Jack's Masterpiece Father Son (s) Celebration Tasting

Hall Jack's Masterpiece, Signorello Padrone for Father Son (s) Celebration Tasting

For eldest son Ryan's birthday we pulled from our cellar a special bottling label crafted and dedicated as a tribute to Father's Day and father-sons. We were joined by youngest son Alec who also brought a Napa Cabernet to share and compare. 

Ryan had open from his cellar a Signorello Padrone Napa Valley Oak Knoll District Cabernet Sauvignon 2013. Alec brought a Cliff Lede Stags Leap District Cabernet, the Lede estate is a line of sight neighbor to Signorello, just down and across Silverado Trail, but across the geographic boundary, the foothill rise that separates the Stags Leap from Oak Knoll appellations.

To top off the tasting flight, I brought Hall Vineyards Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, another 2013 for a horizontal comparison with the Padrone. 

All these wines were spectacular with the fudge chocolate that Linda brought along - a perfect pairing that accentuated the enjoyment of it all. 

 

Signorello Padrone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Our visit to the Signorello Napa Valley Estate Vineyard & Winery was one of the highlights of our Napa Valley wine Experience in 2013. 

This is a poignant memory as the magnificent Estate was destroyed by the Atlas Fire that ravaged the hills of Napa Valley and engulfed much of sections of Sonoma and Napa County in August, 2017. 

The fire came down the foothills to the property that sat up the hill back from the highway. The fire had winds that reportedly topped 70 mph on Atlas Peak that swept the flames down to the Silverado Trail area near Soda Canyon and destroyed the Signorello winery production facilities, offices, hospitality space and the Signorello family home. 

We viewed the devastation during our Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley visits in 2017 and Napa Wine Experience 2018. It was amazing how Signorello was destroyed, yet adjacent wineries such as Darioush were untouched. Notably, son Alec's and Vivianna's honeymoon to Napa Valley was cut short last year due to the ravishing Glass Fire that forced cancellation of a half dozen of their winery visits.  Signorello has become a symbol of the survival and recovery, and resurgence, the spirit of Napa (and Sonoma) wine producers.

The Signorello Napa Valley Estate Vineyard & Winery site sits on the base of the eastern slope of the Vaca Mountains overlooking Napa Valley near the bottom of Silverado Trail in the Oak Knoll Appellation of Napa Valley. At the very southern end of Napa Valley and the Silverado Trail, the estate has 43 acres of vineyards, including some of the oldest Chardonnay and Cabernet vines in all of Napa Valley with 40-year-old vines.  

Meeting the cousins at Signorello Estate
overlooking vineyards and valley floor.

Signorello is coming back, the Napa County Planning Commission approved their plan to increase annual production from 20,000 gallons to 50,000 gallons and annual visitation from 6,637 guests to 20,221 guests. 

The plans include construction of a 15,906-square-foot cave, increasing parking from 10 to 17 spaces and employees from four to 20.

 The Signorello family bought the Silverado Trail property in 1977, initially growing grapes that they sold to other wineries; they started producing their own wine in 1985.

Signorello Padrone Napa Valley Proprietary Red Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Padrone is Signorello's flagship wine, produced in honor of Ray Signorello Sr., the patriarch of the family and founder of the estate. Grapes for this complex proprietary red wine are sourced from two extremely rocky parts of the estate vineyard with minimal yields of only 1.3 tons per acre.  

 

Ray Signorello first made this wine in 1997, although the first vintage for Signorello was back in 1985. Most of the vineyard is between 30 and 40 years of age. 

 

This label was rated 96+ points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

 

This wine is a selection of the best lots chosen from the top rank 2013 vintage. The wine is sensational long, rich, complex and should age for 30 or more years.

 

The 2013 Padrone Proprietary Red Wine is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. This is aged in 100% new French oak.

 

Despite decanting and aerating a couple times, this was a brooding bruiser, a big bold concentrated and structured wine with a firm tannic backbone, this will age for another two decades or more and may be more approachable after a few more years of aging.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, complex, dense contrated powerful blackberry, black current and black cherry fruits (note the redundant 'black' fruits), with tones of bittersweet dark mocha chocolate, graphite, what Anthony Galonni of Wine Advocate refers to as 'scorched earth', creme de casis licorice, leather and hints of mint with a long tongue puckering tannin laced finish. 

