Showing posts with label Judgement of Paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judgement of Paris. Show all posts

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Grgich Hills Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Grgich Hills Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

We had left over beef bourgogne for dinner so I pulled from the cellar this premium Napa Cabernet for pairing. This is the flagship estate wine from Grgich Hills, one of the most storied legendary producers with a historic past. 

Founded by Miljenko “Mike” Grgich in 1977 with Austin Hills, the winery has been family-owned and operated since

Miljenko “Mike” Grgich was born and raised in Croatio in a winemaking family. He came to American and Napa Valley in 1958. He worked for Lee Stewart, founder of Souverain Winery and an early Napa Valley pioneer, then Christian brothers before Beaulieu Vineyard where he spent nine years working alongside the legendary Russian winemaker André Tchelistcheff. 

In 1968, Mike became chief enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery, considered the most innovative winery at the time. “In 1969, I made my first Cabernet for Robert Mondavi,” Mike recalls. “In an important blind tasting, fifteen California winemakers proclaimed ours to be the best Cabernet in all of California.”

In 1972, Mike joined Chateau Montelena as winemaker and limited partner.

Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the epoch “Judgement of Paris Tasting” of 1976 when, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges blind tasted a flight of fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the United States Napa Valley. When the scores were tallied, the world was shocked to learn the French judges had chosen the 1973 Napa Valley Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, crafted by Mike Grgich,  as the finest white wine in the world. The results stunned the international wine establishment and put US and California wines on the map, and earned winemaker Mike Grgich a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world.

Austin Hills of the namesake coffee company, founded Hills Vineyards and developed his own label in 1975. After the Judgement of Paris in 1976, Austin contacted Mike Grgich with a proposal to join forces to produce world class wines in Napa Valley.

Austin Hills had broad business experience and money to invest, since he and his sister, Mary Lee Strebl, had just sold the coffee company. Austin wanted to produce world-class wines and was looking for a winemaker to do that. Mike had extensive winemaking and management experience and now had the reputation as the American winemaker who beat the French.

Austin grew up in the Hills Bros. Coffee company family, founded by his grandfather and grand uncle in 1878 in San Francisco. Austin acquired a business background, earning a B.A. degree from Stanford University and M.B.A. from Columbia University, before working at Hills Bros. Coffee, Inc. Starting as an assistant coffee buyer, he worked his way up to Vice President and finally Chairman of the Board.

Today, Austin is Chairman of Grgich Hills Estate, and also president of Hills Vineyard, and an active member of San Francisco society, serving on a wide variety of boards. 

The Hills Vineyard should not be confused with Hill Family Vineyards of Napa Valley, long time Napa Valley grape growers and vineyard owners who produce a portfolio of wines often featured in these pages.   

The two men were an ideal match for success with their combined complementary business and viticulture and winemaking skills, so Mike Grgich joined forces with Austin Hills in a partnership in 1977, forming Grgich Hills.

The Grigh Hills winery and vineyard was established in Yountville in the center of Napa Valley on the valley floor. Mike first discovered the property in 1958 as an ideal site to produce quality grapes due to its ideal sun exposure and excellent drainage. 

Today, the 63-acre Yountville vineyard is planted to classic Bordeaux varietals - 53 acres Cabernet Sauvignon, 5.4 acres Petit Verdot, and 5.1 acres in Merlot. A 25-acre plot is the second oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, planted in 1959. These vines are showcased in a vineyard designated latbel, "Yountville Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon".

Grgich Hills expanded the Yountville Appellation vineyards in 1984. 

In 1992, Grgich Hills was selected Winery Of the Year by Wine & Spirits magazine, and, Mike Grgich appeared on the cover of Wine Spectator magazine, “California’s Old World Master-Few Can Challenge Mike Grgich in crafting World-Class Wine.”

By 2007, Grigh Hills had grown to 366 acres spread across five vineyards throughout Napa Valley - 34 acres in Calistoga, 18 in Rutherford, 163 in American Canyon, 88 in Carneros, and the original 63 in Yountville.

