Beef Roast Dinner Features Viader Red Blend

Sunday afternoon beef roast dinner features premium Napa Valley Red Blend 

Son Alec and Vivianna came over after church for Sunday afternoon dinner. Linda prepared a hearty beef roast with potatoes, carrots and onions. I pulled from the cellar this ultra-premium Napa Valley Red Blend wine for the occasion. 

Viader Napa Valley Red Wine 2000 

This proved to be an ideal pairing with the beef roast which amplified the enjoyment of both the meal and the wine. Tonight, paired with the beef roast, this was fabulous and was perhaps the best, certainly the most enjoyable Viader Red I’ve ever experienced. 

Our having fun with wine includes enjoying several “V” labels, such as this, when tasting/dining with our daughter-in-law Vivianna.

 
We met Delia Viader, Proprietor/Winemaker at a special tasting in Chicago at Binny’s, the Chicagoland beverage super store back in 2005 as featured in this blogpost — An evening with Delia Viader. We then visited the Viader estate vineyards and winery during our Napa Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008 - Viader.

Shown here is our meeting Delia Viader during a producer tasting evening 

sponsored by Binny's here in Chicago back in 2005. 

Our collection of Viader spans going on three decades of releases dating back to the mid-nineties vintages. It was with interest to see how this vintage has held up over the years to calibrate the lifespan of the other vintages. In the style of many Viader releases, this blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Cabernet Franc is crafted in the profile of a top Graves from Bordeaux. 

We expanded our collection of Viader wines following our visit to the Viader winery estate on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008.

The picturesque Viader 23-acre estate sits on the lower mountain at 1200 foot elevation overlooking Napa Valley. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Viader is known for its Bordeaux-style blends. 

The 1200 foot elevation of the estate is significant and notable as that is the height that the fog reaches above the valley floor and hence is the point at which below is designated Napa Valley, and above it designated Howell Mountain. This climatic difference creates a distinctive terroir due to the effects of the fog on the ripening vines. 

It’s a great tribute to our daughter-in-law to associate her with proprietor and winemaker Delia Viader, a remarkable and impressive lady. She was born in Argentina and educated in Europe before earning graduate degrees in the U.S., a notable role model for any career minded female. Delia spent much of her formative years in Europe and in France where she earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University in Paris, then pursued advanced business studies in the US at MIT, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Recognizing the potential Napa Valley wine industry in the 1980's, Viader set out to create a world class wine estate Delia Viader. She began her career in Napa Valley as a partnership with her father after they purchased a plot of underdeveloped mountain-side land. Delia quickly earned the reputation as a pioneer for planting vines running directly down the mountain, similar to many European vine-training techniques, and today is regarded as a fitting model for growing high-quality fruit. With Delia and her team’s persistence, the Viader property grew to immense popularity and its wines have been greatly coveted since inception. All the while, she continued studying Enology and Viticulture at University of California, Davis. During this time she also raised her four children in the wine environment and culture.

Delia Viader was a visionary pioneer in Napa Valley investing in developing a mountain estate at a time when most of the vineyard plantings were on the valley floor.Born in Argentina, Delia Viader came to the United States after spending many years in Europe. In 1986 the love of wine Delia acquired during her time in Europe lead her to purchase a 25 acre property 1200 feet above the Napa Valley floor northeast of St. Helena on the steep, rocky slopes of Howell Mountain. During this time when 99% of Napa’s vineyards were planted on the valley floor, Delia was considered a bit crazy-headed to plant vineyards in such foreboding terroir. But it was exactly terroir that she was after.

Delia’s first release of this proprietary red blend called simply Viader, was the 1989 vintage , a blend of almost equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine went on to gain an international reputation as one of the iconic wines of Napa Valley and has become the signature wine for the winery.

In the last few years, Delia’s children have come back to help manage and operate the business making this a true family concern. Alan Viader is Director of Operations and Winemaking, Janet Viader is Director of Marketing and Sales. Mariela Viader (married to Alan) is in charge of the Culinary Program.

“Viader is an elegant wine showing the staying power delivered from a blend of mountain grown Cabernet Sauvignon highly influenced by Cabernet Franc. It’s a wine that involves all your senses and presents itself as pure natural harmony, and serves as the perfect background music to an evening’s conversation between two good friends.” – Delia Viader, Proprietor

We opened this 2000 vintage year release to compare with the 2000 vintage release of another premium Napa Valley Cabernet we tasted the other evening following a beef tenderloin dinner. Both showed exceedingly well, a testament to the vintage, Napa Cabernet’s aging potential, and the provenance of our wine cellar for long term cellaring. 

This release is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Cabernet Franc. 

Vinograhy writes, “Delia Viader is one of the few producers on Howell Mountain who grow a substantial amount of Cabernet Franc and their wines incorporate a substantial amount of this fruit. The blending that she and consulting winemaker Charles Hendricks do with her fruit results in an extremely drinkable wine, one that is delicate and aromatic.” 

“We’re talking about a wine that emphasizes finesse over power,” says Delia. 

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend 2000

At twenty-four years, the label, foil and most importantly, the fill level and cork were ideal. 

Like the Darioush from the other evening, this was still at the apex of its drinking window, showing no diminution from aging whatsoever, and showing prospect to age gracefully for several more years to come. 

This release was rated 92 points by Wine Spectator

4,647 cases made.

Several years ago when I tasted this I wrote this resembled a top tier Bordeaux with its complexity, balance, integrated flavors and tasting profile, but it was tight and a bit closed, begging for much more time to settle and open to reveal its true character. 

