On a gorgeous spring day, we found ourselves again headed to Napa, this time with my manager from work accompanying us. Karen lives in Texas and this is the first time she's had the opportunity to visit, so I wanted to take her to some of my favorite places.
We started the morning at Acacia Winery, which you might have noticed from earlier posts has become a favorite of ours. For good reason: the location is beautiful, at the southern end of Napa overlooking San Pablo Bay and the staff are the perfect hosts - they enjoy their jobs and actually want to be there and share their knowledge and wonderful wines with their guests (unlike some other huge commercial pour-and-bore wineries that shall remain nameless.)
Several of the wines we tasted were already mentioned in previous posts, so I am going to discuss two of the wines that I haven't mentioned. For the record, however, the previously tasted wines were just as wonderful at this tasting.
What we tasted:
2007 Beckstoffer Pinot Noir
I loved the nose on this wine, which instantly reminded me of a well-toasted marshmallow fresh from the campfire. There were also nicely layered hints of blackberry and rose. The front of the wine picked up the fruit and floral notes of the wine and mid-palate picked up lovely soft vanilla and a sort of sauteed-chanterelle earthiness that I loved. There were notes of cinnamon throughout the wine, and it lingered softly on the palate along with the berry flavor. This was a definite 8, perhaps even a 9 with a bit more aging, out of 10 points.
2008 Russian River Pinot Noir
The nose had a really nice toasty oak note to it, and although I did not get as much fruit and floral as with the Beckstoffer, there was a sort of warmth to the nose that I found very welcoming. The front of the wine was rich with oak flavor, rounded tannins, and dark cherry, and the fruit developed nicely through the mid-palate. Just at the end, there were delightful notes of mocha and cinnamon that I loved, and a smooth, spicy finish that was the perfect balance to the tannins and fruit in the wine. I gave this 9 out of 10, and found that although it was very different from the Lone Tree Pinot Noir I previously tasted, I liked it just as much for different reasons. Oh, Acacia, you're too good to me!
After the Acacia tasting, we trotted our happy selves off to Domaine Chandon for a wine club pick-up and lunch on the patio...so lovely. We didn't taste anything new this time, just enjoyed some favorites, the view, and the amazing food.
Afterward, we went to our latest Wine Club addition, Chateau Montelena. Okay, this one was not MY fault, Bill went there last weekend without me and joined. It was my first visit to the winery, and having read "Judgment in Paris" and seen the highly fictionalized "Bottleshock", I was anxious to determine for myself what all the fuss was about.
What we tasted:
2008 Napa Valley Chardonnay
This is reputed to be the same type of Chardonnay that won the 1976 Paris winetasting. It is a very nice, well-balanced, highly drinkable wine. The nose had notes of apple, lemon, and oak, and unlike some overwrought Napa Chardonnays, the oak was actually in balance. Hooray! The front of the wine was rather fruity, with flavors of apple and lemon, along with oak and soft tannins. The mid-palate progressed to stronger oak notes, and the finish was smooth, with lingering oak and tannins on the palate and hints of the earlier fruitiness. I gave it 8 out of 10 points, I would have liked a somewhat less tannic finish, but it was more my preference than a flaw in my opinion.
2008 Zinfandel
This wine was a surprise, most of the zinfandels I drink are from Amador County and are very powerful, fruity and spicy wines that are almost always rather hot and tannic. This wine reminded me much more of a sangiovese-style wine. The nose was medium-bodied oak, cherry, and violet, and the front of the wine picked up those flavors along with hints of vanilla and raspberry. The mid-palate brought in that sugared violet note that I love in any wine, along with pepper and a really nice meaty, juicy quality. This wine had a lovely, long finish with lingering notes of pepper and cherry. I gave this 9 out of 10 points and as I write this, I am really glad we bought a bottle!
2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
The nose had notes of cigar box (tobacco and cedar) and was medium-bodied for a cabernet. The front of the wine was quite fruity, predominantly juicy cherry. The mid-palate brought in notes of chicory, pepper and cardamom, along with rounded tannins. The finish was smooth with lingering notes of pepper and cherry. I did not find this Cabernet to be as richly layered as some of my favorites, and while it was very drinkable, not one that I would mark as wanting to age for any length of time. I gave it 7 out of 10 points.
2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine was HOT! While I am rating it on how it tasted today, I definitely would age this at least seven more years, and up to twelve or even longer. The nose was quite aromatic with notes of pepper, leather, cedar, and cherry. The front of the wine was quite alcoholic, although it had very nice flavors of cherry, leather and cedar that developed into fennel, anise, currant and blackberry mid-palate. The finish was rather tannic and hot, although I really sensed a smooth elegance and hints of refined elegance. So I would give this wine a 7 out of 10 today, I think this could be a 10 with aging.
2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Again, although this Cab was two years older, I really thought it could age another five to ten years easily. The nose again was quite aromatic, with notes of cigar box, leather, black cherry and vanilla. The front of the wine was fruity, with flavors of black cherry, currant, and cassis, and the mid-palate developed a deep meaty richness that hinted of greatness to come. The finish was still quite tannic and hot, with a lovely lingering cherry and pepper finish. I gave it 8 out of 10 and like the 2007 think this could be a 10 with just a bit more time in the cellar.
A lovely day ended with a fantastic dinner at Bottega, and I'm going to write a separate post because it was an experience to treasure and because I am ready to zonk. Ciao!
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