Vintage Cal Cab Flight - Signaterra Chardonnay

Vintage Cal Cabs, Signaterra Chardonnay, Taittinger Highlight Surf & Turf Dinner

Post holiday surf and turf dinner features a trio of vintage California Cabernets - Vinyard 29, David Arthur, and BV (Beaulieu Vineyard) Tapestry. Reuniting with friends Bill and Beth C after the holidays, Bill and Beth prepared steak Diane served with rice pilaf and green beans.

Anti, prior to dinner courses included artisan cheeses with fresh berries, lobster medallions on a bed of clarified buttered cracker crumbs, and wedge salad with blue cheese.

The cheese flight included three perfect wine accompaniments, two of my favorites, aged cheddar and Bellavitano, and a spectacular full bodied, grainy, hearty aged white cheddar called Prairie Breeze from Iowa (!?).

To accompany the anti courses, Bill served Taittinger Nocturne NV Champagne followed by Benziger Sonoma County Carneros SanGiacomo Chardonnay.

 For after dinner dessert, Linda prepared a decadent double chocolate brownies with caramel sauce and butter roasted walnuts.

Taittinger Nocturne Sec Champagne NV. 

It's always time for Champagne! Enjoyed with fresh berries and the cheese course, this was refreshing, crisp and delightfully fruity with a modest tone of almond nut.

RM 88 points.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker - "Lovely blush color and moderately tight bubbles. Toasted almond and hazelnut on the palate with a hint of lemon. Certainly not equal to the Comte we celebrated with on News Year but a very nice accompaniment to artisan cheeses and crackers."

 WCC 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=232988





Benziger Sonoma County Carneros SanGiacomo Vineyard West Rows Chardonnay 2008 

We first discovered Benziger's Signaterra single vineyard designated select wines when we met producer family member Erinn Benziger when she attended Binny's grand expo tasting in the winter of 2008 that featured the Judgement of Paris recreation tasting.

We then visited Benziger Valley in central Sonoma during our Sonoma Wine Experience in the fall of 2009 where Bill picked up this limited release San Giacomo Vineyard West Rows Chardonnay.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker -  "Medium straw coloring the glass. Nose reveals some pear and a touch of oak. Was buttery on the palate, clean with notes of green pear. Not much acidity and thankfully not over oaked. Nicely complemented broiled lobster in clarified butter."

WCC 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=878073

http://www.benziger.com/ 

With the steak dinner ...

Vineyard 29 Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1993

Vineyard 29 was featured in an earlier blogpost after a tasting of their 1995 vintage from Bill's cellar. 

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker -  "Medium garnet in the glass. Still some fruit left. Nicely balanced with flavors of raspberry, sour cherry, mocha and a hint of cedar. This was the consensus favorite at "Open That Bottle Night" one year ago. A year later, it is still very tasty but tannins are fading and is not as vibrant as it was last year."

WCC 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=72837


http://www.vineyard29.com/




David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

We chronicled our David Arthur estate visit in previous postings, one of the highlights of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2012.

Tonight, this took about ninety minutes to open and reveal its fruit which was more subdued and has fallen off from earlier tastings. While not flawed, this is losing its luster and not surprisingly perhaps starting to  show its age.

My notes from autumn of 2011 tasting - Dark inky garnet color. Medium-full bodied. Bight vibrant black raspberry and current fruit flavors highlighted by a layer of soft cedar turning to a hint of anise and eucalyptus with a smooth silky tannin finish. Very nice drinking in this thirteen year old - still has life left, no need to hurry - a very nice wine from a vintage that was given a bad rap as many of the 1998s turned out reasonably well, beyond expectations set by reviewers at the time.

REM 87 points. 

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6095

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Tapestry Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

This is another example showcasing the consistency and QPR (quality-price ratio) of this label. We continue to hold a vertical of this wine going back a dozen years and it continues to reward us. By the end of the evening, the Tapestry was standing tall showing off nicely polished fruits and silky tannins perhaps reveling in the apex of its drinking window.

Readers of this blog will notice our many recantations of our visits with the producer's of featured wines. Beaulieu Vineyards is an exception, having been the subject of our earliest visits to Napa Valley back in the eighties, long before we started chronicling such activities.

As one of the classic historical producers in Napa Valley, its classic facility on Route 29, mainstreet of Napa Valley, should be included on anyone's itinerary as a starting point for those exploring Napa wines and visiting the hallowed region.