Tonight this was magnificent, benefiting from more aging, and likely at the apex of its tasting window. As we learned with many of our topflight Bordeaux, that we drank them too early, and were rewarded when we gave them several more years aging in the bottle.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, silky smooth mouthfeel, polished and elegant, the bold yet balanced spicy Cabernet Franc aromatics were bright and vibrant, highlighting the dark berry, cherry and raspberry fruits, with notes of caramel, mocha, anise, tea, tobacco and graphite with incredibly smooth supple tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 94 points - improved over earlier rating of 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6703

www.viader.com

https://x.com/viader_napa

https://x.com/unwindwine

Groth Birthyear Vintage Napa Cab for festive family holiday dinner

Groth Birthyear Vintage Napa Cab for festive family holiday dinner

Further to our Festive Christmas Eve family dinner featured in an earlier blogpost, we also opened an aged birthyear vintage bottle for the occasion.,

We hold in our cellar collection a horizontal of wines for each of our kids’ (and grandkids’) birth year vintages that we hold to open for special occasions and family gatherings. So it was that tonight I also pulled from the cellar a birthyear vintage wine for son Alec, joining us for Christmas Eve dinner. 

As our kid’s get older, the window for holding and tasting birth year wines is rapidly closing, and, we still hold a collection of wines that need to be consumed. In this case, for our youngest son Alec, the 1990 vintage was especially extraordinary.  

Three #1 Wine Spectator Top 
100 Wines from 1990 vintage

Three times, three different wines from the 1990 vintage were awarded #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine as part of their annual Top 100 Wines of the Year.. 

This is a testament to the global success of the vintage, one was from California, one from Bordeaux and one from South Australia, a further testament to the amazing spectacular 1990 vintage. 

 

All these wines were acquired upon their release back in the early nineties, in some cases, even before being so recognized and heralded.  

We also hold large format bottles of birth year vintage wines for these years in our collection. I blogged about these wines and big bottles in a previous blogposts. 

Tonight, with the hearty beef roast dinner, I pulled from the cellar this 1990 Napa Cabernet for a wine pairing. 

Groth Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 

This is the standard Groth estate cuvee’ offering. It had 15% Merlot added to round out the blend. 

We visited the Groth Estate back in the late nineties for a tour and tasting.

Notably winemaker for this wine was none other than Nils Venge.  

This release awarded 90-92 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 90 points by Wine Spectator.  

The Wine Advocate Review was back in 06/1992. The Wine Spectator Review was a decade later  in 02/2001.

Parker referred to the classic Groth style - sweet, almost intensely opulent fruit flavors, silky tannins, and hedonistic.

At thirty four years of age, aside the soiled label, the foil, and most importantly the fill level and the cork were in ideal condition. 

This bottle was past its prime drinking window and was showing diminution from age. The body was slightly murky and the dark garnet color was taking on a slight brownish hue. The blackberry fruits were turning slightly tart and starting to give way to non-fruit flavors of earth, tobacco and leather, with notes still apparent of herbs, coffee, spice and cassis with tangy acid predominating on the finish. A momento tasting but time to drink up as a last vestige of this vintage cuvée. 

RM 86 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=35189

https://grothwines.com/

https://x.com/GrothWines

@GrothWines

@unwindwine

Venge Silencieux for Christmas Eve dinner

Venge Silencieux for hearty festive Christmas Eve dinner - Silent One for Silent Night, Holy Night

Just returned from a family Christmas gathering in Conneticut, Alec, Vivianna and the girls joined us for a festive Christmas Eve dinner. 

Linda prepared a delicious hearty beef roast with potatoes, carrots, green beans and onions, with a garden salad and fresh brioche rolls.  

As is customary, when dining with Alec and Viv, I pulled from the cellar one of our ‘V’ collection of wines, having fun paying tribute to daughter-in-law Vivianna. 

Readers of these pages know about this tradition and how we can fulfill it with bottles from Venge Vineyards, or Viader, or some occasional others - Verite’, Vine Cliff, Varner …. 

This premium selection featured a large, oversized, heavy painted bottle, predominantly bearing the ‘V’ Venge Vineyards logo.

We feature Venge Vineyards often in these pages going back many years, and highlighting many family gatherings - 

Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Gala Family Celebration Dinner at Angelis Italian

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/venge-napa-valley-oakville-penny-lane.html

Venge "Silencieux" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 

We hold dozens of Venge labels dating back decades, and chose this large, heavy, oversized painted bottle for the occasion - and, selected the oldest of half a dozen vintages of this label, as part of cellar management. 

Silencieux 2011 was a big bold expressive Napa Cab, and proved an ideal pairing with the hearty beef meal. 

Venge describes this wine and the inspiration for the Silencieux (Silent One) name on the rear label, shown below - fitting for this Silent Night, Holy Night! 

This is 100% Cabernet that was blended by winemaker/producer Kirk Venge from five different vineyard sources in Oakville, Calistoga, Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain and Coombsville. Hence, a Napa Valley designation, but no further sub-classification single AVA granularity. (There are seventeen appellations (AVA’s) in Napa Valley. 

Reviewing my experience with this wine, and reading the pundit’s expressions, this is perhaps an object lesson in interpreting reviewers comments of a wine. Or perhaps I obsess, but that’s what makes these assessments fun!

Being a blend of no less than five different vineyards, perhaps its my imagination, but this seemed to be slightly obtuse, a cacophony of flavors, big, bold and forward, almost slightly aggressive in its boldness - but delicious nonetheless. 

I felt that at fourteen years in 2024, that it might need another couple years to integrate and settle, but alas, perhaps not. Time will tell but I suspect it’s at the peak of its tasting window and will not improve, or be tamed, with further aging. 

