Napa and Columbia Valley Big Red Wine Flight

Family dinner features Napa and Columbia Valley Big Red Wine Flight

We were invited over to Ryan and Michelle's new home for a Saturday night pot luck dinner with Erin and Johnny and the grandkids. 

Erin brought pasta and Italian Beef and cupcakes and Linda took chocolate cake for a belated birthday tribute to Erin. 

Ryan had open a Mondavi Reserve Napa Valley Tokalon Cabernet and a Columbia Valley Cab so I took from our cellar a Napa and Columbia Valley Cab to compare. 

Robert Mondavi ToKalon Vineyard Oakville Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

With a release price of $175 and monster reviews of 96, 96, 96, 94 points, and a Cellar Selection designation, one would expect this to be an impressive bottle worthy of special occasions. Hence, our dismay and disappointment over its tasting profile tonight. Perhaps and hopefully this off-putting was bottle variation and the rest of the partial case Ryan acquired will be in-line with the pundits. 

The winemaker's notes for this bottle - ".... offers flavors of rich black berries and black plum, dried herb complexity, sweet oak spices, vanilla bean, and toasted almonds unfold in mesmerizing layers.

JebDunnuck.com gave it 96+ points and said, "The flagship 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a more long-term effort yet is loaded with potential. ....  hide bottle for 4-5 years and this beauty will cruise for 3 decades or so."

 

Wine Advocate also gave it 96+, James Suckling 96, 94 points Vinous, Wine Enthuiast, 93, Cellar Selection. 

 

They speak to black berries and plum, dried herbs, spices, vanilla, almond .... None of their accolades mention the over-riding notes of vegetable green pepper that permeates this bottle. Hopefully it will burn off or be lost in integration with time. 

 

RM 88 points.  

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2719995

https://robertmondaviwinery.com/products/2016-robert-mondavi-winery-reserve-to-kalon-vineyard-cabernet-sauvignon-oakville-napa-valley

 

https://twitter.com/robertmondavi

 

https://robertmondaviwinery.com/

McGah Family Winery "Scarlet" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

I took this Napa Valley red from our cellar. I wrote about this producer in a blogspot about their 2013 vintage release of this label.

This is crafted by winemaker Mike Smith who uses fruit for his other winery projects, sourced by Russell Bevan, for this single vineyard red, from the McGah estate vineyard on the eastern side of Rutherford. The McGah family are most notably known for co-founding the Bay area Oakland Raiders.  Sherratt Reicher, grandson of E.J. McGah, former Boston Red Sox player and second generation Oakland Raiders owner who maintained ownership interests in the Oakland Raiders football team until 2005, oversees their wine interests.  

McGah family own and operate 64 acres of vineyards in the storied Rutherford appellation on the east side of the central valley near Silverado Trail. They sell fruit to other producers and also offer Scarlett Wines under their own, recently rebranded label, named after the producer/founder's daughter. 

This is similar to the 2013 vintage release we tasted and reported in earlier blogposts. 

Awarded 92-94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 91 points from Jeb Dunnuck. 

The Cellartracker community Average Value for this wine is listed at $122.  I consider this a key source of valuing a wine as I see the Cellartracker community as savvy and astute wine consumers and buyers. This is typically a reliable benchmark price for a wine that I will reference when considering a wine purchase. This renders our Vin Chicago purchase price at under $70 a real bargain.   

Parker's Wine Advocate wrote, "As for the 2015s, as you might expect from this high-quality vintage in Northern California, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon McGah Family Vineyard is a fruit bomb, and called it "in-your-face and rather flamboyant, dramatic style, are all part of its appeal and personality."Jeb Dunnuck called it 'fruitcake'.

Amazing notes of sweet caramel candy predominate, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, the bright full forward concentrated blackcurrant and blackberry fruits are accented by a layer of delectable sweet vanilla, almond and sweet clove and oak notes turning to ripe tannins on the long finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2750354

Mark Ryan "Long Haul" Columbia Valley Red Wine 2015

This is produced by Mark Ryan McNeilly who founded Mark Ryan Winery in 1999 with the simple and lofty goal of making the best wine in Washington State. Mostly self-taught, Mark honed the craft of winemaking through rigorous study and the welcomed advice of some of the area's most experienced producers.

He studied wine for years before producing his first vintage. He was working as a wine distributor during the day and a server/bartender at night when he developed his passion for wine. Reading about wine making and hanging out with winemakers back in the 90's, he bought a truckload of Washington fruit, paid for from proceeds of his first vintage release. His first labels were 'Dead Horse', named for the vineyard from which it came, and this 'Long Haul', named for the road he started walking with his venture.

Ryan had this big red open from the previous evening. He and I discovered and tasted and acquired this together at the producer's tasting room in Woodinville during our  Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour, Woodinville Wine Experience. 

Tonight's tasting was consistent with my notes posted from that earlier tasting at the producer.

8/25/2018 - I like this wine: 92 Points

Like many others in these pages, we tasted, and acquired this in the Woodinville tasting room. This was dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant dark berry, accented by what some refer to as violet and spiced plum, we detected notes of dark mocha, spice, hints of cassis and cedar with firm but approachable tannins on the lingering finish.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/mark-ryan-columbia-valley-wine-tasting.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2781533

 

https://markryanwinery.com/

 

McGah "Scarlett" Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

McGah Family Vineyards "Scarlett" Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Son  Ryan pulled from his cellar this big red. We both discovered this label at a tasting at Vin Chicago, a Chicago wine merchant who had a store here in suburban Naperville at the time. They featured regular tastings, usually offering at least one premium label offering such as this. 

