Clark Claudon Napa Cabernet 2004

Clark Claudon Napa/Pope Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

For a quiet evening at home, watching our latest binge-worthy series, Condor on MGM+, we opened an old favorite wine from our extensive collection from this favorite producer, with homemade chicken tortilla soup. 

After our recent anniversary, I am currently opening twenty year old 2004 vintage wines as a mini celebration, and a calibration of how that vintage is aging and holding up in our cellar. 

Here following is an updated re-post of earlier posting about this wine and this producer from October 12, 2023.

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa/Pope Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The producer, 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 recent blogpost about the terroir and appellation specificity line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, 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/left), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old 1989 Bordeaux. 

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. An 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 twenty 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.

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. 

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

Vintage Branaire Ducru St Julien Bordeaux with grilled beefsteak

Vintage Branaire Ducru St Julien Bordeaux with grilled beefsteak

A delightful end of summer turning to autumn Sunday night, dinner on the deck, we grilled beef tenderloin beefsteaks with baked potatoes and grilled vegetable medley of tomato’s, onions, red pepper and zucchini. 

For an ideal wine accompaniment, I pulled from the cellar a Bordeaux Blend from St Julien. 

Château Branaire-Ducru St Julien Bordeaux 2004 

Our Visit and tour of the historic Château Branaire-Ducru estate was one of the highlights of our trip to the St Julien Appellation (AOC) in Bordeaux back in 2019, as featured in these pages. 

Patrick Maroteaux bought Branaire Ducru in 1988 from the Tapie family who owned Chateau Branaire Ducru since 1919. Prior to his arrival at Branaire Ducru, he had no prior experience in the wine business coming from a background in banking and as the president of the massive sugar company, Eurosucre. Patrick Maroteaux served as the President of the UGCB, Union of Grand Crus Bordeaux, and as the President of the Saint Julien appellation. 

We met Patrick’s son, François Xavier Maroteaux (below) several times at the UGCB Annual Release Tour Tastings in Chicago. He followed in his father’s footsteps and took over the full-time responsibilities of managing the property after his passing in 2017.

Scenes from visit and tour of the historic Château Branaire-Ducru estate. 

At twenty years of age, this was at its Goldilocks ideal age, not too young, not too old, perfect for pairing with our grilled beefsteaks. The label and capsule, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were in perfect condition from aging in our cellar’ ideal conditions. This is probably at the apex of its drinking profile and will not improve further with aging.

Perfect for pleasant sipping and ideally paired with the grilled beefsteak, this is a classic Left Bank Bordeaux blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.

This release was awarded 91 points by Wine Enthusiast, 90+ points by NM, 90 by Wine Advocate and VM, and 88 points by Wine Spectator. This was considered a high achiever success from what was generally a modest vintage in the Medoc. 

Sitting literally across the road from Chateau Beychevelle, adjacent to super second growth Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, and near Gruaud Larose, Branaire is generally available for half the price of the premier labels, and a third less than the others, thereby offering good QPR - Quality Price Ratio’s for the Appellation. 

Winemaker Notes - “A very pure, fruity nose, still extremely young, with a lot of finesse. Woody hints perfectly well integrated into the fruit. Classic, dense, complex and pleasant on the palate. Delicate and gorgeous tannins with a long finish. Good balance.”

Dark ruby garnet colored, medium to full bodied, round, nicely balanced and modestly polished, ripe blackberry fruits with notes of black tea, tobacco and leather with hints of licorice, smoke and cedar on a smooth soft tannin laced lingering finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?1542304

 

Robert Craig Affinity Bordeaux Blend with grilled tenderloin beefsteak

Vintage aged Robert Craig Affinity Bordeaux Blend for Great QPR - ideal pairing with grilled tenderloin beefsteak and chocolate caramel sundae 

Monday night dinner - grilled filets of beef from a section carved full beef tenderloin, with baked potato and grilled asparagus. I pulled from the cellar this aged, twenty year old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux Blend. 

It’s been four years and a couple weeks since we last tasted this vintage release of this label. We know this producer and label well and look to this Bordeaux Blend as ideal for pairing with grilled beefsteaks. 

Excerpts from that last tasting blogpost … 

Robert Craig Napa Valley Affinity Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux Blend 2004.

