Labor Day cookout smoked beef brisket and premium reds

End of summer brought family gala Labor Day cookout featuring smoked beef brisket and medley of premium red wines …

Most of the family gathered at son Ryan’s and Michelle’s for a gala end of summer Labor Day cookout. Ryan smoked a beef brisket and opened from his cellar a selection of ultra-premium red wines. 

Everyone brought a salad, side dish or dessert to accompany the brisket and grilled hot dogs. 

Ryan pulled from his cellar a diverse horizontal (multiple bottles from the same vintage) selection of 2005 vintage ultra-premium red wines from Napa Valley, central California Paso Robles and Left Bank Bordeaux. 

Phillip Melka Métisse Red Wine 2005

This is from one of our favorite producers, Phillippe Melka, a producer we know well and hold several of his labels across two decades of vintages. Phillippe was the mentor for Eric White of Galena Cellars Vineyards and Winey in Galena, IL, whom we met during our stay in the estate guest house during our getaway holiday week a couple years ago. 

Philippe grew up in Bordeaux, earned his degree in Geology at the University of Bordeaux and later his Master’s degree in Agronomy and Enology. His first wine job was at Château Haut Brion in Bordeaux. His first introduction to the Napa Valley came in 1991 as an intern with Christian Moueix, proprietor of Chateau Petrus in Bordeaux and Dominus in Napa Valley. Philippe came to Dominus to study soils – then spent a few years as a traveling winemaker and ultimately settled in the Napa Valley in 1994. The list of Napa wineries that Philippe has worked with over the years reads like a whose who list of the valley – Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate, Brand, Bryant Family, Dana Estates, Lail, Hundred Acre and Tusk Estate among many other well-regarded brands.

Philippe works with co-proprietor and co-winemaker for Melka Estates, wife, Cherie Melka. Cherie earned a degree in Microbiology at Northern Arizona University and worked for a while in pharmaceuticals as a laboratory technician. In 1989, she moved to California and took her first winery job for Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards where she ran the lab for five years. It was here that she met Philippe who was working the vineyards. Cherie was self-taught as a enologist gaining her wine knowledge from equally impressive estates such as Ridge Vineyards, Beaulieu and Silver Oak Cellars. 

Their combined science backgrounds and extensive experience in the industry made them a perfect team in their winemaking endeavors.

The Melka brand started in 1996, when Philippe and Cherie moved back to Napa Valley from France and set out to produce their own brand, despite each working for different wineries.  After years of consulting, Philippe and Cherie opened up Melka Wines, in 1996, celebrating their first vintage of a Bordeaux styled Red Wine labeled Melka Métisse with a total production of 500 cases. 

Melka Estates started with Philippe and Cherie Melka sourcing fruit for their first two labels, two wines, one named in honor of their two children Chloe and Jeremy, and Métisse. They have since grown to four collections, CJ (a red blend very approachable in its youth sourced from premium vineyards throughout the Napa Valley), Métisse (a word that means ‘blend of cultures’ with wines from the Napa Valley), Mekerra (from the property they own in Sonoma County) and Majestique (single vineyard wines from outside of the Napa Valley). As a footnote, one quickly realizes the affinity the Melka’s have for the letter ‘M’.

The vineyards that contribute to the making of Melka wines are sourced from relationships with growers over the 20 years that they’ve been making this wine. Two primary sources of fruit for CJ are Soda Canyon, a unique area in Napa Valley near Oakville with hillside fruit, and Broken Rock has brought more fresh crushed rocks, good acidity and more massive tannins.

We’ve held this label dating back to that inaugural vintage release in 1996. 

This 2005 Melka Métisse Proprietary Red is a full-bodied, elegant Napa Valley Bordeaux blend.

It is a comprised of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot, 100% sourced from the Jumping Goat vineyard in St. Helena.

It’s was aged 19 months in French oak barrels (75% new). Production was 475 cases.

This was rated 94 points by Int'l Wine Cellar and 93 points by Wine Spectator and 91 by Wine Advocate.

Dark ruby colored, medium to full-bodied, intense, concentrated, complex, ripe blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of spice, cassis, licorice, tar, spices and bitter mocha chocolate with smooth polished tannings on a lengthy finish.

RM 93 points.  

https://www.melkaestates.com/

https://twitter.com/MelkaEstates

https://www.melkaestates.com/assets/upload/2005_Metisse_technote_1.pdf

https://www.melkaestates.com/

Chateau Montrose St Estephe Bordeaux 2005

This is a classic left bank Bordeaux from a classic vintage that should last several decades and at twenty years is just beginning to reveal its true profile and potential. In 2024, Jeb Dunnock wrote, “ (this) Montrose has another 50-75 years of overall longevity. It should cruise for another 30 years in cold cellars“ 

“It’s just now starting to show a kiss of maturity and it looks to be in the early phases of its prime drinking window. It’s also the finest bottles I’ve had, pointing to this starting to round the corner and show its full potential.” 

It is being written that the 2005 will, at maturity, surpass the two classic vintages of 1989 and 1990 - high praise signaling a top vintage with extraordinary aging potential. 

We’ve collected this classic old school St Estephe label going back to the early 1980’s, including our kids’ birthyears, 1981’ ‘82, ‘85 and 1990. We still hold several vintages dating back to the 1980’s. 

This was the final vintage managed entirely by the Charmolüe family before the estate was sold to the Bouygues in 2006. 

We drove by the historic St Estephe estate along the Gironde River just north of the town of Pauillac during our visit to the region in 2018. 

The 2005 Montrose is classic St Estephe, old school, a behemoth wine with a massive Cabernet profile, big bold dark cassis, hints of pencil cedar shavings, and earthy and leathery aromas and tobacco just starting to reveal, big ripe fruits with great tannic and acidic structure. 

This highly acclaimed release was rated 99 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 98 points by Jane Anson of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and The Wine Independent, and 96 points by Decanter, James Suckling and Neal Martin for Vinous. 

