Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015

Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015 

A casual weekend night with soup, cheese and crackers and homemade caramel corn in front of a TV movie, this Napa Chardonnay was a perfect casual sipper for the occasion. 

The producer Gibb's family date back to the early 1950's when they were growing walnuts, dates, and a small selection of grapes in Napa Valley. Dr. Lewis Gibbs Carpenter, psychologist, was a lifelong farmer and cattle rancher in Gilroy, bought land on the valley floor and moved his family to Saint Helena. By the 1970s, he had replaced most of the nut and fruit orchards with several Bordeaux varietals of grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot, which were beginning to gain international attention following the 'Judgement of Paris' in 1976.

Gibbs' flagship vineyards include the Cross Creek Vineyard located in the valley created between Howell Mountain and Glass Mountain, on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain overlooking Silverado Trail, stretching from the perennial Howell Creek in the west to the year-round natural springs of Howell Mountain. Their other notable Napa vineyard is Centa Vineyard located at the narrowest point of Napa Valley on Lodi Lane at the Silverado Trail.

Gibbs' wines are featured in the Studio, a new vintner collective tasting room and retail space in downtown Napa.

In 2000, Lewis’ son-in-law, Craig Handly, and his wife Susan began making wine from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc  estate grown grapes. Over the next decade, Handly honed his skills making private label wines and bottling under the Terroir Napa Valley and Sentall labels. 

 

When Lewis passed away in 2013, the Gibbs label and brand were introduced, based on the fruit that Lewis had been nurturing for 60 years. Today, Gibbs produces Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc come from those same vineyards planted by Lewis over forty years ago.

 

Craig and Susan’s son Spencer Gibbs Handly, joined the family business after college in 2014, growing grapes and making wine from family estate vineyards, Spencer had been working the vineyards since a child when Lewis taught him to drive a tractor at the age of five. Today he is active in all aspects of the business.  

 

Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015 

 

This Gibbs Napa Valley Chardonnay was aged 6 months in 30 - 40% new French oak. 

 

This is a great value, high QPR wine. 

 

Straw colored with sprites of light mango color, this is medium bodied, nicely balanced with pear and melon fruits accented by predominate notes of butterscotch caramel, with hints of butter, floral and oak turning to a nice  refreshing clean moderate acidic finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3019154

https://gibbsnapavalley.com/wines/

 

 

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Red Wine 2001

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Proprietary Red 2001

Linda prepared grilled beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables and sauteed mushrooms for a dinner with Sean and Michelle. I wanted to serve a distinctive wine so I pulled from the cellar this aged Napa Cabernet based Red Blend for the dinner. 

Neiman Cellars is the project of Drew Neiman, an independent winemaker crafting small batch artisan wines sourcing fruit from some of the best vineyards in Napa Valley. Drew was introduced to the trade by his cousins who owned a wine shop in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He came to California to study viticulture at UC Davis and in 1994 started work under legendary winemaker John Kongsgaard, rising through the ranks from harvest help to assistant winemaker.

Drew established Neiman Cellars in 1997 with 3 tons of purchased fruit. Working with leading growers including David Abreu, John Caldwell, and Pat Haynes, sourcing fruit from arguably some of the best vineyards in Napa Valley, total production grew to 600 cases of minimal intervention, handcrafted, artisan small batch wine.

His craft work drew wide attention and high praise. Wine critic Robert Parker called him “brilliant”, and he was mentioned in FOOD & WINE, Wine Spectator and InStyle. Neiman Cellar wines were featured on the wine lists of notable high end restaurants including the French Laundry, Per Se, Gary Danko, The Beverly Hills Hotel, and the James Beard House in New York City.

This label is a single vineyard designated Bordeaux Blend containing all the Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot, sourced from the Caldwell Vineyard high above the town of Napa on the eastern slope of the Vaca Range. At one time, Drew offered tastings in the caves of Caldwell Vineyards.

