Aged twenty five year old St Jean Cinq Cepage

Aged twenty five year old St Jean Cinq Cepage Red Bordeaux Blend with meatloaf 

Linda prepared meatloaf with cooked carrots and mashed potatoes - one of my favorite ‘comfort food’ meals. 

I pulled from the cellar a vintage aged Bordeaux Blend from a legendary Sonoma Valley producer. 

I remember Cinq Cepages (Five Flavors or varieties) was one of our go-to California Bordeaux Blends that we felt had huge QPR - Quality Price Ratio, at about $25 or less. Then, the 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages was Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 1999. James Laube wrote in Wine Spectator “A Happy Reunion With a Wine of the Year - Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages 1996, in 2010, “With a 95-point rating, 11,000 cases made and a $28 price tag, it was one of the easier picks we’ve made over the years.” With 11,000 cases made, it was readily available and easy to obtain, yet, over-night the price escalated substantially, and didn’t recover for several years until the market ‘normalized’ and settled into the new price-point. I guess that is the case each year with the anointed #1. In any event, this remains a nice reasonably priced Bordeaux Blend based on Sonoma fruits. 

Later the 1999 vintage release went on to be named the Wine Spectator number two. The Chateau St Jean winemaker Margo Van Staaveren was also lauded as winemaker of the year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in 2008. 

We hold a couple cases of this label spanning three decades. While this isn’t the oldest vintage held (that would be the 1994), I selected it hoping it to be a ‘Goldilocks’ bottle, not too old, (so as to be undrinkable, or past its drinking window, but not too young, so as to be sufficiently aged to have settled and allowed the blend to integrate). But, I was trying to consume some of the older vintages as part of cellar inventory management. In the end, it was past its prime drinking window, showing some diminution of the fruits from age, but still approachable, but time to drink up in the near term. 

We have visited the picturesque historic chateau, built in the 1920s by Ernest and Maude Goff, surrounded by vineyards in Kenwood, Sonoma Valley, several times over the years. It’s always a highlight of the Sonoma Valley producer sites. The original building was refurbished and listed in the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

We tasted and obtained the then current release of this label as part of a Reserve wine flight pairing at the Chateau St Jean estate during our Sonoma Napa Wine Experience back in 2017.  I featured that tasting in a blogpost in these pages at the time - July 30, 2017 - Chateau St Jean Sonoma Reserve Private Tasting. 

Our Pour Boys 2017 Sonoma Napa Wine Experience started on the Sonoma Coast and worked east along the Russian River Valley ending up in Sonoma Valley at one of its crown jewel estates, Chateau St Jean. 

The Chateau St Jean estate is one of the most picturesque and authentic in the Sonoma Valley and is more civil and hospitable than some of the garish ostentatious properties in the more highly commercialized Napa Valley. This was a perfect buffer and transition from the more relaxed Sonoma County to the Valley as we transitioned to spend the coming week in Napa (Valley).

Private tastings are held in the cottage across the courtyard from the hospitality center. 

We've visited the estate and done tastings there numerous other times over the years. Sonoma Harvest '09 - Chateau St Jean and again Sonoma Valley Wine Experience 2009 - Chateau St Jean, and that Chateau St Jean Sonoma Reserve Private Tasting back in 2017.  

Chateau St. Jean "Cinq Cépages" Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast, 92 points by Wine Spectator and 17.5/20 points by Jancis Robinson (on her twenty point scale, which frankly I like better).  All these tastings and ratings were from 2004 to 2007, hence nearing two decades old. 

Winemaker Notes - “Cinq Cépages ("Five Varieties") is a Bordeaux-style blend consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Each component is aged separately for two years in small French oak barrels before blending. Once the wine is assembled, it spends six months in the bottle before release.”

At twenty five years, the label and foil were pristine, the important fill level and cork were still ideal. The cork was still intact, firm and moist, and surrendered uniformly using a ‘Ahso’ two pronged cork puller (as shown in photo above). 

Garnet colored, medium bodied, complex concentrated dark berry, cherry and plum fruits, starting to give way to non fruit leather and smoke and dried fruit notes, still clinging to notes of oak, sweet herbs, cocoa and spice with approachable soft tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 87 points, indicating diminished fruit at twenty five years. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/33235

https://www.chateaustjean.com/

BV Tapestry 2001 With Artisan Cheese

BV Tapestry 2001 With Artisan Cheese

For some casual sipping with some artisan cheeses, I pulled from the cellar this vintage aged Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend from a historic iconic producer. 

Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Tapestry Reserve 2001

This iconic label Tapestry Reserve is from the iconic historic Napa Valley producer Beaulieu Vineyards, that dates back to 1900. French founder Georges de Latour initially bought a small, four-acre property in the town of Rutherford as a surprise for his wife. The land eventually became the foundation for Beaulieu Vineyards. The producer survived Prohibition by having one of a handful of contracts to supply churches with sacramental wine. After Prohibition the winery grew and continued to thrive, experimenting with varietals, blends and aging. Under the direction of the legendary André Tchelistcheff, the winery became one of California's preeminent producers.

Tchelistcheff, trained as a wine master in France, shaped the character of BV’s wines during the 1950s and 1960s. Today the winery is famous the breadth and depth of its portfolio, anchored by its flagship, BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve, but also includes, besides Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel.

The landmark Beaulieu Vineyards estate winery sits prominently on Napa Valley Highway 29 in Rutherford. It has grown to one of the pre-eminent Napa Valley producers, through acquisition of vineyards in other parts of Napa Valley, the winery owns 1,029 acres and produces a total of 750,000 bottles a year.

I’ve written about Beaulieu Vineyards and the Tapestry Reserve label often in these pages, notably in this more detailed feature back in 2023 - BV Tapestry with Beef bourguignon.

We hold nearly two  dozen vintages of this popular label going back to a few remaining bottles of a full case acquired from the highly acclaimed 1997 vintage. Interesting that that vintage was uniquely packaged in a premium heavier, slightly larger bottle than all the others. It consistently offers sophisticated drinking for a high QPR - Quality Price Ratio, often rivaling the much more expensive flagship label. We strive to keep this label in stock, replenishing consumed bottles with current vintage releases for reliable, quality, sophisticated wine to pair with grilled beefsteak, or enjoyable sipping such as this.  

This label dates back to its inaugural release in 1990, Tapestry Reserve is a tribute to the producer’s French heritage and the classic world renowned Bordeaux blends and Clarets. It is sourced from a selection of specific vineyard blocks of top-quality grapes that give Tapestry “the combined attributes of terroir expression and a round, approachable tannin structure”.

About half of the Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the western benchland of the Rutherford American Viticultural Area (AVA), and the balance from the Calistoga, Howell Mountain and St Helena AVAs. 

It also contains in the traditional Bordeaux Blend, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, all sourced exclusively from BV estate vineyards in Calistoga, Knights Valley, Rutherford and Yountville. Also, Cabernet Franc, added to lend complexity, depth and “intrigue”, comes from Howell Mountain.

At twenty-four years, this label, foil, and most importantly the cork and fill level were still pristine. I selected this older vintage as part of cellar inventory management, drinking an older vintage before it wanes from diminution of aging past its prime drinking window. It was a pleasant surprise that this turned out to be a Goldilocks bottle, not too young, not too old, still at the apex of its drinking window/profile. 

We already had opened a couple artisan cheeses from earlier in the week which were a nice pairing with crackers and the wine. Especially good pairing was the Murray’s Jarlsberg. 

Beaulieu Vineyard "Tapestry Reserve" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2001 

This release was rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast back in 2004.

Winemaker Joel Aiken said, “A lovely wine, one that is more accessible than Private Reserve, but the tannins suggest ageability.” 

Winemaker Notes - “Dark ruby in color, the Tapestry's aromas evoke scents of black cherry, herbs, vanilla-oak and some black pepper. Medium-full bodied, the wine's fruit flavors are at the forefront; cherry and blackcurrant, followed by nuances of licorice, dark chocolate and peppercorn. Fleshy yet backed by firm, ripe tannins, the finish shows some torrefaction notes from the oak now, but should evolve gracefully with 4-7 years in the bottle.”

Dark garnet colored, medium-full-bodied, complex and nicely integrated, smooth, polished, elegant, black currant fruits are highlighted by notes of mocha chocolate, black tea, coffee and herbs with hints of licorice, with soft silky tannins on the graceful finish for very pleasant drinking. This exceeded my expectations. Wish I had more of this, Would be fabulous with a grilled beefsteak! 

RM 92 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/191504

https://www.bvwines.com/

Vintage Dunn Napa Cab at Family Reunion Dinner

Vintage Dunn Napa Cab at Family Reunion Dinner 

Sister Jan and nieces Krysta and Jenna visited from Southern California for a holiday visit and mini-family reunion as part of Krysta traveling to the time zone for a wedding. 

Braving the cumulative seventeen inches of recent snowfall and single digit temperatures, we used the occasion to bring the kids/cousins together for a gala mini family reunion dinner.  

