Sterling Napa Valley Merlot 1985

Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot 1985

Son Sean and wife Michelle came over for beef roast dinner and I pulled from the cellar this vintage aged birthyear wine for the occasion. We still hold numerous labels from Sean's vintage birthyear and several are getting beyond their optimal drinking window so they need to be consumed. This was one such wine. 

While today this label would not be considered a collectible for long term cellaring, we acquired it long ago when our cellar and tastes were less discriminating, and when it had some other intrinsic sentimental value. Sterling Vineyards was one of the estates we visited on one of our earliest visits to Napa Valley back in the early 1980's.

Sterling Vineyards was founded in 1964 by Peter Newton, an Oxford graduate with a diverse background in international business, and a former London Financial Times writer. His company, Sterling International, purchased the 50-acre parcel of established vineyards on the south edge of Calistoga in northern Napa Valley as a means of prestige and diversification. The locals dubbed it Sterling Vineyard.

Over the following years, Sterling International acquired more upper valley properties around St. Helena including Bear Flats of which the 87 acres vineyard, and Bothe Ranch, are two key vineyard sources for Sterling wines to this day. While Cabernet Sauvignon was the most popular varietal, Newton planted his new vineyards with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and the first major planting of Merlot in the Napa Valley, in addition to Cabernet Sauvignon - a move that was considered bold and innovative.

In 1968, he added the 70-acre, 300-foot knoll off Dunaweal Lane near Calistoga  on which he built a magnificent winery perched at the top of the hill. That was the year of the first Sterling Vineyards vintage-dated Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot, produced with recent University of California Davis graduate Ric Forman as winemaker. 

In 1969, they set upon building a striking Mediterranean-style white stucco winery complex in Greek Ionian architectural style that included a most unusual aerial tramway that carried guests from the parking lot to the winery on the knoll. Sterling Vineyards was formally opened to the public in September of that year at a gala benefit for the San Francisco Symphony. The new winery started production in 1972. To the right is a historic vintage label from 1975 showing the winery atop the knoll as seen from St Helena highway.

In 1977, Sterling Vineyards was purchased by Coca-Cola, followed by the purchase of Rutherford vineyards and the world-famous Diamond Mountain Ranch vineyard the following year. 

In 1983, Sterling Vineyards was purchased by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, the world's largest producer and marketer of distilled spirits and wines. Shortly thereafter we visited the property which was a showcase tourist destination in then nascent Napa Valley. 

In 1986, Sterling Vineyards purchased Rene de Rosa's prestigious 250-acre Carneros property, Winery Lake, and introduced 1986 Winery Lake Chardonay and Pinot Noir in 1988. Three Palms Merlot 1986 was also released for the first time that year. In 1989, winemaker Bill Dyer was awarded the Winemaker of the Year award by the Los Angeles Times. Sterling wines were high profile, highly acclaimed labels during that era. 

During this era, Sterling were one of our favorite drinking Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals and I recall acquiring this label and ordering it at restaurants as well. In later years, our holdings of Sterling tended to be the 'Three Palms Vineyard' Merlot and other single vineyard designated bottlings and Reserve labels.

In 1991, directed by master sommelier Evan Goldstein, they opened the School of Service and Hospitality at Sterling Vineyards, to provide education about wine, food, and service to consumers and professionals.

In 1995, they set upon a multi-million dollar expansion and modernization project including cave expansion and replanting projects throughout Sterling Vineyards' Napa Valley properties. Seagram's wine division was reorganized under the name Seagram Chateau & Estate Wines Company. 

The 1985 vintage was considered a top vintage for Napa Valley Bordeaux varietal wines. For the '85 vintage, the best Napa Valley Merlots were from Duckhorn, Cuvaison, St. Francis, Sterling, Matanzas, Shafer, Clos du Val, Clos du Bois Rombauer and Rutherford Hill according to Decanter Magazine.

Fruit for this vintage release of this label was sourced from the Sterling 120 acre Diamond Mountain Ranch vineyard, west of the town of Calistoga, near the top of the Diamond Mountain range at elevation from 1,700 to 2,000 feet, on the steep northern face of the Mayacamas Mountains. 

There, nearly vertical slopes, austere soils, and dry farming stress the vines planted, and when combined with the low-vigor volcanic soils that provide minimal nutrition, the results are small, intensely concentrated fruit clusters that make deeply pigmented, assertive wines with full body and rich tannins.

This release was a blend of 97% Merlot and  3% Cabernet Franc, both from the same estate Diamond Mtn Ranch vineyard. It was aged in smalll Nevers French Oak barrels.

Despite its age, at thirty-six years old, the fill level, cork, foil and label were in ideal condition. The wine, while past its prime was still holding on to some fruit and body and was still consumable. 

Brown hues were setting in to the color, the body was a bit flat and the dark berry fruits were giving way to non-fruit tones of wood, earth, tobacco and black tea. 

It was still enjoyable for the dinner and it was fun opening and sharing with son Sean. Notably this was our last bottle of this label, consumed while still drinkable, but in its waning days. 

RM 84 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=191994

https://www.sterlingvineyards.com/ 

Twomey Napa Valley Merlot 2002

Twomey Napa Valley Merlot 2002

For dinner, Linda prepared a casserole, warm comfort food, so I wanted a hearty big wine as an accompaniment but something more approachable than a big Cabernet. I pulled from the cellar this Twomey Napa Valley Merlot, from the 2002 vintage, old enough to show its true character and potential, but hopefully, not over the hill so as to lost its eminence and luster. It proved to be the right choice and an ideal match.  