As I have written numerous times in these pages, we've been collecting this wine since its' inaugural vintage in 1993 and we still hold several cases spread across almost two dozen vintages. 

Crafted to provide a sophisticated Cabernet Sauvignon at a reasonable price with early gratification, Affinity defies this approach with its age worthiness, as this tasting testifies. 

This label was also understated in another way, it is actually a Bordeaux Blend and contains the other Bordeaux varietals. The Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from Craig vineyards and contract sources throughout Napa Valley. Robert used to refer to it as "three mountains and a Valley", referring to their vineyards and sources on Howell Mountain, Mt Veeder, Atlas Peak, Mt George, and the valley floor. According to the rear label, this 2004 Affinity release was 'sourced from the Tulocay estate in southern Napa Valley, blended with Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from exceptional vineyards in Napa Valley'. As was often the case, the specifics of blend was not specified. 

R & L with Robert Craig 
at Harvest Party

We may hold more Robert Craig wine in our cellar than any other producer. We've been fans of Robert Craig since the early nineties. We've been to many events at the winery as well as several private functions with Robert, his wife Lynn, and former hospitality and wine club ambassador, Rachel, and various members of the Craig team.   

I remember Robert Craig exclaiming his love for this label and how proud he was to hold it to an affordable pricepoint to introduce consumers to Robert Craig wines. I've written recently that in recent years, as Robert and Lynn turned over the reigns to new management, and the recent passing of Robert, this label has crept up in price significantly and is now priced where their premium labels used to be. Never-the-less, it provides good value and quality (QPR) drinking both early and yet also stands up to aging. 

Sadly, Robert passed in 2019 - we posted a Robert Craig Tribute in these pages at that time.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/09/robert-craig-tribute.html

Tonight showed this label at its absolute best, at twenty years, showing sophistication and elegance and complexity - great QPR - quality price ratio. 

Six years ago I wrote, "This ten year old 2004 remains consistent with earlier tasting notes, deep dark purple inky color, the ripe berry fruit aromatics, full body, ripe berry fruit, accented by a undercurrent of caramel are starting to give way to a layer of anise, tobacco, leather and firm full tannins on the long fruit filled finish."  

Previously, last tasted at sixteen years of age, this release may be at the apex of its drinking window and is as good as ever.  In an earlier tasting when I wrote, "Tasted from a 375 ml split. In this smaller format, it may be starting to show its age," I attribute that to perhaps a combination of bottle variation and the smaller format which ages less gracefully.

Tonight, at twenty years of age, the important fill level and cork were pristine, testament to the provenance of our cellar for long term aging. 

This release was a blend of Bordeaux varietals - 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Wine Advocate says this is sourced from the Tulocay estate in southern Napa Valley.

This was delicious, showing exceedingly well, better than expected and than earlier tastings, ideally paired with the grilled beefsteak, still drinking at the apex of its drinking window and showing no signs whatsoever of diminution from aging. It should have a half dozen years yet in its prime drinking. 

Winemaker Notes - “Heady perfume of ripe black cherry and currant, with black tea, spice and violet notes. Bright and abundant dark fruit and black currant liqueur are intertwined with sweet spice box, licorice and violets. Opulent black cherry drives the lively, long-lived finish.’

“A rich, multi-layered Cabernet that balances power with finesse. The 2004 vintage Affinity is a Cabernet-driven Bordeaux blend that showcases the power and richness of Napa Valley hillside fruit backed by an underlying band of round, ripe tannins. Luscious fruit flavors of great depth and purity are hallmarks of Affinity along with integrated tannin structure for long-term aging.’

"When ready to blend, we assess the relative strengths and merits of every wine, tasting through barrel samples. The aroma, flavor and texture profile of each wine lot has been influenced by the distinctive soil and weather characteristics of the source vineyard, the dictates of the growing season, and our winemaking regimen. After lengthy discussion and evaluation, we prepare the trial blends. In orchestrating these blends, we not only focuses on the quality and character of each wine, but also its "affinity" with the other blending components. This process is more intuitive than scientific. The ideal balance of flavors, aromas, textures, and concentration gradually emerges to create the master blend for that vintage."

