Napa/Sonoma Events

Various Venues
Tasted Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - Saturday, August 5, 2006 by 1800kidney with 1,519 views

Introduction

Lovely visit to Napa and Sonoma for actual work(!), as well as plenty of enjoyable events with family, friends and associates. The weather, wine, food and company was fabulous

Flight 1 - Dinner at Meritage in Sonoma (2 Notes)

Started off the events with a family dinner, high points included the wines, oyster platter, the Fisherman's stew, halibut, and a 4.5 quake to accompany dessert!

Flight 2 - Thursday's Main Event at Redd in Yountville (6 Notes)

Fabulous venue, food and wines were very special. Appreciated Chris' help with selections of their list, did a bit of a New World/Old World back and forth with the sparklers and pinots. The yellowfin tuna tartare with avocado and chili oil paired terrifically with the Viognier, and the pinots matched up with the grilled skate and free range chicken perfectly. The Banyuls was too hot and extracted to match with the dessert choices

Flight 3 - Cuvée in Napa (2 Notes)

Couple of late arrivals missed dinner and were well served at the new Cuvée, associated with River Terrace Inn. Food and ambiance were enjoyable (live music), and the wine choices were interesting, the Paradigm was expecially enjoyable.

  • 2003 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    (8/3/2006)

    Big fruit forward Howell mountain cabernet, real mouthful with lots of tannins and oak. Well integrated for such a young wine. We had it decanted and it opened up a bit. Scores may improve on this, but the midpalate and finish were not as well developed as they should be, needs some serious bottle time

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  • 2002 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    (8/3/2006)

    Excellent Napa Cabernet, very approachable. Ripe fruit, but not overextraced. Heidi Petterson Barrett winemaker, Blend: 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot,
    2% Cabernet Franc. Very nice finish, tannins and oak well balanced, will be long lived. Surprised that the WS rating wasn't higher

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Flight 4 - Visit to Napa Wine Company, with Pahlmeyer tasting (4 Notes)

Thanks to Robert, a special Pahlmeyer tasting was made available to our group; what a great way to spend a couple of hours! Not only were the wines great, but the wine maker (Erin) and vitaculturist (Amy) were on hand to share their insights. Current releases were tasted except for the Proprietary Red that will be released in 6 weeks or so. Just when we thought we had reached Wine Nirvana, Jason arrived and was extremely cordial and joined in the fun.

  • 2004 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (8/4/2006)

    Excellent chardonnay, with complex fruit and great extraction and prominent oak, carries a lot of alcohol but mouthfeel is round and balanced, long finish. Needs some bottle time

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  • 2003 Pahlmeyer Merlot 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (8/4/2006)

    Stylish merlot, black cherries and plums, but a bit closed up, it will improve with more aging

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  • 2003 Pahlmeyer Jayson Red Wine 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (8/4/2006)

    Excellent cabernet with great flavors, plums, cassis, even a bit of chocolate. Nice balance and acidity but finish is somewhat truncated. Plenty of potential

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  • 2003 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (8/4/2006)

    This is simply stunning...86.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, tasted on a pre-release basis, Fabulous cabernet presence with huge extraction, and backbone. This is a keeper!

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Flight 5 - Back to Sonoma on Friday with Friends (2 Notes)

Dinner at Girl and a Fig; local Salmon was special following the Early Girl Tomatoes stuffed with ricotta; couldn't have enjoyed a nicer evening with great company, wine and food.

Flight 6 - Farewell Event at Angéle, out on the terrace (4 Notes)

Overlooking the Napa River, great menu choices and venue. Colorado lamb chops were expecially good

  • 2004 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Durell Vineyard 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    (8/5/2006)

    Nice Sonoma chardonnay, seen plenty of Oak. Good flavors and firm acidity; pairs well with food rather than standing alone

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  • 2002 Truchard Pinot Noir 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

    (8/5/2006)

    Prototypic Carneros style pinot, good color and fruit extraction, bit of a tangy finish but that fell off quickly

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  • 1992 Ravenswood Pickberry 90 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

    (8/5/2006)

    Lost some verve, did not have the complexity or blance of previous bottles. This was a recent auction purchase so may have had storage problems. Cork was not seeped through, but did break during opening. In the past, the 1992 Pickberry has outshown the 1993, but not tonight

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  • 1993 Ravenswood Pickberry 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain

    (8/5/2006)

    Great depth and complexity, tannins are now in their place. The blend in 1993 was 51% merlot, 44% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc. The alcohol is a manageable 13.7%. Mouthfeel is lovely, great balance between the merlot and cab. Stemminess not an issue, this has really come alive, and is at its prime. Did better than the 1992

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Flight 7 - Bounty Hunter...stop off on the way back (2 Notes)

Part of the group just couldn't get enough of the beautiful Napa evening, and obviously enjoyed the opportunity to try some of the local syrah's

  • 2002 Viader Syrah 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (8/5/2006)

    Ok syrah, not very exciting. Fruity presence but not jumping out of the glass

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  • 2004 Pax Syrah Cuvée Christine 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    (8/5/2006)

    2004 Syrah with nearly 16% alcohol, but very approachable. Tanzier says it is produced for restaurant (ie early) consumption, and uses fruit forward and less tannic barrels for the blend. Whatever...lovely effort, terrific syrah varietal flavors with blackberries and some definite pepper

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Closing

Great couple of days, enjoyed by all. This in fact was a strategic retreat with colleagues and in addition to the above, the working sessions were focused and very productive!

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