Linda prepared hearty comfort food including Sharko’s Beef Brisket, Mac-n-Cheese, Baked Beans and Scalloped Potatoes.

I pulled from the cellar some special, vintage aged wines from producers that we have visited together in Napa Valley over the years. 

We turned to another iconic producer and label of which we also have a long history, including estate visits with Sister Jan and Bro-in-law Bill. These visits prompted them to serve these wines at daughter Krysta’s wedding celebration - featured in these pages in this blogpost -  Diamond Creek, Dunn, Craig Napa Big Reds Highlight Gala Wedding Celebration Dinner.

Dunn Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

This Napa Cab is from legendary producer Randy Dunn. We visited theDunn Family Vineyards estate and vineyards during our Napa Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience back in 2008. We were hosted by Kristina Dunn that day but we had the privilege to meet winemaker, producer, patriarch and Napa Valley pioneer Randy Dunn. 

We have been collecting their wines since the early ‘80’s  and hold two dozen vintages of this label spanning three decades. While not one of the larger holdings in our cellar in terms of number of bottles, it may be one of our broadest holdings in terms of number of vintages in our vertical collection of this label, and the flagship premium label Dunn Howell Mtn Cab. We also collect Randy Dunn's "Feather" label that he produces for the Long Shadows Vintners Collection Series in Washington State.

This is the Dunn's standard Napa Valley bottling which is supposedly more 'accessible' earlier on than their legendary Howell Mountain bottling. This is 85% estate Howell Mountain fruit, but blended with 15% Napa fruit for earlier drinking. 

Randy Dunn wines are notable for their long lives and this is certainly testament to that. At 13.8% alcohol, this is an old school style Cabernet. This was showing no signs of diminution from aging whatsoever. 

At twenty-four years, the label, foil and most importantly, the fill level were as to be expected for the age. The cork was intact but came upon upon opening, even when using an ahso - two pronged wine extractor. 

This was drinking very nicely, holding on at two decades, still very much within its prime drinking window, surely able to hold for a few more years.

This vintage release was rated  93 points by International Wine Cellar, 91 points by Connoisseurs Guide and 90 points by Wine Advocate.

Randy Dunn increased his percentage of new oak to 100% with this vintage.

Winemaker Notes -  “The Napa Valley wines are a blend of the Howell Mountain fruit from the estate and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that the winery purchased. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine’s earlier approachability and softer tannic structure. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 100% new French oak.”

Bright, dark ruby colored, full bodied, vibrant rich concentrated but elegant and balanced ripe black currant fruits with notes of cassis, mocha, licorice, tobacco, fresh herbs and graphite with a long lingering finish with full smooth palate-saturating tannins. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=22076

https://www.dunnvineyards.com/

https://x.com/dunnvineyards - @dunnvineyards

Clark Claudon Estate Cabernet with BBQ

Clark Claudon Estate Cabernet with BBQ 

With left over BBQ Beef Brisket from earlier in the week, (Sharko’s BBQ with Yakima Valley Syrah), I pulled from the cellar an aged vintage Napa Cabernet. What a delightful surprise to find this exceeding expectations for a superb food wine pairing - accentuating and amplifying the enjoyment of both. 

We hold two decades of vintages in our ‘vertical collection’ of this label, dating back to the inaugural release in 1994. It’s times like this that we are rewarded for having a deep, aged cellar collection. 

I wrote about this producer and wine in detail in these pages in an earlier posting, which is excerpted and updated here: 

Clark-Claudon Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

In an earlier, similar situation, we also posted: we opened an old favorite wine from our extensive collection from one of our favorite producers, with BBQ Beef Brisket and mashed potatoes, and a selection of cheeses and sourdough bread, previously in this earlier blogpost:

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Clark-Claudon Vineyards located in the Vaca Mountain range high above Oakville, Napa Valley, was founded in 1993 by Thomas Clark and Laurie Claudon Clark. The couple had lived and worked in Napa Valley for 20 years as grape growers but eventually decided to make wine under their own name. 

The Clark-Claudon estate is situated on the ‘backside’ of Howell Mountain in an area known as Pope Valley. We have fun with this label as fellow Pour Boy Bill and Beth C's maiden name is Pope. Clark-Claudon's 17 acres of vineyards are carved out of a 117 acre property located on the north east side of Howell Mountain between Ink Grade and Howell Mountain Road, from 800 ft to 1,200 ft elevation. It’s shallow, mountain soils, cool evening breezes and excellent sun exposure are ideal for a low yield of small, intense Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot grapes. The 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon are planted with clone 7 which grows well in hillside rocky soil and produces small berries with concentrated flavors. A small vineyard block is planted to Petite Verdot. After completing their initial vineyard planting, Clark decided to leave the remaining 100 acres of forests, creeks, meadows and ponds in their natural state which serves as a preserve for native birds and wildlife.