RM 94 points.
 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2456066

 

https://www.signorelloestate.com/ 

 

https://twitter.com/SigVin 

@SigVin

 

Hall's Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This special bottling is crafted from select grapes from the HALL Wines vineyards from their 500-hundred acre estate in the Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley and ten estate vineyards across the valley. 

This is a fun label and appropriate for the occasion. It is a special blend produced annually by Hall President Mike Reynolds dating back to when he was head winemaker there. The label features an original painting done by his son, Jack, who was eighteen months old at the time, who painted the picture and presented it to his father on Father's Day. 

As I have written in earlier posts, this is another very special wine for a several reasons; it is devoted to family, it is based on artwork, and it is a birthyear vintage for two of our grandkids. Our dearly beloved Lucy was an artist, our daughter Erin was educated in Art, Art History and Fine Arts, and taught art for several years, and Linda is a budding artist and studied and taught art history.

 With the current market price at $230  (Cellartracker average value), this is what one might call a 'special occasion' wine, set aside for celebrations such as this. We featured this wine for our Gala Family Christmas celebration wine dinner last year, and previously for a Covid Shutin virtual family dinner.

Our tastings at the Rutherford site have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley Wine Experiences such as this on back in 2013. We tasted this wine during with Kathryn Hall during the release tour tasting for Club Members in Chicago in 2018. Ryan also tasted and acquired this wine during a visit to the magnificent Hall Rutherford cave tasting room. We acquired this label as part of our Hall wine club allocations.

Son Alec selected Hall's Excellenz from their super premium collection for special gifting to clients for the holiday a year ago.

This vintage selection is also the birthyear of Ryan's daughter Marleigh and cousin Richie, eldest son of our daughter Erin. 

This was awarded 99 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points from Wine Spectator and 93 points from Vinous.

This is a premium blend, selected from the finest grapes from Hall's finest vineyards. All the pundits say it needs several years to shed its 'formidable tannic heft', and that it has three decades or more of longevity. 

From their reviews: "opaque purple color, opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, deep, plush texture, dark, powerful and explosive, blueberry and blackberry fruits, blackberry jam, dark berry flavors, mocha-scented oak and notes of blackberry, licorice, hazelnut and brownie, espresso, chocolate, leather and super-sweet tannins.

This was clearly WOTN (Wine of the Night) - dark garnet with inky purple hues, full bodied, black and blue berry fruits - smooth, silky, velvety, polished, elegeant - a symphony of flavors, mocha, cognac, toasty oak, creme de cassis, tobacco and leather .. a long sensuous finish ... 

RM 96 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2289051

https://www.hallwines.com/ 

https://twitter.com/HALLWines

@HALLWines 

Cliff Lede Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This is a perennial favorite that we collect as members (Ryan) of their wineclub. We've visited the Stag's Leap District estate during numerous visits to Napa Valley. 

Alec is carrying on the tradition to the next generation with this label. 

It was fun to taste the next new vintage release of this label that we have collected and enjoyed for more than a decade. Alas, tonight it wasn't a fair fight against these two stellar, spectacular ultra-premium labels. It was a shadow of the Signorello with a similar profile and character but lacking in comparative depth or breadth. We'll save a proper review when we can taste this in an appropriate setting and pairing that will reveal its potential.  

Mentioned links:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/signorello-napa-valley-estate-vineyard.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/hall-napa-valley-rutherford-estate.html 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/kathryn-hall-vertical-tasting-hall-wine.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/12/gala-family-christmas-celebration-wine.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/03/calera-ryan-vineyard-jacks-masterpiece.html

Gala Family Christmas celebration wine dinner

Gala Family Christmas celebration surf & turf dinner features festive flight of red and white wines

The family gathered for our gala Christmas celebration and we feasted on surf and turf and a festive flight of red and white wines. We Decked the Halls with a flight of Hall wines - a top ranked red and two whites, one from Napa and one from Sonoma.

Offspring ... kids, grand-kids ...