Wine Enthusiast, who rated it 93 points and anointed it a “Cellar Selection”, projected it to  “age effortlessly through at least 2021.” 

Wine Enthusiast noted further, “It makes you wonder why we obsess with single-vineyard bottlings.” And, more to that pint, it is available at a big discount to those single vineyard labels providing nice QPR - Quality Price Ratio. 

It was also rated 92 and 91 points by Wine Advocate and International Wine Cellar, respectively. 

Wine Advocate said, “The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Silencieux is a much larger cuvee, …. Rich, concentrated, round and generous, this is a sumptuous Cabernet Sauvignon with no hard edges” Large and generous stand out in my purview, indeed, and I might disagree about the ‘hard edges’.  

International Wine Cellar referred to it as “Slightly high-toned … very good vinosity and serious length. Excellent for the vintage.“ Which ends on the point that 2011 was a slightly ‘off’ vintage in Napa Valley, and perhaps it’s simply that lack of perfection in the vintage that shows in this slightly less than stellar showing. 

Delicious, none-the-less, my words, which I later discover echo Wine Advocate sentiments -  … “but it is a delicious, reasonably priced Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that showcases Venge’s Midas touch with this varietal.” 

Dark, bright ruby-red, medium-full bodied, rich, concentrated, round, forward ripe black currant and blackberry fruits, highlighted by dark mocha, graphite, currant, clove spice, anise and sweet oak, with full round tannins and tangy acidity on the sumptuous finish. 

RM 92 points.   

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1678403

We also opened a Groth Birthyear Vintage Napa Cab which we featured in this follow on blogpost. Notably, winemaker for this wine was Nils Venge! 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/venge-napa-valley-oakville-penny-lane.html

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/VengeVineyards

@VengeVineyards 

@unwindwine @rickmcnees

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022

Watching “The Sticky” series on Netflix, we had some of the leftover delicious beef tenderloin in avocado sandwiches. I opened this premium Napa Red Blend from a just received shipment that we were eager to try. This is another Big Red from another emerging interesting Napa producer who produces a wide portfolio of wines from estate and contract growers and purchased lot sources.

If the pedigree of the winemaker says anything, then Beau Vigne is in a distinguished class with 100-point winemaker Julien Fayard (Lafite Rothschild, Smith Haut Lafitte, Melka, Quintessa, Realm, Covert Estate), and where Dave Phinney was the founding winemaker! Note also, the collaboration with Philippe Melka, and contribution of another of our fav’s, winemaker Kirk Venge. 

I featured Beau Vigne in detail in a more extensive blogpost last summer - Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red, and several other blogposts such as the one’s below.

The producer writes - “Our Napa Valley winery is devoted exclusively to making influential luxury Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon Blends. Taking inspiration from our founding winemaker Dave Phinney who sought out to make red wines that would compete with the greatest wines of the world. This tradition was enhanced by the addition of winemaker Kirk Venge in 2008 through 2018/19 who obtained a perfect 100 Points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Present-day winemaking is now in the hands of Julien Fayard who hails from the legendary first growth Château Lafite-Rothschild and Atelier Melka before becoming the brilliant up and coming new winemaker in Napa Valley.”

Beau Vigne was taken over by Charles Bartlett when he purchased the brand in 2019 with the intent to carry on the dream created by Ed and Trish Snider, whom he has known for many years. Charles has worked in Napa since the late 1970s and has built a successful wine trading company, working with many of the top names in the mountain AVAs. 

Bartlettl hired Julien Fayard to establish and oversee modern practices in the vineyard and in the cellar. The release of beau Vigne CULT Cabernet Sauvignon, beacme one of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed labels with year-over-year 93 to 98 points from critics. Beau Vigne continues the tradition of hand-harvested grapes planted and grown on Atlas Peak, the Pritchard Hill region and other viticultural areas of Napa Valley including Howell Mountain, Oakville and Rutherford.

We featured our tastings from the Beau Vigne portfolio in these recent blogposts:  

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-reserve-proprietary-red-wine.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-proprietary-red-byob-at.html

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022

This is a most recent limited release label from the BV collection such that even the CellarTracker inventory of a million labels and collection of several million tasting notes, doesn’t yet have any mentions! 

Unlike an earlier release of the same label back in 2013, this release doesn’t list the blend and is therefore presumed to be 100% Cabernet Sauvignon? 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/07/beau-vigne-napa-valley-proprietary-red.html

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, rich round ripe black berry and black currant fruits with spicy acidity, hints of graphite, bittersweet dark chocolate, cassis and black tea on a full lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5207604

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5207604

https://www.beauvigne.com/

Frisson Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

Frisson Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

We were invited to son Alec and Vivianna’s for dinner on their return from their holiday with the in-laws in Naples. With pizza, to watch our Alma Mater Indiana demolish our perennial rival Purdue in what may be called the Route 66 Game (IU 66 - PU-0), Alec opened from his cellar this Napa Valley Atlas Peak Cabernet that he picked up at one of the on-line retailers. 

This is from Frisson, a producer I’ve never heard of, which is not surprising given the proliferation of producers and labels over the last several years - from 300 to over 500. Of course with the finite amount of vineyards lands, and strict restrictions on development, there are many dollars chasing the limited supply of wine grapes from the now seventeen different Napa Valley Appellations, and non-designated sites. 

Naturally most vineyard land owners and contract growers have established distribution in place for their brands and product. Many of these new producers lack their own vineyard sources so they end up buying excess or available fruit in the marketplace. I’ve written in the past about the dynamics of getting ‘invested’ in such brands. These are not for collectors who relish in vertical collections, comparing wines from a single site across multiple vintages. This may not be possible if the producer has limited access to a site source, or purchased a one-of or limited duration supply of fruit. 