The Caldwell property is owned and operated by John Caldwell who has become somewhat of a legend in Napa Valley who planted the first vines in 1982. Since then, Caldwell has been the grape source selected by leading winemakers for many notable premium labels including Pahlmeyer (Helen Turley), Joseph Phelps’s Insignia, Moone Tsai (Philippe Melka), Merus, Patz and Hall, Stéphane Derenoncourt and of course, Neiman. We served and I wrote about the Pahlmeyer Caldwell Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 1990 recently in these pages. 

Over time, John has developed the Caldwell Vineyards and estate into one of the most unique wine estates in Napa growing 28 different clone-specific grape varieties. He also was one of the first U.S. wineries to operate its own in-house barrel cooperage, with less than a dozen other wineries in the world doing so.  

Working with his wife Joy and winemaker Marc Gagnon, Caldwell has developed and grown the Caldwell proprietary brand with a portfolio of more than two dozen labels marketed under the Caldwell Signature Collection and Varietal Collection which include the whimsically named labels "Rocket Science" and "Society of Smugglers".

The inaugural release of the Neiman Caldwell label was the 1998 vintage proprietary red wine, crafted from the finest blocks on the vineyard, with 500 cases produced. The blend of Caldwell Proprietary Red consisted of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Syrah,

We acquired and consumed and wrote about that 1998 vintage Neiman release (October 01, 2009, July 23, 2011) as well as the '99 (August 19, 2015), the 2000 (April 11, 2014), the 2004  (August 24, 2017, and May 16, 2015), and this 2001 release. We still hold a few bottles of this 2001 and the 2002 as well. The last vintages I can find evidence of were the 2007 and 2008.

Neiman Cellars Caldwell Vineyard Proprietary Red 2001

This is the third time I have served and written about this label in these pages. We last had it the fall of 2015 when I wrote: "This wine comes packaged in a heavy oversized, almost magnum weight bottle. Consistent with our last tasting of this wine, it was a perfect complement to the beef and the pork chop entrees, dark garnet/purple colored, medium-full bodied, smooth, polished, complex full flavors of spicy blackberry and subtle red raspberry with tones of clove and sweet dark mocha turning to finely integrated tannins on the smooth lingering finish."

Tonight was consistent with that earlier tasting. Like that Pahlmeyer Caldwell Vineyard Napa Valley Red Blend 1990, this release, at two decades, this wine is still showing well and showing no signs of diminution. Tonight I gave this 92 points, as I did at that previous tasting. 

According to the rear label of this bottle, 148 cases were produced of this release.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27471

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/09/neiman-cellars-napa-red-caldwell.html

http://neimancellars.com/

@NeimanCellars

https://www.caldwellvineyard.com/

Close out 2020 with Diamond Mtn Cabernets

Close out year with two top flight Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernets

Family gathering to close out the year, son Ryan and I pulled two diverse Diamond Mountain Cabernets to share and compare. The Diamond Mountain appellation label was Ryan and Michelle's favorite of all those served during their tasting at the Cliff Lede estate. They acquired this as part of their wine club allocation shipments. 

Cliff Lede Diamond Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Robert Parker writes that Cliff Lede Vineyards is one of the best-run wineries in Napa Valley. Cliff Lede Vineyards was established in 2002 by Canadian born Bordeaux enthusiast, Cliff Lede, when he acquired the sixty acre estate in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. 

We've visited the Cliff Lede estate on several of our Napa Valley wine trips and our wine several of our wine buddies including son Ryan source allocated wines as members of their club. 

Determined to produce optimal top rank Bordeaux varietal wines from estate vineyards, Lede tapped David Abreu, considered the best viticulturist in Napa Valley, to replant the vineyards. Lede decided to name each vineyard block after some of his favorite rock songs and albums—from “My Generation” to “Dark Side of the Moon,” creating what is known today as the Cliff Lede Vineyards “Rock Blocks.”