Before dinner we had an extensive selection of artisan cheeses and holiday sweets accompanied by Pierre Gimmonet et Fils 1er Cru Champagne. 

Dinner started with Linda's signature lobster tails on a ramaken of buttered croutons. With this we served a Hall Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, a Walt Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, and a Fantesca Russian River Valley Chardonnay. 

Dinner featured Linda's signature grilled beef tenderloin served with mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, haricut verts, and sauteed spinach in a Madeira sauce. For the main course we served two very special wines, Château Léoville Las Cases 1990 and Hall Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet 2015, two memorable wines ideally suited to the occasion.

 
Later with deserts and after dinner treats Alec opened a Hill Family 'Origin' Napa Valley Cab, and Ryan pulled from our cellar a 1995 vintage Pride Napa Valley Cabernet. 

It was a wonderful memorable gathering with family after a tumultuous year.  

Château Léoville du Marquis de Las Cases, St Julien-Beychevelle, Bordeaux 1990

 

I wrote about birthyear celebration wines for son Alec's wedding this summer. To contribute and join in the celebration dinner, I took from our cellar a flight of very special wines I have collected over the decades and held for this occasion, from the birthyear vintages of the bride and the groom. Fortunately, his birthyear 1990 vintage was one of the most spectacular of a lifetime.

 

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

 

We served those three wines at Alec and Vivianna's wedding celebration dinner. All those wines were acquired upon their release back in the early nineties, in some cases, even before being so recognized and heralded. A fourth wine from that vintage was also part of the wine flight, the 1990 Château Léoville Las Cases. 

At the time, I wrote that "we're holding a case plus several bottles of Alec's 1990 birth year release that we'll most assuredly celebrate with him, family and friends as part of his wedding festivities in the coming year". 

 

Since the wedding festivities were significantly scaled back due to the Covid pandemic, we didn't get to serve most of these. So, tonight, we opened another one as the 2020 celebrations continue. 

Linda's and my visit to the Chateau was one of the highlights of our trip to Bordeaux last year both because we've been fans of and have been collecting this wine for four decades, and because it was going to feature prominently in our once in a lifetime celebrations. 

 

This wine was awarded 96 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, he projected the drinking window at the time, in 2009 to be "now-2035".  Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar gave it 94 points, Wine Spectator 93 points. Neal Martin gave it 95 points in his Wine Journal.  

 

As with an earlier tasting of this wine, this bottle had a good above neck fill level, the foil, label and cork were all in exceptional, excellent condition, the wine was great, drinking very nicely and still at a peak drinking level, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, dark inky garnet purple, medium full bodied, elegant, polished, smooth, complex but perfectly integrated and balanced, sweet blackberry fruits, notes of graphite, leather, cassis, tobacco on a lingering balanced finish with tangy acidity and smooth approachable silky tannins. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=254

 

https://www.domaines-delon.com/en/accueil.html

@DomainesDelon

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/leoville-du-marquis-de-las-cases.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/10/broad-diverse-flight-of-big-reds.html

Hall Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

HALL Wines is a 500-hundred acre estate in the Rutherford Hills of Napa Valley. It was established in 2003 when Craig and Kathryn Hall acquired the historic Bergfeld Winery and then remade it into a state-of-the-art facility. Today Hall has ten estate vineyards and two wineries and hospitality centers, one in St Helena and one in Rutherford. 

 

Our tastings at the Rutherford site have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley Wine Experiences such as this on back in 2013. We tasted this wine during with Kathryn Hall during the release tour tasting for Club Members in Chicago in 2018. We acquired this wine as part of our Hall wine club allocations.

 

Before getting into the wine business, both were successful luminaries with meritorius careers, Craig Hall created the HALL Group at the age of 18 in 1968, a business in college rooming houses and apartment buildings. Over time the company diversified into the HALL Park in Frisco Texas, the KPMG Plaza at Hall Arts in downtown Dallas and a financial services firm. Craig has invested in oil, American Airlines and the Dallas Cowboys.

Kathryn was a successful businesswoman, community activist, attorney and in 1991 ran for mayor of Dallas. She was Ambassador to Austria under the Clinton administration. Kathryn’s family had been in the wine industry for several decades as grape growers in Mendocino County where she and her brother managed their family property for 10 years. 