This is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 3% to 3.5% Cabernet Franc, and 0.5% to 1% Petit Verdot. It was aged in 60% new oak. The winemaker was Jean-Bernard Delma who oversaw the elevage of this wine. 

Jeb Dunnuck wrote in 2024, “It’s just now starting to show a kiss of maturity and it looks to be in the early phases of its prime drinking window. It’s also the finest bottles I’ve had, pointing to this starting to round the corner and show its full potential.” 

Neal Martin of Vinous wrote, “It's no shy retiring flower by a long stretch—if you seek a more bombastic Montrose then this is where to come. "

Winemaker Notes - “2005 impresses by its exceptional power, the amazing pure fruit, and the extraordinary engaging elegance without having the overwhelming charm of the 2003. Stylistically, very classical and very Bordeaux-like, without austerity. Dense purple color, almost black.The nose is still closed: black fruits, spices, chocolate. Complex palate, long, rich, powerful, cherry, cocoa, licorice, tobacco brown, prune. This is a very big wine, full and very structured, with nice length, the tannins are very robust, with great aging potential.”

As with many super highly rated wines, this shows a characteristic profile revealing a flawless lack of faults, with a terrific sense of freshness, balance, and remarkable purity and precision. 

Dark garnet, ruby/plum-hued, full-bodied, intense, dense, concentrated, complex, yet balanced, still a bit tight and closed, layered dark blackcurrant and red fruits, spices, cloves, chocolate loamy soil, leather, graphite and hints of black truffles, floral and ash, turning to refined, silky polished tannins, on a long elegant finish. 

Be patient, give this time, and hopefully if you’re lucky and able, taste periodically over an extended period to see how it matures, opens to reveal itself  

RM 95 points.

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/222327 

http://www.chateau-montrose.com/ 

More to come …. 

Saxum Broken Stones Red Wine 2005

This limited release highly allocated label is a blend of 74% Syrah, 24% Grenache, and the rest Mourvèdre, what is commonly called a “GSM” in Australia and other parts where this southern Rhone Valley blend is common.  

This is produced by Heather and Justin Smith whose family owns the James Berry Vineyard, one of the rare sites in Paso Robles on limestone. They produce ultra-premium wines under the Saxum Vineyards label.

Saxum Vineyards is located in the Paso Robles AVA of Central California was founded in the early 2000s by Justin Smith, a young winemaker who had previously been part-owner of Linne Calodo.

Saxum gained notoriety in late 2010 when its 2007 James Berry Vineyards wine was named the #1 Wine of 2010 by Wine Spectator. The wine is a Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. 

Saxxum are part of the community of producers in Central California Coast that have become known as the “Rhone Rangers,” because they specialize in Rhone Valley-style blends. 

The intense sunshine and relatively steep and rocky terrain of the Paso Robles AVA, which was officially recognized in 1983, is similar to the terrain of the Rhone Valley. 

The Paso Robles AVA is midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is considered one of the West Coast’s most exciting winemaking regions. Located in San Luis Obispo County, Paso Robles, the town and its surrounding area, was traditionally a farming and ranching region. With its hot, sometimes searingly dry and sunny weather, it is especially good country for growing warm climate grapes such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. 

So many Paso Robles wineries have been successful with blending these grapes into Rhone Valley-style wines, it is known as the Rhone zone of California. 

There are 32,000 vineyard acres in the Paso Robles AVA that was created in 1983. In late 2014 the AVA was divided into 11 smaller sub-appellations, so, starting with the 2015 vintages, Paso Robles wines are label with more specificity, which will now also list sub-appellations. 

Today there are more than 200 wineries.

Smith and his wife Heather owns the winery with the James Berry Vineyard,  the Smith family’s estate vineyard, located 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean with an average elevation of 1200 feet. It consists of a series of slopes with shallow clay loam topsoil covering an ancient seabed, complete with fossilized shells and sharks teeth.

Smith planted several othertop vineyards in Paso Robles while mentoring a number of his colleagues. 

Heather and Justin produce under the label Saxum Vineyards and focus on producing Grenache, Syrah, and Mataro based blends from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles.

Their vineyards have the unique terroir of rocky calcareous soils, steep hillsides, sunny days, and cooling ocean breezes. They produce wines keeping yields low, picking the fruit at the peak of ripeness, and using a minimalist approach in the cellar. 

The vine’s roots penetrate deep through the fissures in the calcareous soil so that irrigation is rarely needed. Production is kept around 8000 cases a year divided between twelve different cuvees, Broken Stones, James Berry Vineyard, Hexe, Bone Rock, Rocket Block, Somnus, Cayucos Ridge Vineyard, G2 Vineyard, Paderewski Vineyard, Heart Stone Vineyard, 4hearts Vineyard, and James Berry Vineyard White.

The limited release Broken Stones bottling is sourced from all of the vineyards in the Saxum lineup. The Broken Stones cuvee is Syrah based, with a large portion of Petite Sirah and Grenache and a splash of Mataro. It is aged for 18-20 months in mainly new, French barriques. 

This label was rated 94 points by Wine Advocate and 91 points by Vinous. 

Winemaker notes - It is full-bodied, rich, and intense, but also reveals great purity, focus and complexity. The Broken Stones is a multi-vineyard blend, utilizing all the vineyards that we source from. Our wines are never racked off their lees and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.”

It boasts dark garnet colored, full-bodied, opulent wine with notes of licorice, forest floor, pepper, spice box, and loads of black and red fruits that saturate the palate with crisp acidity, heady alcohol, and loads of flavor, depth, and richness.

https://go.cellartracker.com/note/6136981

https://www.saxumvineyards.com/

Ryan then pulled from the cellar one of my favorite wines that is drinking optimally right now….

Odette Napa Valley Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This wine was a highlight of another recent dinner as well as one of our Pour Boy’s wine group dinners last year. I wrote about that dinner and tasting and this producer label in these blogposts - OTBN 2025 in Charleston - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2025/02/otbn-2025-in-charleston.html, and Christmas revelry includes ultra-premium wine flight - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/12/christmas-revelry-includes-ultra.html, excerpted here.