In 2005, he built a state of the art, 25,000 square foot winery and cave system was etched into a hillside overlooking the estate vineyards. Lede spared no expense in creating a magnificent property, and assembling a top rank team to achieve his vision of top quality wines. He also sourced grapes from prime properties across Napa Valley. Winemaker Christopher Tynan crafts Cabernet Sauvignons from the flagship, Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the steep eastern hillside portion of the estate to appellation designated labels from Stags Leap, Howell Mountain, and this label from Diamond Mountain in Northwest Napa Valley. 

This Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from an exceptional, low-yielding vineyard with classic, legendary volcanic ash and gravelly loam soils in the Diamond Mountain appellation. The site is on the Mayacamas Range on the northwest side of Napa Valley above Calistoga.The sun-drenched mountain vineyard with steep hillside slope of old vines has northeastern exposure and late afternoon breezes that ripen the fruit slowly and evenly. The vineyard was planted and is farmed by David Abreu Vineyard Management.

Christopher Tynan, Winemaker writes of this release: "A deep,dark purple in color, this extraordinary mountain Cabernet offers loads of Pauillac-like aromas of graphite, cedar, cassis, and blackberry. Layered in with these classic scents area lovely array of powdered cocoa, black fig, and tobacco.The essence of terroir is echoed in the gravelly loam and pine forest notes that appear in the generous aromas and flavors. The long opulent palate tastes of liquefied minerals and possesses a voluptuous velour-like texture. Lucky imbibers of this rare elixir are privy to a wine made from a legendary site in an epic vintage."    

This is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot. Production was 466 cases. 

This was dark, inky purple, full bodied, rich concentrated but elegant and polished with lush black berry and black raspberry fruits with layers of cassis, clove spice, sweet oak, black tea, mocha and vanilla bean, with smooth silky soft tannins and nicely balanced acidity on the finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1748175

https://www.ledefamilywines.com/

@CliffLedeWine 

 Marco Di Giulio "Mark K Vineyard" Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

To compare in a side by side tasting, I brought to daughter Erin's 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 2001 being the oldest. 

Marco Di Giulio unique hand-crafted wines minimalist style wines were 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 writes 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 2001

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. 

The grapes were sourced from rows that run East-West at a little over 1000 ft. above sea level on a steep south-facing slope. The soil consists of a well-drained volcanic loam and the vines are trained on a vertical trellis.

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

Hall Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018

Hall Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2018 

 

The third white wine we opened for our Gala Family Christmas celebration wine dinner was this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc from Hall Wine.

 

Sauvignon Blanc in the most natural of white varietal wines, vinified nearest to the core fruit and less adulterated than any other varietal. Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite white wines for serious wine and food pairings as well as purely simple pleasurable sipping. 

 

The bright fruit and crisp acidity of this label were markedly different, lighter, simpler and more focused than the two more complex Chardonnay's we opened to accompany the lobster medallions. Most folks tended to one side or the other. I preferred this. 

 

Straw colored, medium light bodied, bright sprites of peach predominated accented by notes of melon, subdued green apple, hints of grapefruit and wet stone with a lengthy smooth finish. 

 

RM 91 points. 

 

This was awarded 92 points by Wine Enthusiast and 91points by International Wine Review.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3457653

 

https://www.hallwines.com/

 

@HALLWines

 

Pride Napa Valley Cabernet 1995

Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

As part of our gala family Christmas celebration dinner, Ryan pulled from the cellar this aged vintage Napa Cab for tasting alongside the other Cabs. 

I noted in a tasting note recently, this wine is at its apex, will not improve with any further aging and should be consumed as it will start to diminish in due course. As such, this is our third tasting of this vintage label release this year as we drink up!

In a November blogspot tasting note I wrote: "At twenty-five years, this is amazingly showing well and not exhibiting any diminution from age. I noted in earlier posts several years ago that this was showing its age. Perhaps these were bottle variations which might explain the negative review, not the positive. Ideal provenance of this bottle in our cellar since release shows the true age worthiness of the label. While likely at its apex, it will not improve with any further aging and should be consumed as it will start to diminish in due course".