Also, caveat emptor, that a vineyard owner will want to maximize production in a stellar vintage, holding as much fruit as possible to leverage their brands, and established distribution. Where as, in a lesser vintage, they may choose to liquidate (*) their inventory to other producers, so as not to dilute (* - puns intended) their own brand with substandard, marginal, or less than stellar fruit. 

This is not to say that some fabulous wines are not available from such producers. And, many well known labels and brands rely on contract growers for their fruit, through long term established supplier agreements - Lewis Cellars, and Freemark Abbey with their Bosche’ Vineyard label as prime examples.     

With that said, this producer, Terry Davis, writes, “Frisson is a French word meaning a moment of intense excitement, a thrill; a word which aptly describes our story and philosophy.’

“One evening we met a winemaker who shared our philosophy and vision – to make truly fine wines that exemplify the energy of the New World, honed with the sophistication of the Old World approach. Our Frisson began!’

“After purchasing a prized allocation of 2007 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon grapes our journey as vintners came to life.”

This is another collaboration of entrepreneur/investor and winemaker. (See my most recent blogpost of similarly situated collaboration on a Washington State premium label). 

The Frisson website continues, excerpted here; - “Like about everyone else who has come to Napa Valley, Terry Davis dreamed for years about becoming a part of the Napa Valley world of wine.”

“He met Wayne Donaldson, winemaker, (who) told him of his desire to make a great Cabernet. Terry said if he came across the right grapes he would give him a call.”

The story continues … “Next thing Terry knew, he and some friends had bought three tons of Diamond Mountain grapes. One of his partners said, “Let’s get this straight… you don’t know a damn thing about making wine, just met this guy and you want me to invest? Do you think I’m crazy? I’m in!”’

CellarTracker records show no less than fifty different labels from this producer dating back to the 2010 vintage. 

The Frisson website identifies no less than three winemakers; “Morrisey, a former student of New York University’s elite film school, spent ten years in show business as an electrician and cameraman before choosing to reinvent himself and try his hand at winemaking. While attending graduate school at the University of California, Davis, he secured a harvest internship at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux in 1997. He later worked under famed Napa Valley winemaker Tony Soter, founder of Etude Winery, who helped him refine his approach.”

Another, Winemaker Paul Colantuoni crafted the Frisson 2018 Yountville Label. He gained experience at Rocca Vineyards, where he crafts their Yountville wines.

Ryan Woodhouse, Wine Buyer for well regarded and established Bay Area Wine Retailer K&L wrote about the Frisson Rutherford label: “As it says on the back of this bottle: "Frisson - noun: a sudden strong feeling of excitement or fear; a thrill." Despite not knowing this word previously, it quite accurately described how I felt when I saw the vineyard sourcing for this wine...and the price! The 2019 Frisson Rutherford Cab is sourced 65% from Georges III Vineyard and the remaining 35% from Melrose Vineyard! A fabulous, rich, ripe, modern Cab from one of the most famed vineyards in all of Napa for this price!?”

This label we tried tonight is from Napa Valley Atlas Peak. If was awarded  91 points by The Wine Advocate, and 90 points by James Suckling.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, black berry and black cherry notes with nots of cedar, vanilla, spice and herbs turning to firm but approachable tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 90 points. .

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3845886

https://www.frissonwines.com/

Pasta dinner features Premium Napa Red & White Wines

Pasta dinner features Premium Napa Red & White Wines

We were invited to Sunday Night dinner at Son Alec’s and D-in-law Vivianna’s. We were joined by son Sean and D-in-law Michelle. 

This allowed our four grand-daughters a chance to be together with their cousins - so much fun, and so important to their bonding together and learning to play with near aged kids. 

Alec and Viv prepared a delicious Bugatini pasta with a lobster vodka cream sauce with lobster medallions.

Prior to dinner we enjoyed several artisan cheeses that Sean’s and we brought - a baked cheese, an aged Gouda, and a truffle infused goat cheese - all great pairings with the evening’s wines. 

I brought from our home cellar one of our currently favorite drinking Chardonnays and Alec opened a big Napa Red. 

I’ve written often in these pages about the fun we have with the ‘V’ labels from various producers, most notably Kirk Venge. This big rich flavorful may be at its peak right now and shows as one of the best Chardonnay’s in our cellar right now, ideally paired with the rich pasta sauce and lobster medallions. 

Not ironically, we opened this same label with a similar dinner for the Christmas holiday dinner a couple of years ago with the same folks. I wrote about that dinner and this wine and producer in detail in a blogpost in these pages at that time, excerpted below - Venge Brown Ranch Chardonnay.

For Christmas eve dinner, Linda prepared a delicious lobster bisque soup with medallions of lobster. I pulled from the cellar this Venge Napa Carneros Chardonnay for an accompaniment. We were joined by Alec and Vivianna for a festive intimate dinner. 

The name Venge has been synonymous with Napa Valley wines for as long as I have been of drinking age since the '70's, but the Venge family wine affiliation actually goes back much earlier, to when Knud Venge emigrated from Denmark to the United States in the early 1900’s. Knud's son, Per Venge, entered in the wine and spirits business and started Vencom Imports, focusing on importing Western European wines and spirits. Per's son, Nils Venge, started in, then left the family business in the 1960's to study viticulture at UC Davis and set the family name in the California winegrowing community.

The Venge family planted viticultural roots in 1976 with the purchase of a 17-acre estate in the Oakville District that was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, establishing them among the winemaking pioneers of Napa Valley.