As noted in that post, this is from the Odette 45-acre estate vineyards in the heart of the Stag’s Leap District appellation nestled against the foothills on the east side of Silverado Trail just north of Napa town. 

It’s too bad this label is part of the Plumpjack Group with their unfortunate affiliation with Gavin Newsom. Never-the-less, despite the distractions and mis-directions, they produce some fabulous wines. 

This release was crafted by Odette winemaker Andrew Haugen.

A native from Southern California, he studied biology at Cal Poly in the Central California wine region around San Luis Obispo. There, he also took the available wine classes. Pursing his interest in wine, he gained experience at Stonestreet in Sonoma County for his inaugural 2012 harvest, then at Church Road Winery in New Zealand, Howard Park in Australia, and Gran Moraine in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, before joining Odette Estate Winery in 2015.

From that time he progressed from cellar master to enologist to assistant winemaker and eventually head winemaker for the Odette and their Adaptation labels. He works closely with long-time Vineyard Manager Oscar Renteria at Oso Vineyard, and a 129-acre site located in Pope Valley.

Odette Stag’s Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This is part of the Plumpjack group portfolio of wineries. We used to love their wines. I wrote about Plumpjack and their unfortunate demise into woke progressive politics in this recent blogpost - Plumpjack Estate Napa Valley Cabernet for meatloaf dinner, and in previous posts, Plumpjack Founders Reserve Cabernet, and Spectacular dining experience at Entourage Restaurant Downers Grove. in more detail in this recent blogpost. 

Odette Estate Winery was established in 2012, sitting on 45 acres straddling the Silverado Trail in the Stag’s Leap District in southeast Napa Valley. It was founded with a guiding philosophy of environmental responsibility and a commitment to preserving their special spot in the Stags Leap District for generations to come.

The winemaker for Odette is Andrew Haugen who gained interest in wine with the movie Sideways during his time at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He set out to deepen his knowledge, with his fascination with relationship between ‘site and soul’ in wines. Andrew joined the Plumpjack/Odette team in 2015 as Cellar Master, honing his skills and ascending to Enologist, Assistant Winemaker, and now Head Winemaker for Odette and also sister winery estate, Adaptation.

This release is actually a blend of Bordeaux varietals- 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. 

Bring a classic traditional Left Bank Bordeaux Blend explains why this wine was wider and more complex and not as deep, so to speak, when compared to the other Napa Cabs. This likely showed best when consumed with the beef tenderloin. 

This release was awarded 97 points by Jeb Dunnuck. 

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, round, complex, concentrated ripe blackberry, black currant and black raspberry fruits accented by crème de cassis, licorice with notes clove spice and anise with bright acidity and smooth polished fine grained tannins on the long persistent finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.odetteestate.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4137711

Aged twenty five year old St Jean Cinq Cepage

Aged twenty five year old St Jean Cinq Cepage Red Bordeaux Blend with meatloaf 

Linda prepared meatloaf with cooked carrots and mashed potatoes - one of my favorite ‘comfort food’ meals. 

I pulled from the cellar a vintage aged Bordeaux Blend from a legendary Sonoma Valley producer. 

I remember Cinq Cepages (Five Flavors or varieties) was one of our go-to California Bordeaux Blends that we felt had huge QPR - Quality Price Ratio, at about $25 or less. Then, the 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages was Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 1999. James Laube wrote in Wine Spectator “A Happy Reunion With a Wine of the Year - Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages 1996, in 2010, “With a 95-point rating, 11,000 cases made and a $28 price tag, it was one of the easier picks we’ve made over the years.” With 11,000 cases made, it was readily available and easy to obtain, yet, over-night the price escalated substantially, and didn’t recover for several years until the market ‘normalized’ and settled into the new price-point. I guess that is the case each year with the anointed #1. In any event, this remains a nice reasonably priced Bordeaux Blend based on Sonoma fruits. 

Later the 1999 vintage release went on to be named the Wine Spectator number two. The Chateau St Jean winemaker Margo Van Staaveren was also lauded as winemaker of the year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2008. 

We hold a couple cases of this label spanning three decades. While this isn’t the oldest vintage held (that would be the 1994), I selected it hoping it to be a ‘Goldilocks’ bottle, not too old, (so as to be undrinkable, or past its drinking window, but not too young, so as to be sufficiently aged to have settled and allowed the blend to integrate). But, I was trying to consume some of the older vintages as part of cellar inventory management. In the end, it was past its prime drinking window, showing some diminution of the fruits from age, but still approachable, but time to drink up in the near term. 

We have visited the picturesque historic chateau, built in the 1920s by Ernest and Maude Goff, surrounded by vineyards in Kenwood, Sonoma Valley, several times over the years. It’s always a highlight of the Sonoma Valley producer sites. The original building was refurbished and listed in the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We tasted and obtained the then current release of this label as part of a Reserve wine flight pairing at the Chateau St Jean estate during our Sonoma Napa Wine Experience back in 2017.  I featured that tasting in a blogpost in these pages at the time - July 30, 2017 - Chateau St Jean Sonoma Reserve Private Tasting. 

Our Pour Boys 2017 Sonoma Napa Wine Experience started on the Sonoma Coast and worked east along the Russian River Valley ending up in Sonoma Valley at one of its crown jewel estates, Chateau St Jean. 

The Chateau St Jean estate is one of the most picturesque and authentic in the Sonoma Valley and is more civil and hospitable than some of the garish ostentatious properties in the more highly commercialized Napa Valley. This was a perfect buffer and transition from the more relaxed Sonoma County to the Valley as we transitioned to spend the coming week in Napa (Valley).

Private tastings are held in the cottage across the courtyard from the hospitality center. 

We've visited the estate and done tastings there numerous other times over the years. Sonoma Harvest '09 - Chateau St Jean and again Sonoma Valley Wine Experience 2009 - Chateau St Jean, and that Chateau St Jean Sonoma Reserve Private Tasting back in 2017.  