Interesting, following my discussions in another earlier blogpost, I wrote about the terroir and appellation, and specifically about the line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, due to effects of the fog from the valley that reaches up to that ceiling level. 

We have another such-situated Napa/Howell Mountain Cabernet. Similar to the Viader Napa Valley Cabernet Red Blend from earlier tastings, and the Blue Hall Vineyard Camiana Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that we drank the other night, this Clark Claudon Napa Cab vineyard is at 1000 foot elevation on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain. 

That terroir distinction doesn't apply here as the Clark Claudon property is on the backside of Howell Mountain which never sees the fog that is experienced on the Napa Valley side of the hill. 

We have been collecting this label since its introduction back in 1993 and hold two decades of vintages since. We first met Tom Clark and Laurie Claudon-Clark during our Napa Wine Experience 1999 when we hosted them at one of our wine producer dinners. That night, held at what was then Pinot Blanc Restaurant in St Helena (see picture above), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old 1989 Bordeaux, BYOB from our home cellars. 

During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the "'Undisccovered Dozen', emerging new wine producers to watch", featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage and are featured variously on my winesite http://www.unwindwine.com. A complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection even today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections, several dating back to those early release vintages.   

We love the distinctive unique Clark-Claudon packaging with the tall slender bottles. An interesting and trivial wine-geek's observation about the Clark-Claudon branding and packaging; as mentioned, we hold close to a score of vintages of this label. 

All our vintage holdings but this one, the 2004 release, are packaged with the wax cap inside the rim of the bottle, topping the cork, as shown left. This one, 2004, has a 'traditional' foil top of the bottle (shown below). Not sure why?

This release was awarded 93 points from Wine Enthusiast who wrote, " ... it really needs time. Give it until after 2008, if you can keep your hands off, and will come into its own after 2010."

A decade later, going on seventeen years, this release is holding its own very nicely and showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. The fill level, label and most importantly the cork were in perfect condition.

Wine Enthusiast wrote, "The 2004 Clark-Claudon Napa Cabernet Sauvignon blends fruit from all over the winery's estate, combining multiple expressions of the fruit. The higher portions of the estate yielded fruit that was rich, deeply colored with intense tannins. The lower portions of the estate produced softer, more perfumed wine."  Tonight's tasting was consistent with previous tastings in 2015, 2016 and most recently in the Spring of 2021. In 2016 I wrote it was more expressive than earlier tastings. I sense this is at its peak, not likely to improve further, but grand and capable of aging several more years none-the-less.

At nineteen years, the fill level, label, foil and most importantly the cork were all still in pristine condition.  

Like before, the room filled with dark berry fruit aromatics as soon the cork was pulled. This was dark garnet colored, rich, full, concentrated, but nicely integrated and elegant black berry and black currant fruits with accents of cassis, mocha, floral and notes of spicy oak and hints of black cherry on a lingering fine-grained silky tannin finish.

What I did not expect was an extraordinary ‘bourbon barrel’ sprite in the wine that was a perfect complement to the tangy BBQ brisket and sauce. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=229261

In seeking to replenish this bottle with a more recent vintage of this wine, I looked in distribution and found none in Chicagoland, but got this response when searching national beverage superstore Total Wine - "We could not find this item at Pensacola, FL (our select store), But we found it at Denver, CO." We'll be reaching back to the producer directly, as well as looking in the secondary market. 

I’ve recently picked up a couple new labels of this producer on-line which I am holding and am eager to try - their ‘Eternity’ label and Three Stones Vineyard release.

A couple days later, we opened another vintage release of this label, for a mini vertical comparison tasting. 

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

The 2001 vintage proved to be in that ‘Goldilock’s zone’, not too old to be past its prime drinking window, and not too young, such that it was now fully integrated and showed maturity from aging. 

Like the slightly younger release from a few days earlier, the label, wax capsule (caplet?) (in lieu of foil), fill level and the apparent cork seemed to be in pristine condition, albeit for the age, at twenty-four years. 

In light of the wax capsule or caplet, I set aside the also two pronged cork puller and attempted to extract the cork using a traditional waiter’s hinged cork screw. Alas, the cork pulled apart leaving the last quarter remnant in the neck of the bottle. I was able to extract the remains, intact using the Ahso. I should’ve known better and used the ahso from the start. 