My tasting notes from autumn of 2012 - Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a bit tight and closed initially, it took more than an hour for this to open up and fully reveal black berry fruits, a layer of anise and tones of cedar, black tea and smokey oak on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker -  "Tapestry almost never disappoints and this was no exception. Lesson learned from previous bottles, decanted for almost two hours before drinking. Medium garnet color, smooth, well integrated tannins. Slightly floral nose with cherry, mocha and a hint of oak on the finish."

WCC 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=410294

http://www.bvwines.com/

Still working ... more to come .. .check back ... 


  

David Arthur 1147 Biale Zin Beaucastel Highlight Rib Dinner

David Arthur 'Elevation 1147', Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel, Chateau Beaucastel CDP Highlight Rib Dinner

Another summer barbecue rib dinner offers chance to sample a flight of big reds. Bill and Beth C hosted the dinner and featured Robert Biale Black Chicken Napa Valley Zinfandel and David Arthur 1147 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I brought a Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996.

Mike Rijken pouring
at Château Beaucastel

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1996

I first tasted this vintage of this wine in a cellar tasting at the Chateau (shown left) during my visit to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1998. The picturesque Domains Perrin Beaucastel estate and vineyards was one of the highlights of that trip. There is more on Beaucastel and that visit on an earlier blogpost.

I still hold a half case of this wine and it appears to be time to drink up as it seems to be at the apex of its tasting/aging curve. It will be interesting to do a horizontal tasting of the other wines that I still hold that were featured and collected from that trip, notably, Chateau La Nerthe and Vieux Telegraph.

My tasting notes and score are consistent with earlier tasting which was posted in 2010. The color is opaque dark ruby, the nose is subdued, this is medium bodied and shows layers of rather austere black berry and black cherry fruits accented by subtle black pepper giving way to slightly earthy leathery red fruit on a meaty acidic tannin finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5098

http://www.beaucastel.com/en/





Robert Biale Black Chicken Napa Valley Zinfandel 2011

This is another big Napa Zinfandel from Robert Biale vineyards that was featured in a recent earlier blogpost highlighting a rib dinner at Bill and Beth's at the beginning of the summer.

Not quite as big or polished as the 2011 Party Line Zinfandel we had a few weeks ago, this was still a big, forward black fruit filled Zinfandel with brambly, zesty black pepper tones and a spicy leathery finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1575870




David Arthur Elevation 1147 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This is the flagship wine of David Arthur, named for the elevation of the vineyards up on the eastern slope overlooking the Napa Valley floor (shown left) from up on Pritchard Hill.

Our visit to the David Arthur winery was a highlight of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 featured in an earlier blogpost in April of this year.

With dark inky purple color and full body, this opened with big, concentrated, complex, rich, chewy, tongue coating forward ripe black berry and black raspberry fruits. Then something happened and it shut down and closed up somewhat about an hour and some after opening and decanting. It still had a layer of sugary sweetness with tones of mocha and black licorice and a whisper of black pepper on a silky smooth tannin finish.

I'd like to see how this reveals itself a day later but we finished  it last night! While this should be considered a perfect complement to a hearty grilled steak - it stood up and was well suited to the barbecue ribs.

This started out as a blockbuster 95 pointer before it retreated as noted above, yet still warrants a most respectable 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=14142

http://www.davidarthur.com/

David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

For a special wine to celebrate my birthday dinner I selected a 2004 vintage release David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Having just recently visited the winery up on Pritchard Hill during our recent Napa Valley Wine Experience 2013, I was eager to try another vintage release from our cellar collection of this wine which spans a half dozen vintages. This was a great accompaniment to grilled New York strip steaks that Linda artfully prepared my favorite Pittsburgh style. 

David Arthur Vineyards have twenty-one acres atop Pritchard Hill overlooking the famous Rutherford Bench viticultural area known for producing some of the finest Cabernet. They are  surrounded by vineyards of notable and iconic producers such as Chappellet, Dalla Valle, Harrison, Colgin and Bryant.

This is as expressive as any David Arthur Cabernet I have tasted to date. It explodes with sweet ripe plum and berry fruits, accented with tones of dark chocolate and a layer of caramel turning to hints of anise, spice notes of tobacco and sweet spicy oak and moderate tannins on the lingering finish. This was even more aromatic and expressive when re-opened two evenings later.