Able to use estate grown grapes exclusively in the production of their wines, they changed the name to “Grgich Hills Estate” to recognize their wines as 100% estate grown. 

In 2016, Miljenko "Mike" Grgich released his long-awaited autobiography, A Glass Full Of Miracles. At 94 years of age, Mike Grgich retired as president and passed on the baton to his daughter, Violet. He remains active in winery operations as Founder and Winemaker Emeritus, and is a Vintners Hall of Fame Inductee and James Beard Award Winner.

A Croatian TV documentary about his life, “Like the Old Vine,” won the Grand Jury’s Special Award from France’s Oenovideo Film Festival. 

Violet Grgich grew up accompanying her father in the vineyards and cellar. She spent her summers at the winery, doing everything from bottling line work to laboratory analysis and working in the tasting room.

She attended the University of California, earning a BA in music while taking classes in biology, chemistry, and enology. After graduation, she returned home to Grgich Hills to continue her education in the wine business, learning beside her father.

After a period to receive her Master of Music in harpsichord at the world renowned Indiana University School of Music, Violet rejoined the winery fulltime in 1988. Today, she is responsible for daily management of the winery, as well as sales and marketing. 

Ivo Jeramaz serves as Winemaker and VP of Vineyards & Production,  responsible for the day-to-day operations in the cellar and the vineyard, including naturally farming Grgich Hills’ 366 acres. 
 
Ivo was born in Grigh's home country Croatia to a family of grape growers and was involved in making family wine from boyhood. After earning a masters degree in engineering from the University of Zagreb in 1986, he came to Napa Valley to join his uncle, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich,  Over the ensuing three decades at Grgich Hills Ivo learned the classic style and art of winemaking from his uncle, supported by the science and technology, and from what he gained from enology and viticulture courses at University of California, Davis.
 
Joining Mike’s daughter, Violet Grgich as President, and Ivo Jeramaz, Mike’s nephew as Winemaker/VP, the next generation of the Hills family has also found a home in grapes, rather than coffee beans: Austin’s youngest son, Justin, and Ivo's oldest daughter Maja Jeramaz have joined Grgich Hills continuing the family legacy.
 
Today, Grgich Hills Estate produce a portfolio of Bordeaux varietals, Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Mike was intrigued about the Croatian origins of Zinfandel and obtained a single Croatian Crljenak Kastelanski cutting, taken from one of the last nine Crljenak plants in existence. It is planted and continues to thrive in Grgrich's Calistoga Vineyard.
 
In April, 2023, Mike Grgich reached centenarian status. The winery celebrated with the release of two “Centennial Wines;” the 2020 Paris Tasting Commemorative Chardonnay, and the 2019 Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
 
This is 100% estate grown fruit, a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, sourced primarily with grapes from the Grgich Yountville vineyard supplemented from Grgich Rutherford and Calistoga vineyards.
 
This release was awarded 93 points by James Suckling, 92 points by Wine Advocate and 90 points by Connoisseurs Guide and Vinous. 
 
Bright garnet-purple in color, medium full bodied, expressive ripe blackberry and blackcurrant fruits with floral, cassis, tobacco, licorice, cedar and earthy notes, with a hint of clove spice turning to tight crisp acidity and grainy tannins on the finish. Still young at five years, this might benefit from a little more time to settle and integrate.
 
RM 91 points.  

 
https://www.grgich.com/product/2018-cabernet-sauvignon-napa-valley/

https://twitter.com/GrgichHills

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Freemark Abbey has been one of our favorite Napa Cabs for over three decades. Since the seventies, Freemark Abbey have consistently produced quality wines with a positive QPR (quality price ratio). Wine buddy Bill C and I used to regularly compare different labels and vintages of this producer in our tastings.