Chateau St. Jean "Cinq Cépages" Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast, 92 points by Wine Spectator and 17.5/20 points by Jancis Robinson (on her twenty point scale, which frankly I like better).  All these tastings and ratings were from 2004 to 2007, hence nearing two decades old. 

Winemaker Notes - “Cinq Cépages ("Five Varieties") is a Bordeaux-style blend consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Each component is aged separately for two years in small French oak barrels before blending. Once the wine is assembled, it spends six months in the bottle before release.”

At twenty five years, the label and foil were pristine, the important fill level and cork were still ideal. The cork was still intact, firm and moist, and surrendered uniformly using a ‘Ahso’ two pronged cork puller (as shown in photo above). 

Garnet colored, medium bodied, complex concentrated dark berry, cherry and plum fruits, starting to give way to non fruit leather and smoke and dried fruit notes, still clinging to notes of oak, sweet herbs, cocoa and spice with approachable soft tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 87 points, indicating diminished fruit at twenty five years. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/33235

https://www.chateaustjean.com/

Cain Five Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend

Cain Five Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend

Son Alec and Vivianna came over to join us to watch the World Cup Semi-final. They brought pizza’s and a my half of a recent case purchase of wine he and I split - Cain Five. 

This is from Cain Five, named for the Cain Vineyard in the Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley and the five Bordeaux varietals that they grow there. The 500 acre Cain Ranch high atop Spring Mountain was founded in 1980 by Jerry and Joyce Cain. The “Five” refers to the five Bordeaux varietal grapes grown on the 90 acres of vineyards planted, and included in the Red Bordeaux Blend. 

Today the estate is owned by Jim and Cindy Meadlock and managed by Wine-Grower/GM Christopher Howell and Vineyard Manager Ashley Anderson-Bennett. The winemaking team for the most part have been working together for nearly twenty vintages and more. They produce 12000 cases annually of three labels, Cain Five and Cain Concept The Benchland, both Estate Grown & Bottled on the single Cain Vineyard and Cain Cuvée including fruit from other Napa Valley sources.

The Cain vineyard represents the terroir factors of the site - steep slopes, the thin clay soils, the high mountain elevation above the valley inversion, and the aromatic plants and forest that embrace the vineyard plots and fill most of our watershed. 

This 2014 release of Cain Five was the five Bordeaux varietals 100% Cain Vineyard, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley, 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec, and 7% Petit Verdot. Production was 4,977 (9L) cases, release on September 1, 2018.

Producer’s Notes - “2014 Cain Five is, quite simply, the most beautiful wine ever to have come from the Cain Vineyard. We’ve simplified the label, too. No more clutter of varietal percentages. All you really need to know is that the Cain Five came from the Cain Vineyard: estate grown—estate bottled—harvested and vinified in 2014. If you know anything about this wine, you’ll know that it is a Cabernet Blend of five varieties (hence, Cain Five), but the most important thing is that it grew in just one place: the Cain Vineyard. Five Varieties—One Vineyard.’

Producer’s comments on the 2014 vintage … 

“2014 will be known as the third and last (for us) of the three drought years: 2012, 2013, and 2014. The most shocking of these three years was 2014, when up until the end of January, we had received virtually no rain at all. And then it rained. And rained. In February our reservoirs were filled. In March, it continued to rain. With our soils fully saturated like a sopping wet sponge, the soil warmed up slowly, the vines awoke from dormancy slowly, and thus it would not be an early year. When all the plants finally came back to life in 2014, it was a glorious spring, almost like a desert bloom after the rain, with wildflowers everywhere. The vines were flush with new growth. Clearly, the soil was alive. After that worrisome winter it seemed like everything just flowed.”

Winemaker’s notes for this release - “The color is relatively dark—not opaque—with no sign of evolution. The aromas are discrete: fruity—floral—herbal—spi — and pure. On the palate, the wine has a certain density, but now the tannins have melted and this wine just flows. This is a wine for the ages. Drink now or forever.” 

At twelve years, this is subtle and refined, aging gracefully and will potentially improve further for perhaps as much as a decade or farther. 

This release was rated 96 points by James Suckling and 92 by Wilfred Wong of Wine.com.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, smooth elegant polished nicely integrated black berry and currant fruits with note of sweet tobacco, dried herbs, earthy forest floor and hints of dark mocha chocolate with smooth, silky tannins and bright acidity on the long finish. 

RM 93

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/2711521

https://www.cainfive.com/

Pirouette Red Blend with Tomahawk Ribeye

Pirouette Red Blend with Tomahawk Ribeye

Saturday night dinner, we grilled out and ate on the patio, one of our favorite meals, grilled tomahawk ribeye beefsteaks with baked potatoe, asparagus and sweet corn. 

Linda masterfully achieved the perfect preparation of the steak, “Pittsburgh Style”, as its called, charred on the outside for extra flavor, a hot pink center.

For an ideal wine pairing to complement the dinner.I pulled from the cellar a Washington State Bordeaux varietal blend. 

Long Shadows "Pirouette" Columbia Valley Bordeaux Blend 2017

We hold nearly a decade of vintages of this label as part of our Long Shadows club allocations so as part of cellar inventory management, I pulled the oldest vintage release. I’ve written about earlier vintages of this label in earlier blogposts - Long Shadows Pirouette 2016 with beef roast, Long Shadows Duo Showcase Katy Business Dinner, and Long Shadows Pirouette 2014 at Sullivan’s Steakhouse.

. 

As I wrote in those earlier blogposts, this is one of our favorite labels for a Bordeaux varietal red blend, a sleeper, not well known or sufficiently regarded, given the pedigree of the winemaker and the quality of the product. 

This is the Bordeaux varietal red blend from the Long Shadows Vintners's Collection that features world class winemakers and Washington State Columbia Valley fruit. 