RM 92 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=199674

http://www.davidarthur.com/

David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery

David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery

The vista view overlooking
Napa Valley

A highlight and targeted visit of our Napa Wine Experience 2013 was our visit to David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Vineyards and Winery. As mentioned in a recent blogpost, we've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties since the 1997 vintage but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. The property is situated up at the end of Long Ranch Road up atop Pritchard Hill in the Vaca Mountain range. The drive up offers some spectacular vineyard views and vistas of the Napa Valley below. The adjoining vineyards represent some of the premier producers of Napa Valley wines - Brand, Bryant, Colgin, Continuum, Montagna, the new Del Dotto property Villa Del Lago, and Ovid. Not (yet) designated an appellation, never-the-less, it is fast becoming one of the premiere wine growing areas of Napa Valley. 

We visited the other side of Pritchard Hill during our Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley Experience - Autumn '09 with our visit to long time resident/producer Chappellet Vineyards.

David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate (left) planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio.

We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes. This visit offered us the opportunity to experience (and acquire) their latest vintage releases as well as their new Three Acre and Old Vines labels Estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignons and a new release bottling of David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc.

Long girls and husbands R *& R (l),
Clan Connelly (rt)

David Arthur, named for the grandfather of the owner/producer, is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, who over the years acquired the mountain land to raise cattle. Today it is operated by brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura runs the office and daily operations.  


A point of interest and fun part of this trip was the fact that Linda (nee) Long and Pat (nee) Long, daughters of Indiana farmer Ned Long would be

Farmer Ned Long's daughters at
David Arthur Long Ranch

with us. My wife Linda and I were joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), so it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this trip together. More aspects of a family reunion this trip as our usual wine tasting and travel companions, Bill and Beth C, were joined by son Will and wife Kate. Furthermore, the family reunion continued with a visit from Pat and Linda's niece Becky (nee) Long who lives near Napa and brought her family down to join us for a day of our trip.

Adding to the Long legend and heritage on Pritchard Hill, adjacent to the David Arthur vineyards are Long Family Vineyards owned by Napa Valley legends Bob and Zelma Long, who gained notoriety in the 70s as chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery. Divorced from Bob, today, Zelma and husband Phillip produce wines in Germany and South Africa under their Zelphi label..

The wines: 

David Arthur Three Acre Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

A new label from David Arthur to expand the brand offering with further differentiation of the available fruits. This Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from three distinctive estate vineyard blocks, composed primarily of Cabernet Clone 337 noted for outstanding fruit character and bold tannins. A blend of 93 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7 percent Petite Verdot, this was aged in 85 percent new French oak barrels for 23 months. Only 338 cases were produced.

Deep garnet colored, medium-full bodied, it presents blackberry, black raspberry, a layer of black cherry, and cassis with hints of flora, olive tapenade, spicy toasted oak, tones of toffee, maple, tea, tobacco and cedar turning to fine grained tannins on the finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1359622
 
David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

This standard bearer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from three of the distinctive vineyard blocks on Pritchard Hill. Full bodied and dark inky purple, this is complex, firm and focused with layers of dense black berry and black currant fruits accented with dense cassis, spices, floral notes with a tobacco earthy tone on the intense long silky smooth tannin finish. 

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petite Verdot, was aged in 80 percent new French oak barrels for 23 months. 718 cases were produced.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=658746

David Arthur Old Vine Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

A new label for the David Arthur brand, Old Vine represents select bottling of fruit from the finest selections from the mature vines on the estate. Old Vine is packaged in a heavy oversize bottle equivalent to the flagship 1147 bottling. 

Full bodied, firm, focused concentrated black berry and black currant fruits, intense cassis, vanilla and lavender tones, complex mouth feel loads the palate with a layer of creme de cassis, hints of caramel and sweet oak on a long finish of smooth silky polished tannins.

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1327749

David Arthur Elevation 1147 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 

The flagship David Arthur wine commemorating the twenty-fifth vintage anniversary release. There is a whimsical story that explains the red stripe label but I'll save that for others or another forum.  

Seeking some selective 2010 vintage wines to celebrate or commemorate our first grandchild's birthyear, this is the one of the first to present itself as a worthy candidate.
  