Buddy, AJ with Nils and Kirk Venge

We met Nils and Dianna Venge on numerous occasions at Napa events and visiting the Venge Vineyards in Oakville during the nineties. We first met their son, Kirk Venge, who engaged in winemaking from an early age while they were developing the Rossini Ranch Vineyards, Winery and caves up in Calistoga. We visited Nils at the Penny Lane Family Reserve Vineyard in Oakville, then drove up to meet Kirk at the Rossini Ranch site in the eastern foothills of Palisade Mountain near Calistoga back in 2002. 

Kirk took over Venge Vineyards in 2008 and has established himself as a talented winemaker making wines in his own style. Kirk has continued the Napa Valley heritage crafting wines from select vineyard sites across Napa and Sonoma Counties worthy of bearing the Venge family name.

We've been collecting Venge wines since their earliest days. We now have fun collecting them with their notable "V" branding to enjoy with our daughter-in-law, Vivianna, as her 'signature' wines.  

We also enjoyed this wine, BYOB, recently with seafood at BeachWalk Cafe in Destin (FL) during our vacation getaway -https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2024/10/henderson-beachwalk-cafe-dinner-with.html

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018 

This is a single vineyard designated label sourced from the 30 acre Brown Ranch Vineyard in Carneros, named for the previous cattle rancher owner Nadine Brown. The vineyard is bordered by HdV’s Hyde Vineyard and Beaulieu’s Vineyard No.9 on Old Sonoma Road in the Carneros district, straddling the rolling hills in the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the nearby San Pablo Bay, combined with the abundant midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing elegant wines that combine power and finesse, with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.

The property, formerly associated with Saintsbury Winery, was purchased in 2012 by the Renterias. 

The property was planted with twenty nine acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but most of
the vines were afflicted with Eutypa, a fungi disease also known as the Dead-arm Dieback, which causes trunks or arms of the vines to essentially rot and die. Like the famous Dead-Arm Shiraz label from McLaren Vale, Australia, rather than pulling the vines out, the vineyard managers kept the rootstock, cut off the trunk just above the soil and nurtured a bud to grow into a new trunk. Like the Dead-Arm label, focusing all the mature rootstock energy into one vine branch resulted in rich, full, concentrated fruits. 

The Brown Ranch’s hillside alluvial soils, with Dijon Clone 76 set into the pre-existing rootstock, produces this rich full round Chardonnay, worthy of the iconic Venge name.

Winemaker's notes: The Dijon Clones are modern strains of Chardonnay carefully isolated from grapevine nursery blocks in France. These strains are selected for their incredible ability to produce the best of what the varietal has to offer and therefore have become quite popular with cool climate growers today. The cool and often foggy climate of the Brown Ranch Vineyard, located in central Carneros, Napa, allows for a slow growing season and optimal ripening. This climate aids in the balancing of acidity and lifting tropical aromas in the fruit and thus, in the finished wine. The vines were carefully hand harvested and delivered cool to the winery.

 

Winemaker's Notes: "This wine is stylish and freshly balanced, featuring a light, pale straw presence in the glass with a bouquet of fresh orange citrus, toasted pine nuts, mild allspice, rocky flints, and toasted oak. Crisp, savory pineapple, sweet delicious apple, savory stone fruit, and ripe pear lead into mouthwatering deliciousness. 

The grapes are blended into used French Oak barrels according to a Burgundian style of winemaking, light handed on the usage of new French Oak keeping it to an average of 45%.

495 Cases were Produced

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and Jeb Dunnuck and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

Golden lemon colored, medium to full-bodied, full, round, concentrated, complex opulent fruits with a layer almost bordering on butterscotch, accented by notes of baking spice, hints of lemon, grapefruit, ginger and a touch of peach and almond nut cream, with bright acidity, depth and balance on a full long finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3517412

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

@VengeVineyards  

Alec then opened this big Napa Red from Beau Vigne Cellars

Beau Vigne “CULT” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

This is from the Beau Vigne portfolio of Napa Valley Cabernets that Alec, son Ryan and I all hold in our cellars. Beau Vigne was founded by Ed and Trish Snider in 2002 and quickly gained notoriety on a parade of rave reviews, such as Robert Parker calling it “one of my favorite wineries,” and over in the ensuing years, his Wine Advocate time and again honoring it with scores of 96–98+ points.

We’ve featured Beau Vigne wines in detail in earlier blogposts in these pages - Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine.

Interesting that Kirk Venge, who produced our Chardonnay tonight, was winemaker at Beau Vigne for a period. Initially, it was first-class winemaker Dave Phinney, then Kirk Venge, and then followed by current winemaker Julien Fayard who crafted this 2019 release.

 

This 2019 CULT release is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on Beau Vigne’s gravelly estate vineyard in Rutherford and their impeccable site on the Oakville Bench that neighbors To Kalon, Missouri Hopper, and Martha’s Vineyard. For the final blend, he hand-selected barrels to create a wine that shows its exceptional quality in every sip.

Winemaker notes for this release - “Deep-purple in color, the 2019 Beau Vigne CULT Cabernet shows penetrating blackberry and blueberry aromas accented by rich notes of mocha, allspice, Maduro tobacco, and black licorice. Full-bodied and opulent, it’s built on firmly gripping tannins that complement the texture of the ripe black fruits and slide into a long and savory finish.”

While the Chardonnay complemented the lobster medallions, this rich full round full bodied red enhanced and illuminated the rich pasta sauce - both ideal pairings which amplified the enjoyment of both the food and wines. 

This 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Cult is the 11th Anniversary release of this label. It is composed of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot. The producer states. “We think is the finest CULT produced to date.”