This is sourced from the Napa Valley Soda Canyon Vineyard, the same vineyard source as a bottle we had with dinner just the other evening, so I was anxious to try this as a comparison to that selection too.  

I still remember we first discovered this label at Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington, Indiana while visiting son Alec there at Indiana University a decade ago. We ordered it off the winelist with dinner at what was considered the best restaurant in Bloomington during that era. Chef/owner David Tallent amassed nine James Beard Award nominations over the business’ 12-year history before closing in 2015.

Twomey was founded in 1999 by legendary Ray Duncan, founder of the well-known known and highly regarded Silver Oak, and sons David, and Tim Duncan. David served as the managing partner and today is Chairman and CEO of both Silver Oak and Twomey having joined Silver Oak in 2002. The name Twomey, (pronounced two-me) is named after their grandmother Velma’s maiden name and is also the middle name of several family members.

During the early years, they produced only Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard that they purchased in 1999, named for its location just off of Soda Canyon Road in south eastern Napa Valley. At the time, it was among the most expensive per vineyard acre transactions ever made in the Napa Valley. As prices for prime vineyard land escalated, in retrospect it was a very good investment.

The property was also planted to another Bordeaux varietal, Merlot. Daniel Baron, then Silver Oak winemaker, had worked at the prestigious Château Pétrus in Bordeaux and was very familiar with premium Merlot. Since Silver Oak was focused on and known solely for Cabernet Sauvignon, the decision to produce a Merlot based wine prompted the creation of an entire new label and brand, and eventually its own winery. The initial few vintages were crushed at Laird Family Estate (a custom crush winery north of the city of Napa).

Twomey Merlot is a single vineyard bottling sourced exclusively from the estate Soda Canyon Ranch, located in the benchlands of the Vaca Mountains of Napa Valley. Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard is the exclusive vineyard source for Twomey Merlot.

Today the Soda Canyon property is planted to the five classic Bordeaux varieties including French Merlot clones selected for their low yields of small, intensely flavored berries. Situated on the first bench off the Napa Valley floor on the lower foothills, the terrain consists of well-drained volcanic soils full of rocks mixed with gravel. The warm days are moderated by cool breezes wafting up from San Pablo bay and morning fog, Merlot grapes ripen slowly here, developing rich black-fruit character and extraordinary complexity.

Twomey also produce a premium Pinot Noir, first released with this vintage in 2002, and one white wine, Sauvignon Blanc, first released in 2007, created from several vineyards in both Napa and Sonoma, including a vineyard next to their winery in Calistoga, and from the vineyard next to Silver Oak estate in Oakville.

In 2011, Twomey entered into collaboration with Château Pétrus legend Jean-Claude Berrouet on Soda Canyon Ranch Merlot, combining Jean-Claude’s expertise and the terrior of Napa Valley, resulting in a blend of Old World and New, California’s fruit-forward style with the subtlety and restraint of Bordeaux. 

Twomey Napa Valley Merlot 2002

This release was awarded 94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 91 points by Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar.

This wine is typically close to 100% Merlot but invariably is blended with small amounts of other Bordeaux varieties (typically Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot). 

This vintage release was a blend of 99.4% Merlot and just a miniscule .6% of Cabernet Franc. 

The cork was dry and crumbled and broke in half on extraction (below). I hastily used the rabbit ears corkscrew which is best for recent releases and necessary for synthetic corks. I should've used an 'ahso' two pronged cork puller, which I usually do. I believe it would've extracted the cork intact, even in light of its deteriorated condition.

Dark garnet colored with a slight brownish tinge settling in suggesting this may be passing its apex, complex, concentrated, tight, structured blackberry and black currant and plum fruits with predominate notes of smoke, with tones of tobacco, black tea, herbs, cassis and hints of black pepper turning to a long firm tannin finish. 

RM 91 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=69683 

https://twomey.com/

@Twomey

 

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Merlot 1996

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Merlot 1996

Paradigm Ren Harris, Linda
and Rick, 1999

I opened this for drinking with leftover beef tenderloin from the weekend. We tasted and acquired this wine during a visit to the Paradigm Estate and vineyards with proprietors Ren and Marilyn Harris during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999. Ren and Marilyn had owned and operated various properties in Napa Valley since 1964 and purchased the Paradigm property in 1975. The '91 release was the inaugural vintage for Paradigm.

Paradigm Winery is in the Oakville appellation of Napa Valley. Owned and managed by Ren and Marilyn Harris, both of whom come from long-time Napa Valley families, they bought the 55 acres of vineyards vineyards in 1976 and began making wine in 1991. 

 

They hired winemaker Heidi Peterson Barrett in 1991 and she went on to become one of the area’s winemaking stars. The estate vineyards are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and Petite Verdot. The estate makes about 6,000 cases of wine a year. 

 

The vineyards are located a couple hundred yards west of Brix Restaurant and Piazza Del Dotto accessible from the north off Dwyer Road.  

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Estate Merlot 1996

The legendary Heidi Barrett has been winemaker at Paradigm since their first vintage back in 1991. That year they started producing their own wine from their own estate grown grapes instead of selling them to other producers.