This is another very special wine for a several reasons; it is devoted to family, it is based on artwork, and it is a birthyear vintage for two of our grandkids. Our dearly beloved Lucy was an artist, our daughter Erin was educated in Art, Art History and Fine Arts, and taught art for several years, and Linda is a budding artist and studied and taught art history. 

Shown 2013 Jack's Masterpiece

Each year, HALL’s former winemaker and current president, Mike Reynolds, returns to his first love and blends a signature Cabernet Sauvignon known as “Jack’s Masterpiece,” named for a piece of artwork that decorates the label. The painting was created by Mike's son Jack as a Father’s Day gift  when he was only 18 months old. Every year Mike steps back into the cellar to create this signature blend and he chose this very special painting to appear on the label. Mike oversees the blending of this special wine to create a deeper expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. “This is a wine that really demonstrates the depth and muscularity of the fruit we source from our HALL St. Helena estate and Sacrashe vineyards,” he says. 

The 2015 HALL Jack’s Masterpiece is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc.

Winemaker notes: "The 2015 yields highly complex aromas, lead by ripe dark fruits, espresso, dark chocolate and loads of crème de cassis currently on parade. The hedonistic nose continues to bring you back to the glass for more. Crème de cassis, pencil lead, dark cherry reduction, mocha, anise and red bell pepper flavors all marvelously build in the glass. Intense and focused, with moderate tannins, this is an extremely age-worthy wine that needs at least one more year of bottle age before it begins to hit its stride."

Dark inky purple colored, rich concentrated dense black fruits, powerful and structured yet elegant, polished, smooth and approachable with jammy fruits accented by dark chocolate, expresso bean, hints of licorice and baking spices with gripping sinewy fine grained tannins on the lenghty finish. This should be delicious over the next decade or more. 

RM 95 points. 

This release was awarded 97-99 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 96+ by The Wine Advocate, and 91-94 points by Vinous / International Wine Cellar.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2592084

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/kathryn-hall-vertical-tasting-hall-wine.html  

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/04/hall-napa-valley-rutherford-estate.html

https://www.hallwines.com/

 

@HALLWines

 

Also see...

Walt Bob's Ranch Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2017

Hill-Family Estate Origin Napa Valley Red 2016

Fantesca Russian River Valley Sonoma Chardonnay 2010

Hall Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018

More to follow ... 

Covid Shutin virtual dinner - Calera Ryan Vineyard - Jack's Masterpiece - Conundrum Red

Calera Ryan Vineyard - Jack's Masterpiece - Conundrum Red for another Coronavirus shut-in virtual family wine dinner

Tonight, we're continuing our COVID shut-in virtual family dinner and wine tastings, (and our original such event last weekend),virtual dinners and wine tastings across the family, sharing texts, photos and videos of our selections as we're all shut in due to the Coronavirus. As the Coronavirus shut-in enters week three, sons Ryan and Alec and daughter Erin joined us to conduct another virtual family dinner and wine tasting.

Daughter Erin joined in with texts and pictures of their family activities capped off by Richie's Journal setting the tone for the whole situation, and Lucy's art tribute to recently departed pets.

Son Ryan grilled filet steaks with evoo, garlic and rosemary, seared finished on the grill, and Michelle prepared twice baked potatoes and lemon vinagrette grilled asparagus. For their wine selection they selected Hall's Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an extraordinary wine from the Hall collection that was rated 99 points.

Hall's Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This is a great virtual wine tasting selection since we have both visited the magnificent Hall Winery and hospitality center at their Rutherford Estate. Son Alec selected Hall's Excellenz from their super premium collection for special gifting to clients for the holiday a year ago.

We also hold bottles of Jack's Masterpiece, a fun wine and great selection for such an event since it is dedicated to Hall's former winemaker and current president, Mike Reynold's son Jack.  The wine is named for the label artwork created by Mike’s then 18-month-old son Jack as a Father’s Day gift.

Lastly, the vintage selected is also the birthyear of grandkids and cousins from both sides of the family, Marleigh and Richie.

This was awarded 99 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points from Wine Spectator and 93 points from Vinous.