It was aged twenty months in French oak barrels, 80% of which were new, then blended from select “best lots dedicated to captivating flavors profiles.”

Winemaker notes - “Crushed black currant and bing cherry aromas. Among these scents are black licorice, clove, and melted dark chocolate. Flavors of shortbread, blackberry, and plum hit the palate. Loamy black truffle elements add layers of savoriness to the long finish.”

It was rated 93 points by Vinous who called it the “finest wine I have tasted from Beau Vigne.” It received 92 points by Wine Advocate and 91 points by Jeb Dunnuck. 

Don’t be taken aback by the $150 published price from the producer, their wines are often deeply discounted in special promotions and can be found discounted in distribution, even at Costco. Newcomers to fine wine often mistake that obtaining wine directly from the producer will get them the best deal. It’s the aim of the producer to set the price and associated value of the wine, avoiding undermining such with their direct pricing strategy.   

Deep garnet colored, full bodied, rich, round, forward bright vibrant black currant and plum fruits accented by notes of licorice, graphite, lavender, spice and leather with a full tannin laced lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4179405

https://www.beauvigne.com/

Diamond Mtn Napa Cab Duo for birthday celebration gathering

 Napa Cabernet Diamond Mtn Duo and aged Birthyear vintage for birthday celebration gathering

Son Sean and D-in-law Michelle hosted a gala family and friends gathering for grand-daughter Lavender’s third birthday. 

As we typically do when we get together for such occasions, Son Ryan and I coordinated our wine selections for a comparison tasting. Ryan took from his cellar a Diamond Mtn Napa Valley Cabernet, so, I took one from the same appellation for a comparison tasting. 

The kids were entertained with a bounce house, mini soccer nets and bags. 

Having just returned from DisneyLand, the young grand-daughters were enchanted by the princesses there and hence were delighted to be visited by Princess Cinderella for the occasion.   

Meanwhile, we enjoyed a comparison tasting of two wines from the Napa Valley Diamond Mountain appellation. While I can’t determine one way or the other, I am intrigued by the possibility that these two wines might be sourced from not only the same appellation, but perhaps the same vineyard, or nearby vineyards. 

Cliff Lede Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

This is one of Ryan’s favorite labels from the broad Cliff Lede portfolio of wines in his collection.  We have fun with this appellation since it shares the name wife/daughter-in-law Michelle, nee Diamond. 

Located at the north end of the Mayacamas Mountain range that borders the western edge forming Napa Valley, below the Napa/Sonoma border on the ridge, above the town of Calistoga, just north of St Helena, Diamond Mountain is one of the highest elevation AVAs in Napa. 

The unique terroir of the appellation is ideally suited for Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon with volcanic soils, extremely high-drainage that stresses the vines, forcing them deep into the earth in search of water. The elevation makes for increased sun exposure to allow Cabernet to ripen to full maturity, yielding the kind of intensely concentrated, thick-skinned clusters that make wines with power and longevity. 

Commenting on the vineyard source for this label, Winemaker Christopher Tynan wrote: "Our Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is from an exceptional, low-yielding vineyard with volcanic ash soils in the Diamond Mountain appellation, nestled into the Mayacamas Range on the northwest side of Napa Valley. The sun-drenched mountain vineyard has northeastern exposure and late afternoon breezes that ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. Planted and farmed by David Abreu Vineyard Management, this extraordinary site of old vines planted on a steep incline with a historic Napa field selection produces an age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon with dark fruit, intense structure, minerality and perfume.”

“A deep garnet-black in color, this distinctly pedigreed Cabernet offers a lovely array of brooding dark fruit flavors and scents. Fresh aromas of black currant, crushed blackberries, and warm plum soar with savory layers of Chinese hoisin, black olive tapenade, and dried tobacco. The long opulent palate tastes of liquefied minerals and possesses a voluptuous raspberry liqueur-like texture. With proper time in the decanter, distinctly complex Diamond Mountain aromas of old pine forest and cedar emerge and intertwine seamlessly with the luxurious flavors."

Initially tannic and closed in youth, over a decade in bottle has allowed this single vineyard Cabernet to integrate and open up, revealing layers of dark fruits and minerality and earthy complexity. 

Knowing Ryan was bringing this single vineyard designated label, I pulled from our cellar a limited production vintage release from the same appellation. 

I am intrigued by the possibility that these wines may have sourced from the same site, or locations in close proximity. They had very similar tasting characteristics and profiles, despite the fact they were a dozen years apart. 

Marco Di Giulio "Mark K Vineyard" Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

To compare in a side by side tasting, just like an earlier tasting last year which I featured in a blogpost, excerpted here, I brought this rare limited release Diamond Mountain vineyard private label from winemaker Marco Di Giulio. We hold a half dozen different labels of Marco Di Giulio releases from legendary vineyard sources, Mt Veeder Pym Rae, Progeny and this Diamond Mountain Mark K, all between 2001 and 2004 vintages, this 2002 being the oldest of this label. 

For a period of releases, Marco Di Giulio developed unique hand-crafted wines minimalist style wines available under the winemakers' label and branding in limited quantities. They could be found in the boutique and specialist wine shops in Napa Valley or in the 'after market' via wine auctions. They were classic vineyard expressions of terrior, that unique expression of each vineyard's distinctive character, produced in very small quantities of 200 to 300 cases. His approach to winemaking was minimalist, letting the vineyard and each vintage speak for itself. As he says, he wants to “taste” each vineyard.

Marco produced his wines at Bin to Bottle, a high quality custom crush facility for a number of small Napa Vintners in South Napa where he is a partner. 