That tasting was my first encounter with McGah Family wines, previously known as McGah Family Cellars and rebranded in 2015 in honor of its flagship wine, Scarlett, which is named after the founder’s daughter.

The McGah family has a long history in Northern California dating back over a century when E.W. McGah first settled in the San Francisco bay area.

In the 1960s, McGah co-founded the Oakland Raiders football franchise. E.W.’s stake in the Raiders was passed down to his to his son E.J. “Eddie” McGah in 1983. E.J. was already a notable sports figure in his own right starting with his signing by the Boston Red Sox at age 17. He continued playing baseball while serving in World War II and was one of the top five players nominated for the 14th District Naval MVP in 1945. After released from service in December 1945, he returned to the Red Sox for two more seasons, playing on the 1946 pennant title team.

Sherratt Reicher, E.J.’s grandson, carried on the sports tradition and worked as a defensive assistant and scout for the Raiders until 2002 when he left to form the Hudson Companies, a diversified company whose holding included Scarlett Wines and McGah Family Vineyards.

The McGah family maintained its ownership in the Raiders until 2005. Sherratt continues to oversee the family’s winemaking interests and is involved in all aspects of Scarlett Wines.

They own and operate 64 acres of vineyards in the storied Rutherford appellation on the east side of the central valley near Silverado Trail. They sell fruit to other producers and also offer Scarlett Wines under their own, recently rebranded label named after the producer/founder's daughter.

McGah Family Vineyards "Scarlett" Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate and 93 points by Wine Spectator.

As I wrote in a previous blogpost back in 2016, this is a monsterous big red with gripping mouth coating tannins, highlighted by bright vibrant sweet sprites. 

Dark inky, blackish ruby purple colored, immense, full bodied, rich, chewy, firm, structured, complex core of sweet blackberry was accented by a layer of black raspberry, cassis, hints of mocha, touch of vanilla and sweet spicy oak. Despite its huge gripping tannins it was sensual, smooth and polished on the long long finish.

At the time I gave it RM 94 points.

Today this exhibited black fruits accented by that classic Rutherford Dust, with notes of licorice and cigar box. The fruit was slightly more subdued than that earlier tasting but the profile remains the same.

RM 93 points.
 
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2071763

http://www.scarlettwines.com/

http://vinchicago.com/ 

McGah Family Vineyards Scarlet

McGah Family Vineyards Scarlet - Highlight of Vin Chicago Naperville Weekly Wine Tasting

Vin Chicago, the City wine merchant with multiple suburban locations hosts a weekly wine tasting at their local store (s). They're not a mega or super store, rather they are surgically focused on offering a more limited selection of carefully selected wines, moreso though than a boutique shop, offered at a discount to even the super store, across the wine spectrum. Their tastings are not distributors setting up a table in store, rather, they feature a full range flight, featuring a broad range from white to red, conducted by regular store staff who showcase new releases and newly arrived wines. And, they regularly feature premium and ultra-premium wines such as those highlighted below. Indeed, the store only had one case of this premium McGah Family Vineyards Scarlett, yet, they still opened it for tasting.

McGah Family Vineyards "Scarlett" Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

This was my first encounter with McGah Family wines. Based on this experience, I will definitely seek it out in the future and look forward to trying the rest of their portfolio. They own and operate 64 acres of vineyards in the storied Rutherford appellation on the east side of the central valley near Silverado Trail. They sell fruit to other producers and also offer Scarlett Wines under their own, recently rebranded label. 

McGah Family operations are most notably known for co-founding the Bay area Oakland Raiders.  Sherratt Reicher is grandson of E.J. McGah, former Boston Red Sox player and second generation Oakland Raiders owner. Following a sports career as defensive assistant and scout for the Raiders, he formed the Hudson Companies in 2002 that includes Scarlett Wines and McGah Family Vineyards in its portfolio which he continues to manage to this day. The McGah family maintained its ownership in the Raiders until 2005. 

This is a monsterous big red with gripping mouth coating tannins, highlighted by bright vibrant sweet sprites. This was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate. It is named after the producer/founder's daughter.

By the time we arrived, there was only one bottle available for purchase, which when I tried to obtain it, I learned son Ryan already grabbed it, acquired as part of building a 2013 horizontal collection to commemorate son/grandson Reid's birthyear. This leads to that addage that the only thing better than having a (boat, plane) wine cellar, is having a friend with a (boat, plane) wine cellar!

Dark inky, blackish ruby purple colored, immense, full bodied, rich, chewy, firm, structured, complex core of sweet blackberry was accented by a layer of black raspberry, cassis, hints of mocha, touch of vanilla and sweet spicy oak. Despite its huge gripping tannins it was sensual, smooth and polished on the long long finish.

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2071763

http://www.scarlettwines.com/

http://vinchicago.com/ 

Two other highlights of this day's tasting were ...

La Rioja Alta "Viña Ardanza" Rioja Reserva 2007

Medium-full bodied, dark garnet colored, bright vibrant raspberry and bing cherry fruits accented by an uniquely interesting high note of vanilla and toasted coconut with hints of smoke, tobacco leaf and mocha on a firm smooth silky lingering tannins. 

RM 91

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2121959



Terrazas de los Andes "Las Compuertas" Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza Malbec 2011


More to come .. .