The tasting profile was similar to the later vintage release, above, although the vibrant fruit and spice sprites were slightly subdued, giving way to some graphite, hints of smoke and leather tones, perhaps revealing vintage differences, as well as the additional four years of age. 

At twenty-one years, this was at the end of its optimal tasting window, and starting to decline going forward, hence time to drink in the near term of the next year or so.  

This release was rated 92 points by Wine Advocate, who compared it to “a great vintage of Chateau Margaux, tannic, backward, with a Bordeaux-like structure as well as a deep, rich, full-bodied personality.”

RM 90 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/436561

https://www.clarkclaudon.com

@ClarkClaudon 

Earlier tasting posts ...   

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/01/clark-claudon-howell-mountain-napa.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/festive-holiday-dinner-showcases.html

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/05/clark-claudon-napa-valley-cabernet.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/03/clark-claudon-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Whitehall Lane Napa Cabernet 2001

 Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 

With beef tenderloin, baked potatoes and wedge salad I pulled from the cellar an aged Napa Cabernet. 

We visited Whitehall Lane estate winery and vineyards during our Napa Wine Experience in 2018, as featured in these pages in this blogpost - Whitehall Lane Cellars Winery Visit and Tasting.

We hold Whitehall Lane Napa Valley wines dating back to the turn of the century - Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Estate and Reserve. We've passed by the Estate and Winery on St Helena Highway in Rutherford dozens of times during our trips to Napa Valley so this trip we decided to visit there during our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2018.

Whitehall Lane Winery was founded in 1979 by two brothers who wanted to make Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from this prime Rutherford location. The winery was named after the road that runs along the southern border of the winery.

In 1993, the Leonardini family of San Francisco bought the property, and continue to produce quality Bordeaux varietal wines in one of the most recognizable labels and most visited tasting rooms in all of Napa Valley.

To pair with grilled tenderloin beefsteaks, baked potatoes with wedge salad, I pulled from the cellar this aged vintage Napa Cabernet for a perfect food wine pairing that amplified the enjoyment of both.

Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Winemaker Notes - “This Cabernet is big and intense with ripe fleshy fruit flavors and aromas. Oak is nicely integrated into this well-balanced offering that has a beautiful, smooth tannin structure that adds good length to the wine. It is certainly age worthy but is also delicious to enjoy now.”

This release was awarded 93 points and ‘Editors' Choice’ by Wine Enthusiast, 92 points by International Wince Cellar, and 91 points by Wine Spectator. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, firm structured core of bright vibrant fruit forward flavors of ripe black currant and blackberry fruits with notes of mocha, anise and cedar with hints of oak, sage and spice with sweet tannins on a long focused lingering finish, ending with a rich, fruity aftertaste.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?14947

https://whitehalllane.com/

Snowden Rutherford Cabernet w/ ribeye steak

Snowden Rutherford Cabernet w/ ribeye steak

With ribeye steak leftover from our gala Mother’s Day dinner, Linda prepared the chopped up baked potatoes with corn, peas and asparagus as a delicious side. Following the extraordinary Rutherford and Oakville Napa Cabernets recently, and on Sunday, I pulled from the cellar this aged vintage label from the appellation.

Seeking the closest geographical source for a comparison tasting, I pulled from the cellar a 2001 Snowden estate bottled cab. Snowden is from the lower southern end of Oakville district in the foothills about 700 feet elevation. The wines ended up being in stark contrast in terroir and style - but both well suited to the grilled steak.

I wrote about Snowden Vineyards in a blogpost back in 2015, excerpted here, when we tasted an earlier vintage release.

From October, 2015

Snowden Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

We first discovered Snowden Vineyards during their inaugural release back in the early nineties. We hosted co-owner Scott Snowden at one of our wine producer dinners at Brix in Napa Valley back then. I recall we enjoyed hearing his reminiscences about his family living down in Oakland and visiting Napa Valley and eventually settling there, and him and his brother taking over and developing the property after his father's death.

Today, Scott is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards. An interesting side note, he has also appeared as a visiting judge in Craig Johnson's fascinating "Longmire" mysteries, one of our favorite streaming series! 

Snowden's parents scoured Napa Valley and the adjoining hills looking for a suitable parcel that they could afford. Eventually they found and acquired a remote parcel in the hills on the east side of the Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Rutherford in the spring of 1955, a 160 acre ranch that had been in the Albert and Jane Eisan family since 1895. 