As he wrote on his Marcowines website, Marco was born and raised in San Francisco, California, shortly after his parents had emigrated from Tuscany and become successful Bay Area restaurateurs. Along with wonderful Italian meals, wine was an everyday part of their North Beach household life. As a result, Marco inherited his family's appreciation for great wine and food.

Marco developed an in-depth knowledge of winemaking and viticulture through education and experience in the industry. He graduated with a degree in Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis in 1985.

After two years at Buena Vista Winery, Marco worked as cellar master at Pine Ridge Winery for more than four years. His next stint was as the production manager for Atlas Peak Vineyards, followed by his 1994 appointment as winemaker for Pezzi King Vineyards. Just before the 1995 harvest, he became the winemaker at Pepi Winery in Oakville. 

While making Pepi Wines, he also took charge of the Lokoya brand after the death of celebrated winemaker and mentor Greg Upton. It was at Lokoya that Marco's reputation for making world class Cabernet Sauvignon was first established.

Marco release his own label wines between 2001 and 2004. Today, Marco serves as consulting winemaker to many top labels and devotes attention to his personal projects:  Vintage Wine Estates, Bin to Bottle, Lookout Ridge and Marco DiGiulio Wines where he strives to produce wines that reflect the rugged landscapes of the vineyard sources.   

Marco Di Giulio "Mark K Vineyard" Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Marco Di Giulio obtained the fruit for this label from Norm Kiken Cabernet Sauvignon from his Diamond Mountain Mark K Vineyard. Marco began working with the Kiken vineyards when he was the winemaker for Lokoya. Norm Kiken became renowned for his Reverie wines and collaborated with Diguilio in sharing a few tons of Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Mr. Kiken (pronounced KICK-en) bought 40 acres on Diamond Mountain ioutside Calistoga, for $1.4 million and built himself a home and a winery, called Reverie. 

The Reverie vineyards and winery were located in a unique valley on Diamond Mountain in Napa Valley, once known as the Bonsell Property that became now divided between the iconicDiamond Creek Winery, and the former Von Strasser Winery and Reverie.

Reverie Winery specialized in producing ultra premium Bordeaux varietal blends that reflect the uniqueness of its terroir. The vineyard was principally planted in 1989 to Cabernet Sauvignon

(2 clones on 14 acres); Cabernet Franc (6 acres); Merlot (2 clones on 6 acres) and small amounts of Petit Verdot, Malbec, Barbera, Tempranillo, Grenache and Roussanne. 

For this wine, grapes were sourced from the Reverie Vineyard next to Diamond Creek and the former Von Strasser higher up on Diamond Mountain just south of Calistoga in Napa Valley. 

The 2001 vintage was a classic example of what Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon appellation has to offer.  The aromas that jump out of the glass are pure Diamond Mountain District with loads of cherry cough drop and black cherry fruit.  The oak adds layers of spice and a warm vanilla character. 

Giulio wrote of this release, "On the palate, the wine exhibits exceptional balance and nuanced character while still being big enough to handle anything you put it up against.  As in the nose, black cherry is the predominant fruit.  The mouthfeel is silky smooth and rich and the finish seems to go on forever.  Layers of brown spices and red fruits show themselves as the wine opens up in the glass."

On release, Di Giulio wrote of this wine, my sense is that with proper cellaring, this wine could easily continue to improve for another 8 to 12 years.

It took ninety minutes to open and reveal its true character. This was similar profile to the Lede but not as dark, rich or concentrated. There was still life left in this twenty year old, showing no signs of diminution from age.

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, black berry and black raspberry fruits with notes of cassis, black tea and hints of clove spice, oak and vanilla bean with smooth polished tannins on a lingering nicely balanced acidic finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=302285

http://www.marcowine.com/Marcowine/Marcowine.html 

I featured Marco Digulio wines in more detail in earlier blogposts in these pages - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/06/marco-di-guilio-pym-rae-vineyard-mt.html.

Here are some other blogposts of this Marco DiGuilio label release -https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/04/marco-diguilio-diamond-mtn-cabernet.html, 
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/12/close-out-2020-with-diamond-mtn.html.

To commemorate the family occasion and gathering, I also brought from our cellar an aged Napa Cabernet from Sean’s birth year vintage. 

Spring Mountain Vineyards Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1985

Over the years I collected birth year vintage releases for each of our kids, and then most recently, for our grandkids. The kids’ birth year wines are past their prime drinking windows and need to be consumed as they’re at risk of being beyond approachable drinking. At these late stages, presenting these vintage releases and trying them is a novelty and serendipitous. We nearing the end of these vintage selections. 

My CellarTracker records indicate I acquired two bottles of this release from Auction at WineBid back in 2009. 

At nearly forty years, it’s remarkable that this wine still had any life left and was approachable for tasting. The label, foil, and most importantly and relevant, the fill level and cork were still in ideal condition, a testament to the conditions in our cellar for aging appropriate wines. 

Remarkably, the producer still shows this wine in their library collection available for purchase by wine club members. 

Their notes on this label vintage release. “This long lived Cabernet Sauvignon exudes aromas of leather, maple syrup, cherry compote, dried cranberries, smoke and forest floor. The wine presents a soft approach with a solid mouth feel. The flavors on the palate mirror its aromas of dried cranberry, cherry, plum, smoke, leather and mineral.”

This wine was 100%  Caberent Sauvignon, Estate Grown & Bottled at the property high up Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley. It was aged 22 months in new French oak.

