Allora Vineyards is located in the vicinity of Ehlers Lane off of Highway 29 in the northern part of Napa Valley. The Allora winery and residence buildings are beautifully constructed and are the centerpiece of the property. This is truly a family owned and operated winery. The owners Terry and Nancy Klein have lived in the Napa Valley for many years and they own a successful residential & winery plastering company. Their daughters are also directly involved with the winery - managing the winery sales and marketing. The first vintage was in 1997. Ten acres of vines are planted on the estate with the majority being Cabernet Sauvignon and lesser amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah. The highlights of a visit here are the wine of course and the personal experience of sitting down with one of the owners or their children. Total production is about a thousand cases which means some of their wines sell out very quickly due to the low quantities. As of press time, all fruit comes from their own vineyards - although in the past they have sourced from several high end vineyards most notably in the Stag's Leap District. This is one of those rarer small Napa wineries who have everything they need planted right on the estate and don't necessarily need to source fruit from elsewhere.
The 2004 Cielo is a Tuscan style blend with Merlot as the dominant varietal but also contains Cabernet Sauvignon and touches of Sangiovese and Barbera. As with their other wines, only small quantities are available. The Cielo had a production of merely 194 cases. The one thing that makes this wine fairly unique is it is not made every year; it is only made during years where the quality of the grapes are superior. The nose has appealing aromas of raspberry, red cherry and just a touch of vanilla from the oak aging. This wine is very dark and full bodied with a touch of spiciness that hits around mid palate and continues into the very long finish. With reasonable yet structured tannins at this age and lively acidity this wine will also cellar very well. The 2005 Tresca Cabernet Sauvignon has 10% Cabernet Franc blended in - the blends and varietal additions usually change from year to year. Tresca means "intrigue" in Italian and its easy to see why customers are intrigued with this one. It is their most popular wine and was their original commercial release. We can see why with its balanced palate and smooth and silky mouth feel.
The Lusso blend is supposed to be excellent however it was sold out at time of our tasting. It is their 100% Reserve Cabernet Wine - the beautiful label was designed from a painting by Margaret Keane who is well-known for her paintings of people with large eyes. She has been painting for over 50 years. While not cheap now, if you have the budget, get your hands on some of her works - with such a unique style her art is only going to go up in value. Also of note is the Vino2 glasses they use for the tastings. These solid "wine aeration glasses" have a large "dent" in the side - this is for "breaking" the wine - which allows for additional aeration of the wine as you swirl and actually makes a splashing noise. It is always interesting when we find a new type of glassware; this is the only winery out of 600+ we have visited to use this unique type of wine glass. You can purchase them at the time of your tasting. A visit is for serious wine enthusiasts and is always held with family members. This is as personable a tasting experience as you will find in the Napa Valley. Allora loosely translates to "whatever" in Italian. Visit: www.alloravineyards.com
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