Earlier this year, in May, I wrote: "Consistent with earlier tasting notes, "Dark, full bodied, firm, initially closed and tight, after a while it opened up to reveal big full complex dark blackberry and black currant fruits accented by anise, with hints of spice, dusty cedar, and a subtle sweet dark mocha on the full firm lingering tannin finish."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/11/pride-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/05/vintage-napa-cab-trio-mark-celebration.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 ... 

Pride Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Pride Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

I pulled this robust Napa Cab for tasting with some artisan cheeses.

Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

We visited Pride Mountain Vineyards and Winery high atop Spring Mountain of the Mayacamas Range overlooking Napa Valley to the east, and Sonoma Valley to the west during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999 and again in 2003. 

This is one of two estate vineyards that straddles the summit and thereby can claim to be both Napa Valley and Sonoma County as its AVA. The other is Constant up the range to the north atop Diamond Mountain. This label is designated Napa Valley.

We've enjoyed Pride since and often 'gifted' Pride to friends on special occasions. We're big fans of rich concentrated extracted mountain fruit and hold Pride Cabernet going back to the mid-nineties. We love the Spring Mountain expression of terroir which I believe is as complex and flavorful as the other popular mountain appellations.

At twenty-five years, this is amazingly showing well and not exhibiting any diminution from age. I noted in earlier posts several years ago that this was showing its age. Perhaps these were bottle variations which might explain the negative review, not the positive. Ideal provenance of this bottle in our cellar since release shows the true age worthiness of the label. While likely at its apex, it will not improve with any further aging and should be consumed as it will start to diminish in due course. We still hold five more bottles of the case we acquired back at the time of release.

Consistent with earlier tasting notes, "Dark, full bodied, firm, initially closed and tight - decanted and set aside, after an hour and half it started to open up to reveal big full complex dark blackberry and black currant fruits accented by anise, with hints of spice, dusty cedar, and a subtle sweet dark mocha on the full firm lingering tannin finish."

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=6236

http://www.pridewines.com/

@pridewines 

 

Lewis Cellars "Alec's Blend" Napa Valley Red Blend 2010

Lewis Cellars "Alec's Blend" Napa Valley Red Blend for family celebration dinner and birth year vintage tribute ...

For oldest grandchild, Lucy's tenth birthday, Linda prepared grilled tenderloin, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables with her wonderful holiday season crescent rolls, accompanied by a kale cucumber and tomato salad. 

For dinner, I pulled from our cellar a family favorite label for such occasions from Lewis Cellars. 

Lewis Cellars' branding features the whimsical 'L' label with which we commemorate Lucy on her special day. This particular label has added significance, Alec's Blend is named for the Lewis' eldest grandson who also shares the name with our son, Alec.

Alec and bride Vivianna visited Lewis Cellars for a private tasting during their recent honeymoon in Napa Valley. Our visit to the Lewis estate chateau was a highlight of our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017. That blogpost lists many such postings of special Lewis Cellars' wine openings/tastings.

We hold a vertical collection (multiple vintages of the same label) of this label spanning more than a decade, from which we pulled this 2010 vintage release.

For added significance we opened a bottle from Lucy's birth year vintage, 2010, on her double digit, first decade tenth birthday. Seeking a birth year vintage wine for the occasion, its notable that our horizontal collection (multiple labels of the same vintage) of this year consists of 108 bottles in 59 wines, allowing for many more celebratory tastings in the future. I originally pulled a Lewis Cellars Napa Cabernet 2010 but switched to the Alec's Blend label for the occasion.

The birthday celebration was also special since Lucy and I share the same 1/2 birthday, meaning each of our birthdays is the half birthday of the other. We also share many special shared memories together and have a special grandfather grand-daughter bond. Its great to be a grandpa!

Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend Napa Valley Red Wine 2010

This vintage release got 93 points from Wine Spectator. 

This is a unique blend of Napa Valley fruit, 70% Syrah, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is the style we love with its thick concentrated full bodied forward fruits and bright floral aromatics. 

Dark inky purple colored, full bodied concentrated black and blue fruits with accents of tobacco and herbs, notes of cedar and expresso, turning to nuances of sweet mocha chocolate on the supple finish laced with firm but approachable acidity and tannins

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=1433021 

https://www.lewiscellars.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/lewis-cellars-napa-chateau-tasting.html

Ladera Napa Cabernet for Italian Dinner

Ladera Napa Cabernet for Italian Dinner

Hosting Sister Jan, visiting from SoCal for the weekend, we dined once again on her last evening in town at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood bistro. We were joined by newly-weds, son Sean and Michelle, who had their recent wedding rehearsal dinner at this venue. 

Once again I took BYOB from our cellar a bottle of Napa Cab from a producer we visited with Jan and husband Bill during one of our Napa Valley Wine Experience trips together. Shown left, Jan and Bill with proprietor/producer Anne Stotesbury at Ladera Vineyards and Winery up on Howell Mtn during our Howell Mtn appellation tour in 2008. 

We last tasted and posted about this wine just a couple months ago when I reposted about this producer and label, we discovered this wine and purchased it following our visit to the Ladera Vineyards estate and winery up on Howell Mountain in 2006 and then again during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008. 

We'd driven past the property, formerly the historic Chateau Woltner many times over the years on our treks up Howell Mountain in northeast Napa Valley.

The fabulous historic winery building consisted of production and barrel storage below and a rustic tasting room upstairs. It is surrounded by spectacular gardens, beds of lavender, and of course the vineyards. 

 

Ladera was founded when Stotesburys moved their family to Napa Valley from Montana in 2000 when they acquired a historic Howell Mountain property featuring an 82-acre vineyard. For the next 16 years, this property served as the home for Ladera.

Ladera initially primarily focused on Cabernet Sauvignon of which we still hold a several cases of four different labels across several vintages from this era.  

Around 2008, their son Dan visited us while on a wine promotion trip to/thru Chicago and we took him around to several of the local wine merchants in the area.  

Stotesburys sold the Ladera land on Howell Mountain in 2016, following the earlier sales of their Lone Canyon and the Mount Veeder properties.

Ladera Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Ladera produced several labels of Cabernet Sauvignon including several sub-appellation designated labels from Howell Mountain and Lone Canyon. This is their basic label sourced from fruits from Howell Mountain and lower elevations in the foothills nearer the valley floor. 

This was a perfect complement to the Angeli's bolognese sauce and parmiagiana sauce on the pasta and eggplant dishes. 

At seventeen years, this is at its apex, if not past its prime drinking window and will not improve with any further aging. The fruits are a bit subdued, perhaps starting to diminish or were already that way. My only previous tasting note was ten years ago, October, 2010, when I wrote: "Dark garnet color - full bodied, a slight funky woody cedar aroma and flavor undercurrent on opening turning to full forward spicy boysenberry - almost whisky-like, and tones of licorice and black berry on a spicy, leathery moderate tannin finish."

At that time I gave it 88 points. Notably, I was going to give this 88 points based on tonight's tasting, before I read this earlier review and tasting note. 

Tonight this was consistent with those earlier tastings, with somewhat subdued fruits, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a layer of black tea moderates the spicy blackberry and boysenberry fruits, turning to the notes of licorice and leather on the gripping tannin lingering finish. 