Medium-full bodied, big forward fruits, a symphony of deep complex concentrated flavors - black berry and black raspberry fruits, subtle floral tones, hints of cassis, lead pencil, espresso and cedar tones with a spicy silky smooth satin like long lingering finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1357694 

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Franc 2010 

Wow, how can a Cab (Sauvignon) drinker not love Cab Franc?!? Historically and typically used as a blending wine to add breadth to the Bordeaux blend, by itself its tangy spicy tongue coating mouth puckering. Black inky purple, medium-full bodied, black fruits, lead pencil graphite with clove spice and hints of cedar on a silky tannin finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1468395



David Arthur Napa Valley Meritaggio 2010 

We first discovered and still hold several bottles of this wine from the 1997 vintage. It continues to show resilience and no sign of diminution with full fruit and length. 

The 2010 showed medium bodied, black raspberry and black cherry fruits, hints of black olive, leather and soft oak on a focused moderate tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1357708



David Arthur Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2011

This may be the last vintage of this offering as they focus on big red wines that make the most of Pritchett Hill terroir.

David Arthur Napa Valley Nebbiollo - pre-release

We did some barrel tasting and had a preview of upcoming releases of David Arthur Nebbiolo from the 2011 and 2012 vintages. Watch for these in the years to come.

David Arthur barrel house

 

Big sky Pritchett Hill - P&R, R&L

Clan Connelly on Pritchett Hill

P&R - Long Ranch - David Arthur

Two gen Docs

Tasting toasted

David Arthur, Paratus Napa Mountain Cabs - Sea Smoke Chardonnay

Napa Valley Cabs Prequel to Upcoming Napa Trip

For a elegant beef tenderloin dinner, and as a prequel to our upcoming Napa trip, we served two dueling mountain fruit Cabernet Sauvignons. Bill served Paratus 2007 and I brought a David Arthur 2003. Looking ahead to our upcoming Napa trip and tour we're scheduled for a tasting at David Arthur and will be reaching back to Paratus again.

For the starter course, Beth served crab stuffed mushrooms and Bill opened at Sea Smoke Chardonnay. What an interesting combination/pairing. As expected, the David Arthur was a perfect complement to the grilled beef tenderloin, and the Paratus went very nicely with the wild rice and grilled asparagus.

We finished with Linda's homemade chocolate mousse and homemade crafted pirouettes (shown below).

Sea Smoke California Grand Cru Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2010

Grapes for this Sea Smoke Chardonnay are sourced from their estate vineyard. It was aged in 55% new French oak for 16 months.  This wine was complemented perfectly by the crab stuffed mushrooms which totally neutralized a tanginess to the wine rendering it smoother and more approachable. 

 This was a very interesting contrast in style to the Sea Smoke Gratis Chardonnay we tasted at our Open That Bottle Night - OTBN 2013 night a couple weeks ago. While that was more Burgundian in style, this was very bold, forward, full bodied, dry, crisp, buttery and oaky on the front.Wine Enthusiast calls it a "exotic, candied style ...almost in a class by itself," and refers to "flavors including pineapple, brown sugar, lemon drop, ginger and vanilla cookie, honey, green apple butter and baked pear."

The producers says this is "an elegant Chardonnay with aromas of dusty peach, star fruit, rock dust and honeysuckle--complemented by a focused mid-palate and the refreshing cool climate acidity of our estate vineyard."

RM 91 points.

https://www.seasmoke.com/

David Arthur Napa Vally Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

We've been collecting and enjoying David Arthur wines since the late nineties but have been pacing our consumption as we watch this wine age and achieve its true potential. This property owned and operated by Donald and son David Long. sits up on Pritchard Hill near Chappellet. We visited Pritchard Hill during our Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley Experience - Autumn '09 but couldn't schedule them at that time. We're headed back and will be touring and tasting David Arthur next month so we selected this wine to start to build our vocabulary and understanding of their wines.

Pritchard Hill vineyards overlooking
Napa Valley

David Arthur wines represent the unique terroir of the mountain with its rough rocky terrain. They have 21 acres on their Pritchard Hill estate planted in the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, as well as Sangiovese and Nebbiolo which go into their unique Meritaggio. We first discovered this wine when we purchased a case back of the 1997 vintage release and still hold about half of those bottles, but we quickly turned and became fans of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their flagship wine Elevation 1147, creatively names for the vineyard site situated 1200 feet above the valley floor. All are crafted 100% from estate grown grapes.

According to their website, David Arthur  is a family affair consisting of three generations of the Long family, brothers David and Bob along with Joye Long are co-owners, with David acting as General Manager and his daughter Laura runs the office and daily operations.