A Napa Valley native and a graduate of UC Davis, Heidi went on to be winemaker for some of Napa Valley’s most highly-regarded and well known wineries. Her current wine projects include Amuse Bouche, Fantesca, Lamborn, Kenzo Estate, Au Sommet, Vin Perdu - as well as her own labels, La Sirena and Barrett & Barrett. She gained fame and notoriety working with Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Jones Family, Grace Family, Vineyard 29, David Arthur, Barbour Vineyards and Showket.

Winemaker Notes - Quite dark in color with deep ripe aromas of chocolate covered black cherries. Enticing fruit nose and layers of spice and toasty oak add up to a wonderful rich complex aroma profile. Flavors match the aromas in a mouth coating, textural, silky and tasty wine. This wine is loaded with aging potential.

Wine Spectator gave this 91 points and projected it would be best from 2000 through 2008.

While this is still drinking nicely at twenty four years, since our last tasting two years ago, it continues to show it age with further diminution of the balance and fruit. It has passed its prime and should be consumed over the next couple of years. 

Like the last opening, the cork was in fine condition but darkening to a tobacco color, there was ever-so-slight rust tinge color on the rim, and the fruits were starting to give way a bit to non-fruit tones of smoke, cedar, leather, tobacco and hints of creosote. It was still very enjoyable and holding on but needs to be consumed before it deteriorates too much further.

Garnet colored with the slight rust hue, medium bodied, blackberry flavors with tones of tart cherry and currant fruits, accents of cedar tobacco, leather and a hint of spice turning to herb accents on a lingering slightly tart acidic tannin finish.

RM 89 points, reduced from 91 points two years ago, aging diminution or perhaps bottles variation.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3252

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/03/paradigm-napa-valley-oakville-merlot.html

https://paradigmwinery.com/

Mt Veeder Napa Cab and Sicilian Blend for Italian Dinner

 Duo of Mt Veeder Napa Bordeaux Varietals and Unique Sicilian White Blend for Italian Dinner and Evening Tasting

With Sis Jan visiting from SoCal, we dined at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. We took BYOB from our cellar a Yates Mt Veeder Napa Cab from Yates Family Vineyards, a producer we visited together during our Napa Valley Mt Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. 

As mentioned, we visited Yates Family Vineyards located high on the upper slopes of Mt Veeder in the Mayacamas Mountains in the southwest corner of Napa Valley, in the Mount Veeder Appellation.

Yates have 35 acres of steep, hillside vineyards that were replanted in the early 1980s to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.  

The Yates vineyards sitting at the upper reaches of the mountain at an average elevation of over 1,100 feet, have site terroir that combines the altitude and its exposure and drainage with its microclimates and volcanic soils to produce incredible grapes with intense fruit flavors.  These elements all contribute to produce long-lived ageworthy wines from the estate vineyard.  

Proprietor Mike Yates, shown left, is aided by his daughter Whitney Yates Hanes, working together as Co-Winemakers to produce wines under the Yates label. 

They estate bottle standard Bordeaux varietal designated labels as well as a Reserve. They also produce a St Emilion style blend and a left bank Bordeaux blend Alden Perry Reserve named for family patriarch Mike's grandfather, Perry and father Alden, who shifted to the Bordeaux varietals in the early fifties, (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc). 

Yates labels are produced in small quantity of less about 200 cases, including this Estate Cabernet Sauvignon that we tasted this evening of which only 98 cases were produced.

Here we are, shown with Mary Yates and her husband Todd Jones who manages sales and marketing for Yates.

We drank this with the Angeli's special Sausage and Pepper Pasta in garlic with shaved brussel sprouts and crushed red pepper. As a post course it was an ideal complement to the Butternut Squash Gnocci with its brown sugar sauce.

Yates Family Mount Veeder Redwoods Estate Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 

The winemaker's notes on this release sum it up well. "Deep dark purple ruby in color shows the intensity of this varietal. Bold earthy aromas of eucalyptus, sweet cherry, blackberry, cedar stone, and bittersweet chocolate. Lusciously complex, this wine boasts of high toned fruits, cherries perfectly ripened in the sun, rose, leather, cinnamon, briar, wet stone with a hit of coriander. The finish is smooth and memorable."  

Wine Enthusiast gave this release 92 points in their September 2009 issue.

This was aged eighteen months in 35% new French oak.  

Producers notes on the 2006 vintage,  "2006 started off with heavy rains bringing in the New Year.  This wet weather lingered into spring. This caused the vines to grown energetically early, delaying bloom into June.  June’s weather started to warm, with dry conditions favoring fruit set.  July had some record heat which was followed by a moderate summer.  Harvest was delayed due to the wet spring and delayed bloom.  Total yield was slightly lower, with small berries that helped concentrate the flavors and enhance the fruit aromas creating intense wines with soft tannins for accessibility early but still possessing age ability for years to come."

At fourteen years of age, this is likely tasting at the apex of its drinking window. Tonight, this was consistent with our earlier tasting experience, dark deep inky purple color - complex and full bodied, the black berry and black cherry fruits were accented by dusty rose petals, tones of dark bittersweet chocolate, spice, and a layer of leather on a smooth tannin finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1106552 

https://www.yatesfamilyvineyard.com/

https://twitter.com/YatesFamilyWine 

@YatesFamilyWine 

As we did last week, once again, we ordered from the Angeli's wine list this interesting unique Italian white blend from Sicily. Both wines were sensational with this one an ideal accompaniment to the Angelis signature Boston Clam Chowder and the Butternut squash gnocci and Linda's entree, the Seared Ahi tuna.

Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2016

This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago. 

 

This wine is from the Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.

 

The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.

 

This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent grillo and 20 percent viognier.  

 

The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.

This was sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. 

Straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, apricot and citrus with tones of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

RM 91 points.

https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489

 Rubissow Mt Veeder Napa Valley Merlot 2006

 After dinner, back at home, we opened another label that we tasted and procured with Jan at the winery, Rubissow, high atop Mt Veeder during the same Napa Valley, Mt Veeder Appellation tour. 

We visited the Rubissow Estate and Vineyards, also high atop Mt Veeder and met proprietor, winemaker, producer George Rubissow.  The Rubissow hilltop vineyard is at the southern end of the Mt Veeder appellation looking south to Carneros with views in the distance of Mt Diablo to the west of San Francisco Bay and Mt Tamalpais in Marin to the north of the golden gate. 

The southern exposure and proximity to the San Pablo Bay moderates the climate of the site. 

 

From my earlier notes in a previous blogpost, "my recollection of this wine was the profile of the Yates Fleur de Veeder that we tasted next to this as reviewed above - full bodied with rich extracted fruit. Tonight this was leaner and lighter than I remembered and hence expected. I am looking ahead to trying this again as we still have a half case in the cellar."

Tonight's tasting was consistent with that earlier experience, this showed dark garnet purple color, medium body with black berry fruits, slightly tart black cherry with a hints of spice, tobacco, touch of mocha and coffee bean. 

This was a bit flabby and lacked structure and therefor was a bit underwhelming, perhaps due to comparison with the bigger, bolder, brighter Yates, reviewed above.

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=872497

https://www.rubissowwines.com/ 

https://twitter.com/RubissowWines 

@RubissowWines

Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot 2015

 Michel Rolland Crafted Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot 2015 for Grilled Beefsteak Dinner

Son Alec flew in from NYC to attend son Sean's, his brother's bachelor party and we celebrated the reunion with a hearty grilled beefsteak dinner including tomahawk rib-eye steaks. We selected from the cellar this Long Shadows Pedestal crafted by legendary winemaker Michel Rolland for the occasion. 

 Linda prepared beefsteaks prepared in our favorite Pittsburgh-style (charred with hot pink center) with baked potatoes, haricot verts, sweet corn and an iceberg wedge salad with fresh tomatoes and blue cheese. I must say this is a classic midwest summer dinner. During the years that we lived in Silicon Valley, California, I missed good steak, sweet corn and beefy sweet tomatoes! I often say, California (in this case, Washington State) do the grapes, and Indiana/Illinois the beef, corn and tomatoes!

Alec turned us on to the Michel Rolland own-label crafted from fruits from the notable Tokalon Vineyard in Napa Valley - (source for many ultra-premium labels including Opus). He had that wine with soon-to-be father-in-law Frank B. We researched the label and picked up a highly allocated three pack which I shared with fellow Pour Boy Dr Dan, and son Ryan for their cellars. We'll look forward to indulging in that super-premium label. 

Long Shadows Vintners' Collection 

I have written in these pages about Long Shadows, the brand portfolio of several labels, all crafted by world famous winemakers from fruits sourced in the Washington State Columbia Valley. This was the vision of Allen Shoup, former CEO of Chateau St Michelle, champion and evangelist for Washington State wines. He formed the brand and recruited a world famous winemaker for each varietal based label. Michel Rolland, Pomerol vintner and consultant to many of the world’s top wineries, was selected to produce this Right Bank Bordeaux Blend wine. He is the 'Master of Merlot', winemaker to some of the leading Bordeaux labels from the Right Bank where Merlot is the predominant varietal in the blend as well as the Napa based Merlot based Red Blend release cited herein. 

We've long known about the brand and joined their club while visiting their tasting room hospitality center in Woodinville WA during our Seattle Wine / Dine Experience in 2018. We remain Vault Club Members of the allocated portfolio and get a case each quarter of two of the varietal based selections including this Pedestal label.

Long Shadows Pedestal Red Blend (Merlot) 2015

The blend is a Right Bank Bordeaux composition, 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon,  8% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.  The production was 2,365 cases. 

The grapes for the 2015 Pedestal were sourced from several top, notable Columbia Valley vineyards, the Wahluke Slope’s Weinbau and Stone Tree Vineyards dominate the blend and give Pedestal its aromatics, bright fruit, texture and fine tannins. Conner Lee Vineyard adds richness, and Dionysus Vineyard grapes build complexity in the wine.

The winemaker's notes for this release sum it up perfectly: "The 2015 Pedestal offers vibrant aromas of black cherry and ripe blackberries with accents of vanilla and freshly roasted coffee. Expressive and lively on entry, with a richly textured mid-palate and layers of huckleberry, bittersweet chocolate and oak spice that stretch across a lengthy finish." 