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=99762

https://www.laderavineyards.com/

http://mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa_08/img_napa08_ladera_winery_remc.jpg

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/08/ladera-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon.html

 

Hungry Blond Napa Chardonnay Fantesca Napa Cabernet

 Hungry Blond Napa Chardonnay and Fantesca Napa Cabernet for surf and turf dinner

Newlyweds Sean and Michelle joined us for an intimate dinner Linda prepared, serving lobster tails with cheese pasta and grilled tenderloin beef steaks. I pulled from our cellar two fun, special bottles of wine to commemorate the occasion, Hungry Blond Chardonnay and Fantesca Napa Cabernet.

Davis Estate Hungry Blonde Carneros Chardonnay 2016

 
This Hungry Blonde is the last bottle of several we special ordered last year. It was one of our favorite drinking everyday Chardonnays, a fun label to serve celebrating our two blonde daughters-in-law.

We discovered this wine from the winelist at Fiora Restaurant in Geneva during a lunch outing there last year during a pleasant summer afternoon outing. Interestingly, Sean now works out of an office nearby and walks past Fiora which lies between his office and the local trainstop on days he visits the office. 

 

At the time, I wrote about Davis Estate Hungry Blonde Carneros Chardonnay and how we liked it so much we went out and bought all the remaining inventory in local merchants, then special ordered more of this label, the then new vintage release.

"We love the distinctive taste profile of this full bodied, forward fruit filled Chardonnay. Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com  said of the the 2015 release of this wine, "There's 2000 cases of the 2015 Chardonnay Hungry Blonde, and it's one seriously good Chardonnay.  It's the real deal and will keep for 5+ years. At 30 bucks it's a killer value." He gave it 94 points."

James Suckling gave the 2016 90 points. "A chardonnay with plenty of butter, apricot, flan and bread dough. There is good density to this and the acidity gives some form and clarity'"

Davis Estate Hungry Blonde Carneros Chardonnay 2016

Winemaker notes for the 2016, "Our Hungry Blonde Chardonnay is the perfect expression of cool-climate Napa Valley Chardonnay from the Carneros region. Inviting aromas of lemon zest and white flowers make way for waves of bosc pear, Tahitian vanilla, and baked apple tart. All held together with fresh acidity and a supple texture inviting another sip."

According to Wine Country Connection, Hungry Blonde is made by the well known Napa producer Cary Gott. The fruit comes from the Poe Vineyard, which sits adjacent to the world renowned Hyde Vineyard. Larry Hyde’s HDV Chardonnay, sells for $60.

 

Straw colored, full bodied, a rich concentrated buttery flavors that resemble butterscotch, notes of vanilla, oak and citrus fruits, stone fruit and white flowers. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3289150

 

Continuing the theme for the occasion, we served this whimsically named Napa Cab, another fun tribute to our new daughter-in-law. 

 

The elegant upscale Fantesca packaging and branding features etched and painted weighty bottles each explaining the namesake Fantesca. 

 

The name of the winery comes from a character in the Italian comedy troupe that inspired Cirque Du Soleil. La Fantesca was the single female character in the early theatrical performances of Commedia dell’Arte. Both the lover and the equal of the protagonist, Harlequin, Fantesca could always be counted on to charm the audience. Owners, Duane and Susan Hoff write that "when we heard Fantesca described as ”Sexy, Smart, and Unpretentious,” we knew we had found a name worth living up to."'

 

We visited the Fantesca Estate & Winery during our Napa Valley Spring Mountain Experience in the autumn of 2009, and earlier during our Napa Wine Experience 2007.

 

We first met owner/producer Dwayne Hoff when we hosted him in our home during his promotion tour to Chicago shortly after acquiring the Spring Mountain Estate. 

 

 

Fantesca Estate and Winery, Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.