Along the south boundary of the property, Albert's uncle, Ward Eisan, owned a comparably sized parcel which was even more remote than Albert's -- access to Ward Eisan's property was through Albert's. Today, Ward Eisan's ranch is the site of Rutherford Hill Winery, Auberge du Soliel Hotel and Restaurant, Katheryn Hall Winery, and Sloan Winery.

According to their website at the time - "Following Wayne Snowden’s death in 1977, Wayne and Virginia’s sons, Scott and Randy Snowden, assumed responsibility for the property. In 1981, they removed all of the then-producing vineyards and orchards and replanted them to Cabernet Sauvignon utilizing budwood from Jordan Vineyard near Healdsburg.  Through the 1980s, they sold grapes from the resulting 11 acre vineyard -- today called "The Brothers Vineyard" -- to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.  During that period, the family worked closely with Warren Winiarski, owner of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, and his viticultural consultant, Danny Schuester, to optimize trellising, training, and cropping of the vineyard, track cultural variables and correlate these to wine quality'.

"Beginning in the 1990s, grapes from the property went to a number of other vintners, including Silver Oak Wine Cellars, Frank Family Vineyard, David Ramey, Viader, and Caymus Vineyards. Commencing with the 1993 harvest, Scott and Randy began to retain a portion of each harvest for the production of estate-specific family wines. Gradually, an increasing amount of the grapes produced from the property were used in Snowden wines."

Linda recalled tonight, that the artistic label on this bottle was designed by Scott’s wife. We recalled he shared that she was also involved in designing the Marilyn Merlot labels that are so popular amongst collectors, and of which we hold more than two dozen vintages. Today, Joann Ortega Snowden is a partner in Ortega Design Studio in St. Helena where she and her twin sister, Susann, design wine labels and other graphics for wineries in the United States and Europe. 

Today, the fourth generation of Snowden’s are involved in helping manage Snowden Vineyards producing Snowden wines. According to the current website, the current winemaker is Diana Snowden Seysses, a Napa Valley native and the eldest of the four third-generation-Snowdens active in the family’s vineyard and wine endeavor. Diana graduated from the Viticulture and Enology program at the University of California at Davis in 2001. 

During and after her studies, she worked at wineries in California and France, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Mumm Napa Valley, the Araujo Estate, Ramey Wine Cellars, Fleur de Boüard, and Domaine Leflaive. In January, 2003, Diana became oenologist at Domain Dujac in Burgundy. Diana became winemaker at Snowden commencing with the 2005 harvest and since then has divided her professional time between California and Burgundy, where she lives with her husband Jeremy and their sons, Aubert and Blaise. 

We acquired our first Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet in the 1993 vintage and every vintage thereafter through the nineties, and off and on since. According to our Cellartracker records, we still hold ten vintages of this wine.

Like another tasting when we opened a 1997 vintage release, tonight, the 2001 release was still showing well. Back then I wrote, “This '97 is a testament to the vintage, considered a top vintage with longevity for Napa Cabernet, which took several years to finally open and reveal its true potential, even to the point of being outscored by the sleeper '98, considered inferior in the early years after release but showed well in intermediate years while the '97 was still closed and 'lying low'.”

“Now, at eighteen years of age, this '97 is most likely at its peak, will not improve any further with aging, but is not showing any diminution either. It showed dark blackish garnet color, medium body, firm, a bit tight, slightly astringent the first evening upon opening, but notably, this astringency was totally gone the next evening, black berry and black cherry fruits with tones of cedar, black olives, oak, and tangy tannins on the long lingering tongue puckering finish.”

As noted, we have held a dozen vintages dating of Snowden dating back to their inaugural releases in 1993-94. We still hold a half dozen and pulled this 2001 release hoping it would be a ‘Goldilocks’ tasting - not too young, but not too old. It proved to be so, just right!

Tonight, the 2001, at twenty three years, the important fill level and cork were still perfect, as was the foil and the label. I have to say this exceeded my expectations, still seeming to be at the apex of its drinking window, showing well, and likely still to have several years yet of enjoyable quality drinking. Some of this is attributable to the 2001 vintage, for sure.

My records show we lasted tasted this vintage release of this label back in 2014 as covered in this blogpost - 2001 Vintage Napa Cab Comparison Reveals Contrasts in Terroir

Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

We discovered Snowden shortly after their inaugural release in the early nineties and still hold several vintages dating back to then. We met Scott and Randy Snowden during our early Napa Wine Experience events from that era.