"Consistent excellence from year to year is our ultimate goal for Affinity. The wine is known for its juicy, fruit-forward aromas and flavors, elegance in balance and structure, a silky texture, and approachable tannins." -- Chad Alexander, Winemaker.

To top things off even further, Linda prepared a fabulous sundae dessert of sautéed nuts in butter, with melted chocolate and caramel over vanilla bean ice cream. It was remarkable and spectacular with the remains of the Affinity. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, firm, structured, yet ideally harmoniously balanced,  nicely integrated black fruits accented by notes of black tea, spice box, hints of creosote, licorice, graphite and oak with firm yet approachable tannins on a lingering finish. 

RM 92 points - better than earlier tastings when I gave it 90 points, increased a point from past tastings.

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?323482

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=323482

http://www.robertcraigwine.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/search?q=Robert+Craig+Affinity

https://x.com/unwindwine

Groth Oakville Cabernet with Grilled BeefSteak

Groth Oakville Cabernet with Grilled BeefSteak

We watched four grandkids for the weekend, back and forth between our house and theirs’. For dinner on our deck we grilled out flank steak with scalloped potatoes, asparagus, cheese bread and Texas toast. To accompany the grilled beefsteak I pulled from our cellar a favorite Napa Valley Cabernet. 

This follows another Oakville Cabernet from the same appellation and vintage recently which, not surprisingly, had an almost identical profile and status. That earlier wine food pairing was featured in these pages in this blogpost - 

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 with Tomahawk Ribeye steak dinner

Groth Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 

This is a remarkably similarly situated replay of an earlier previous tasting of this wine about three years ago, which, therefore, I’ll excerpt here. 

At twenty years, the fill level, foil and most importantly, the cork were in ideal condition. Amazingly, even this bottle has the same label conditions as the one opened back in 2021 with ripples of separation from the bottle. Obviously this batch of bottles had some issues with the labeling machine resulting in this separation a decade and half later, identically on multiple bottles of the same batch (as shown, tonight’s bottle here, and earlier bottle below). 

From blogpost - 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/groth-oakville-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Posted May 7, 2021

Groth Oakville Napa Cabernet 2004

Groth Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - ideal pairing with filet of beef

We feasted on the left over filets of beef from last evening and I pulled from the cellar this Groth Napa Cabernet - a perfect pairing. Indeed, the producer's menu suggestion for this wine: "A slab and a Cab", Dennis Groth recommends you drink his Cabernet Sauvignon with steak."

We visited the Groth estate winery and vineyards during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999. Groth gain notoriety and recognition when Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave the Groth 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon the distinction of being California’s first perfect 100-point wine. 

Since then, Groth wines have been ranked on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines list eight times, most recently in 2019, when the 2016 Reserve Cabernet was No. 4. 

From the beginning, Groth has been a family business, managed today by second-generation family member Suzanne Groth. 

Groth Vineyards & Winery was founded in 1981 by Dennis and Judy Groth. Dennis gained his fame in fortune in Silicon Valley when he was CFO of early tech phenom Atari (remember 'Pong'). When it was acquired by Time Warner, Dennis went on to President of the Consumer Products Division and President of the International Division.

The Groths purchased the 121-acre vineyard parcel in Oakville, Napa Valley in 1981 and in '82 added a second vineyard of 44 acres located south of Yountville. The Groth estate vineyard was originally planted between 1972 and 1974 by Justin Meyer, who went on to achieve acclaim with Silver Oak.

Those two vineyards remain the primary source of grapes for the Groth portfolio which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Dennis and Judy moved to Napa Valley and have resided in Oakville since 1985. Today, Dennis is Chairman of the Board, and Judy plays an active role in the look and feel of the winery. Their daughter Susan now runs Groth Wines. After college and several years working various jobs in the wine business, she returned to the family business in 1998, working in sales, public relations and marketing. She took the reins as President and CEO in 2017. “It was only after selling other people’s wine that I was able to appreciate how very special Groth Vineyards was.”

The Groth Oakville Estate sits on the valley floor in the heart of the Napa Valley. The Groth family helped Oakville become recognized as one of the world’s preeminent wine regions. Today, the Oakville AVA is home to the largest concentration of the very best Napa Valley producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon wines are is renowned as full, lush and elegant.