This is a premium blend, selected from the finest grapes from Hall's finest vineyards. All the pundits say it needs several years to shed its 'formidable tannic heft', and that it has three decades or more of longevity. 

From their reviews: "opaque purple color, opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, deep, plush texture, dark, powerful and explosive, blueberry and blackberry fruits, blackberry jam, dark berry flavors, mocha-scented oak and notes of blackberry, licorice, hazelnut and brownie, espresso, chocolate, leather and super-sweet tannins.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2289051

https://www.hallwines.com/

Ryan's incredible grilled steaks
and asparagus

Calera Ryan Vineyard Mt Harlan Pinot Noir 2011

Sharing our dinner and wine selections across the family over the internet, Linda and I selected a Calera Pinot Noir from Mt Harlan near Hollister in North Central California.

This is a single vineyard designated wine from the Ryan Vineyard. Part of our reason for selecting this wine was the whimsical fun that is it shares the name of Ryan our oldest son. 

For casual pleasurable sipping with cheese, dried fruits and chocolates we opened a Pinot Noir, a lighter wine for such an occasion. Readers of this blog know we don't do a lot of Pinots, opting instead for bigger, bolder, more fruit forward wines. There are occasions when a lighter, more subtle wine is more suitable and Pinot Noir, the wine of Burgundy is ideal. Such wines are not simpler however and can often be equally complex and even elegant.

Our cellar is full of labels selected as signature labels for a family member or friend due to Vineyard names, special bottlings, or logos on the bottle as remembrances or tributes to someone special. These selections are in addition to our penchant for collecting wines from birth year and anniversary and special occasion year vintages as well.

.
Add to all this exuberance the selection of the producer Calera Vineyards and its founder winemaker Josh Jenson who is the epitome of Pinot Noir in California, or perhaps America.

As featured previously in this blog, Josh Jensen and his legendary Calera Vineyards were featured in Marq Devillier's wonderful 1994 book - "The Heartbreak Grape: A California Winemaker's Search for the Perfect Pinot Noir". The story tells the tale of Josh's quest to grow the very finnicky Pinot Noir grape in California in the early days before Pinot was cultivated here. In pursuit of his dream to create authentic Burgundian style wines, he sought to find the place in California suitable to achieve that goal. 

Devillers tells of Jenson's quest and research to find the right terrior - all the attributes of the right location, soil, climate, drainage, and other nuances of 'place' that make up the character and personality of a wine from grapes of a particular site. Josh chose Mt. Harlan, an area not then know for grapes or winemaking. 

The rest, as they say, is history. While it is a human interest tale, it also provides a rich insight into the challenges and travails of setting up a winery, and a business, and achieving one's dream to make noteworthy wines. 

Calera’s Mt. Harlan Vineyards are located in Hollister, California, in the Gavilan Mountains, 25 miles east of the Monterey Bay. The site was chosen for its limestone soils and ideal climate. At an average elevation of 2,200 feet it is among the highest and coolest vineyard sites in California.

Calera Pinot Noirs are single vineyard designated meaning they are each named for and produced from fruit sourced from one vineyard each. Their five vineyards planted in Pinot Noir are named for Josh's father (Jenson), Mills, a neighbor who mentored Josh in his early years, Reed, for one of Josh's dear friends and early investors, and in this case Selleck, for a family friend whom Josh attributes to introducing him to wine.

In 2002, the Ryan label appeared, named for Calera's vineyard manager since 1979. We've had fun with this wine collecting it for our #1 Ryan, serving it in celebration of his wedding a few years ago, and holding it in our cellar for special Ryan oriented occasions, or just fun occasions shared together such as tonight!

The Calera vineyards are enumerated and featured on the rear bottle label of the bottles as shown here. They are perhaps the most comprehensive and informative labels one will find anywhere on a bottle of wine. They spell out the information on the vineyard, geography, altitude, plantings, vines, the vintage and the bottling. The rear label itself makes for interesting reading, and insightful comparisons across the vineyards or vintages if one happens to have such bottles.

Calera Ryan Vineyard Mt Harlan Pinot Noir 2011

We hold a half dozen vintages of this label in our cellar as one of our 'signature' wines we hold in fun tribute to son Ryan. 