This label is produced by legendary winemakers Philippe Melka, named one of the top nine winemakers in the world by Robert Parker, in collaboration with Agustin Huneeus, Sr.. another legendary wine producer. I;ve written about about Philip Melka numerous times in these pages including that recent Sullivan’s Steakhouse post and previously - Château Boswell Napa Valley Estate Reserve Red Wine 2016. I featured Huneeus in a recent blogpost here - Faust Napa Cab with St Pat’s Dinner.

We’ve featured Long Shadows and their vintners collection, and our visit to their hospitality center and tasting room in Woodinville (WA) in these pages. 

We’re members of the Long Shadows wine club and hold nearly a decade of vintages of their various label releases. 

Checking our cellar inventory, we hold nearly a decade of vintages of this label so we pulled the oldest in our holdings. At nine years of age, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window.

The 2017 Pirouette is a left-bank Bordeaux blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 13% Malbec, and the rest Petit Verdot, crafted from small lots from Washington State's finest vineyards.  It was aged 22 months in French oak barrels with 85% being new.

 

Winemaker notes - “The Cabernet Sauvignon, primarily sourced from a collection of Red Mountain’s best vineyards, gives Pirouette the structure and textured richness that has come to characterize this acclaimed growing region. A small percentage of old vine Cabernet from Sagemoor Vineyard, planted in 1972, adds complexity. Merlot brings juicy richness to the finished wine. Malbec from Sonnet Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills adds spice. Finally, Dionysus Vineyard’s Petit Verdot enhances the wine’s color and contributes to the wine’s layers of intense aromas and flavors.’

“The 2017 Pirouette has an expressive nose with a firm core of dark fruit and mocha flavors, displaying a layered concentration of black cherry and well-integrated oak spices. Vibrant and full-bodied across the mid-palate, this is a texturally pleasing wine with a broad and lengthy finish.” 

This was a blockbuster release, rated 96 points by Jeb Dunnuck and International Wine Report, 94 by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and 93 by Steve Tanzer.

Dunnuck wrote - “It can be drunk today but will develop additional complexity with 3-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades or more.”

Dark ruby colored, full bodied, vibrant expressive blackberry, plum and black currant fruits with savory accents of cinnamon and clove spice, bitter dark chocolate and crème de cassis with smooth polished tannins on a sumptuous finish.

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3581703

https://longshadows.com/library/pirouette/6951

https://longshadows.com/

@LongShadowsWine

@unwindwine

Amuse Bouche Premiere Napa Valley at Polo Grill, Tulsa

Amuse Bouche Premiere Napa Valley at Polo Grill, Tulsa

Traveling to/through Tulsa, OK, we dined at Polo Grill in the Utica Square Shopping Center.

Polo Grill was founded in 1983 by chef/proprietor Robert Merrifield with a view to offer the finest cuisine and service to guests. Early success allowed for expansion in 1996 adding a combination wine cellar / private dining room (shown below) and an expanded bar area. Further expansion provided growth to a total of five private dining rooms, plus patio dining and an expanded Polo Lounge. 

Polo Grill has become one of Oklahoma’s best restaurants winning many industry awards including Wine Spectator Magazine’s Best of Award for its wine cellar/ list, since 2000. The restaurant wine collection grew to 4,250 bottles and was expanded again in 1998 to a wine inventory of 10,000 bottles with over 1,000 selections. It is since grown to an impressive wine selection/collection with over 1,100 labels and 17,000 bottles. They offer a diverse range of both vertical and horizontal choices, along with half bottles and large format bottles. Also, their Wine by the Glass program features a wide range of 40 rotating options across wine types and budgets.

Polo Grill has also been recognized as the only DiRoNA and AAA Four Diamond restaurant in Oklahoma. 

The wine cellar has been reported to now house 25,000 bottles showcasing ‘1,478 vintages’ featuring extensive selections from California, Burgundy, Champagne, France, Washington and Oregon.

One of the interesting notable key strengths of the wine collection is distinctive offerings from several wine auctions including Premier Napa Valley barrel auction wines with 276 PNV selections of Napa Valley Premiere labels, and Sonoma AVA’s offerings from the SoCo Barrel Auction (barrelauction.sonomawine.com), and boutique wines from Reveal Walla Walla barrel auctions (revealwallawalla.com), and the Willamette Valley (willamettewines.auction) regional selections.

The famous annual PNV is hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV), a week-long celebration of Napa Valley wine and community and provides a first look for the wine trade of each year’s highly anticipated vintage. 

We were drawn to Polo Grill because of its culinary reputation coupled with its extensive wine list selection. They bill themselves as “Tulsa’s Best Steakhouse” and their menu selections also include lamb, chicken and seafood specialties, and all the customary starters and side dishes. 

For starters we shared a wedge salad and an order of the cheese bread with olives and olive oil. 

For my entree, I order the filet of beef, prepared ‘Pittsburgh’ style, with a side of mashed potatoes. As one would expect in a top steakhouse, they understood my ‘Pittsburgh’ (charred with hot pink center) request and prepared it perfectly, although it was served less than ideal warm rather hot. 

Linda ordered the shrimp and grits with a petit filet of beef accompaniment. The shrimp was a bit slightly undercooked and the plate, like mine, was warm rather than hot. 

We were served by Parker, who is billed himself as Director of Wine. On Parker’s suggestion, we ordered from the extensive wine list a Napa Valley Premiere auction limited release vintage selection, to meet my request for a red blend to accompany the steak. He provided attentive service including impeccable handling and serving of our wine, extracting and presenting the cork, dutifully and carefully decanting the bottle, and offering a taste. Despite the attention to detail, and representations of their extensive cellar, the wine was served at room temperature, as opposed to the preferred cellar temperature, or cooler.   

At fifteen years, the label, foil and most importantly, the fill level and cork were nearly perfect, although the cork was a bit dry and separated upon extraction with a traditional corkscrew. 

Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Premiere Merlot 2011

This special limited release bottling was produced exclusively for the Premiere Napa Valley auction from a quarter barrel. It is a’ Pomerol-style’ (predominantly Merlot with Cabernet Franc) blend crafted by owner and legendary winemaker Heidi Barrett.

In 2002, Heidi partnered with longtime friend John Schwartz to create Amuse Bouche, a Pomerol-inspired Merlot from Napa Valley. “Recognizing that the cult-wine phenomenon had created an ‘almost aspirational class structure among collectors’, the partners set out to make this limited-edition wine available to a much broader consumer base.”

This special label offering is a blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, sourced from estate vineyards, specially selected and blended, aged in Gamba and Taranasaud barrels, resulting in a wine that the producer describes as ‘rich in cassis, red licorice and mocha flavors’.

This special label was from the 2013 Napa Premiere Auction 17, Lot Number 36, featuring the 2011 vintage Amuse Bouche Winery Napa Valley Merlot. Only five cases were produced. The special (below) label shows this being bottle number 25 of the 60 produced and is initialed by Heidi Barrett. 

Many of the top wine producers support the Premier Napa Valley auction with special limited release bottlings. Our visit to our local Total Wine beverage superstore featured several PNV labels in their Reserve Wine locker. 

Winemaker, co-owner Heidi Barrett grew up in the Napa Valley in a winemaking family and has become one of California's leading winemakers.

After graduating from UC Davis in 1980 with a B.S. Degree in Fermentation Science, she went to work for Justin Meyer at Franciscan Vineyards and Silver Oak. After working ‘crush’ jobs at both Lindeman's Wines in Australia and Rutherford Hill, Heidi Barrett became assistant winemaker to Jerry Luper at Bouchaine Vineyards. In 1983, at age 25, she became winemaker at Buehler Vineyards where she first attracted critical acclaim by greatly improving the wine quality and taking the production from 6,000 cases to 20,000 cases. 

Her bio on the Amuse Bouche website writes: “In 1988, she left Buehler to become an independent winemaker (freelance), making wine for a number of small wineries. Within a week she was hired by Gustav Dalla Valle and was winemaker at Dalla Valle Vineyards until spring 1996. It was there that she took her abilities to the next level creating some powerful yet elegant Cabernets, including the famous "Maya" cult wine, a proprietary Cabernet blend that received two perfect 100 point scores from Robert Parker ( the '92 and '93) as well as record breaking bids at the Napa Valley Wine Auction. She started making wine for Screaming Eagle in 1992, which has also received two perfect 100 pt scores (the '92 and recent '97). A 6-liter bottle of '92 SE set a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction selling for $500,000. A vertical offering of this cult wine went for $650,000 at the 2001 NVWA.”

Since 1988 she has developed an impressive client list of ultra-premium wineries. In addition to her own wines from La Sirena, she is currently the winemaker for Amuse Bouche, Paradigm, Lamborn, Kenzo Estate, Revana, Au Sommet, Vin Perdu, and Fantesca, many labels we hold in our cellar (highlighted) Past winemaking clients include Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Jones Family, Grace Family, Vineyard 29, David Arthur, Barbour Vineyards, and Showket. 

In 1994, Heidi started making her own wine, La Sirena (Spanish and Italian for ‘Mermaid’), starting with a tiny production of Sangiovese, and her first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1996, and in 2000, the first Syrah.

She was winemaker of the year, made Robert Parker's list of wine personalities of the year 1994,1995 and is on Parker's wine heroines list of 1998 (one of two from the US). Parker has dubbed her the "first lady of wine".

Her Winemaking Philosophy:”Balanced, less is more”.

She founded Amuse Bouche with longtime friend John Schwartz in 2002. Their wines consistently gain high marks from wine reviewers. Their general release bottlings are an artist series featuring unique artwork on each label. 

The general production bottling of the Amuse Bouche 2011 was their 10th vintage, a blend of 96% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. The Amuse Bouche website describes that vintage release - “Harvested on October 24 and aged in a combination of Taranssaud, Radoux and Gamba cooperage, and bottled in March 2013. Heidi described this wine as boasting flavors of sweet black cherries and ripe plums with underlying aromas of chocolate, coffee bean, red licorice and exotic spice box.” 560 cases were produced compared to just 5 of the special PNV bottling. 

The general release of this vintage got 92 points from Steven Tanzer and Int'l Wine Cellar.

This wine/food pairing was a perfect compliment/accompaniment to the grilled beefsteak, which increases the enjoyment of both. 

Bright ruby-red colored, medium full bodied, balanced, bright expressive, concentrated fruit forward ripe sweet black raspberry and currant fruits accents of with accents of spice, smoke, herbs and floral, with tangy acidity and smooth tannins on a lingering finish. Some might be taken aback by the forward full sweetness of this wine. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.winespectator.com/restaurants/316/polo-grill

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1812223

https://www.amusebouchewine.com/

https://pologrill.com/

BV Tapestry 2001 With Artisan Cheese

BV Tapestry 2001 With Artisan Cheese

For some casual sipping with some artisan cheeses, I pulled from the cellar this vintage aged Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend from a historic iconic producer. 

Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Tapestry Reserve 2001

This iconic label Tapestry Reserve is from the iconic historic Napa Valley producer Beaulieu Vineyards, that dates back to 1900. French founder Georges de Latour initially bought a small, four-acre property in the town of Rutherford as a surprise for his wife. The land eventually became the foundation for Beaulieu Vineyards. The producer survived Prohibition by having one of a handful of contracts to supply churches with sacramental wine. After Prohibition the winery grew and continued to thrive, experimenting with varietals, blends and aging. Under the direction of the legendary André Tchelistcheff, the winery became one of California's preeminent producers.

Tchelistcheff, trained as a wine master in France, shaped the character of BV’s wines during the 1950s and 1960s. Today the winery is famous the breadth and depth of its portfolio, anchored by its flagship, BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve, but also includes, besides Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.