We've visited the winery numerous times and have purchased special bottles from their library for special occasion dinners. One memorable escapade was when we convinced Barry Dodd, Cellarmaster, to release two library selections, from 1974 and 1978, which we enjoyed that night at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) to toast our wedding anniversary years.

So, when our local merchant Vin Chicago featured the current release Freemark Cabernet as their top wine for their regular Saturday tasting, I not only wanted to support such behavior, but I picked up several bottles as well to add to our vertical collection of this label.

When Bill and I became wine buddies back around the millenium, we quickly learned of our shared interest in and fondness for Freemark Abbey Cabernet. We would share and compare this Napa label as well as their single vineyard designated offerings from the Sycamore and Bosche vineyards - Bill having a vertical collection emphasizing Sycamore, and me holding Bosche. I still recall and have written about acquiring a case of the 1991 Bosche' after tasting it with Jeff Jaegar, one of the Freemark owners, at a Binny's tasting back at the time. We enjoyed this case over the next two decades having only recently recently consumed the last bottle, still drinking very nicely at 25 years of age.

Freemark Abbey gained notoriety at the famous Judgement of Paris Wine Tasting back in 1976. This was the legendary comparison wine tasting competition between top-ranked French vs. California labels - one for Chardonnays and another of red wines (Bordeaux wines from France and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California). Of course, the wine world presumed this would be no contest stacking upstart California producers' labels against the classic historic French labels. Lo and behold, the shock and awe when not only did the Californians show respectably, but actually received the top ranking best in each category. Freemark Abbey was represented in both categories with it's 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1972 Chardonnay.

The story is retold in the book Judgement of Paris, by George Taber, the only reporter in attendance to cover and record the event. It was also the basis of the wildly entertaining 2006 movie Bottle Shock. I highly recommend both for general audiences, and a must read/watch for wine geeks and oenophiles.


The 2013 is a Bordeaux style blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.


Its a testament to Ted Edwards and the team at Freemark Abbey, as well as the overall quality of the 2013 Napa Valley vintage, that they can produce over 24,000 cases of a 92+ Wine Advocate rated wine. And, kudo's too for keeping the price point reasonable to provide a high QPR (quality price ratio).

This was dark opaque purple in color, full bodied, with complex, concentrated, rich but nicely integrated blackberry and blackcurrant fruit accented by a layer of mocha chocolate with tones of allspice and tobacco leaf with firm but approachable tannins on the big finish. This is drinkable now but will last a couple decades or more of cellaring. It has a bit of an edge that will likely smooth and become more polished with a few more years of aging.

RM 91 points.

I picked up this wine to enjoy now and also to hold as part of our horizontal collection of 2013 wines to commemorate the birth year of two of our grand-kids, Richie and Marleigh. 


https://cellartracker.com/w?2274933

http://www.freemarkabbey.com/

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Dinner Features Judgement of Paris Wines

Dinner Features Judgement of Paris Wines to Commemorate the Tasting event's Anniversary

For a holiday weekend dinner, we selected wines that were featured in the famous Judgement of Paris tasting event on the week of its anniversary - Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a pair of Freemark Abbey Bosché Cabernets,  contenders in the original tasting. That tasting event was chronicled in Time Magazine in the June 1976 issue.

Linda prepared grilled marinated flank steak and tuna steaks on the grill, served with roasted potatoes and vegetables and sweet corn on the cob.

Prior to dinner we served Sauvignon Blanc with the mixed greens salad brought by Bill & Beth, and with artisan cheese and spinach cheese puff hor d'oeuvres brought by Bob & Gloria.

After dinner I served a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc with Linda's desert, pound cake with creme fraiche and mixed berries.

John Anthony Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2012

John Anthony wines are the product of John Anthony Truchard, who has been exposed to the vineyards and wine production his whole life having growing up in Carneros immersed in the industry learning from many legends of the industry including his father Tony Truchard of the Napa Valley wine label of that name. 