 

Groth Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004  

 

Winemaker notes on the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon: "Big and lush with huge gobs of fruit in the aroma and flavor. The texture of the wine is soft and supple, typical of Cabernet Sauvignons grown in our area of the Oakville AVA. Patience during bottle aging will reward the "steward" with an outstanding bottle over the next 10 to 15 years." 

Indeed, at seventeen (now twenty) years, this is likely at its peak and should continue to drink well for another decade. Thankfully, we still hold a couple more bottles of this vintage of the half dozen vintages in our collection (which includes still a Alec birthyear vintage 1990). The fill level was perfect while the cork appearing perfect was a bit soft upon extraction using a 'ahso' two pronged cork puller.  

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, smooth, elegant, briary black berry and black raspberry fruits with notes of cassis, dusty cedar and hints of dark chocolate, herbs and creamy oak turning to gripping tannin on a fruit filled finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=328095

https://grothwines.com/ 

@GrothWines

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 with Tomahawk Ribeye steak dinner

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 with Tomahawk Ribeye steak dinner

Linda prepared one of our favorite indulgent dinners, a Tomahawk Ribeye beefsteak with baked potatoes and grilled asparagus. I pulled from the cellar a memorable classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a producer we visited two decades (twenty five years) ago. 

On further review, this is a replay of an earlier dinner featured in these pages two years ago and tonight’s experience was totally consistent with that latest review, so I will replay it here.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Tomahawk Beefsteak and Paradigm Napa Cab

Tomahawk Beefsteak and Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet 

Friday night dining in, we grilled a Tomahawk bone-in ribeye beefsteak, with baked potato and asparagus, served on the deck, one of our favorite sumertime meal experiences. 

I pulled from the cellar this vintage Oakville Napa Cabernet for the occasion, Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004.

We visited the Paradigm Oakville estate winery and vineyards and were hosted by owners Ren and Marilyn Harris back in 1999, as part of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 1999.  

We've collected this label ever since and continue to hold a decade of vintages in our vertical collection. I wrote about Paradigm in more detail when I last posted about Paradigm in March, 2019 when we tasted Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Merlot 1996.

Ren and Marilyn Harris, have deep roots in Napa Valley (pun intended); Marilyn's grandparents immigrated from Italy to Napa Valley in 1890, while Ren's family came to California in 1769. Marilyn and Ren moved to Napa Valley in the 1960's and settled into their home just east of where Paradigm sits today. 

The Paradigm estate consists of fifty acres of vineyard, the winery, two homes, a warehouse, a barn, and an acre of olive trees. 

Paradigm vineyards are planted to Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot along with some Zinfandel.  

Paradigm Winery produced their first vintage in 1991. Our cellar holdings still include a few bottle of 1994 case from that era, as well as early releases from the 1992, '95, '96 and 1997 vintages, several 2002-2006 era vintages, and several recent vintages.

From the earliest days, Ren and Marilyn hired talented legendary winemaker, Heidi Barrett, who has been with Paradigm ever since.

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

At eighteen years this may be at the apex of its drinking window and profile and while it has several years remaining, its not likely to improve with further aging. The fill level, foil and most importantly, the cork were in ideal condition. 

 

This is one of several bottles of this vintage we acquired at auction while early releases were acquired directly from the producer, in recent years we obtain it at Binny's, our Chicagoland super merchant. 

Our records show the we last tasted this label back in 2008 at Tra Vigne in St Helena, Napa Valley. Back then, it was a fine dining restaurant and had the outdoor deck and patio garden, which has been repurposed as a pizzeria, which is sad as we had many memorable wine dinners there. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright lively concentrated black berry and black currant fruits with a layer of cedar accented by tobacco, earth, hints of licorice and mint with a moderate tannins and tangy acidity on the finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=282068

https://paradigmwinery.com/

https://twitter.com/paradigmwinery/

Paradigm Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Clark Claudon Napa Cabernet 2004

Clark Claudon Napa Cabernet 2004

For a quiet evening at home, watching a pre-recorded showing of 'The Voice' from earlier in the week, we opened an old favorite wine from our extensive collection from this favorite producer, with a selection of cheeses and sourdough bread. 

Here following is a updated re-post of earlier posting about this wine and this producer.