Consistent with our last tasting for this label which we served for the family Thanksgiving diner back in 2015, this was translucent ruby red colored, medium light bodied, scent of dusty rose, cherry and raspberry fruit flavors with a hint of cola, spice and earthy mushroom turning to fine grained delicate tannins on the moderate lingering finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1774888

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/11/thanksgiving-feast-features-diverse.html

Another family connection for our evening's dining, Linda and I enjoyed some delicious artisan chocolates from France. 
 

These were part of a incredible holiday gift package from our 'French Family' friends whom we visited with son Alec during or French holiday last year.  

One of the primary reasons for our trip, and the purpose of visiting Aix-en-Provence was to visit with our ‘host’family, Jean Claude and Mireille, parents of Philippe who was an exchange student that lived with us on two different tours. His residency and friendship with our son Alec contributed to Alec’s fluency in French. Visiting the region to see Philippe and meet his family was one of the reasons for our trip, together with our son and Viv, his fiancée, to the south of France.

http://www.calerawine.com/ 


Also shut in due to the Coronavirus, Alec and Vivianna, out in Conneticut, prepared grilled USDA prime New York strip steaks, charred Pittsburgh style, just like I would like them! 

With their steak dinner they drank a California Conundrum Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Charlie Wagner of Caymus fame. 

This is a blend of Petit Syrah, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from throughout the Northern California region, purpose crafted to be the perfect complement to grilled meats at a high QPR suitable for every day drinking.

Conundrum California Red Wine 2017

Crafted by Charlie Wagner, grandson of the legendary Chuck Wagner of Caymus fame, he says "We believe in being both serious and playful, and this wine fits the bill. A rich, dark red, it offers aromas of ripe berries and plums, warmed by a hint of cocoa.'

'Dried fruit and the taste of chocolate-covered cherries come through on the palate, while a wisp of smokines, makes this wine – created from dark red varietals including Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon – the perfect complement to grilled meats and full-flavored dishes.'

'Tannins are rounded out by the ripeness of the berries for a texturous but smooth mouth feel. The finish makes us think of lingering at the end of a long evening and still not wanting to go home, with layers of rich flavor that teasingly trail off."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3299869

http://www.conundrumwines.com/ 

Coronavirus Shut-in Family Artwork and Journal

Finally, the most touching point of the evening was Erin sharing pictures of the family artwork highlighted by grandson's Richie journal for the day, setting the tone for the entire shut-in situation, and Lucy and her tribute to beloved family dog Jackie, that was put down as we entered the shut-in period. In the background is the classic family projects - the planets!

 

 

Kathryn Hall Vertical Tasting - Hall Wine Release Tour 2015

Kathryn Hall Vertical Tasting and Hall Wine Release Tour 2015

Kathryn Hall and the Hall Wine Club and marketing team hit the road this week to celebrate and promote the release of the flagship Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon for the 2015 vintage.  They conducted two tastings, a vertical tasting of Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 through 2015, and a tasting of select labels from the 2015 vintage release. Fellow Pour Boy, Dr Dan and me and our two Lindas attended the Chicago event held at the W Hotel, conveniently located a short walk from the office.

A highlight of the main event was the chance to meet Kathryn Hall, and to have her sign a copy of her and husband Craig's New York Times bestseller book, A Perfect Score. 

The book chronicles Craig and Kathryn Hall's twenty year journey from amateur winemakers to the ultimate achievement, recipients of an almost unheard-of perfect score from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

A PERFECT SCORE tells the tale of their meteoric ascendancy in Napa Valley restoring the historic St Helena winery into the site and tourist attraction it is today, the building of their Rutherford facility and the tug-of-war between Napa Valley localism and tourism. Its an enchanting tale of the Halls' account of the art, soul, and business of a modern winery.

We appreciate it when producers come to our fair city and try to support such activities. It shouldn't be surprising since Chicago was recently recognized as “best restaurant city in America” by Conde Nast Traveler. The declaration was from the magazine’s list of best restaurants in Chicago.