The opening wine served with the cheese and hors d' ovres course. Butter/straw colored, light bodied, crisp balance of fruits and acidity - aromas and flavors of ripe green apples, ripe melon and hints of zesty citrus with a slight layer of smoke on the opening.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1788034

http://www.johnanthonyvineyards.com/


Chateau Monetelena Napa Valley Chardonnay 2011

Aficionados of wine must watch the entertaining classic movie "Bottle Shock" that chronicles the early days of Napa Valley, early winemakers, and Chateau Montelena, and its legendary finishing first in the epic competition tasting between American and French wines back in 1976. This descendant of that winning wine is the fortieth anniversary release of the label.

Paying tribute to that legendary wine, this vintage release is a reflection of, but makes the best of a challenging vintage in Napa, its a bit disjointed lacking the balance and polish of better years, never-the-less, the heritage and potential is apparent.

Straw colored, medium bodied, mineral and stone fruit predominate over the citrus, pear and slightly tart apple tones, turning to the long crisp rounded finish.

RM 89 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1642398

http://montelena.com/

  The highlight of the evening tasting were these two showcase reds that were perfect accompaniment to the grilled marinated flank steak and roasted vegetables and potatoes. This is another memorable tasting of these wines that Bill and I have shared over the years, including our vist to Freemark Abbey Winery during our Napa 2009 wine experience. 
 

Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard 1992 

I discovered this wine and acquired a case when I met the producer at a tasting in Binny's Naperville in the early nineties. At twenty-four years, this is our second to last bottle from that case. Only fitting that we open this on the anniversary of the famed blind tasting that put American and California wines on the map.

This tasting was consistent with similar to the previous tasting in 2012. Still vibrant with life left, while nearing the end of its drinking window this has a few years left and shows only slight signs of diminution with the fruit starting to give way to earthy leather tones, resulting in dropping a point in my rating of this wine. Dark garnet colored and medium bodied yet with distinctive 'legs' (or 'curtains' as my British friends call them), this exhibited polished and balanced concentrated black berry fruits with layer of spice, hint of smoke, earthy leather, tobacco and spice box on a moderate smooth, integrated moderate tannin finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=12605

To compliment the Bosche, Bill brought a decade younger vintage 2002 for a mini-horizontal comparison tasting.

Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard 2002

Not surprising, this is similar to its older brother, and as the night wore on, the two vintages became more indistinguishable. with the same profile and characteristics, the fruit being slightly more bright and vibrant in the more recent release.

Like the earlier release, dark garnet colored and medium bodied yet with distinctive 'legs' (or 'curtains' as my British friends call them), this exhibited polished and balanced concentrated black berry fruits with layer of spice, hint of smoke, earthy leather, tobacco and spice box on a moderate smooth, integrated moderate tannin finish. The still bright and vibrant fruits warrants the higher rating.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1061464

http://www.freemarkabbey.com/


De Lorimier Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest Lace 2002

For the after dinner dessert course I pulled from the cooler this Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from the same 2002 vintage as the earlier tasted Montelena and the same varietal as the opening Sauv Blanc.

Part of the Ken and Diane Wilson, Wilson Artisan Wineries portfolio, this estate winery and vineyards specializes in Bordeaux varietals up in the Alexander Valley. The estate's dessert late harvest wines go back to the mid-eighties. Founded in 1986 by Al deLorimier the winery and vineyard were planted and developed into the Estate it is today. The production facility is set up for the blending and aging of many small lots. Ken and and co-owner/winemaker Diane Wilson, and winemaker Antoine Favero combine their talents to produce award winning artisan wines at deLorimier. 

In special years when the weather allows for a small harvest of Botrytised grapes late in the fall, they make dessert wine from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, or a blend of the two. Botrytis Cineria, the "noble mold", creates a wine of naturally high sweetness and intensity of flavor, while maintaining the fresh fruit character.

This was weak tea colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced with sweet and smokey flavors of apricot, citrus and hints of brown sugar.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=327183

http://delorimierwinery.com/