Tonight this was completely consistent with that earlier tasting back in 2015. In fact this bottle seemed to be holding up better than that earlier bottle, perhaps due to bottle variation and did not have the symptoms  of diminution or deterioration experienced earlier.  I gave this bottle a 91 rating, better than that earlier tasting. 

The '01 was dark garnet colored with a subtle rust on the rim, full bodied, firm and a bit tight, forward black cherry, black currant and black cherry fruits, accented by tones of black tea, black olive, herb, cedar and spice, finishing with a gripping lingering tannins.  

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=244995

http://www.snowdenvineyards.com/

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago

Team Dinner at Italian Village Chicago features Galatrona Toscana, Caprili Brunello di Montalcino and a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione

My leadership team (engineering, development, operations and strategy) gathered in Chicago again as we continue to build out our strategic plan. Once again, we dined at Italian Village, Chicago, our regular dinesite due to its broad menu, extraordinary wine cellar list, proximity to the office and our hotels, and our long standing friendships with staff there. 

Being what is becoming a regular outing, as somewhat regulars there, tonight we had fun presenting to Gina Capitanini, third generation owner of the historic restaurant, a 'team picture' of this part of our group with wine director Jared Gelband and Garardo, one of the floor managers. Look for it/us on the walls of pictures of celebrities, notables, and some of us regulars.

Wine Director Jared Gelband, recently returned from his wine tour to Italy, pulled from the cellar a couple wines for our dinner, a Sangiovese and a extraordinary Tuscan Chianti Classico Merlot Bordeaux varietal, and a blend of the two. 

Prior to dinner we met to plan a special event dinner for an upcoming global team gathering and we had a glass of this classic unique premium label.

Vignamaggio Monna Lisa Gran Selezione Chianti Classico DOCG 2016

This producer estate, Vignamaggio, has been in operation since 1404. The estate sprawls over more than 400 hectares, with vineyards, vegetable and ornamental gardens and a historic winery. The state-of-the-art working farm has Chianti Classico vineyards, olive groves, thriving vegetable gardens and fruit trees, forests, and also raises animals.

This label is named in tribute to the daughter of the original owners of the estate, who became eternally famous after Leonardo da Vinci painted her portrait.

It carries the distinctive "Gran Selezione" designation and is only made in the best years. It is produced from select grapes from Vignamaggio top three, most prized vineyards – Prato, Solatio and Querceto. It is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, aged partially in French oak barriques for 18–20 months and partially in larger barrels. The entire ageing process takes a minimum of 30 months, of which at least six are in the bottle.

The Gran Selezione designation, established less than a decade ago, was created to allow Chianti producers to compete with Brunello Riservas and the best of Montalcino, with longer aging requirements and a high quality standard, showcasing and representing the best of Chianti.

The 2016 vintage release was one of the best ever  with both Vinous and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate scoring it as their favorite vintage ever, such that this is considered the best version of Monna Lisa yet.

Only five pallets of this superlative Gran Selezione made their way to the US, a tiny amount for a wine  with such a reputation as a can’t-miss for Tuscan lovers and collectors. Its not surprising that Italian Village with their extensive deep and broad cellar offer this on their winelist.  

This was awarded 94 points by Vinous.

Dark, bright ruby purple colored, somewhat translucent yet full-bodied, this is complex and concentrated, combining Sangiovese’s savory, red-fruit richness with the velvety softness of Merlot and powerful structure from a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon, concentrated yet elegant with black and red cherry fruits, wine, allspice, notes of tobacco and leather turning to gripping but polished tannins on the long long finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3602213

https://vignamaggio.com/

Amazingly, after dozens of meals at Italian Village Chicago over as many years, tonight's meal was one of the best ever. I write often about the importance of pairing the right wine with food, or vice versa, which can have a multiplicative effect when done perfectly. 

Reading the Italian Village menu, I was drawn to the "House Specialty" designation of the Lasagna, with meat sauce, white cream sauce, Parmesan cheese, baked in Mozzarella cheese (shown right). Selecting this for my dinner this was the best Lasagna I have ever tasted, and was perfectly matched with the exceptional Galatrona Toscana. 

While opening, decanting and serving the Galatrona, Jared described the wine, the producer, and the profile and character of this aged vintage release. Listening to this, colleague Kevin changed his entree selection to the filet of beef steak with sauteed shrimp (shown left), topped with a sauteed garlic and olive oil sauce served over spinach, which proved to be another extraordinary pairing. 

A couple of the fellas had what is becoming another regular favorite, the Pheasant Agnolottini - pillow shaped pheasant-filled pasta in a butter sage sauce, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

Of course, our dinners there are all about the pairing of the food with extraordinary, spectacular wines - taking advantage of the extraordinary Italian Village cellar and winelist selection!

