Another Year, Another Napa (aka Winter in Wineland IV)
Napa/Sonoma California
Tasted Sunday, January 5, 2020 - Saturday, January 11, 2020 by MC2 Wines with 812 views
Introduction
We've had quite the journey with wine but one of the constants has been an annual trip to Napa to enjoy some of the wines that we like out here. Even as we've adjusted purchases towards the older and with a broader distribution, we've stayed careful to keep some Napa in the portfolio because there is something about visiting friends and hospitality that Napa has down that is hard to beat.
Great set of visits across old and new and really appreciated John from Bacchus Wine Tours carting us around and the Las Alcobas which has turned into a pretty spectacular hotel with a great food and spa program that we took advantage of this trip.
Flight 1 - Mad Fritz Tasting Room
Always fun to check in on what Nile and team are doing. The tasting room seems to have expanded with what felt like close to 20 beers on tap. Some that are unique to the room. Really interesting stuff. Good afternoon listening to some jams and trying a few different pieces. Unfortunately no notes, but I did like the white ale, plum project, and the new cognac barrel ones quite a bit.
Flight 2 - Bar room snacks @ Acacia House (1 Note)
Easy spot as we love to stay at the Las Alcobas when we're in town and the bar has all of the great food from the restaurant but with a very laid back vibe.
Flight 3 - Tasting @ Arkenstone (3 Notes)
First time tasting with Connor which was fun but then we got to see Jake and Susan and I'll say that being at this winery feels like returning to some old family friends.
Flight 4 - Tasting @ Smith Madrone (4 Notes)
There is something to be said for a seated tasting room where you can enjoy a conversation with the owner or tasting room manager and there is also something to be said for the place that eschews it all. I still maintain there is no better value in Napa than the SM CS. Today Charlie said he wanted a wine that was at least worth 3x so people felt like they were getting value. The truth is, I've always thought it was a wine that competes with the $100-250 crowd and very well.
Flight 5 - Tasting @ Lokoya (5 Notes)
It's a contrast on the hills of SM, but I think the truth is I'm both of those people. This is a really lovely hospitality experience. First because the folks at Lokoya know wine and not just their own but wine from all over. Second because there is a thoughtfulness to how they approach a tasting that really stands out. Today we got an intro to wines that are new to the porfolio (Caladan) and a specially curated set of wines to taste to see how Lokoya vs. Cardinale comes across with similar sites. Diamond Mountain a real standout for me.
Flight 6 - Dinner @ Farmstead w/Alex (3 Notes)
Been a few years since we've made it to Farmstead but delicious food as always. Particularly a fan of their corkage fee which made it possible for us to enjoy a few random wines from Champagne and Cote Rotie as well as the non released vintage of MACDONALD.
Flight 7 - Tasting @ Napa Valley Reserve (3 Notes)
Ok, I was skeptical of this place. We loved Matt when he visited and when he said come visit we appreciated the opportunity to connect with another fun person who likes wine again so of course we said yes. But I didn't know what to expect and I was pretty sure it wasn't really going to be our jam. And I was wrong. We liked this place a lot more than I thought we would. Of course we're shifting purchases to wines with age and a bit away from the new world, but this place intrigued me. Who knows what we'll do, but I give them a lot of props for managing against a lot of cynicism.
Flight 8 - Tasting @ VHR (1 Note)
Bruce. What can you say about Bruce? He is an absolute treasure of the valley. I think we've talked almost everything in the world in a coach/facing armchair set up that he has in this living room. This year was politics of the world (always dicey, no good answers). But one of those topics where you can take a true impression of a person and Bruce impresses with his intellect, humbleness, and thoughtfulness. And then of course we're drinking the wine which is pure excellence.
Flight 9 - Lunch @ Mustards w/Brad (3 Notes)
I am not a celebrity junkie. I can walk by basically any movie star on the street (and I do, we live in NY) and I just don't notice. But for some reason Brad is just one of those people who I am always blown away by. He does stuff that I could never do. He does it very well. He is incredibly thoughtful about his craft and he is one of the more humble people you will ever meet. Most people give themselves more credit than they are due. Brad gives himself much less. It's endearing.
Flight 10 - Tasting @ BV (6 Notes)
I'm not 100% sure when we did one of the mainstay Napa Hwy 29 places and history and whatever as it is, the reality is that this is that. The tasting room has walk-ins and only some of those folks know something about wine and only some of those folks care. That being said, the history here is really something and the wines age like nobody's business and I found myself incredibly curious about this fully functioning winery that made it through prohibition and has been making wines that stand the test of time for many many years.
Flight 11 - Dinner while chilling (1 Note)
We had this plan that we might go out and hang with some lovely wine folks and check in on the place whose wine list we just loved a few years ago (Charter Oak), but we had a few cancellations and that wine list is moving super mainstream (Burgundy and young Cali at 3x) and it was awfully compelling to take an evening and just chill. So we did.
Flight 12 - Tasting @ Ridge (Monte Bello) (10 Notes)
The only other time we've made it to Ridge it was Winter in Wineland festival and just a mad house. So nice to have a bit more time to really learn about the place. The history here is just awesome. Some of the oldest vines you hear about in Cali. A place that has clearly cared about quality and creating classic styles. Very interesting to me to learn about how much American oak is used and how comfortable they are with aged oak. Special place.
Flight 13 - Tasting @ Goat Rock Cidery
Sometimes you need a bit of a break from big red wines and cider is one of my favorites. Goat Rocks is right in the wheelhouse. All about the bone dry style. Very fresh and crisp. Tasted through the full line-up from the Gravenstein, Dry Cider, Hopped Cider, Rose Cider, Pear Cider and then some of the items in tank (an upcoming guava/apricot, blackberry/chocolate/oak, and another batch of the Rose). For me the Hopped was the favorite (it's a great option if you like beer but need something just a touch lighter). I also really appreciated the Rose (with passionfruit) which was very unique and also very delicious. All great though. Looking forward to following this place in the future and would definitely recommend reaching out to Trevor if you are in the area.
