 tasting, as the rule of thumb in both valleys is the day starts at 10am. Oh well, 9:30 or 10:00 it’s only a half hour. We tasted through the Sonoma line in the tasting room that has a view of the valley so impressive that it is hard to focus on the wine. After the tasting we toured the facilities and the extensive gardens. Ferrari spared no expense on their gardens; it is worth a visit even if you do not care for wine. Tour completed, they brought us below ground to the bar/tasting room to sample their premium wines. It just kept getting better; the wines were delicious and the setting beautiful.

Before leaving Beringer the previous day, it was suggested that we visit Sbragia Family Vineyard in Dry Creek if our schedule allowed. 90% of our winery visits are pre-arranged - often months in advance. Occasionally we will do the “pop in” visit and we did have some time before our last tasting of the day so we headed up to Sbragia. The tasting room was packed with people, so we immediately thought that they wouldn’t have time for us. Perhaps they would rather concentrate on their paying customers. I got the attention of a lady behind the tasting bar, offered her my business card and asked if she had time for an unannounced trade tasting. She was unbelievably pleasant and almost apologetic that she did not have a table for us but if we were willing to stand, she would take us through all their wines gratis. This is the typical practice for people in the business. What is not typical is that Ed Sbragia - owner, operator, and wine maker, came over to us for an introduction and to make sure we were enjoying his wine. After the many years of making wine at Beringer, the guy has his art mastered. The Howell Mountain cabernets were especially impressive, Cimarossa and Rancho Del Oso.

The last stop for the weekend was Korbel Champagne Cellars in Sonoma. We do enjoy doing the sparkling wine tours because even though it is just chardonnay and pinot noir with bubbles, the production process is totally different than that of table wine. Champagne (or sparkling wine) is largely used for only festive occasions in the U.S. This is unfortunate because it can be such a fun and versatile wine. Whether it is a mimosa with your Sunday brunch or an ice cold blanc de blanc on a hot summer day (in place of a beer), Champagne is so much more than weddings and New Years Eve.  Korbel is carved into the redwoods just off the Russian River. A very scenic part of wine country and a winery bursting with history, Korbel is an interesting look into California’s past adventurers and entrepreneurs. We were fortunate enough to spend the evening at a house located just above the winery, stocked with several bottles of champagne which made for a very relaxing afternoon watching the kids swim in the champagne bottle shaped pool.

Summer Vacation

Each year we plan a summer vacation with the kids and another family. We have been practicing this tradition for years and generally end up at a northern Minnesota or Wisconsin resort. This year, as the planning began, we were kicking around the usual resorts or perhaps the Black Hills when I thought, there is a perfect place to finally bring the kids where we can all kick back, relax, and enjoy a couple days from the hectic world we all live. Napa Valley is not the first place most think to bring children, and in all my visits I have not seen many, but there is no rule against it. It also seemed time for my teen-aged daughters to learn a bit more about how my wife and I make our living.

With little notice, I found myself planning a trip for four adults and four children to Napa on the Fourth of July weekend. While this task would generally be very difficult, some very good and long-standing business partners stepped forward to accommodate.  It is fitting that the first winery my kids toured and stayed with was Franciscan as this was the first place my wife and I visited. We have stayed with Franciscan so many times over the years we affectionately refer to their guesthouse as our Summer Home. Our next stop was Trinchero. With the best hospitality in the valley, it is a perfect place to bring the kids. The breakfast served by the folks at Sutter Home is beyond compare and the kids loved it!

Four teen-aged kids touring the valley and learning about viticulture while their parents tasted wine was a recipe for fantastic memories. The kids performed beyond our expectations and learned valuable lessons about wine making that many professionals I deal with have not yet experienced. It was a great trip for my family and our friends. I look forward to the day I can bring the group again when our kids are over twenty-one and we can share the wine as well as the ambiance.

Fear not the color pink!

We had a little get together the past holiday weekend and were blessed with good friends, good weather, and great food and drink. While we always offer "all three food groups" at our shindigs (liquor, beer and wine) the wine has become more of the focus over the years with our maturing group of friends leaning toward the grape. One particular wine caught my, or rather a few of my guests, attention. Not necessarily in a good way, at first. I had the reds in the house and cold buckets of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and rose outside on the picnic table. The roses are where this post is leading. While being polite a couple guests seemed a bit surprised to find pink wine at my house. Leaving me to explain that you need not fear all that is pink. It is not necessarily white zinfandel and can be surprisingly dry and complex. While rose has been around longer than anyone reading this, it has been overshadowed in the past twenty years by sweet and simple white zinfandel. Since they generally look the same, many people assume the taste is similar. Of course this is not the case, and people often seem almost shocked when I explain that a rose can be made from any red grape. People really don't believe me when I tell them you can make a pink or even clear white cabernet. It really helps prove the point having a cabernet grape in hand and squeezing the very clear juice from the berry. Without going into too much detail, wine color comes from the time the juice spends soaking in the grape skins. Leave a barrel of cabernet juice in contact for an extended period and it turns dark red. Shorten that period and make it pink. Enter rose!