I note that at five years, this is still early in its tasting window and should continue to age gracefully for a few more years to integrate more and gain more balance and lose some of its still youthful astringency. It is dark inky garnet colored, medium full bodied, strong aromatics erupt from the bottle upon releasing the cork, bright tangy astringent black berry fruits with sprites of bittersweet dark mocha chocolate, spicy oak and notes of vanilla tobacco and expresso on the lengthy soft tannin finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2777749

http://www.longshadows.com 

@LongShadowsWine

 

 

Del Dotto Napa Valley Merlot 1997

Del Dotto Napa Valley Merlot 1997

We tasted and acquired this wine at the winery upon its release back in 1999 during our Napa Wine Experience 1999. This was the beginnings of our extensive cellar collection of Del Dotto estate wines dating back to their early years, that today spans more than a dozen labels. Del Dotto has grown from their 13 acre estate on Hwy 29 and Zinfandel Lane on the south edge of St Helena, the site of Del Dotto Winery Caves, to dozens of labels sourced from over 400 acres of vineyard sources across a dozen vineyard sites Napa and Sonoma Counties.

R&L with Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto at TraVigna, 1999

Over the past three years, we've visited the Del Dotto Rutherford Estate and Caves in St Helena and the Piazza Del Dotto Estate Culinary experience - both were highlights of our Napa Valley tours those years. 

In that year, 1999, Del Dotto first introduced their renowned barrel tastings in one of Napa Valley’s oldest caves at Historic Del Dotto over in the southeast corner of Napa Valley near the bottom of the Silverado Trail. Today, they have cave cellar tours at three different locations.

That 1997 vintage was heralded as top rated with promise to release long lived high quality wines. I've written often in these pages how that vintage was tight and closed and took several years to reveal its potential while at times it was overshadowed by the much panned lesser '98 release.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Merlot 1997

This '97 Merlot at 23 years shows the longevity of that vintage as it showed well and still revealed body, structure and fruit flavors, albeit showing its age as the fruit is starting to give way to the non-fruit leather and tobacco notes.

The label, foil and cork were in perfect condition and the fill level of the bottle was ideal - all indicators of the conditions of our cellar being suitable for long term aging of fine wine.

Winemaker Notes - The wine is dark purple in color, jammy, berry aromas, with soft approachable tannins, other flavors include cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa powder.

Dark purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, the firm black berry and black cherry fruits are slowly declining giving way to the non-fruit leather and tobacco notes, accented by notes of cinnamon spice, cedar and cassis, with moderate soft approachable tannins on the tangy lingering finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=12936

@DelDottoWine

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Blend 2015

Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Blend 2015

Dining outdoors at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria, we took BYOB from our signature producer for such occasions, this Bordeaux Blend from Napa Valley producer Del Dotto. Readers of these pages know we have been collecting Del Dotto dating back to their inaugural vintage release in 1993 and still hold decades of vintage release of more than a dozen labels - one of the largest producer holdings in our cellar collection.

We tasted and acquired this vintage release during our Del Dotto Winery Caves Tour during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017.

Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Blend 2015

This Del Dotto Caves Blend label is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot.

At five years of age, this has improved with some aging and is more integrated and balanced than in its youth. Dark purple garnet colored, medium-full bodied, bright vibrant, nicely integrated and balanced black berry and black raspberry fruits with tangy notes of clove spice and hints of bitter dark chocolate turning to cloying tannins on an lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

Winemakers' notes for this release: "Dark garnet color with a bright bouquet of sweet blueberries, wet rock and fresh cut violets & flowers. Earthy flavors with hints of clove and all spice. This wine has a long, balanced finish with a kiss of oak."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-tour-barrel_12.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2381300

http://www.deldottovineyards.com/

@DelDottoWine 

Twomey Napa Valley Merlot 2004

Twomey Cellars Napa Valley Merlot 2004

For midweek sipping with artisan cheeses and fresh fruits, I pulled from the cellar this Napa Valley Merlot. I still remember that we first discovered and tasted this label when we ordered it from the winelist at Uptown Cafe in Bloomington, Indiana while visiting son Alec attending Indiana U there. My online Wine Journal Index then says we tasted this in 2009 at a Board Meeting dinner at Champaign Country Club in Champaign, IL, ironically, home of another Big-Ten school, University of Illinois.

Twomey Cellars has wineries in Calistoga and Healdsburg and vineyards in Napa Valley and in Russian River Valley. The winery was established in the late 1990s when brothers David and Tim Duncan, who with their father Ray Duncan, owned the legendary Silver Oak Cellars, purchased a vineyard in the Soda Canyon Ranch area of southeastern Napa Valley. In 2000 they acquired a 9-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

Twomey's winemaker is Daniel Baron who learned to make wine working with some of the greatest winemakers and cellarworkers in Pomerol and St. Emilion in the Right Bank of Bordeaux where Merlot is the primary varietal. Twomey is known primarily for Merlot, sourced from the single vineyard in Soda Canyon, but they also produce some Pinot Noir, sourced from their Russian River Valley property, and Sauvignon Blanc.

The winemaker's notes on the 2004 Twomey Merlot; "an elegant, concentrated wine that balances delicacy and expression of fruit. It has a dark ruby color and a complex nose of black cherry, raspberry, violets and dark chocolate, with hints of lightly toasted bread. It offers multiple layers of cherry liqueur, toffee, chocolate and amaretto flavors, culminating in a long fruity finish".

This is a blend of 94% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc.