Being married to the daughter of Indiana farmer Ned Long, and the fact that we'll be joined on this Napa trip by sister/sister-in-law Pat (Long), it's only fitting we saved our David Arthur visit and this Long reunion for this coming trip. I am looking forward to our return visit to Pritchard Hill and meeting the Long family and learning more about and exploring further David Arthur wines.

This 2003 David Arthur Cabernet Sauvignon presented itself true to its Bordeaux composition exhibiting full bodied complex character, nicely balanced but somewhat subdued dark black berry, currant and cherry fruits, a layer cassis with hints of dark chocolate, earthy tobacco and tea with tones of spicy oak on a silky smooth lingering tannin finish.  As noted above, this was a perfect wine to complement the grilled beef tenderloin.  

 The left bank Bordeaux blend is reported to change slightly with each vintage but is roughly 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petite Verdot, and 3% Merlot.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=85664

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Paratus Mt Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Paratus is another Napa Valley producer of mountain grown fruit cabernet. We discovered Paratus and acquired their Mt Veeder wines during our Napa Valley Mt Veeder Appellation Experience. Our penchant for mountain fruit wines is apparent in our cellar holdings from all the Napa mountain appellations and districts so it was fun to compare wines from the opposing peaks of Pritchard Hill on the eastern slope versus Mt Veeder from the opposing western slope, both at the south ends of the ranges near the bottom of Napa Valley.

While we acquired four vintages from 2004-2007 of Paratus Mt Veeder Cabernets, this was our first venture in tasting their wines from our collection as Bill served up this 2007. His tasting review is below:

"Deep purple color, huge fruit forward profile on the palate. Nicely balanced with ample tannin and notes of chocolate and graphite. A really pleasant surprise. Bought this during our 2009 Napa Wine Experience trip to Mt. Veeder. This is more robust than many other Veeders I have tasted which tend to be a bit more delicate and fruity. This is drinking well now but certainly has the structure and backbone to go another 10 years."

Bill's rating - 90 points. I give it a 91.

http://www.paratuswine.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1002911

Grilled tenderloin, asparagus, wild rice.

Crab stuff mushrooms.

Napa Cab Colors

Chocolate mousse - homemade pirouette.

Long Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Long Vineyards Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

From a two acre vineyard on Pritchard Hill on the eastern slopes above Napa Valley, 600-800 feet above Silverado Trail overlooking Lake Hennessey. This is a neighbor to David Arthur wines. We first discovered David Arthur during our Napa Wine Experience back in 1999. We visited Pritchard Hill and the neighboring Chappellet winery during our Napa Valley Wine Experience during the autumn of 2009.See earlier unwindWine blogpost on Long's David Arthur.
   
Long Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

Starting to show its age as the dark garnet color has taken on a tinge of brown forming at the rim. Tight and somewhat closed, medium-full bodied; black cherry and black currant fruit flavors give way to smoke,  leather, earthy cedar and hints of cassis, spicy anise and tangy clove on the finish.


Alcohol 14.5%
325 cases produced.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=95144

Tasted at home with L with fruit and Indiana Fair Oaks Farms artisan cheeses including five year old aged cheddar. No relation to spouse and in-law Long family.

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

David Arthur Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Scenic Pritchard Hills Vineyards
overlooking Napa Valley

David Arthur Estate vineyards sit up on Pritchard Hill, overlooking the southern Napa Valley from the eastern slope at the south end of the range. Three generations of the Long family (no relation to our in-law Long's and our family farms in Indiana) produce Estate wines from mountain fruit grown on their 21 acres of vineyards sitting 1200 feet above the valley floor. Hence the name 'Elevation 1147' of their flagship ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon. 

They grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo grapes. The mountain terrain and rocky red soils provide ideal growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. David Arthur hand crafted Estate wines express the unique terroir of the site - rich extracted fruit character and silky tannins. They also bottle a blend based on the typical Italian varietals they whimsically call "Meritaggio".


We first discovered David Arthur Wines during our Napa Wine Experience back in 1999. We visited Pritchard Hill and the neighboring Chappellet winery during our Napa Valley Wine Experience during the Autumn of 2009.  