The landmark Beaulieu Vineyards estate winery sits prominently on Napa Valley Highway 29 in Rutherford. It has grown to one of the pre-eminent Napa Valley producers, through acquisition of vineyards in other parts of Napa Valley, the winery owns 1,029 acres and produces a total of 750,000 bottles a year.

I’ve written about Beaulieu Vineyards and the Tapestry Reserve label often in these pages, notably in this more detailed feature back in 2023 - BV Tapestry with Beef bourguignon.

We hold nearly two  dozen vintages of this popular label going back to a few remaining bottles of a full case acquired from the highly acclaimed 1997 vintage. Interesting that that vintage was uniquely packaged in a premium heavier, slightly larger bottle than all the others. It consistently offers sophisticated drinking for a high QPR - Quality Price Ratio, often rivaling the much more expensive flagship label. We strive to keep this label in stock, replenishing consumed bottles with current vintage releases for reliable, quality, sophisticated wine to pair with grilled beefsteak, or enjoyable sipping such as this.  

This label dates back to its inaugural release in 1990, Tapestry Reserve is a tribute to the producer’s French heritage and the classic world renowned Bordeaux blends and Clarets. It is sourced from a selection of specific vineyard blocks of top-quality grapes that give Tapestry “the combined attributes of terroir expression and a round, approachable tannin structure”.

About half of the Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the western benchland of the Rutherford American Viticultural Area (AVA), and the balance from the Calistoga, Howell Mountain and St Helena AVAs. 

It also contains in the traditional Bordeaux Blend, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, all sourced exclusively from BV estate vineyards in Calistoga, Knights Valley, Rutherford and Yountville. Also, Cabernet Franc, added to lend complexity, depth and “intrigue”, comes from Howell Mountain.

At twenty-four years, this label, foil, and most importantly the cork and fill level were still pristine. I selected this older vintage as part of cellar inventory management, drinking an older vintage before it wanes from diminution of aging past its prime drinking window. It was a pleasant surprise that this turned out to be a Goldilocks bottle, not too young, not too old, still at the apex of its drinking window/profile. 

We already had opened a couple artisan cheeses from earlier in the week which were a nice pairing with crackers and the wine. Especially good pairing was the Murray’s Jarlsberg. 

Beaulieu Vineyard "Tapestry Reserve" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2001 

This release was rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast back in 2004.

Winemaker Joel Aiken said, “A lovely wine, one that is more accessible than Private Reserve, but the tannins suggest ageability.” 

Winemaker Notes - “Dark ruby in color, the Tapestry's aromas evoke scents of black cherry, herbs, vanilla-oak and some black pepper. Medium-full bodied, the wine's fruit flavors are at the forefront; cherry and blackcurrant, followed by nuances of licorice, dark chocolate and peppercorn. Fleshy yet backed by firm, ripe tannins, the finish shows some torrefaction notes from the oak now, but should evolve gracefully with 4-7 years in the bottle.”

Dark garnet colored, medium-full-bodied, complex and nicely integrated, smooth, polished, elegant, black currant fruits are highlighted by notes of mocha chocolate, black tea, coffee and herbs with hints of licorice, with soft silky tannins on the graceful finish for very pleasant drinking. This exceeded my expectations. Wish I had more of this, Would be fabulous with a grilled beefsteak! 

RM 92 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/191504

https://www.bvwines.com/

Pour Boys Wine Weekend Kick-off Dinner

Pour Boys Wine Weekend Kick-off Dinner at Entourage DG

In town for our Pour Boys Wine Group Fall Winers & Diners Gala dinner, Bill and Beth C came in from Charleston and stayed with us. 

We kicked off the weekend taking them to our latest favorite restaurant, Entourage DG for Friday afternoon dinner. 

On a beautiful exceptionally warm autumn afternoon, we dined 'al fresco‘, outside on the bustling sidewalk, across the street from and overlooking the train station amidst the high energy continuous commuters off the express trains arriving from downtown (Chicago). 

We had from our usual favorite “Social Hour” special selections, the Focaccia Bread and Deviled Eggs, along with the Spring Rolls. 

For our entrees, we all ordered their delicious Waygu Beef sliders, Filet Medallions with Horseradish Cream, Pickled Onion, Oven Roasted Roma Tomato and Arugula on a Mini Brioche bun.
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For a wine accompaniment, we ordered with the starters, from the wine list, the Kokomo Sonoma County Chardonnay. Then, with the beef entrees, I brought BYOB from our home cellar this Napa Cabernet Big Red Blend.

We’ve featured this wine in numerous previous blogposts as excerpted here.

Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay 2023

This is from family owned and operated Kokomo Winery that was started by Owner and Winemaker Erik Miller in 2004, a fellow Hoosier, who named it after his hometown of Kokomo, Indiana, which is near Linda’s hometown and family farm in North Central Carroll County, Indiana.

The Winery sits on the East side of Dry Creek Valley, twenty miles north of Santa Rosa, off the main route 101, midway between the towns of Healdsburg and Geyserville. The winery and tasting room is located at Timber Crest Farms, sitting amid 120 acres of vineyards, overlooking the valley.

Kokomo produces over a dozen different varietal wines and several single vineyard designated labels which are farmed by his partner in the winery, grower Randy Peters. Kokomo Wines strive to showcase the terroir of the their vineyard sources in the three distinctive appellations of Sonoma County - Russian River, Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys. They also offer some wines sourced from the Sonoma Valley Moon Mountain District.

This Peter’s Vineyard Designated label is 100% Chardonnay sourced from a site in the Russian River Valley, west Sebastopol, next to Luther Burbank's Farm where the soil is rich with Goldridge sandy loam. There the vines are exposed to consistent coastal fog, which calls for extended hang time and more development for the fruit.

I was a bit hesitant to order this bottle, especially to be paired with such a magnificent dinner, since our awareness of Kokomo is more modest entry level wines, less discriminating than the premium and ultra-premium labels we tend to enjoy.

We see their entry level labels widely distributed but have never had any of their more premium labels. Note they show two dozen different offerings on their website. Never-the-less I gave it a shot and found it to be an over-achiever to my perception of the brand, meeting our hopeful expectations for suitably pairing with our dinner.