Clark-Claudon Estate Grown Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

The producer, 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 recent blogpost about the terroir and appellation specificity line of demarcation being at the 1200 foot elevation level to differentiate between Howell Mountain and Napa Valley designation, 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 left), we tasted Clark Claudon 1995-96 against ten year old 1989 Bordeaux. 

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. An 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.

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.

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

Viader Napa Proprietary Red Corley Reserve

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Red Blend, Corley Reserve, Scount's Honor with grilled beef tenderloin for gala family celebration dinner

The entire Berganzi family came to town and gathered with clan McNees (below) to celebrate the dedication of grand-daughter Marylin, son Alec and Vivianna's baby.

Following the ceremony at Compass Church, Alec and Vivianna hosted all for a gala family dinner of grilled tenderloin beefsteak, salmon, roasted potatoes, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and carrots. 

Alec grilled two whole beef tenderloins on the grill. Before dinner we had a selection of artisan cheeses and charcuterie followed by ceasar salad with a Champagne toast. 

We opened the wine-flight with Hill Family Estate Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay. 

There was so much to celebrate across the family - Marylin's dedication, Alec and Viv's second anniversary, Henry and Grace's engagement, Sean and Michelle's new home, and Johnny's birthday!

To celebrate the occasion and accompany the festive dinner, I pulled from the cellar a magnum of this Viader Napa Valley Red Blend. As I have written in these pages, this is one of the numerous "V" labels we have fun with as a tribute to our daughter-in-law, Viv. We wrote about fun with this branding in an earlier blogpost, Viader Napa Bordeaux Blend 1997.

We met proprietor winemaker Delia Viader at a tasting hosted by Binny's Chicago Lakeview back in 2005, and visited the property on lower Howell Mountain in 2008. 

Our collection of Viader spans a decade of releases dating back to the mid-nineties vintages. It was with interest to see how this vintage has held up over the years to calibrate the lifespan of the other vintages. In the style of many Viader releases, this blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Cabernet Franc in the profile of a top Graves from Bordeaux.

We expanded our collection of Viader wines following our visit to the Viader winery estate on the lower reaches of Howell Mountain during our Napa Valley Howell Mountain Wine Experience 2008.  

A travelogue of photos of our visit to the Viader are shown here or a selection are featured in the follow-on blog.  

The Viader 23-acre estate sits on the lower mountain at 1200 foot elevation overlooking Napa Valley. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Viader is known for its Bordeaux-style blends. 

The 1200 foot elevation of the estate is significant and notable as that is the height that the fog reaches above the valley floor and hence is the point at which below is designated Napa Valley, and above it designated Howell Mountain. This climatic difference creates a distinctive terroir due to the effects of the fog on the ripening vines.  

Napa Valley view from the Viader estate

This follows our tasting last evening of another of the 'V' series of labels we enjoy with and in tribute to to Viviana, the Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor.

The 'V' is the prominent branding of the producer and winemaker Delia Viader, a remarkable and impressive lady who was born in Argentina and educated in Europe before earning graduate degrees in the U.S., a notable role model for any career minded female. Delia spent much of her formative years in Europe and in France where she earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Sorbonne University in Paris, then pursued advanced business studies in the US at MIT, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Recognizing the potential Napa Valley wine industry in the 1980's, Delia acquired the Howell Mountain property and set out to create a world class wine estate, and continued studying Enology and Viticulture at University of California, Davis.  During this time she also raised her four children in the wine environment and culture.

Shown here is our meeting Delia Viader during a producer tasting evening sponsored by Binny's here in Chicago back in 2005. 

Delia Viader was a visionary pioneer in Napa Valley investing in developing a mountain estate at a time when most of the vineyard plantings were on the valley floor.

Born in Argentina, Delia Viader came to the United States after spending many years in Europe. In 1986 the love of wine Delia acquired during her time in Europe lead her to purchase a 25 acre property 1200 feet above the Napa Valley floor northeast of St. Helena on the steep, rocky slopes of Howell Mountain. During this time when 99% of Napa’s vineyards were planted on the valley floor, Delia was considered a bit crazy-headed to plant vineyards in such foreboding terroir. But it was exactly terroir that she was after.