 The wines I was serving that day are both available and quite popular at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits. The first rose was Terra d'Oro. This delicious wine is made from 94% nebbiolo, a grape commonly found in Italy's Piedmont region. But also found in small quantities in Amador County, California. The remaining 6% is made from syrah. It has flavors of orange, grapefruit and peach. With an alcohol content of 12.5%, it doesn't burn through light fare foods. This pairs well with a great summer salad on a hot day or it can cool your palate when served with a spicy dish.

Our second pink offering of the day was Menage a Trois. This is a great "party wine" for several reasons I won't delve into. The couple I will touch on are the very affordable price to quality ratio and the delicious fruity delight this wine offers. If you concentrate on the wine, you can pick out most of the sweeter red fruits. Especially raspberry and strawberry. The wine is a combination of three grapes (hence the name, right?). Merlot, syrah, and gewurtztraminer make this wine a definite must try next time you are taking in the sun on your deck. Yes, I did say gewurtztraminer, weird but also intriguing.

Broken record........

I have been on a major cabernet franc kick for the past few months, I think it is almost more the fact that wineries tell me I can't have it as much as I just love the wine. As said in past blogs this varietal is typically grown as a blending grape and seldom bottled on it own. This is ashame, it is truly a delight on it's own and needs little help from it's grape brethren.  Occasionally people do bottle this grape and I am usually the first in line to drink this unique flavorful wine.

 Tonight I have the treat of 2005 Steltzner cabernet franc. It is good! 14.6% alcohol (though you certainly can not taste it), 24 months in French oak (that you can taste) 99% cabernet franc and 1% merlot (just because it needed that tiny little extra).  They only produced 785 cases, so there probably is not much, if any, left in the market. It has the typical blueberry and vanilla flavor of this variety with little tannin. Silky, smooth, pleasant, easy to drink, wish there was more in the bottle wine. 

We do have a little more left for sale at Glen Lake Wine and Spirits but you best hurry for it will not last!

The best things in life aren't free......

A couple colleagues of mine recently returned from the Napa Valley bearing gifts. It is very easy to find a gift for me from the Napa Valley, since some of my favorite things in the world come from that part of the world. Namely Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The first is widely distributed and easy to get, the latter is generally made in very small lots and is not distributed outside the wineries for the most part. 

 The two bottles of Cabernet Franc hauled across the country wrapped in clothing and carefully checked in luggage were irresistible to me. Wine is a lot more difficult to get than it was pre 9/11, as anyone who has wrapped an expensive bottle inside a pair of jeans and hoped for the best can attest. The wine could have/should have been placed in my cellar for a year or two, but life is short and fine Cabernet Franc is too tempting to let sit. The two bottles lasted two nights and now I have nothing left but the delicious memories.

My first bottle was 2006 Darioush Cabernet Franc. I have not visited this winery, located on the southern end of the Silverado Trail, but have passed it many times and admired its architectural beauty. The wine showed spicy dark fruits, smooth and delicious. Specifically blueberry and black cherry, with some of the customary plum and tobacco expected with this variety. The 2006 is 100% Cabernet Franc aged 22 months in French oak. 940 cases where produced. Get some if you can and bring it to me if you wish to give a great gift.

 The second bottle was 2006 Paradigm Cabernet Franc. This is a wine I could drink every day and not get bored. Medium bodied, with delightful fruit. Soft mouthfeel, light tannins, blueberries and plum. This is the epitome of a simply complex yet easy going, approachable, delightful wine. It would go with many cuisines but I would probably choose to drink on its own as there were only 158 cases made and I would simply like to savor its pleasures without interruption!

 

 

 

Time tested

While perusing my cellar oldies the other night I decided the time had come to drink the last of the 1999 Caymus Cabernet. When I am down to my last two bottles it is always hard to finish off the end of a vintage, especially a particular vineyard or vintage favorite. But I do have my ten-year California rule and am suspect that any 1999s will still be drinkable, at least not as drinkable as they would have been a couple years ago.

The 1999 looked good, the label was clean and wine was high on the shoulders. Without seeing the vintage date there would be no way of distinguishing the bottle from a 2007. Of course those are relatively easy tests compared to what came next... The cork came out with a very solid closure that showed no leakage over the past ten years, again no different than pulling a 2007.  The nose from the bottle was fine, therefore the wine was not corked or oxygenated. So far so good! The pour into my Reidel did not have the vibrant ruby colour one expects from a young California Cabernet; rather it showed a brown and rusty colour that would be typical of an aged Bordeaux.

I put the color scare out of my mind and gave the wine a first sip. Delicious! This highly rated bottle initially (back in the early 2000s) showed cigar box, cedar, tobacco, vanilla, mint, and nice bright fruit. My aged bottle still had fruit and vanilla as well as the cedar and tobacco. The tannins and oak have faded since my last taste and I certainly enjoyed the wine more a couple years ago but this is one of the more ageable California Cabernets I have experienced. If I could not see the colour in the glass I would have guessed the wine at five years old, not eleven. Great stuff, I do not know when I will dare to pop the last bottle.