My trip to Napa, Part 2: Barrel tasting at Pride Mountain

Last week I took a trip down to Napa with Jason & Tracy Goldberger. Our first visit was to the fine folks at Pride up on Spring Mountain. I had visited the winery once before back in 2002 and did the regular tasting-room lineup and a quick walk through their new caves. However, this time I dropped a quick note to Greg Piatigorski, as every time he posts about Pride, he is talking about Bob & Romel and barrels. Well that was a good call. I can officially say that Greg is 'da Man!!!! After lightly chastising me for not giving him more warning, he proceeded to invite us along to taste with himself and Romel Rivera, the assistant winemaker. (Bob was busy with other things, so we weren't able to taste with him.) What ensued was a palate blasting tour through a dozen barrels (which is apparently a pretty light day for these guys). Great fun!



Let me offer a huge thanks to Greg, Romel and all of the fine folks at Pride. This was a blast! Anyway, here are my feeble notes...

While we were waiting to meet up with Greg, we started off with standard tasting-room pours, including the recently bottled 2002 Cab.

• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This is pretty much what I expect from a Napa Chardonnay, quite toasty and buttery with loads of toasted marshmallow showing up on the finish. No thanks.

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Viognier

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  This has really come together into a lovely nectar. The nose shows spricot pits and a soaring floral aspect. The palate is very spicy with some surprisingly nice minerality showing up on the finish. Well done!

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  Wow, this is spicy and ripe on the nose with blackberry cobbler nearly oozing out of the glass. As with my last taste, the finish shows a remarkably prominent note of brewed coffee. Very nice Merlot!

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I found the nose on this to be surprising, almost Quilceda-like, with violet and raspberry. Wow, the palate is so juicy, lots of structure, some chocolate, and sweet, red fruit on the finish. This is very tight right now, but there is a lot of poise and class in this wine, not a hypersweet fruit bomb.

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At this point we hooked up with Greg & Romel. After a brief wagon ride around the gorgeous property, we headed into the cave, glass in hand, to start the fun!

• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Claret

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  From barrel. My notes are terse, but this was the best Pride Merlot I have ever tasted. Admittedly, I have had very few bottles of the Reserve Claret, but wow!

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  From barrel. The color and structure here were simply off the charts.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  This was juice from 12-year old vines destined to make up the regular 2003 Cabernet. From innerstave-troncais barrel this was showing so youthfully, so exuberant, such unreal fruit, wow, this was shocking. Once my palate adjusted to the explosion of primary fruit I noted a hint of spice on the palate. From Tonnellerie Radoux barrel, this showed much more blackcurrant and jammy fruit, less wood-infused spice.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  From innerstave Troncais barrel, oh my God, this was just so plush with raspberry and coffee flowing all over the supple palate. Wow, there was such amazing perfume on this barrel sample, definitely the most memorable of all the tastes I had during the entire day. Also tasted from "Marsannay" (Burgundy) barrel. The same juice with a different barrel showed much more tannic and vegetal, much less flattering. Still, the 2003 Reserve Cabernet has great potential with such remarkable raw material to work from.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Franc

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

  From barrel. This was showing a LOT of barrel char. Once you clawed your way past that, there was a toasty, cedary character to the, very spicy. By comparison to the prior few barrels this was clearly thinner and more feminine. This seemed pretty shocked from recent racking, so it was tough to get a read on it.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Sangiovese

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  From barrel. When this is bottled if is normally 75% Sangiovese and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. I was excited to try just the pure Sangiovese juice. Leather and black cherry dominated. This could never be confused with an old-world Sangiovese, but I liked it without the Cabernet.

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• 2003 Pride Mountain Vineyards Syrah

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  From barrel. A dusky, meaty nose gave way to a palate loaded with ripe blackberry, lavish texture and SEARING structure. Very grippy on the finish. This is some wild and ornery juice!

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• 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Petite Sirah

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  From barrel. This smells so dense, like tar. Jason Goldberger nailed the wine when he said that it smelled like Amarone. Indeed, it was very raisiny in character. The palate showed so much plush fruit that it was like a fleece blanket, and then an unreal blast of tannin comes along and rips your face off. I think the Pride PetS are over the edge for me.

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• 2002 School House Pinot Noir

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

  School House is a property half way down the mountain and are not affiliated with Pride save for Bob Foley making wine for them. From barrel. Brambly and spicy on the nose, a bit funky. The palate is sappy, lush and very ripe with some notes of caramel. This is a Pinot of deep extraction with a "funky cherry cola" sort of personality.

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• 2002 Corté Riva Merlot

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Recently bottled. A nose of saturated blackberry with a lightly vegetal hint in the background. The palate is Pride-like with brown sugar and spice, very plush with terrific mouthfeel. The finish shows espresso. Deep structure. This carries its 15.7% alcohol remarkably well. Well done, this is a terrific Merlot!

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• NV Pride Mountain Vineyards Mistelle de Viognier

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  This was the second time I have had this wine, and it was much more flattering than the first, served well chilled. This bottle was 2003 unfermented Viognier grape juice that has grappa added. This was fresh and floral with a faint bite of alcohol. This hasn't quite integrated, and I don't know if it ever will. However, served at 50 degrees and sipped quickly, this is a very fn and interesting dessert wine. Just keep it cool!

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• 1998 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was Greg's bottle that he brought to open up after the tasting. Oh my, this wine shows such cassis, lead pencil and a hint of cedar. I just love the aromatics on this one. On the palate this brooding, dense and dark, very intense. I love the intensity, structure and power of this wine. This is less sweet than the young Prides and showing much more varietal character and depth. Awesome!

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