Delia’s first release of this proprietary red blend called simply Viader, was the 1989 vintage , a blend of almost equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine has gained an international reputation as one of the iconic wines of the Napa Valley and has become the signature wine for the winery.

 In the last few years, Delia’s children have come back to help manage and operate the business making this a true family concern. Alan Viader is Director of Operations and Winemaking, Janet Viader is Director of Marketing and Sales. Mariela Viader (married to Alan) is in charge of the Culinary Program.

Viader Napa Valley Proprietary Bordeaux Red Blend 2004

Winemaker Notes: "Since its first release in 1989, Delia Viader has made her Proprietary Blend using only the best fruit from her Howell Mountain Estate vineyards. The Viader blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc captures an ideal balance between the two varieties. The Cabernet Franc contributes to the early approachability, elegant structure and violet-like aromatics while the Cabernet Sauvignon adds complexity and character as well as providing the backbone structure for long aging potential."

"The 2004 Viader is intense, upfront, floral bouquet laced with chocolate, coffee, anise, earth and leather. Lingering, complex tannins firm up in the finish which is rounded by the powerful aromas of blackberry, blueberry and mint. Approachable now, bottle aging will further develop bouquet and complexity. Awonderfully elegant mountain beauty!"

This release was awarded 92 points by Vinous,  17.5/20 points by Jancis Robinson.

We love this blend of Napa Valley 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon accented by the structure, grip and spice of 40 percent Cabernet Franc. At eighteen years this was wonderful, probably at the apex of its drinking window, but likely with a decade of life still left. The fill level, label and cork were all pristine. As a result, I pushed the Cellartracker drinking window for my remaining bottles of this vintage release out to 2024. I raised my earlier rating from 92 to 93 points.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied and firmly structured ripe black raspberry fruits with notes of coffee, mocha, leather, graphite, sweet oak and spice with firm gripping by elegantly smooth polished tannins on the long finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=224306

https://viader.com/ 

@viader_napa

Alec followed with a big Napa Valley Cab, closing out with another Napa Valley Big Red blend from another one of our whimsical fun 'V' labels, Venge Scout's Honor Red. 

Corley Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

We were introduced to this wine when Alec served it at a father-brothers-sons dinner last year.  I wrote about this wine in an earlier blogpost at that time - https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/father-son-wine-dinner.html.

This is produced by the Corley family who are long time grape growers in Napa Valley that produce a small limited amount of wine of their own label, only in extraordinary vintages. The Corley family owns and manages some of the finest vineyard properties in Napa Valley at their 80 acre Monticello Vineyards estate with vineyards and winery, tasting room, as well as culinary and hospitality center.

Founded by Jay Corley in 1970 when he began searching for sites to grow wine, in pursuit of his personal passion for Burgundian-style wines led him to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in what is now known as the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley.

They produced this wine at Monticello Winery on Big Ranch Road in the Oak Knoll District of south Napa Valley. We visited this winery estate back in the late nineties when it was operating as a custom crush facility and we did a tasting of boutique producer Elan Wines with producers Patrick and Linda Elliott-Smith. 

This was a special bottle as the boys know and are friends with one of the members of the Corley family and were able to source this special limited release bottling.Today, Corley is managed by their third generation.

Since it’s first bottling in 1982, our Corley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the Corley Family flagship wine. It is sourced from each of their five estate cabernet sauvignon vineyards and the diversity of four distinct sub-Appellations - Rutherford, Yountville, St. Helena and Oak Knoll District.

This is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.

Ken's Wine Guide Tasting Panel summed this up perfectly when they wrote about this label, "This very dark garnet colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Corley opens with a mild black currant and black licorice bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a fruit forward fruit bomb featuring stewed plum and black currant with notes of graphite and toasted oak. We also detected a hint of blackberry. The finish is dry and its moderate tannins show very nice length. The Panel suggested pairing this Cab with a New York strip steak. Enjoy - KWGTP"

I echo their tasting experience and give this 92 points. Dark garnet color, medium-full body, nicely balanced and integrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of anise, hints of graphite and toasted oak with smooth polished moderate tannins on a lingering finish.