Winemaker’s Comments - “1985 was a long, warm growing season and the wines from this vintage show ripe aromas and flavors. This wine is no exception. There are sweet ripe plum aromas with loads of spice and layers of dry flowers, caramel and cocoa. The entry is full and polished, the flavors echoing the aromatic promise of dried fruits, spices and vanilla. A bit like a rum-raisin cake in a glass. The acid keeps the wine alive, though I would recommend drinking this wine in the near future and keep in mind the possibility of bottle variation with a wine of this maturity. The cork was easily extracted and in excellent shape. This is a mature Napa Valley Cabernet and will benefit from a bit of aeration.”

Additional Notes - “The grapes for this long-lived Cabernet came primarily from the Wild Horse Estate vineyard in Oakville. A small percentage of fruit came from the young Miravalle vineyard which surrounds the Villa Miravalle that is showcased on the label. The 1985 vintage had a stellar growing season that produced ripe, rich and fleshy wines with superb balance. Bud break came early and the dry, cool weather resulted in a long harvest wth even ripening - ideal weather conditions for a great vintage.”

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, the plum fruit flavors still holding on were giving way to notes of black tea, leather, earth and the remains of accents of spice, tobacco with moderate tannins. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1213034

https://www.springmountainvineyard.com/wines

Clark Claudon Napa Cabernet 2004

Clark Claudon Napa/Pope Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

For a quiet evening at home, watching our latest binge-worthy series, Condor on MGM+, we opened an old favorite wine from our extensive collection from this favorite producer, with homemade chicken tortilla soup. 

After our recent anniversary, I am currently opening twenty year old 2004 vintage wines as a mini celebration, and a calibration of how that vintage is aging and holding up in our cellar. 

Here following is an updated re-post of earlier posting about this wine and this producer from October 12, 2023.

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa/Pope Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The producer, Clark-Claudon estate is situated on the ‘backside’ of Howell Mountain in an area known as Pope Valley. We have fun with this label as fellow Pour Boy Bill and Beth C's maiden name is Pope. Clark-Claudon's 17 acres of vineyards are carved out of a 117 acre property located on the north east side of Howell Mountain between Ink Grade and Howell Mountain Road, from 800 ft to 1,200 ft elevation. It’s shallow, mountain soils, cool evening breezes and excellent sun exposure are ideal for a low yield of small, intense Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes. The 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted with clone 7 which grows well in hillside rocky soil and produces small berries with concentrated flavors. A small vineyard block is planted to Petite Verdot. After completing their initial vineyard planting, Clark decided to leave the  remaining 100 acres of forests, creeks, meadows and ponds in their natural state which serves as a preserve for native birds and wildlife.

Interesting, following my discussions in recent blogpost about the terroir and appellation specificity line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, we have another such-situated Napa/Howell Mountain Cabernet. Similar to the Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Red Blend from earlier tastings, and the Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that we drank the other night, this Clark Claudon Napa Cab vineyard is at 1000 foot elevation on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain. That terroir distinction doesn't apply here as the Clark Claudon property is on the backside of Howell Mountain which never sees the fog that is experienced on the Napa Valley side of the hill. 

We have been collecting this label since its introduction back in 1993 and hold two decades of vintages since. 

We first met Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon-Clark during our Napa Wine Experience 1999 when we hosted them at one of our wine producer dinners. That night, held at what was then Pinot Blanc Restaurant in St Helena (see picture above/left), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old 1989 Bordeaux. 

During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the "'Undisccovered Dozen', emerging new wine producers to watch", featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage and are featured variously on my winesite http://www.unwindwine.com. An complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection even today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections, several dating back to those early release vintages.   

We love the distinctive unique Clark-Claudon packaging with the tall slender bottles. An interesting and trivial wine-geek's observation about the Clark-Claudon branding and packaging; as mentioned, we hold close to a score of vintages of this label. 

All our vintage holdings but this one, the 2004 release, are packaged with the wax cap inside the rim of the bottle, topping the cork, as shown left. This one, 2004, has a 'traditional' foil top of the bottle (shown below). Not sure why?

This release was awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast who wrote, " ... it really needs time. Give it until after 2008, if you can keep your hands off, and will come into its own after 2010."

A decade later, going on seventeen years, this release is holding its own very nicely and showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. The fill level, label and most importantly the cork were in perfect condition.

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "The 2004 Clark-Claudon Napa Cabernet Sauvignon blends fruit from all over the winery's estate, combining multiple expressions of the fruit. The higher portions of the estate yielded fruit that was rich, deeply colored with intense tannins. The lower portions of the estate produced softer, more perfumed wine." 

Tonight's tasting was consistent with previous tastings in 2015, 2016 and most recently in the Spring of 2021. In 2016 I wrote it was more expressive than earlier tastings. I sense this is at its peak, not likely to improve further, but grand and capable of aging several more years none-the-less.

At twenty years, the fill level, label, foil and most importantly the cork were all still in pristine condition.  

Like before, the room filled with dark berry fruit aromatics as soon the cork was pulled. This was dark garnet colored, rich, full, concentrated, but nicely integrated and elegant black berry and black currant fruits with accents of cassis, mocha, floral and notes of spicy oak and hints of black cherry on a lingering fine-grained silky tannin finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229261

In seeking to replenish this bottle with a more recent vintage of this wine, I looked in distribution and found none in Chicagoland, but got this response when searching national beverage superstore Total Wine - "We could not find this item at Pensacola, FL (our select store), But we found it at Denver, CO." We'll be reaching back to the producer directly, as well as looking in the secondary market. 

https://www.clarkclaudon.com

@ClarkClaudon 

Earlier tasting posts ...   

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/clark-claudon-howell-mountain-napa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/festive-holiday-dinner-showcases.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/05/clark-claudon-napa-valley-cabernet.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/03/clark-claudon-napa-cabernet-2004.html