Dark ruby colored, medium-full bodied, forward somewhat obtuse flavors of black berry and black cherry fruits with tangy acidic notes of cassis, tobacco leaf, tea and bitter mocha chocolate.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=275887

https://twomey.com/

Long Shadows Duo Showcase Katy Business Dinner

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Duo - Pirouette and Pedestal Showcase Katy Business Dinner

Traveling to Katy (Tx) for a team and partner meeting, we dined at The Cellar Door for a partner teaming dinner. We selected the venue based on their menu, wine selection, and ambiance and atmosphere suitable for a secluded business dinner. What we took for granted and didn't account for was slow, inattentive and bordering on inept service.

The site was ideal for our dinner discussions, the soup and salads were excellent and the menu selection options were ideal. The winelist offered an ideal imaginative and well assembled selection to accompany our dinner entrees.

The evening would have been perfect if we could have gotten basic table services - water refills, timely food delivery, and coordinated serving of the food with wine service to accompany our food selections.

Our first choice from the wine list was not available. Secondarily then, for the steak entrees I ordered a couple wines from the Long Shadows Vintners Collection - Pirouette and Pedestal.

I've written in these pages about Long Shadows and their collection of notable legendary winemakers selected to produce a signature wine sourced from Washington State vineyards.

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Pirouette 2016

The 2016 Pirouette is made by Philippe Melka, named one of the top nine winemakers in the world by Robert Parker, selected to produce this signature label for the Winemakers Collection.

We have long been fans of  Philippe Melka and his signature labels Matisse and 'CJ', named for his children.

While we had owned the various labels over the years, we really discovered Long Shadows at the Long Shadows Wine Cellars tasting room during our Woodinville Wine Experience. We joined their club and have been taking regular shipments of the collection ever since. They provide remarkable wines at great value relative QPR.

Philippe Melka, widely recognized as one of the leading craftsmen of his trade, graduated from the University of Bordeaux, France, where he received a degree in geology in 1989.  After taking a course in Terroir and Viticulture, he aspired to become a winemaker. After earning a second degree in Agronomy and Enology, he applied what he learned working at prestigious wineries in Australia, Italy, California and France, including some of the world's most revered producers, Petrus, Haut Brion and Dominus, among others.

In Napa Valley, Melka honed his craft while contributing to the production of several highly acclaimed wines from a number of the most elite estates including Marston, Seavey, Constant, Lail, Bryant Family, Caldwell, Quintessa, Hundred Acre, and Vineyard 29.

Today, Philippe Melka and his wife, Cherie, reside at Melka Cellars in Napa Valley. Cherie is an accomplished wine professional and laboratory manager at Silver Oak.

Long Shadows Pirouette, crafted by Melka, is a Bordeaux Style Red Blend of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec, sourced from leading vineyards in Columbia Valley in Central Washington State.

The Cabernet Sauvignon is from Red Mountain Vineyards, manifested in this wine in the structure and textured richness characterized by the grapes from this acclaimed growing region. From the Dionysus Vineyard, Petit Verdot adds layers of complex aromas and flavors. The remainder of the blend is from select Wahluke Slope vineyards. The Merlot brings juicy richness to the finished wine; Cabernet Franc adds a hint of earthiness; and Malbec contributes appealing spice and beautiful color.

Critic Jeb Dunnuck gave the 2016 Pirouette 97 Points calling it "a total blockbuster, .... deep, rich, opulent red that has sweet tannins, a thrilling texture, no hard edges, and a monster finish. This is another best-to-date from this estate and it's an awesome wine." 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, elegantly polished, smoothly textured, a symphony of finely integrated layers of ripe blackberry and black cherry accented by notes of dark chocolate, cassis, spice and a nice complement of oak with silky tannins and soft mouthfeel on a lingering vibrant finish.

RM 94 points. 

For our second wine of the evening, I selected another Bordeaux varietal from the Long Shadows Vintners Collection, Pedestal Merlot.

Long Shadows Vintners Collection Pedestal Columbia Valley Merlot 2014

Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot is crafted by Michel Rolland , considered to be one of the most influential winemakers in the world.  A graduate of the esteemed Bordeaux Faculty of Oenology, he operates out of his laboratory in Pomerol, France and consults for over 100 vintners and vineyards worldwide, producing wines with an alluring style recognized as the “Rolland Method”.

Rolland has partnership interests around the globe, including his involvement with Long Shadows Vintners.  From his home in Pomerol in the Bordeaux region, he owns and manages a number of holdings and fine wine estates including Chateau Le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol, Chateau Bertineau Saint-Vincent in Lalande-de-Pomerol, Chateau Rolland-Maillet in Saint-Emilion, and Chateau Fontenil in Fronsac.  In addition, Michel manages the Chateau La Grande Clottee in Lussac-Saint-Emilion under a vineyard lease system.

The 2014 Pedestal is a Bordeaux Blend of 81% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. The blend consists of equal parts Merlot from three distinct vineyards from Washington State Columbia Valley: Conner Lee Vineyard brings dark cherry flavors; Dionysus Vineyard adds to the wine’s elegant mouthfeel and deep color; The Benches Vineyard Merlot contributes refined texture. Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from Taptiel Vineyard gives the wine its richness and structure. Weinbau Cabernet Franc provides an added layer of complexity and character.

The 2014 Pedestal was awarded 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 92 points by Stephen Tanzer.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, it has concentrated ripe blackberry and black currant fruit flavors with subtle notes of floral, spice, mocha and hints of tobacco and anise with moderate tannins on the smooth soft velvety finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2503950

https://longshadows.com/

For a finale we ordered this SA Cabernet Franc to close out the courses.