Winemaker notes: "Typically luscious, powerful and richly textured our Reserve is full-bodied and while ready to drink is also a wine to lay down for the years to come. This wine once again shows nice consistency and balance throughout the entire experience – from the aromatics through to the finish. The mouth-feel is rich in texture and with a finish framed by firm but rounded velvety tannins, one of the hallmarks of this wine."

Dark garnet color, medium-full body, nicely balanced and integrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of anise, hints of graphite and toasted oak with smooth polished moderate tannins on a lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3237704

https://www.corleyfamilynapavalley.com/ 

https://twitter.com/monticellonapa 

Alec opened another Big Napa Red, another of the 'V' series of labels we enjoy with and in tribute to to Viviana, the Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor.

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Red 2019

As I have written often in these pages, we've been enjoying Nils and Kirk Venge' wines since the early 1990's when Nils was featured by Wine Spectator Magazine in a 1994 article on up and coming wine producers. 

One of the labels of the Venge portfolio is Scout's Honor named for the family Labrador Retriever. I remember Scout walking the rows in the vineyards with Nils during a visit to the Rutherford Penny Lane estate back in the nineties (shown right from our 2002 visit).

This wine was initially meant to be a fun sipper for the Venge tasting room, yet it became — and remains — one of the most popular wines of the Venge portfolio which has now grown to nineteen labels. 

 Scout's Honor is based on a tradition of producing a full bodied, delicious and enjoyable red wine that can be opened and enjoyed immediately upon release however when cellared correctly it will age for 5 to 8 years.

Scout's Honor starts as a unique proprietary red blend anchored by a base of old-vine Zinfandel and builds upon that with dry-farmed Petite Sirah, old-vine Charbono, and finish with mountain vineyard Syrah.

We have been collecting this label since the earliest releases in the mid-nineties and hold a half dozen vintages. We typically keep a half dozen vintages of this label on hand for easy, enjoyable smooth sipping with everyday fare, great with BBQ, burgers, pizza to hearty cheese, beef, fruits and chocolates. I was surprised when I went to write up this tasting note that this was my first recorded tasting of this vintage.

Nil's has stepped down into retirement and winemaker and production duties are now with son Kirk who has raised the bar taking this label to new heights in recent years, earning 93 or 94 points from Wine Advocate for vintages 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

 Wine buddy Andy and I visited Kirk and Nils up at the Calistoga estate and the Signal Fire Vineyard back in 2002 (shown right).  

From a branding perspective, this may be the last year you see this packaging with a paper label as the 2018 release went to a more upscale painted on glass bottle label marking, moving to a more premium positioning for this label. It remains to be seen what happens to the price point. It is already priced at the high end of the Zinfandel range, but well worth it with its sophistication and complexity and quality of the blend.

Winemaker's Notes: "Full-bodied, concentrated and gorgeous, this vintage features an assemblage of violets, dried cinnamon, white flowers, fresh cut blue herbs, and a touch of barrel toast. The palate has loads black fruits and sweet currants, pepper spice, and an enveloping masculinity of char and tannins from the Syrah, Charbono and Petite Sirah. A seamless balance and mouth coating deliciousness lead to a wine that is quite pleasing to the senses. Cellared correctly it will age for 7 to 10 years."

The 2019 blends 63% Zinfandel with smaller amounts, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah and 9% Syrah aged 50% new American Oak and the balance in once-used tight grained French Oak.

The Zinfandel was picked from two, old-vine, 60 to 100+ years old, dry-farmed vineyard sources: Venge’s Estate “Signal Fire Vineyard” and the Frediani Vineyard, both located in the heart of Calistoga. The Charbono was sourced from old, dry-farmed vines 60 to 100+ years old, also planted in the Frediani Vineyard. Robbie Mondavi’s Oso Vineyard located on Howell Mountain supplies the Petite Sirah, and, Napa’s finest Syrah from Stagecoach Vineyard, high in the mountains of the Atlas Peak AVA.

This was rated 93 points by The Wine Enthusiast.

After the more subdued and focused Viader red blend, this was a monstrous super sweet fruit bomb, begging for hearty cheese, spicy pizza pasta or dark bitter chocolates. Dark garnet purple colored, full bodied, rich, thick concentrated sweet super ripe black currant fruit with notes of that Howell Mountain cinnamon spice, violet floral notes, pepper and pain grille.

RM 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3525137

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/vengevineyards