Fantesca Napa Valley,
Spring Mtn Cabernet Sauvignon
Etched glass, painted bottle.
(2006 shown)

Medium-full bodied, dark garnet color; complex but smooth and polished with bright forward fruits of black currant, dark berry and cherry, accented by sweet dark chocolate, a hint of cassis, and a tone of spice on the lingering refined tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

As always, this was the blockbuster hit of the evening, a great complement to grilled beef tenderloin steaks.

http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=355836

http://www.fantesca.com

 

@FantescaWine -  https://twitter.com/FantescaWine

Cliff Lede Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016

 Cliff Lede Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2016

For a quiet casual saturday evening in, we prepared a plate of artisan cheeses, fruits, charcuterie and popcorn, actually Linda's signature maple/caramel corn, we pulled from the cellar one of our favorite sipping wines for such an occasion, Cliff Lede Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

Two stand-out cheeses that are emerging as favorites are Delice-de-Bourgnogne creamy light brie, and hearty firmly structured Old Amsterdam Gouda, orange in color and grainy textured - two diverse styles that are both nice complements to this wine. 

This is a go-to wine that we keep in the cellar, vintage to vintage, when we drink an older bottle, we'll replace it with the recent currently available release so that we always have some available. Its great for casual pleasurable sipping, but also sophisticated accompaniment to seafood, or white meats as well as salads and some desserts. 

The primary vineyard source is located in eastern Rutherford, consisting of old vines planted to a heritage Musqué clone and Sémillon, providing density, richness, and citrus notes. Two other old-vine vineyards from up in Calistoga are included in the blend, one planted to Sauvignon Blanc and the other to Sémillon. Also included are grapes from a cooler climate vineyard on the east side of Napa, imparting vibrant acidity and finesse to the wine. Finally, a vineyard in over the hill just east of Napa Vally in Chiles Valley, a small vineyard pocket in eastern Napa County,  adds complexity with old vines of Sauvignon Vert planted in 1947. 

This label release got 92 points from the Tasting Panel and from Wilfred Wong of Wine.com, 89 points from Wine Spectator.

Consistent with earlier tasting notes of this label back in 2018, this was light straw colored, light bodied, this vintage is more subdued and muted than recent vintages with moderate pear flavored fruit punctuated by citrus and grapefruit with only a slight hint of that peach flavor so predominate in some past years that reveals itself after a half hour or so from opening. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2616721

https://cliffledevineyards.com/

@CliffLedeWine

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/03/cal-wine-flight-highlights-st-pats.html

 

 

Del Dotto Napa Vineyard 887 - Pirouette 2016

Long Shadows, Vintners' Series, Pirouette Columbia Valley Red Wine 2016 and Del Dotto Napa Valley Vineyard 887 St. Helena Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Following our gala Pour Boys tomahawk ribeye wine dinner last weekend, we regroup and visited Dr Dan and Linda at their Indiana home. After further researching the Chateau Boswell Estate Red Wine that Dan brought and served at our dinner, I realized this was a Pillippe Melka crafted wine. On further review, I found that another Pillippe Melka wine, that we hold in our cellars, Long Shadows Vintners Series Pirouette, is a similar blend and from the same vintage, also, that got the same rating from the wine reviewer pundits. 

While Chateau Boswell is Napa Valley fruits and Pirouette is Columbia Valley, Washington State fruits, based on the other similarities I thought it would be interesting and fun to taste and compare the two labels. Hence, I took from our cellar the 2016 Pirouette to taste with our dinner. 

Prior to dinner, Linda served a selection of artisan cheeses. We brought what has become one of our absolute favorites, creamy Delice de Bourgogne.  

 
For dinner, Dan and Linda served kabobs of beef, chicken, green peppers and onion, salad and Linda's signature chili. They also served three cheese stuffed peppers and grilled tomatoes stuff with cheese and spinach.

Long Shadows, Vintners' Series, Pirouette Columbia Valley Red Wine 2016

We discovered and acquired this wine during our visit to the Long Shadows tasting room in Woodinville during our Washington State Wine Experience in 2018. 

Considering that the Napa Valley Chateau Boswell and Long Shadows Columbia Valley Pirouette are from two disparate wine regions, there was a remarkable similarity in the tasting profile and character of the two wines - indications of the effects of the winemaker's influence in the final product. 