Hall Wines have gained great notoriety and recognition since they acquired the historic St. Helena Bergfeld Winery in 2003. That historic winery in St. Helena was once the home of the Napa Valley Co-Op, producing 40% of Napa Valley’s wines.  Today it is the site of the Hall St Helena winery and hospitality center.

Previously, in 1995, the Halls acquired the legendary Sacrashe Vineyard in the hills of Rutherford which today houses their private residence, state of the art winery and magnificent caves and tasting room.  The caves double as an art gallery. Our visits to the Hall Rutherford site have been highlights of several of our Napa Valley Wine Experiences including our trip in 2013 and again in 2017.

I enjoyed sharing with Kathryn, that we have held, (and since drinken) Sacrashe Vineyard single vineyard select Cabernet Sauvignon dating back to their early days with the 1998 vintage.

It was also an honor and privilege to be able to briefly compare notes of common acquaintances from my days in national security intelligence and Kathryn's time serving as the Honorable US Ambassador to Austria.

Today, Hall’s estate vineyards encompass more than 500 acres of classic Bordeaux varietals; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc.

The wine flight selections for the 2015 release tour were a family affair, for labels named for
Kathryn, the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, and Walt 2015 Pinot Noir, named for Kathryn's  family maiden name, Walt.

Such release events are an important part of our wine collecting strategy since we collect specific horizontal collections in the birthyears of our kids and grandkids, as well as vertical collections of select signature labels for each of them. Indeed, these birthyear collections and our large format bottles for such were the subject of our feature when our cellar was featured in Wine Spectator in the Collector column in June of 2001.

Also served was the 2015 release of “Jack’s Masterpiece,”  an annual release of signature Cabernet Sauvignon named for Hall’s former winemaker and current President, Mike Reynolds, and the label artwork created by Mike’s then 18-month-old son Jack, as a Father’s Day gift, back in 2012.

We have fun with these wines, selecting the Sauvignon Blanc and one of the premier Cabernets for our holiday Christmas packs, with card coined, deck the Halls!

Last year, I helped source for son Alec and his leadership, the spectacular Hall Exzellence ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon for their holiday client recognition appreciation gift. 

Tonight's release tasting flight:

Hall Vineyards Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (not shown)

Hall Vineyards Napa Valley Jack's Masterpiece Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Hall Vineyards Walt 'Bob's Ranch' Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2016

Hall Kathryn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Additionally, the Hall team hosted a separate, SOLD OUT vertical tasting of the classic flagship namesake Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon showcasing the vintages from 2011 through the current release 2015.

Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting

Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting

Our visit to the Hall Rutherford Estate has been one of the highlights of previous Napa Valley trips so we recommended it as one of the short list visits to son Ryan and Michelle for their recent Napa trip. Based on his glowing report and recommendation, we decided to return to Hall for a tasting of their new releases during our recent Sonoma Napa Wine Experience 2017.

Like Del Dotto and some of the other top Napa producers, Hall have significantly expanded their operations, facilities, number of labels, and achievement of top ranked, most highly acclaimed ultra premium labels including the spectacular 99 and 100 point ranked wines which we tasted below.

We wrote in earlier visit blogposts about the spectacular Hall Rutherford estate and cave tours at the Rutherford estate sitting in the Sacrashe Vineyard, above Auberge du Soleil Relaix au Chateau, below the Hall estate residence. The facility has hospitality rooms above the wine production area, barrel caves and tasting room below.

The magnificent caves are sculpted into the mountain with bricks brought from an Austrian castle and features alcoves that create a galley of sculpture art.

The magnificent tasting room (shown left) at the end of the barrel cave features a large table for thirty guests underneath a massive chandelier fashioned from a thousand year old grape vine.

We were hosted this day by 'Wine Educator' Bob Childs (pictured below).

In the hospitality center, before we walked down the hill to the winery, barrel and tasting room caves below, we tasted:

Hall T-Bar-T Sonoma County Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016

Walts "the Corners" Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2014

The lower level winery underneath the hospitality center houses the large stainless steel cooling jacket shrouded fermentation tanks. Even the production facility is bathed in the light of artistic neon lights overhead. The custom built tanks are contoured to fit into the room. Centered between the adjacent rows of tanks are double doors that enter to the caves. The long barrel lined cave doubles as an art gallery with the many alcoves featuring sculpture artworks. At the end of the cave is the entrance to the tasting room.