Galatrona Petrolo Toscana 2001

Petrolo produces estate bottled terroir driven wines from vines of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, focusing on careful selection of grapes from low yields and artful winemaking.

Back in 1716 Cosimo III de Medici, the Great Duke of Tuscany, stated with an edict which areas had the most valuable production of fine wine and quality olive oil, recognizing 4 areas, Chianti center (between Panzano and Greve), Carmignano (west of Florence), Pomino (east of Florence) and the Val d’Arno di Sopra (the western and eastern hills along the Arno river between Florence and Arezzo, where Petrolo is located) .

A century later, in 1834, agronomist Giorgio Perrin, owner of Petrolo and member of the Accademia dei Gergofili of Florence, noted Sangiovese from this area, especially that spot called Campo Asciutto (now Bòggina), was commonly planted and blended with “French grapes” in Chianti to combine with Sangiovese. 

The Estate was acquired in the 40’s by the family Bazzocchi that followed up the tradition of carefully producing high quality wines. Petrolo’s vineyards extend across 75 acres in the DOC Val d’ Arno di Sopra appellation, bordering the south eastern area of Chianti Classico. The vineyards are found at an altitude between 250 and 450 meters elevation consisting of loose-packed soil with different mixture of rocks like marl, sandstone and shale typical of the Chianti area.

The Galatrona vineyard consists of 7 1/2 acres, planted in 1990, the first Merlot vineyard that Petrolo planted. This label, Galatrona has been produced from this vineyard since it’s very first bottling in 1994, composed of 100% Merlot.

The Feriale vineyard, added another 12 acres to the Galatrona vineyard, when it was planted in the 90’s, almost entirely of Merlot plants, with a few vines planted to Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, intended for the production of Galatrona. The peculiar soil, rich in clay in combination with schist, marl and sandstones, allows the concentration of all the noble components of the grapes, fundamental for the great structure, elegance, balance and persistence wanted for this wine.

Petrolo’s wines are crafted to achieve the greatest quality that also best represent the terroir of the historic Estate. Galatrona wines were ranked among the ten best merlot in the world according to Wine-Searcher.com in November 2018. 

Galatrona is the “Gran-Cru” of Merlot of Petrolo, only made with the finest select grapes from the vineyard of the same name.  

This label was awarded 96 points and a Collectible by Wine Spectator,  and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate who said: "The 2001 Galatrona confirms its status as one of Tuscany’s better Merlot bottlings." Production has grown from 850 cases in the early years to 2500 cases in recent year. 

At twenty years, this is likely at the apex of its drinking window, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever, with perfect cork, but not likely to improve any further from aging. Look at the difference in the color of the residue on the corks between the two bottles of our flight - the Sangiovese (ruby) and the Merlot (dark garnet).

Opened and decanted for an hour, dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, a symphony of elegant flavors, soft, silky, polished, dense blackberry and notes of black cherry and plum fruits with tones of mineral, spice, tobacco and leather with smooth polished fine grained tannins on a long seductive finish. 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=97792

https://www.petrolo.it/

 Caprili Brunello di Montalcina 2016

The estate was founded by Alfo Bartolommei in 1965. The Bartolommei family settled in the Municipality of Montalcino at the beginning of the last century.  The family originated from Podere Marzolo in the Municipality of Cinigiano (Province of Grosseto).

In 1911, the family moved to Podere Poggi, moving several times from one country home to another on the Villa Santa Restituta estate until they finally arrived at the Caprili farm home in 1952 which they took over and continued to work the land by sharecropping.  

In 1965, the Bartolommei family decided to buy the property from the Castelli-Martinozzi family, owners of Villa Santa Restituta estate.  In the same year, 1965, they planted the first vineyard, still called “Madre” to this day, where the clones for the new vineyards planted on the estate are selected.

The first bottle of Brunello di Montalcino was the 1978 harvest and was put on the market in 1983.

A great representation of Sangiovese at its best from a spectacular vintage, this 2016 release was awarded 96 points by Wine Enthusiast, 95 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Spectato, and 94 points by James Suckling and Vinous.  45,000 bottles were produced. 

 

Bright ruby colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant tangy slightly tart cherry and ripe plum fruits with floral, dusty rose, cedar and hints of mint and camphor with tones of leather, and smoky creosote on a zesty acidic found tannin laced finish. 

 

RM 91 points.

 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3255726

 

https://www.caprili.it/en/home/  

 

https://italianvillage-chicago.com/