Remarkably, the Pirouette costs a fraction of the Boswell, a tribute to the Long Shadows project, and the high QPR - Quality Price Ratio value afforded to Columbia Valley wines. 

This vintage release is a Bordeaux Blend of 68% Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, Petit Verdot (8%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Malbec (3%). It was fermented in barrel and aged 22 months in 75% new oak.

This received 97 points from reviewer Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points from Wine & Spirits, 91 from Wine Enthusiast and 90 points, a Cellar Selection from Wine Spectator James Suckling. 

The Pirouette shared the same dark purple garnet color, medium-full body and black currant and black raspberry fruits. It was accented with blue fruit notes, cinnamon and clove spices, hints of tobacco and graphite with firm but approachable tannins on a long lingering finish. 

The Pirouette was more firm, concentrated and firmly structured than was the Boswell. From my tasting notes and blogpost, we tasted the remains of Boswell two days later at which time it was softer, smoother, more sensuous and balanced. We didn't have the benefit of a follow on comparison of the Pirouette two days later, but will perhaps do so in a future tasting. It was slightly less polished and elegant, slightly more fruit forward, concentrated and unctuous, and lacked the ultra ripeness tones of the Boswell fruits. 

RM 94 points. 

This showed consistently as a tasting earlier this year of this label.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/02/long-shadows-duo-showcase-katy-business.html 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3107408

https://longshadows.com/ 

Pour Boys tour Del Dotto Caves

Following the Pirouette, Dan pulled from his cellar this ultra-premium single-vineyard designated select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This was especially fun to taste this label as it represents some pleasant memories of our Napa Valley wine tours. Dan and we all tasted and then procured this wine during our Napa Valley, Del Dotto Winery and Caves Tasting and Tour in 2018. 

This single vineyard designated select label is crafted from fruit from the Del Dotto 887 St Helena Vineyard. This vineyard is named for the address, 887 St Helena Highway, on the south approaches into the town. 

Rick & Linda with David Del Dotto, 2003

Located on the south end of the St. Helena Appellation, Vineyard 887 is one of the highest rated vineyards in Napa Valley. It is purported to be the favorite vineyard of the producer. This picturesque vineyard consists of nine acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in 2000. 

This vineyard shows the typical St. Helena characteristics of lush, fruity berries, with easily accessible tannins on the palate. 

The inaugural vintage of an 887 Vineyard single vineyard designated wine/label was in 2004. By 2012 it was receiving 96-98 point ratings from Robert Parker. 

The property also is the site of a guest cottage, amidst the vineyard surrounded by the vines. Linda and I had the pleasure of staying in the cottage during a Napa Valley Del Dotto winery, estate, vineyards and cave tour back in 2003 (left).

The single vineyard designated label didn't exist back then, it came along the next year, but we didn't discover the label until our 2018 estate and winery visit and tour. We purchased this label at that time, much in remembrance of that earlier visit, and had great anticipation of tasting this wine again, which we finally did tonight. 

Del Dotto Napa Valley Vineyard 887 St. Helena Connoiseur's Series Colbert French Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 

This is a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Savignon. In the crafted in the unique Del Dotto method, it is part of the Del Dotto Connoisseur's Series where the same wine will be aged in different oak barrels of different oaks for the ultimate comparison tasting experience. This version was aged in Colbert French Oak. Robert Parker gives this wine 95 points and an aging window of 2018 out to 2040. 

We have hosted wine dinners where we served a selection the Connoisseur Series of the same wine aged in different oaks. Only the discriminating experienced enophiles appreciated and discerned the differences. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, complex, concentrated, forward, structured black berry and tangy black currant fruits with notes of pipe tobacco, black tea, graphite and hints of milk chocolate, anise and spicy cinnamon turning to firm but silky smooth approachable tannins on the long tangy acidic lingering finish. Needs a few more years to settle, soften and integrate further.

RM 94

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2743499

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/our-wines