We tasted the Hall Appellation tasting flight featuring the latest releases of a selection the Hall premium and ultra-premium labels from the different Napa appellations paired with specially prepared appropriate culinary chef's selections.


The Hall Appellation Tasting flight:

Hall "Bergfield" Vineyard St Helena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 

This is from the Hall St Helena Estate Vineyard in the St Helena appellation which surrounds the town in a crescent shape to the north, east and south. St Helena is also the site of Hall's large St Helena operations on Hwy 29 just south of town with winery, production, and a hospitality center that offers the range of Estate and Hall branded labels. The ultra-premium and Platinum labels are reserved for the esteemed Rutherford site.

Winemaker Steve Leveque's notes: "The highly aromatic nose carries aromas of boysenberry, warm pie crust, brown spice, with floral and earthy undertones. Exotic flavors of wild berry coulis, 5-spice, black tea and cedar come through on the palate. Dense, lush and powerful tannins lead into a long and intensely fruity finish.

Hall Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

It was fortuitous and fitting to taste a Diamond Creek appellation selection following our visit to the legendary Diamond Creek Vineyards on Diamond Mountain earlier in the week. 

Like Diamond Creek's, Hall's description of the Diamond Creek appellation speaks to the porous volcanic derived soils which are memorialized in the Diamond Creek single vineyard designated labels.

Winemaker Steve Leveque's tasting notes: The flavors and aromas of this wine reveal a dusty and earthy character interwoven with notes of black cherry and German chocolate cake. Dense, silky tannins with a dark chocolate-like texture express age-worthy wine. The full power of this wine unwinds into a lengthy finish in the glass.

This wine was awarded 97 points by Robert Parker Wine Advocate.

I plan to acquire the '15 vintage of this label and look forward to comparison tasting it against the Diamond Creek Vineyards releases we acquired this week.


Hall Exzellenz Rutherford Sacrashe Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This is sourced from the Sacrashe Vineyard that lies just above the winery adjacent to the estate residence. We hold some of the earlier single vineyard designated wines from this vineyard dating back to 1998. Who knew this would evolve and progress to such heights? Not often does one get to taste a 'perfect' wine. of course perfection is in the eyes ('eyze') of the beholder. This wine got 100 points from Robert Parker.

Parker wrote of this wine; "This hails from the foothills of Rutherford and refers to Kathryn Hall’s ambassadorship to Austria between 1997 and 2001. A prodigious wine with beautiful floral notes intermingled with blueberry, blackberry, black raspberry and graphite, the wine hits the palate with a full-bodied force, but nothing seems pushed, cloying or out of sync. Gorgeously pure blue and black fruits cascade over the palate, a full-bodied presentation with remarkable purity and complexity. The finish is a good 45-50 seconds, and while there is significant tannin, the extravagance of the fruit and glycerin generally conceal it. This is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind, world class Cabernet Sauvignon that should prove compelling for at least another 30-40+ years."

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate. 100 Points.



 Hall Jack's Masterpiece Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Another 'perfect' wine by most anyone's standards, this one got 99 points from Mr. Parker, as close to perfection as possible. This was another memorable wine of epic proportions.

Son Ryan obtained some '13 (birth year of his daughter (our grandaughter) Marleigh) during his recent visit, which is all gone. I'm planning to get the '15 on the upcoming release (birthyear of two grandkids, Jessie and Reid).

"The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Jack’s Masterpiece, which is a blend from their finest vineyards, displays super-sweet tannins, an opaque purple color and beautiful crème de cassis, blueberry and blackberry fruit. Its flawless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol and its opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel make for a true elixir and fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon to drink now or cellar for 25-30 more years. I would still try to defer gratification for 2-3 years prior to drinking this big boy."

Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate 99 Points.
 
Hall Bishop Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 

Our wines were paired with:

Applewood Smoked Trout Creme & Truffle Marieke Gouda

Sonoma duck Terrine & Cave-Aged  11 Month Gruyere

Cacciatore Salumi & Dolcelatte with Fig Conserve