Kokomo “Peter’s Vineyard” Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast California Chardonnay 2023

Winemaker notes for this release - “Planted in West Sebastopol, this is a premier location for Chardonnay. The vineyard is next to Luther Burbank’s Farm and the soil composition is rich Goldridge Sandy Loam. With the consistent coastal fog extending hang time well into October, this fruit is fully developed and loaded with complexity. The Chardonnay is comprised of Clones 4 and 76.’

Continuing, Winemaker notes for this release remain the same as with the previous vintage: “Reminiscent of a classic white Burgundy but with a California twist, this Chardonnay displays vibrant minerality accompanied by the mouth-watering natural acidity typically found in Peters Vineyard. Stirring the lees (Sur Lie) was performed to this lot consistently once per week through malolactic fermentation. We feel like this gives the wine body, texture and depth while maintaining its graceful acidity and restraint. This Chardonnay is elegant enough to pair with delicate foods and delicious enough to drink by itself after a long day.”

This is 100% Chardonnay, Sourced from Russian River Valley Appellation, and was aged 11 months in 100% French Oak, 30% New..

While I gave it the same rating, this release had a slightly different profile.


Straw colored, light to medium bodied, tangy crisp acidity highlights a predominant layer of vanilla that overshadowed the subtle pear, spice and peach tones of the earlier release, accented by light sprites of oak on a pleasurable moderate finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5165863

https://www.kokomowines.com/store/?view=product&slug=23ch

https://www.kokomowines.com/

As noted above, we followed with the beef entrees, this Napa Cabernet Big Red Blend that I brought BYOB from our home cellar.

Rubissow Napa Valley Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

We visited the Rubissow estate vineyards and winery, high atop Mount Veeder, with Bill and Beth as well as Eric and Cathy and Dan and Linda, from our Pour Boys wine group during our Napa Valley Mount Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. 

I featured that estate visit and tasting in these pages in this blogpost, excerpted here:

Mt Veeder Appellation Trail - Rubissow Mt Veeder Vineyards

Mt Veeder Appellation Trail - Rubissow Mt Veeder Vineyards 

As was our custom, learned over the years after many trips to wine country, we learned to focus and concentrate on but one appellation per trip. Too often, folks try to take in too much, visiting properties geographically disbersed resulting in racing from one site to the next, traveling distances against the clock to meet the next appointment. 

This trip, we concentrated on just the Mount Veeder appellation, vastly simplifying travel from site to site, literally starting at the top of the mountain and working our way down to the valley.  

Named for the mountain at the southern end of the Mayacamas Mountain range that forms the western wall of Napa Valley, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. 

While the entire appellation is spread over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover only about 1,000, primarily in the the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountain, the highest point being at 2,400 feet.

Back at that time, only about 25 wineries produced wine from Mount Veeder fruit.

Mount Veeder was one of the earliest wine producing areas in Napa County with winemaking in the appellation dating back to 1864, when Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair. That came from what remains today as Wing Canyon Vineyard. 

After the Prohibition interruption of the wine trade, viticulture and wine production was revitalized with the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.

One of the highlights of our Napa Valley Mt Veeder appellation wine experience was our visit to Rubissow Vineyards. 

We also visited Yates Family Vineyards and Winery high atop Mt Veeder. 

Rubisow was founded by George Rubissow and Tony Sargent back in the 1960's when George also struck up a friendship with, and gained invaluable advice from the legendary winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff. They developed the Mt.Veeder estate and planted Bordeaux varietals. 

When we visited back in 2011, after twenty-five years, George was in the process of handing over operations of the vineyards and production to the next generation, Ariel and Peter Rubissow who were in their third year carrying on the family tradition of quality crafted mountain vineyard wines.

George Rubissow and the original 
Rubissow Sargent Label. 

Rubissow Wine Flight

This label was among the flight of wines we tasted that day and was arguably, the WOTN - Wine of the Night(Day). :

Rubissow Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

While this is labeled a Cabernet Sauvignon, appropriate since it is more than 75% of that varietal, this is actually a Bordeaux Blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot , 3% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot.

Out tasting notes from that original tasting: 

Complex, concentrated, full bodied - winemaker notes - deep brambly richness, black currant, graphite, clove, kirsch, raspberry jam, smoke, dark caramel.

RM 92 points.

Winemaker Notes -  On the nose, this wine offers aromas of red cherry, blueberry, plum, mocha, vanilla bean and caramel -- with hints of lavender, rosemary and raspberry leaf. A youthful mountain wine with amazing complexity. The palate shows plum, cherry and raspberry flavors, with good tannins and bright acidity.

This was rated 92 points and a Cellar Selection by Wine Enthusiast

Tonight, at 20 years, the label, foil, and most importantly the fill level and the cork, were still in good condition, although the cork was starting to soften. 

Amazingly consistent with that original tasting back in 2011, this was still drinking at its prime and has several more years of prime drinking yet. 

Much as noted earlier, Dark garnet colored, full bodied, complex, dense, concentrated, deep brambly black currant fruits with earthy tobacco and leather, graphite, clove spice, kirsch, smoke and hints of dark bitter chocolate on the long slightly astringent tannin laced finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1042516

The Rubissow hilltop vineyard looks south to the Carneros District with views in the distance of Mt Diablo to the west of San Francisco Bay and Mt Tamalpais in Marin, to the north of the Golden Gate. 

Rubissow Hilltop Vineyard looking out to San Pablo Bay

George telling the Rubissow Story to porch tasters

Rick and Linda with George Rubissow

Rick and Bill with George Rubissow

Rubissow Hilltop Vineyard

Rubissow Road Vineyard

Tasting on the porch at Rubissow

Rubissow's Barbara Jura leading estate grounds walk

https://entouragerestaurant.com/downers-grove/

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This 

I brought BYOB from our home cellar this Napa Cabernet blend