Achával Ferrer Mendoza Cabernet Franc 2015 

This is a single-variety blend from different regions, combining the essence of Luján de Cuyo, Medrano and and Tupungato in the Uco Valley, with a small percentage from Perdriel. It aged for one year in used French oak barrels.

Deep ruby color. Aromas of black cherries, juicy plums, along with tobacco leaf, menthol, sweet roses, coffee and cedar. Impressive structure on the palate, full-bodied and velvety but grip on the tannins, medium acidity. Black cherries and crunchy plum fruit mixes well with cocoa, coffee, spiced black tea, tobacco. Complexity and depth is impressive, but this is still an accessible and friendly wine.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, bright black fruits, notes of tobacco leaf, olive, black tea, coffee and hint of pepper  with lively acidity and fine tannins.

RM 88 points.

It was Rated 90 by Wine Advocate

http://www.achaval-ferrer.com/eng/index.php

https://www.cellardoorkaty.com/

Bogle Merlot Cugino's Italian Lansing Michigan

Bogle Merlot at Cugino's Italian Dining in Grand Ledge, (Lansing) Michigan

Visiting client State of Michigan in Capital city Lansing, we dined in nearby town of Grand Ledge at local favorite, Cugino’s Italian Restaurant.

I ordered the Fettuccine Florentine,  Fettuccine alfredo sautéed with spinach, combined with mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan cheese, spices and topped with grilled chicken.

From the modest winelist I ordered BTG (by the glass) Bogle Merlot, a classic reliable California high QPR (quality price ratio) Central Valley and it was a perfect complement to the entree. A delightful dining experience in a lively setting and great value pricing.

Bogle California Merlot 2016

From Bogle Vineyards, located in Clarksburg situated minutes from Sacramento in the California Central Valley, this offers great value and good reliable every day drinking at this pricepoint. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, moderate berry fruits accented by tones of mocha, tobacco, cedar and hints of oak in this basic moderate pleasant sipper.

Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator both give this 86 points.

RM 86 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3022763

Cugino’s Italian Restaurants
 

Andretti Montona Reserve Merlot 2015

Andretti Winery Montona Reserve Merlot 2015

We visited Andretti Winery in southeast Napa Valley during our Napa Wine Experience in 2018. We discovered the Andretti estate while visiting the Lewis Cellars winery which is across the road, during our Napa Wine Experience in 2017.

How ironic, the two Indianapolis Race Car drivers that have wine interests are almost adjacent to each other in Napa Valley - Mario Andretti and Randy Lewis. Notably, both source all or much of their fruit for their wines from leased property or contract growers.

This label is from the Montona Reserve brand, the high end premium line of the Andretti portfolio. The line is named for the Italian village of Montona, the hometown of the Andretti family.

Actually, Andretti was born in Croatia, like another famous Napa ‘vintner’ Mike Grgich.

Andretti Winery was established in 1996 by the famed race car driver, Mario Andretti. It is a joint venture project with Joe Antonini, former CEO of Kmart, who was one of Mario’s sponsors during his racing days.

The winery is located about 10 minutes north of downtown Napa, on Big Ranch Road, midway between the Silverado Trail and Highway 29.

The property is actually owned by the Laird Family, prominent growers and producers. Andretti leases the winery on site as well as the tasting room. Andretti also leases about 42 acres surrounding the winery, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. They also purchase grapes from other growers from select vineyards around Napa Valley.

The estate site is in the Napa Valley Oak Knoll District in the southeast corner of the valley, which is somewhat cooler as it gets some effect from the San Pablo Bay to the south, when compared to the warmer areas up valley.

The Andretti Winery features a small faux Italian/Tuscan building and courtyard with picturesque fountains and landscaping. There is a small cottage, patios and lawns that are available for small private tastings and picturesque grounds which would be ideal for an event or outing.

The tasting room offers the extensive lineup of Andretti wines. We were hosted by Jeff (shown) who was knowledgeable about the wines and Napa Valley generally as he is has a long history and is well connected in Napa Valley being a decendent and relative cousin of the Yates Family up on Mt Veeder, if I recall correctly.

Andretti also produce several brands under the Andretti label including their Napa Valley Series (wines that are not vineyard designates), the Villa Andretti Series (reasonably priced limited production wines that focus on Italian varieties (wines not often found in the Napa Valley), and the Montona Series (named after Mario’s childhood home in Italy featuring very their most premium limited production wines).

We actually joined the wine club which provides access to the facilities and an allotment of the Montona Series of semi-premium wines throughout the year. We have fun serving the Andretti Montona label to our fellow native Hoosiers who appreciate the Indy 500 connection. 

Andretti Montona Reserve Merlot 2015

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bold, elegant, nicely polished and balanced black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of floral, cassis, tobacco leaf and spice with hints of earth, black pepper and pomegranate turning to pronounced but approachable tannins on a lingering finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3159360

https://andrettiwinery.com/

Uriah Spring Valley Vineyard Red Wine 2008

Uriah Spring Valley Vineyard Walla Walla Red Wine 2008

During our appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region last autumn, we visited the Spring Valley Vineyard tasting room in downtown Walla Walla, then ventured out to the vineyards and winery northeast of town. There, we met Dean Derby patriarch, and husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancestor and co-owner of the family business. Meeting Mr. Derby was one of the highlights of our Walla Walla Wine Experience. 

Spring Valley Vineyard produces wine from 100% estate-grown fruit, a relative rarity in Washington.

Washington State and regional powerhouse Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates purchased the winery and the brand from the Derby family, but they continues to own and operate the vineyards.

We own close to a decade of vintages of this label, the first that we discovered of the portfolio of wines, all named for a member of the Corkrum family dating back to the founder Uriah Corkrum for which this label is named.

Spring Valley Vineyards Wines Portfolio
labels named for Corkrum Family Members

Current vineyard owner Shari Corkrum, is Uriah Corkrum's grand-daughter. He began farming in the area and acquired the land now known as Spring Valley in 1910.

Shari and Dean Derby planted the first grapes at Spring Valley in 1993 and the first vintage of Estate grown and bottled Spring Valley Vineyard wines were produced with the 1999 vintage.

All the wines are named for ancestral members of the family going back to Uriah, his son Frederick and others.



Uriah Spring Valley Vineyard Walla Walla Red Wine 2008

This label is a Merlot based blend of Bordeaux varietals, the 2008 vintage is a blend of 53% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. This was aged for 18 months in 60% new French oak.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied,  black raspberry and black currant fruits accented by cedar, tobacco, notes of licorice and cinnamon spice.

RM 90 points.  

This received 93 points from Wine Spectator and 89 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1017181

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/
 




 

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Merlot 1996

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Merlot 1996

Home, Friday night after an incredibly busy and hectic week, I was looking forward to relaxing with a nice glass of wine. Mindful of cellar management, to open an older bottle late, approaching, or even past it's drinking window, lest it deteriorate or diminish for future enjoyment, I pulled this 1996 Napa Valley Merlot from Paradigm.  

Ren Harris, Linda and Rick.
back in 1999

We tasted and acquired this wine during a visit to the Paradigm Estate and vineyards with proprietors Ren and Marilyn Harris during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999. Ren and Marilyn had owned and operated various properties in Napa Valley since 1964 and purchased the Paradigm property in 1975. The '91 release was the inaugural vintage for Paradigm.

The fifty-five acre property lies in the Oakville appellation and consists of fifty acres of vineyards planted in Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the beginning, with  Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot being added a few years later.
 
We still hold nearly a case of the Paradigm Cabernets we acquired at that time.  We held a mini vertical (series of vintages of the same label) spanning vintages from 1991 up to 2004. We've consumed all our vintages from 1991 thru 1994 but still hold nearly a decade of vintages.

Paradigm wines are all Estate bottled, meaning all the grapes are sourced from their fifty acres of vineyards there on the property. The Paradigm winemaker is the legendary Heidi Barrett who has been there since the beginning.

Tonight, we opted for this Merlot for slightly more casual sipping. We enjoyed this with a selection of artisan cheeses including the remains of the vintage aged 21 year old sharp cheddar from our OTBN tasting a couple weeks ago, and some marinated beef roast which was an ideal pairing combination.

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Estate Merlot 1996

This is still drinking nicely at twenty two years, starting to show it age with only slight diminution, but past its prime and so time to starting consuming whats left in the cellar over the next couple of years. The cork was in fine condition but darkening to a tobacco color, there was ever-so-slight rust tinge color on the rim, and the fruits were starting to give way a bit to non-fruit tones of leather and tobacco. It was still very enjoyable and holding its own nicely.

Garnet colored with the slight rust hue, medium bodied, blackberry flavors with tones of cherry and currant fruits, accents of tobacco, leather and a hint of spice turning to floral accents on a lingering smooth tannin finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3252

https://paradigmwinery.com/

Northstar Merlot 2008 for Casual Wine and Cheese Sipping

Northstar Merlot 2008 for Casual Wine and Cheese Sipping

For casual sipping wine with some cheese during the midweek, I pulled from the cellar this Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot. We've been drinking this label for more than a decade for reasonable QPR casual sipping for a Bordeaux varietal. We gained increased appreciation for labels such as this from our two trips to Washington State this summer where we explored and discovered several Bordeaux varietals from the Columbia Valley that provide high quality at reasonable prices relative to their California or Old World, French peers.

We passed by or near Northstar Winery during our recent Walla Walla Wine Experience 2018 and will definitely schedule a visit there on our next visit to the area. 

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008

According to my Cellartracker records for this label, we hold a dozen and half bottles from eight different vintages dating back to the milenium. I normally would pull from the older or oldest vintages in such cases for effective cellar vintage management. Tonight, I simply selected the label and pulled a bottle when I saw I still had multiple bottles from the vintage.

I opened several cheeses and crackers to accompany the wine and found the old aged sharp cheddar to go especially well, as well as he creamy havarti.

Tonight's tasting was fairly consistent with my last tasting note for this wine which was six years ago back in 2012, when I wrote:

"This 2008 is a bit tight and closed, not as smooth, polished and fruit filled as some earlier vintages of this wine that I remember - perhaps due to its age or period in its aging profile. This is medium to full bodied, with dark inky color, this is a bright, balanced wine with notes of black cherry, tobacco, spice box and nut leading to a long, smoky moderate tannin finish."

Tonight's rating, RM 88 points is consistent with what I gave it back at that time.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1210721

https://www.northstarwinery.com/