Flora Springs "Trilogy" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2009
I wrote extensively about Flora Springs and the Trilogy Napa Valley Red Blend label (2008) and chronicled their branding history in these pages two years ago.
I wrote at that time, 'This is a Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend that has been around for decades. Its one of the go-to wines in our cellar, one that we collect from vintage to vintage, as it represents a style we like, is reliable, produced in sufficient quantity to be generally available and provides reasonable QPR - quality price ratio, despite the fact the price has crept up precipitously over the years.'As with that post, again tonight, for midweek dinner at home with grilled steaks, whipped potatoes and haricot verts, I pulled from the cellar this Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley.
As mentioned in earlier blog postings: Trilogy is Flora Springs’ flagship wine, dating back to 1984 when they decided to make the finest wine possible sourced from the highest quality wine lots from their estate vineyards in Napa Valley. Back then it was one of Napa Valley’s first proprietary red blends.
It has long provided sophisticated drinking at good value. Indeed, the name Trilogy refers to the three primary Bordeaux varietal grapes in the blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc although they also grow and sometimes include in the blend the other Bordeaux varietals, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The label adorns three grape leaves on the label.
This Bordeaux-style wine is sourced from the Floral Springs Komes-Garvey estate vineyards that sit just west of St Helena Highway down Zinfandel Lane, in the northwestern corner of the Rutherford Appellation.
The Komes and Garvey’s
have always been farmers first, and over the
years the family has acquired 500 acres throughout Napa Valley, 300 of
which are planted to vineyard. With estate properties stretching from
the cool, rolling hills of Carneros to the famed sub-appellations of
Oakville, Rutherford and St. Helena, Flora Springs produces varietal
wines ranging from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay to Merlot, Cabernet
Sauvignon and the other red Bordeaux varietals.
Each year the family selects
a small percentage of the yield for their own wines, selling the
remaining fruit to neighboring Napa Valley wineries. This selection puts
the focus on quality, not quantity, resulting in hand-crafted wines
that meet the family’s exacting standards.
We've collected this wine since those
early days and still hold bottles dating back to our kids' birthyears
in 1990-91.
Perhaps whimsically, I latched on to this as a regular favorite partly
due to the namesake that wife Linda is a descendant of the Flora family,
founders of her hometown Flora, in Indiana, no relation of course to
the California Napa Flora (first name) Kombs. but fun and a tribute none-the-less.
To this day, Trilogy is a mainstay go to label in our cellar offering
quality sophisticated drinking at reasonable value relative to the
premium Napa and Bordeaux Blends. Hence, to fullfil the urge for a
Bordeaux with our steak on this evening, we opened this fifteen year old
Trilogy.
Flora Springs Trilogy Napa Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2009
Perfect complement to grilled steak. Wine Enthusiast gave this release 92 points.
Winemaker’s Notes: "The 2009 Trilogy possesses all the attributes that make Trilogy so great—ripe berries,
allspice, white chocolate, espresso and black currant. Three varietals
merge together to form a beautiful balanced lush wine that makes you
just want to have one more sip.'
"The Merlot brings out the red fruits,
while the Cabernet and Malbec are responsible for the black fruits. We
are proud to say that after 33 years of winemaking and 25 years of
crafting Trilogy, Flora Springs is still breaking new ground. We credit
the consistent organic and sustainable farming practices of our vineyard
team as well as the focus and direction of our winemaker, Paul
Steinauer."
As indicated
by the three grape leaves on the label, this 2009 Trilogy is a red Bordeaux Blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 5%
Malbec. It was aged for
21 months in 100% new French Oak.
We've enjoyed Trilogy since the 80's and still hold vintages dating back to 1990 and 1991 in our cellar. This one is as forward and flavorful as any I remember however perhaps not as complex as some vintages.
At thirteen years, this is drinking very nicely now, probably at the apex of its drinking profile, and not likely to improve any further with aging.
With dark inky color, this exhibited medium-full bodied, nicely complex
but nicely balanced and well integrated bright vibrant forward blackberry and black
currant fruits with notes of cassis, cedar, mocha and hints of sweet
oak with smooth soft tannins on the lingering finish.
RM 92 points.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/06/flora-springs-trilogy-napa-valley-red.html
https://www.florasprings.com/