From our vertical of this wine dating back to the 1997 vintage, tonight we drank 1998 David Arthur Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows dark inky garnet color and is medium-full bodied. It exhibits bight vibrant black raspberry and current fruit flavors highlighted by a layer of soft cedar turning to a hint of anise and eucalyptus with a smooth silky tannin finish. Very nice drinking in this thirteen year old - still has life left, no need to hurry - a very nice wine from a vintage that was given a bad rap as many of the 1998s turned out reasonably well, beyond expectations set by reviewers at the time. Top producers manage to produce good wines even in challenging years.

RM 92 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6095

http://www.davidarthur.com/

Drank at home w/ L over grilled beef tenderloin.

Tasted again on 26 November 2011, w/ L,  BYOB at Enoteca Roma in Wicker Park - fabulous accompaniment to Ricotta, Pear and Walnut Ravioli in a Gorgonzola Cream sauce.

Wine Tasting Flight - Aussie Shiraz's & Cabernet Sauvignon, St Emilion, and a Napa Merlot

Wine Tasting Flight - Aussie Shiraz's & Cabernet Sauvignon, St Emilion, and a Napa Merlot

Progressive wine tasting flight featuring:

• David Arthur Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007, 
• Three Aussie Shiraz';
• Flinders Run, Southern Flinders Ranges Shiraz 2005, 
• HazyBlur Adelaide Plains, South Australia Shiraz 2001,
• Marquis Philips McLaren Vale '9' Shiraz 2002, 
• Marquis Philips 'S2' Cabernet Saugivnon 2007, 
• Clos De L'Oratoire St Emilion Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux 2000, 
• Paloma Napa Valley Spring Mountain Merlot 2003.

Tasted at home w/ L, Eric & Cathy, Bill & Beth, and Dan and Linda, with mini Beef Tenderloin on toast points and artisan cheeses, then at Bob & Gloria's gala end of summer dinner party w/ roast beef dinner.

David Arthur Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007 -

Very light yellow very weak tea color, bright and crisp, aromas and smooth notes of lime and honeydew with hint of  grapefruit, turning to subtle tropical notes of guava, kiwi and hint of peach on a moderate acidic finish. Nice complement to soft mild cheeses, red raspberrry and strawberry fruits.

RM 88 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=594108 

HazyBlur Adelaide Plains, South Australia Shiraz 2001 -

Deep dark purple color - full bodied, forward fruit - layer of leather with hint of anise and tar predominate, then give way to smooth black currant, black cherry, hint of ripe plum and black raspberry turning to classic subtle creme' brulee burnt sugar with a long soft vanilla nut finish.

RM 91 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4996


Flinders Run, Southern Flinders Ranges, Baroota, Australia Shiraz 2005

Elegant rich thick chewy symphony of flavors of blueberry, sweet currant, ripe plum, red raspberry, a hint of pepper, vanilla, and spice, and a lingering essence of creme brulee' burnt sugar and cedar on the soft finish. 

RM 92 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=421985








Marquis Philips '9' South Australia, McLaren Vale Shiraz 2003

Dark inky purple color, full bodied, chewy, intense complex concentrated flavors of smoke, roasted pepper, and hint of leather flavors predominate diminishing the black berry fruits, with a layer of anise on a lingering full tannin finish. Less fruit focused than other releases of this wine, one of our perennial favorites.

RM 89 points. 
93 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate October 2004
89 points, Stephen Tanzer's IWC

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=17771 

Marquis Phillips McLaren Vale 'S2' Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 

Another Marquis Philips release, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon shows slight initial tartness upon opening but soon gives way to full bodied forward fruit of black currant, blackberry, layer of cedar and tones of oak and mocha on a lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?fInStock=0&Table=List&szSearch=marquis+philips+s2


See Index of Australian Wines posted on Rick's Wine Journal. 

Clos De L'Oratoire St Emilion Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux 2000 -
Great example of 'all ships rise with the tide'... in that so many wines such as this one are exceptionally good in a great vintage. Medium-full bodied, smooth polished, complex but pleasant easy drining with its nicely integrated flavors of blackberry, black cherry, red berry, a layer of anise, kirsch and a hint of spice with a soft tannin lingering finish.

RM 92 points.

Blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon shows very well and is just coming of age at eleven years old.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6340

Paloma Napa Valley Spring Mountain Merlot 2003.
Medium-full bodied , full forward rich, intense vibrant harmonious fruit flavors of black currant, black raspberry and blackberry turning to nutmeg spice, hint of cedar, and sweet oak on a long lingering flavorful tannin finish.

RM 92 points, 90 points Wine Spectator:


http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=109466