Flight 14 - Tasting @ Kobler (4 Notes)
Goat Rock shares the space with Kobler and since we had a few mins after our tasting we went through a few here as well.
Flight 15 - Tasting @ Verite (6 Notes)
Really fantastic visit. The wines here are truly special and getting a chance to see some of the wines with age and some of the newer releases was great. Each of these could be contender for wine of the trip.
Flight 16 - Dinner @ Single Thread (2 Notes)
This is the reason we ended up doing a Sonoma day. Have kept hearing about the restaurant and wanted a chance to get to try. I will say it is a very good meal. Nice Japanese influence. Some very tasty bites. The difficulty with being 3 Michelin stars and the high expectations is it can be hard to surprise and delight, but I'd say this met my expectations and was a good meal.
Flight 17 - Tasting @ Colgin (4 Notes)
Has traditionally been a favorite of ours and fun to be back since last year they were using this time to do some upgrades to the building. Lots going on still as they're looking to plant some more vineyards on the property.
Flight 18 - Tasting @ Ovid (3 Notes)
Always fun to visit Austin, Kaitlin and the team. These guys were a bit ahead of the curve on the Cab Franc with their Hexameter (which was my favorite of the group). These are definitely more forward wines but very well constructed and I think will be fun to follow these as they age and some of the fruit tames down.
Flight 19 - Tasting @ Continuum (3 Notes)
What a really wonderful visit. Nice to reconnect with Clarissa and Chris. The day was just awesome and so this had a view all the way down to the Bay Bridge. Also a treat to get to try an older vintage and man is that '08 really special. Lovely to see where the wines are going with time and great to see how well they age.
Flight 20 - Dinner @ Miminashi (1 Note)
We had wanted to try Kenzo given all of the good things we've heard about it, but they weren't doing the sushi option and a full kaiseke menu felt like a bit much given how much other food we've had this week.
Flight 21 - Tasting @ BOND (6 Notes)
Always fun to catch up with Scott and see a different part of the BOND portfolio. Like many '12s this is a vintage that is relatively open for business although for my tastes I'd like some more age on them. Melbury is the easiest hello. Pluribus and Quella were a bit more brooding. St Eden is always a favorite, but I will say the Vecina stood out more to me than it normally does. A fun line-up and now that we've seen the wines over a few years I feel like I'm learning them a bit better.
Flight 22 - Tasting @ Progeny (5 Notes)
This is a winery that we've seen almost since the beginning. A personal favorite and this trip was no different. We did the food and wine pairing which was just exceptional (esp that lobster pot pie). The wines here are held back for more years (current release of the Reserve is '15, of the SSR is '13) so they've had a bit more time although these are wines that are made to age. Paul brought up some of his personal collection since the last time we visited and it has a group of 'inspiration' wines. The one that clicked the most for me is Unico. A lovely wine that is built to last and to be fair needs quite a bit of time. Progeny wines have always reminded me of that (with perhaps the Trinity series being a bit more accessible with a good decant). Always fun to see Blanca and def a highlight of the trip.
2014 Progeny Trinity Blanc
Lobster Pot Pie
2015 Mt Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Classic French Cassoulet
2014 Mt Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Grilled Akaushi Short Rib with Porcini, Chestnut & Purple Potato Gnocchi
2013 Mt Veeder Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Cremeux des Citeaux, Mista di Capra & Gruyere 1655
Flight 23 - Dinner @ Press (4 Notes)
Funnily enough for as many years as we've been coming to the Valley this was our first time at Press. Have heard great things esp about the wine list and wasn't disappointed. We also brought a champagne and Paul/Betty kindly provided an '08 Progeny which was my WOTN (still too young, but some of the baby fat is gone and with some time in the decanter it was really lovely).
Closing
As always, lots going on in the Valley.
A few places starting to plant some more vineyards. A lot more places starting to think about Cabernet Franc (often at the expense of the Merlot which apparently is struggling a bit more with the high temps). I didn't realize that CF fruit gets a similar price to CS fruit which is saying something given how much the price of CS fruit has gone up over the last many years. Fires are now a way of life and any halfway intelligent winery has invested in generators. While we didn't have a lot of the '17s (and there prob won't be a lot - some places are making none and some are making a lot less) my impression is that could be a really great classic vintage. You just needed to have your fruit in before the fire started because it turns out smoke taint isn't something that always shows up right away and the wineries that have a focus on quality aren't taking any chances (much appreciated - would not be fun to cellar a wine for 20 years to find that the smoke was an issue).
Personally it was also a fun visit. Always great to see some familiar faces and catch up and I like the personal connections as well as the wine.
Speaking of the wine, in the past year we've really started to drink a lot more old world and a lot less Napa. I was a bit tentative on how this visit would go and where my palate is. To be fair, there are some more fruit forward wines which esp young didn't stand out in the same way to me. On the other hand, I was glad to see that many of our favorites really do have the balance and restraint with perhaps a few exceptions but I wonder if a few years might let them find themselves.
So overall, a success. I look forward to 2021.
2016 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Ama Estate
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
(1/5/2020)
From a 375. Mildly sacrilegious to drink Pinot in Napa, but we had a full week ahead of us and nothing from the Napa side was super compelling so what can you do. This is the fruitier lighter style of PN which to be fair is right in my sweet spot. It's young and lacking anything that can be described as non-primary, but it's a good start and I'd be very happy to revisit in a few years as it put on weight and the fruit fades just a touch and some flavor that isn't fruit comes around. I think it could happen - it's a well made wine.
Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue