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Today the estate is covered in vineyards. The name comes from the Eagles that soar above this valley and the Rose comes from the wild roses that grow in and around Pope Valley. There are two nice sculptures in front of the actual winery, one of an Eagle and the other of a Rose. The tiled Mediterranean winery sits at the base of the hill and has a small tasting room. We have visited this winery but have yet to taste on site, so further information will be forthcoming. Eagle & Rose has a second label called Skyhawk Cellars(also available for tasting at A Dozen Vintners) and we have tried several of these wines. As with the Eagle & Rose wines, the Skyhawk wines are among the most reasonably priced Napa wines you will find. The 2005 Viognier is one of their nicest wines and is actually their most expensive wine, even higher than the reds. Not going to find pricing like that at any other Napa winery! It is hard to find a good Viognier in Napa, but this one is a winner. It is a very aromatic wine with notes of pineapple, citrus, honeysuckle and tropical fruits in the nose. The palate has a nice rounded smooth mouth feel with many of the aromas also represented within the layered flavors. This wine has a nice long finish. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is priced at $16 per bottle (we challenge you to find a more affordable Napa grown Cabernet Sauvignon!) This is a light to medium bodied Cabernet with notes of plum and some hints of oak. One feature that sets this winery apart from Napa area wineries is their very reasonable pricing. As of press time all Eagle & Rose wines are priced under $13 and you can even buy an older vintage Cabernet Sauvignon magnum for $45. We are not used to seeing case prices in Napa under $100! Eagle & Rose Inns also owns several boutique inns in the St. Helena area, Middletown and Cobb Mountain. Visit: www.eagleandrose.com |
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Eagle Eye was founded by Bill & Roxanne Wolf who both left previous careers. Unlike some who come to the Napa Valley and start a winery with a dream in the eye and leave much of the work to others, both Bill and Roxanne have jumped into the wine business with a well-rounded seriousness not often found by "newcomers". Before they actually started their wine label they certainly did their homework having taken numerous classes at UC Davis, gaining other wine certification as well as spending significant learning time in the vineyards in International wine regions.
They currently manage about 9 acres in the Wooden Valley area of eastern Napa County. It is planted to select varietals including several clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. This vineyard was the site of a very old walnut orchard. Before planting, the walnut trees were removed including all their root systems which if left buried, will carry a fungus detrimental to grapes. Holes up to 14 feet deep for each tree had to be dug in order to properly ensure the removal of the root systems! Alaska humus was brought down specially from Alaska; this is highly prized incredibly nutrient rich soil that has been formed by nearly 10,000 years of post ice age decomposition. It is soil that because of the long winters does not see the extent of microbial breakdown that you have in warmer climates. The owners are also proponents of the Soil Food Web which is the basis to ensure a very healthy vineyard. Their vineyard is farmed organically and Bill was one of the pioneers in the use of Compost tea on wine grapes. The actual vineyard is surrounded by multiple varieties of olive trees which they do harvest, press and then bottle for commercial sale. In addition to their vineyard, they source fruit from various high end vineyards almost exclusively in the Napa area. They focus entirely on blended wines, often coming up with some unique blends that you will not find anywhere else. Their wines are meant to be consumed at the time of purchase, are typically more light bodied in style and are not huge fruit driven high alcohol wines. Combining their delicious wines with the unique labels produces a complete package and really helps separate this winery from the rest of the "pack". The labels are all based on original paintings by Roxanne - if you see one of the labels you will never forget this wine based on the unique artwork! Each wine has its own unique "eagle eye" label. Although young, this winery has already shown amazing resilience. In 2004 a huge warehouse storing 4 vintages of their wines completely burnt down. They lost all their wine which effectively put them out of business. Despite the fire and incredible loss, they still had the sources for the grapes and their own vineyard and it took a few years until they were able to fully resume operations. Today they typically produce 2-3 whites and 6 to 8 red wines annually. All wines are usually produced in quantities of 400 to 800 cases with the exception being their wildly popular non vintage Voluptuous label. The version we tried contained fruit from 2002, 04 & 05. Aside from Port, it is almost impossible to find a current release non vintage red wine from Napa and this one is a treat. It is a unique blend of Cab Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel and Sangiovese. As the owners say, "this wine does not kill food". Along with this statement we can add, "this wine and their other wines will not "kill" your wallet as all are very affordably priced, especially by Napa standards. The Voluptuous is light bodied with a soft mouth feel with hints of blackberry and cherry on the palate. They have taken a wine such as Pinot Gris which is somewhat lean and light by itself and blended in some Chardonnay. The Chardonnay gives it some structure, more of a rounded mouth feel as well as viscosity and color. Their Muscat Canelli is to die for with citrus aromas and tropical flavors on the palate. What is nice is the sugar on the finish totally drops off so you are not left with a syrupy sweet taste in your mouth. Look for their second label, Eagle Eye Limited in the near future. Visit: www.eagleeyewine.com |
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Breezes from the nearby Lake Hennessy arise in the afternoon and this cooling contributes to the slow maturation of grapes. The grapes are picked in the the cold of the early morning where the temperatures are usually in the 40's and then immediately brought into the cave which has a temperature of around 60. This is advantageous because the grapes slowly reach fermentation over the next 4 to 5 days (allowing the flavors to really develop in the juice) as the yeast used starts to kick in at the higher cave temperature. Most of the wine here is held back 4 to 5 years before being released. This provides extended proper aging before even reaching the market which not all wineries have the luxury of doing. Eagles Trace is located merely 3 miles from the Napa Valley floor but the drive is very windy and once you reach the property it feels like you are miles away from the main part of Napa Valley. This is because it has a feel of being an isolated location; it is very quiet and you are surrounded by the vineyards and hills. A visit here includes a short walk (weather permitting) to the cave for some barrel samples and then a tasting at the owner's home. Eagles Trace concentrates on high end Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and their Latitude 38 Blend (again the name of this label is a reflection on the "sense of place" as this vineyard sits at Latitude 38 degrees, 30 minutes north. Their Pinot Noir is among the most complex rich Pinots we have tasted in the Napa Valley. The Latitude 38 is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvigon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This is a dark ruby colored wine that has the elegance of a French Style wine and the richness of ripe California fruit. It is extremely well balanced. Visit: www.eaglestrace.com |
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Leslie Rudd has a long history in the wine industry; his parents founded Standard Beverage Corporation in 1949 - this would go on to become the largest wine and spirits wholesaler in the state of Kansas. As a result his involvement in the spirits and wine industry dates from an early age. Today he is owner of Rudd Winery at the eastern edge of the Oakville Cross Road, the Oakville Grocery at the western edge of the Oakville Cross Road, Dean & Deluca and Distillery 209. True to Edge Hill's heritage, Rudd decided to plant a number of varietals including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignane, and just a few vines of Alicante Bouschet. In the "old days" this was a common way of making wine - taking fruit from a vineyard that contains a number of red varietals and calling it your "mixed black". We recently had the chance to walk the vineyard with Rudd's winemaker Patrick Sullivan. The vineyard is true to its history including the wide variety of varietals planted - the vines are all head pruned centered with redwood stakes. This vineyard is nearly 5.5 acres and like the name of the winery sits on the edge of the Mayacamas mountains just east of the town of St. Helena. The vineyard is slightly sloped with well drained loamy soils. The modern day vines were planted in 2000 and until recently were dry farmed, this soil has very good water retention even through the summer. The vineyard was the home site of Louis Martini for many years and served as a horse pasture up until Leslie Rudd purchased it in the late 1990's. The site includes an old distillery building as well as the actual 3-story gravity fed winery. This was the first significant gravity fed winery in the Napa Valley and by 1880 it was one of the prominent wineries in the valley. The winery building itself has been retrofitted but is not currently in use as a winery as all Edge Hill wines are made at Rudd Winery. This winery was bonded number 209 - initially Leslie wanted to turn it back into its former use but eventually opened his distillery operations in San Francisco with a tribute to this wineries' bond number. Distiller 209 The beautiful distillery building was built in 1882. Edge Hill wines are extremely limited production premium wines with each vintage typically produced under several hundred cases and often under 100 cases. Their first Mixed Blacks vintage was from 2001 with sourced fruit and then entirely with estate fruit starting in 2003 as soon as their vineyards came of age. Their Mixed Black wines to date are crafted most years but not every year. They are made when the quality of the fruit is to their exacting specifications. The 2005 Vintage Port made under the Edge Hill label is not made every year and is sourced from several vineyards both in Napa and Mendocino County. This wine is a unique blend of 58% Zinfandel, 34% Carignane and 24% Syrah. The big bouquet shows black fruit and baking spices including nice notes of cinnamon. The palate is fruit forward, juicy and very rich. This is rich wine with a super long finish. It will warm you up! Because of their extremely limited production Edge Hill wines are typically not distributed and are most readily available directly through a visit to Rudd Winery. The Edge Hill property also produces commercial estate olive oil and honey. For more information visit: www.edgehill.com as well as www.ruddwines.com |
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The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is blended slightly with Merlot and Cabernet Franc - the idea behind using these two varietals is the Merlot adds a bit of softness while the Cabernet Franc helps provide additional structure. A combination of new and used French and American oak are used during the aging which on the 2005 vintage was 16 months. Both native and cultured yeasts are used during the fermentation. Two words can easily describe the mouth feel on the 2005 vintage - soft and balanced. It is not huge bodied but has layers of flavor and structure often found in Napa Cabernet's priced much higher. Nice cherry and blackberry notes on the nose follow to a palate with additional cherry flavors with notes of vanilla and a smooth finish anchored by delicate silky tannins. The fruit lingers in harmony for some time on this very long finish. When most people try this wine there is an element of surprise that follows when they learn the price! The punch line in our reference above, is this wine retails for $20 and you can find it even cheaper than that from some online distributors. This is one of those rare Napa Cabernet's where people often think the price is 2 and 3x higher and there are certainly a plethora of similar quality Napa Cabernet's out there at these higher prices. Out of more than 500 visits and tastings with Napa vintners this wine is definitely in our top handful of price to quality ratio wines. In fact in 2007 Edge took the highest honors for best Cabernet Sauvignon $20 and under Food & Wine's American Wine Awards. Total production at the time of this review is about 16,000 cases. They are distributed in a number of states including parts of Western Canada. Locally, you can find the wine at Cellar Collections in the town of Napa, St. Helena Wine Merchants in St. Helena and Cal Mart in Calistoga. Visit: www.edgewines.com |
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The vineyards and winery are owned by Petrus Bekker who currently works in the Silicon Valley in the Biopharmaceutical industry. Petrus was looking for a nice vacation property in the Napa Valley and at the time of his search there were not many properties available for sale. This site was one of them. He was supposed to see this property with his real estate agent but she was sick and he ended up driving up Spring Mountain in search of the property. It is somewhat fortuitous in regards to how Petrus met his vineyard manager and winemaker Emil Tedeschi. While driving along the narrow windy Spring Mountain Road he stopped by the side of the road to look out at the views and the property. Emil, a veteran winemaker in the valley stopped because he thought Petrus had broken down on the side of the road and needed help. Little did he know that this random meeting on the side of the road between two strangers would form the start of a relationship where Emil would become Petrus's winemaker. Long story short, Petrus ended up purchasing the property and planting vineyards in 2002. The site had been previously planted by the Beringers in the 1940's but at the time of the replant there were just a few old scraggly vines still growing. The estate is 15 acres, 7 of which of are planted to vine including several clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc. We recently had a chance to walk most of these vineyards. They are planted on very steep somewhat rocky soils. Productions as expected are low - typically 2 tons or less per acre are harvested annually. Their first release was from 2005 and is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of the other two estate grown varietals blended in. Their focus is on this one wine although they may release a second wine in the future. If you are looking for a true Bordeaux style hillside grown wine, this is the wine for you. Its made in an elegant softer style with alcohol levels much lower than the valley standards; these wines are usually in the mid 13's. The label certainly stands out; it is an image of an almost nude Adam and Eve - with Eve handing Adam a bunch of grapes rather than the normal apple. Eeden is also the maiden name of Petrus's wife and is a name that can be used to easily describe the property with its stellar views and secluded feel that is so common to Spring Mountain properties. No fruit from the vineyard has ever been sold - however only the best lots are selected for the final blending. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon has an appealing bouquet of red cherry, plum and berry fruits. It is nicely balanced between both red and dark fruit. As the wine opens additional aromas are revealed including subtle notes of baking spices. This is an elegant wine both because of its balance, softness and its clean finish. The oak is well integrated with the fruit and pleasant flavors show including raspberry and red cherry. For a hillside grown fruit, the wine is surprisingly soft and smooth. Their wine is available in both the 750 ml and the half sized bottles. As of the time of this review a small winery is on site and will be used for future harvests. Tastings by appointment (for serious wine enthusiasts) will also be held sometime in the future and will always be private for your party. Currently the production is extremely small and they are not yet distributed. The best way to acquire their wines is direct through their website. Visit: www.eedenwines.com |
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Egelhoff Wines was founded by long time Napa Vintner Bob Egelhoff with his first vintage dating from 1999. He has a background in both viticulture and enology and graduated from UC Davis. After managing vineyards for a brief period near Chico, California he moved to the Napa Valley and what better vineyard management company to start with than Beckstoffer. He worked for them for several years in the mid 1980's and followed that with stints at well known Napa wineries including Harlan, Pahlmeyer, Chappellet and Merryvale.
Since the early 1990's he has exclusively consulted for a number of ultra premium small producers - all based in Napa. It is refreshing to find other wines and varietals from a small Napa producer, other than the ubiquitous Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and or Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Bob makes several wines fairly uncommon to Napa including his first ever release of Riesling in 2008. There are not many Napa Riesling producers (very few vineyards of this varietal in the valley) and it is always a treat for us to find this wine when we are conducting reviews for this project. As Bob says, "a Riesling is one of the more versatile wines" - and it can be paired with a large variety of ethnic foods and does particularly well with spicy foods. This Riesling is made with grapes entirely grown within Napa. The 2008 has a nice straw color in the glass with a very aromatic aroma even at its chilled temperature. Aromas of pear, apricot, and honey show with additional hints of mineralities. This wine is slightly off dry clocking in at a reasonable 1% residual sugar. There is definitely a slight background sweetness to the wine but it in no way takes way from the excellent fruit that shows on the palate. Notes of honey continue to the palate with additional nuances of stone fruit flavors. It is balanced from start to finish with with excellent acidity. We tasted this wine just after it had been released and already it is extremely popular - especially during the summer. Its a great wine to sip around the pool. We tried a number of barrel samples including Egelhoff's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. The several Cabernet Sauvignons from barrel that we tried all had great color, but Bob says this vintage is among the darkest and most concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon of any vintage he has crafted. Part of that reason is tied to the much lower yields from the mountain side sourced vineyard used for this wine. April of 2008 saw severe frost damage to parts of the Napa Valley, especially on the eastern side in the hills. This was the worst frost damage in over 30 years and it will be interesting to see how wines from this particular year develop. The 2008 while so young and from barrel already is bursting with huge flavors from entry all the way to the super long finish. This is going to be one concentrated wine once it is released in a few years. Bob is involved in a very interesting one of a kind project. His blend, Two Worlds involves a 50/50 blend of Australian Shiraz and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The Shiraz is flown over in the cargo hold of a jet and then receives its aging at the winery and Bob puts together the final blend. We tried a barrel sample of the Shiraz - it is a juicy mouth filling varietal that is all about the fruit flavors. The Cabernet Sauvignon contributes much of this wines structure and when combined with the Shiraz you have a very unique wine. Two Worlds is produced in merely 500 etched magnum bottles each year. Another very unique project is Egelhoff's tawny port found under his Walton label (a family name). This is made in the solera style so there is no vintage - only several producers we have met with in Napa produce non vintage ports. Note that Egelhoff also has a Cabernet Sauvignon under the Walton label. This tawny port is made from a number of very interesting varietals including Carignane from 95 year old vines and early Burgundy, Garnacha (Grenache) and Touriga Nacional. Bob started making port before even starting his Egelhoff brand and as a result actually has a tawny port on the market even though his Egelhoff label was started 10 years ago as of the time of this review. Tawny port needs to age 15 years before being released. This is a rare wine indeed. Egelhoff only releases about 70 cases of this every two years, just to mailing list members and or those who taste on site at the winery. It is a complex wine with layered aromas and flavors. It is quite brown in the glass and shows notes of maple syrup, crème Brule, and honey in the bouquet which lead to a rich palate dripping with liqueur and butterscotch flavors. The finish lingers tantalizingly and leaves you wanting only more of this unique wine! Bob says this wine shines when used in cooking or pairing with fresh fruit - put some of this over fresh nectarines, peaches or strawberries and you are in heaven. You can find Egelhoff wines at several locations locally including both St. Helena Wine Merchants and the Wine Center as well as ACME Fine Wines (all in St. Helena). The best way to enjoy Egelhoff's wines is to join their mailing list and to make an appointment for a tasting with Bob at the winery. Tastings are for serious wine enthusiasts and are always by appointment. This is a unique opportunity to taste with a long time Napa winemaker who has both extensive experience in the vineyards as well as winemaking. Visit: www.bobegelhoff.com |
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All proceeds from your tasting fee and or sales of wine go straight to the Leducq Foundation's international cardiovascular research programs. This is the only winery with a physical winery location in Napa valley that we know of who has built their charity work directly into their winery. What a great way to directly contribute to a worthwhile cause and enjoy good wines at the same time! This winery was actually started in 1886 and remained open during Prohibition as a "home winery". Jean and Sylviane Leducq, originally from Paris, purchased the winery and created the foundation in 1996. The elegant tasting room is in the old stone ghost winery which has stood the test of time very well with additional structural support added. Drive down a long single lane road and park in the dirt parking lot in front of the tasting room entrance. As you walk in, note some of their displays lining the wall including the full wine barrels. The winery's original press dates from the early 1880's and is on display. Their vineyards are farmed organically (CCOF certified) and Biodynamically (will be certified most likely by 2009) which typically involves three things; you build the soil naturally using special natural compost, philosophically farm, prune and harvest based on phases of the moon and planets, control pests and diseases without chemicals (cover crops), and use plants that attract beneficial insects. There is a neat display about Biodynamic farming which sits on top of two wine barrels in the main tasting room. All wines produced are from their own 39 acres of estate vineyards. We started our tasting with their 2005 Merlot and as they say at the winery, this is the Merlot for Cabernet drinkers. It is a fruit forward wine with nice structure and balance. It is what you would call a "rich" Merlot with layered flavors. Ehlers makes several very nice Cabernet Sauvignons including their 100% varietal "1886" which is the wine they are most known for. This wine (2005 vintage) is made from grapes which are selected from only the most rocky, porous soils, perfect terroir for growing high end fruit! As a result, only select blocks in their vineyard are picked ensuring only the highest quality fruit is used from the estate. This wine is extremely well balanced. The nose is elegant parting notes of black fruits and herbs with touches of vanilla. The palate follows with some raspberry and more cherry. There is a great mouth feel to this vintage. Also be sure to try their varietal Cabernet Franc; it is 100% varietal (somewhat rare to find in Napa). Aside from the fruit, the bouquet has some underlying aromas of cigar box and a nice herbal note. This is a delicious wine that delivers fruit all over the palate anchored by a finish that hints of spice and smokiness, yet is quite smooth. Picnic tables under the olive trees and a nearby Bocce Ball court are available. Ehlers offers a one of a kind Estate and Historical Tour - call for appointments. In addition as of press time they are planning a sensory and wine evaluation program. Visit: www.ehlersestate.com Spotlight on Ehlers Estate by TweetMeTV: |
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The vineyards are family owned and operated and are located about 25 minutes to the south. Under El Molino's control, they were originally planted in 1978. Lily Oliver and her husband Jon are the owners; Jon is also the winemaker. A tour/tasting typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. You will be shown their two wine making/storage facilities, one for their Pinot Noir and one for the Chardonnay. The original winery has been restored into a house and an original hand dug tunnel leads from one of their barrel rooms to this house. Another structure on the property was built in the 1940's and remnants of the Asian influenced garden can still be seen. In one of the barrel rooms you can see an El Molino bottle of wine with the original label on it dating from around the turn of the century. The current label is based almost exactly on the original label's design. Pinot & Chardonnay are the only two wines this winery makes. Wondering how an "up valley" winery can produce these two "cooler climate" varietals? Well, their vineyards are actually located further south in the Rutherford Appellation, in a part of this appellation that is conducive for these varietals. Those in the know, know that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are not usually found in this appellation and in in fact, their Pinot noir grapes are the only vineyard that we know of planted to this varietal in Rutherford. Aside from the high land value to varietal income ratio, perhaps more wineries would start to take note of using Rutherford for high end Pinot noir after trying El Molino's wine. Their Pinot Noir grapes are whole cluster fermented (the stems are lignified - which means they are brown and also "ripe" so you do not get any "green" characteristics to the wine). We tried the 2005 vintage, its color is consistent with previous vintages of this wine. It is very dark red in color with nuances of cherry floating on the bouquet with additional cherry notes on the palate. This is a rich, layered in flavor Pinot noir with nice spices and good structure anchoring the very long finish. Their Chardonnay is a beautiful golden color almost looking like some of the aged Rieslings we have tried; the nose is somewhat tropical with beautiful honeysuckle and interesting floral aromas. The palate is rich with notes of ginger, lime and additional honey nuances. Their wines have been served at a White House Presidential dinner. As of press time, the total production is about 900 cases of each wine. They have a mailing list and if you enjoy a great Pinot & Chardonnay we encourage you to signup via their website. Visit: www.elmolinowinery.com |
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Elan Vineyards is run by the husband wife team of Patrick and Linda Elliot-Smith. Patrick is one of the modern day pioneers of the Atlas Peak Appellation in Napa and in fact was one of the original founders of this AVA. He first moved to Atlas Peak in 1975 and then 4 years later acquired a piece of land that he developed from scratch. Parts of Atlas Peak are extremely rocky and shallow and his parcel is no different. While living in a Teepee for the first year without electricity he remembers moving rocks easily the size of cars. Atlas Peak is a mountain appellation generally characterized by very rocky volcanic soil. Incidentally, it is also one of the few places where from select viewpoints on a very clear day you can see the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east.
Patrick is a philosophy major turned vintner who is completely self taught. What is fairly rare in the valley today is someone who is both their own vineyard manager and winemaker such as Patrick. He ran a successful vineyard management company for many years and helped developed prime vineyard land in the valley for several Napa notables such as Beaulieu Vineyards, Dominus & Hess Collection. Today he no longer has his vineyard management company but still manages all his own vineyards himself. In 1979 he cleared and planted Elan's first vineyards and has since planted a number of additional acres all growing the primary Bordeaux varietals. The property sits at about 2000 feet above sea level and well above the Napa Valley floor. Yes they do typically see snow at the vineyard several times each winter. The top of Atlas Peak (2,663 feet) is nearby and can be easily seen from the property. This is a very temperate growing climate as they are entirely above the fog line and during summer heat spikes, temperatures up here are usually more moderate than up valley. As a result hang time is rather long; the grapes tend to ripen slower. For several years the original vineyard block on the property produced fruit for Caymus Winery. However after tasting a number of their wines with his Atlas Peak grown fruit, Patrick decided to hold back the grapes and make his own wine. Elan's first vintage was from 1992. The winery is almost entirely self contained - which certainly helps based on its somewhat remote location and the fact that Atlas Peak Road becomes very narrow and windy towards the end. The only outside help for their production is a mobile bottling truck and there are only 1 or 2 mobile bottling companies in Napa that will make this drive. At face value Elan's wines speak for themselves but just tasting the wine doesn't tell the story of 30 years of hard work developing the vineyards and learning the nuances of the various locations on the property. Patrick is a veteran of Atlas Peak having helped to develop many of the vineyards located within this appellation as well as beyond. His vineyards are farmed organically and at the time of this review was in year 3 of the CCOF organic certification. Elan is a big believer in dropping fruit and does so several times at strategic points after blossom up until right before harvest. With very rocky hill side soils they already have low yields, but by removing all but the highest quality fruit their yields are even lower. Elan's vineyards are very much hand managed by Patrick. He employs the Jules Guyot method of trellising which is uncommon in the valley but common in Bordeaux. This type of trellising is very labor intensive and more complicated than conventional trellising but helps keeps the fruit production low. Tasting Elan's wine's can be an eye opener if you have a pre-conceived notion that the hillside rocky volcanic soils of Atlas Peak only produce big chewy tannic wines. Initially, in fact Patrick even planted more Merlot vines with the thought of using these for increased blending - to help soften the Cabernet Sauvignon. Their terroir makes this a moot point. Elan's wines are amazingly elegant, soft, focused and balanced. These are the type of Napa wines we love to drink. The 2006 Proprietary blend incorporates only three of their finest barrels from each vintage (based on blind tasting) and as a result is available in very limited production only to wine club members. After bottling, this wine always ages for at least another year before being released. We tried the '06 vintage while still in barrel. It was already an elegant wine with a very balanced palate for still being approximately 18 months away from release. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth and seamless from start to finish and is an elegant wine that shows extremely well even without food. In fact this is one of the nicer without food Napa Cabernet Sauvignons we've tried. The perfume filling bouquet holds just a hint of vanilla followed by a palate containing concentrated flavors including notes of raspberry and blackberry. The finish is lively and features broad sweet tannins. Elan's wines tend to age very well and once a year they showcase their older vintages for wine club members only. Every so often a vintage is perfect for letting some of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes hang on the vine until later in November - and during these select years (only 2 years to date), Elan makes a Cabernet Sauvignon Late Harvest wine. We are aware of only 1 other vintner in the Napa Valley who makes this type of wine every year and another producer who has only made it within the past few years. Needless to say it is a very rare wine in Napa. The 2006 is inky dark with a pleasing very aromatic nose. This wine is sweet but not cloyingly so; it shows very ripe dark fruit (blackberry, blueberry), but is not prune like in nature. It is a sweet wine that finds a good balance between sweetness and alcohol. The finish shows good structure and is slightly smoky. This wine is only available to club members. Patrick's brother is an artist and his work appears on the label of their Cabernet Sauvignon every year. Elan maintains a mailing list and a wine club with several tiers. As of press time there is still availability in their wine club. For the limited production and high quality of wines, Elan keeps their prices quite reasonable by area standards. They do not have any retail outlets and sell direct to consumer. As a result they are not distributed although you can find their wines locally in select Napa Valley restaurants including Ubuntu in Napa, Etoile at Domain Chandon in Yountville, Go Fish in St. Helena and also at the Auberge du Soleil Resort also in St. Helena. A typical vintage sees a production of around 700 cases. Visit: www.elanvineyards.com |
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Spencer has been involved in the wine industry for his entire working life as a chef, sommelier and then later owning his own wine distribution business. Both Elizabeth and Spencer share the actual winemaking duties with their primary winemaker. The small one room tasting room is located right across from the Rutherford Grill Restaurant and Beaulieu Vineyard; what a contrast in winery sizes! They do have a tent outside which can seat 30 to 40 people and is a nice place to taste wine weather permitting. Typically that is reserved for wine club members, large groups who have made advance notice for tasting or for their Appellation tasting. This particular tasting is held once a day in the morning and tastes four wines from completely different growing regions within the Napa Valley. These wines are paired with select cheeses and your pourer will discuss how the differences in soil and climate help create such unique wines. For a small winery they make a large number of various wines from Napa fruit as well as from nearby counties. They have established long term relationships with various vineyards ensuring that they know the type of high quality fruit they receive as well as ensuring consistency in their wines. When we visited they had just recently started pouring a very light easy to drink Rose of Pinot Noir (which you won't often find in the Napa wine scene). Also be sure to try their amazing Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder (available in limited quantities). Because they have such a variety of wines to choose from their tasting options vary from time to time. A tasting typically includes four of their wines. If you are lucky you may happen to bump into either Elizabeth or Spencer as they will drop by from time to time. Visit: www.elizabethspencerwines.com |
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Ken and his partners purchased land in 1983 and initially planted a very small amount of Pinot noir and Chardonnay as they wanted to be sure these varietals would do well in a unproven vineyard location. Due to the hillside location and proximity to the bay, frost damage is not a problem. These initial acres thrived and today 20 acres of Pinot noir is planted. Elkhorn Peak has no plans to become a large Napa winery. They are more concerned about managing the vineyards they own now as well as producing high quality wines. Based on their current vineyard size they will not make any more than 3500 cases. Their winemaker has been with them since the first commercial vintage. Today from their property you can look out over a sea of more recent vineyards, mostly from large Napa wineries. Elkhorn was originally a grape grower for the first few years (selling fruit to other wineries) and in the early 90's came out with their first commercial vintage. A visit here is for the serious Pinot noir wine enthusiast as all tastings are private with the co-owner and viticulturist Ken Nerlove. Ken's favorite place is among the vineyards and weather permitting, he will walk you through the vines and answer any vineyard related questions you may have. The vineyard is on site of an old sheep ranch and the tastings are held upstairs in the converted sheep barn. The tasting room is simple yet elegantly furnished and provides one an intimate tasting experience. From the adjoining deck on a clear day you can actually look across the San Pablo Bay all the way to San Francisco where you can see the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge rising far in the distance. Their Pinots are a combination of several different clones. We enjoyed a 2002 and a 2000 Pinot noir. Most people will drink a Pinot within hours of purchase but consider setting a few bottles aside for aging. The 2000 we tried was 7 years old and aged as well as any Pinot you will find. It had that nice ruby color, was smooth and well balanced. As of press time, only several thousand cases of the Pinots are produced and they also have a Chardonnay available which has an even lower production. Visit: www.elkhornpeakcellars.com |
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Ray's next job was actually as a tasting room staff at Whitehall Lane Winery. Talk about an interesting way to get your foot in the door to be a winemaker! Fortunately his passion for being a winemaker showed through and he wasn't long for the tasting room. He was moved to the cellar where he learned wine making skills and then was fortunate to open this winery in 1987. Elyse is named after his daughter. He later had a son Jake who when was in 4th grade started complaining that he did not have a wine label named after himself! ....so his father Ray produced a second wine label called Jacob Franklin and you can also find these wines in the tasting room. Only in Napa Valley...right?! Look for the wine dogs typically lounging around the tasting room entrance, they have been featured in the Wine Dogs of Napa Valley Book. As of press time, Elyse produces an amazing variety of high quality wines - 27 different wines. Wow. With the exception of their high end Cabernet Sauvignons (priced accordingly for Napa high end Cabernet Sauvignon), all their wines are priced very decently. A typical tasting is quite generous (8 different wines) and is part of the spirit that comes with producing such a large number of wines. Several of these wines feature extremely unique blends as well as rare varietals not often used by Napa wineries. In order to acquire these varietals they source from various locations in California including the Sierra foothills. One of these is their 2006 L'Ingenue which is their Rhone varietal white wine blended with Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc. In part the Roussanne contributes a nice viscous creamy weighty mouth feel. Ripe pear and apple show well on the mid palate with nuances of fig and apricot towards the finish. The 2005 C'est Si Bon is composed of 7 different Rhone varietals, some of which you will never find in Napa and as a result the grapes for this wine are again sourced from the Sierra foothills. Tasting notes aside, this wine "is good" - which the name in French translates to "its so good". Elyse makes two totally different style of Zinfandels. The 2006 Korte Ranch is a leaner style with lots of white pepper in the bouquet which follows onto the palate. Zinfandel fruit lovers take note of the 2005 Morisoli Vineyard Zinfandel. If you had to smell this wine blind, you would swear you had a Zinfandel Port in front of you. The aromas are of very ripe fruit followed by rich flavors of blackberry, raspberry and hints of mocha. The 2006 Petite Sirah (with some Zinfandel and a splash of Viognier) is interesting in that most of the fruit hits your palate towards the finish. Enjoy a slightly sweet white wine? Try the 2006 La Peche a blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Malvasia Bianca. Just the right amount of sugar versus fruit makes this a very well balanced wine with fruity notes of pear intermingled with almost a cinnamon aroma - leading to a palate with nuances of very red ripe apples...a delicious not quite dessert wine. Their Petite Sirah Port is "to die for". With a production of so many wines you can see we have only highlighted a few that we have tasted. Most others are available through their website. Visit: www.elysewinery.com Ray talks about his winery: |
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Emmolo Wines was founded in 1994 by Cheryl Emmolo. Her family has a long history in the Napa Valley wine industry with her grandfather establishing a nursery near St. Helena to provide rootstalks to area growers in the 1920's. In fact he even built a stone winery (still standing today), but was never used due to bad timing with Prohibition. Her father has been a Napa Valley grape grower for many years and still provides grapes to a number of high end Napa wineries. She has always loved wine and wanted to provide a "wine legacy" to her sons who are also involved with the winery. Emmolo focuses on merely three wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and a Syrah Rose. We started our tasting with the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. The source vineyards include the Emmolo River Ranch property in Rutherford. This vineyard is trellised in an open leaf canopy style thus allowing maximum sunlight to reach the grapes. The grapes were not picked all at once, rather they were picked over a span of several weeks depending on ripeness. This wine is a light golden color and is all about the fruit. The aromas are full of citrus including lemon and lime with tangerine and a slight flinty or steel flavor on the palate. The mid palate is juicy and the finish is long.
The next wine is one of the lightest wines you will ever see. It is a Rose of Syrah and has just a touch of pink or color to it. Part of this reason is the juice only spent 3 hours on the skins so it did not have a chance to pick up much color. The fruit for this wine came from Cheryl's fathers' vineyard whose grapes have been historically sold to other wineries so Emmolo is fortunate to have secured this fruit. Everything about this wine is subtle including the nose which has floral aromas and the palate which hints of raspberry and graphite. This is a crisp very dry wine. Also of note is their 2005 Merlot which is a blend from two vineyards; one in Carneros and one from Atlas Peak. This is a big Merlot, dark purple in color with great blackberry, plum and cherry characteristics on the palate. It is well balanced between fruit, acidity and tannin structure. Emmolo does not sell direct to consumers, but they are well distributed within the USA and parts of Canada. Visit their site for details: www.emmolowines.com |
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Encanto Vineyards | Tweet
focuses on single varietal, single vineyard wines and is owned by first generation Mexican American vintner Rosaura Segura and her husband Enrique. The story of their life in the Napa Valley begins with Rosaura's father Don Enrique in 1946 when he decided to move to the United States. He signed up for the "Bracero" program - an agreement between Mexico and the United States which at the time was a controversial program formed to provide temporary contract laborers from Mexico. Don Enrique moved north from Zacatecas Mexico. He was a migrant farm worker - spending time seasonally in various parts of the USA depending on where and when crops were ready to harvest. Don Enrique ultimately settled in the Napa Valley in the early 1950's and was one of the earliest Mexican American farm workers and vineyard managers. There weren't that many wineries in the Napa Valley in the 1950's - he started as a field worker with Beringer and then moved to Charles Krug where he stayed for many years. Over time as he was able to save from his income working in the vineyards, he brought family members to Napa in the 1960's and by the early 1970's his entire immediate family was living in the Napa Valley. Rosaura remembers helping harvest a number of vintages during the 1970's. Later she become involved in increasing social awareness for migrant farm workers as well as providing farm worker housing (with the passage of measure L) which allowed farm worker housing to be built on land zoned for agriculture. Rosaura is one of the founding members and current secretary of the Napa Sonoma Mexican American Vintners Association. This organization was formed after a number of vintners poured their wines in Mexico at the Michoacán State Fair and collaboratively recognized the need to have an organization that would promote their own wines, support Mexican Americans in the wine industry and provide wine education. In 2002 the Segura's purchased land in Lake County (to the north of Napa County) and planted 20 acres of Sauvignon blanc. This region is now in the Big Valley appellation which is becoming better known for its Sauvignon blanc. They sold all the fruit (and continue to sell the majority) but in 2008 released their first wine under the Encanto label. A Napa Carneros Pinot noir was later added and a 2010 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon will be their first Cabernet released. Their estate 2010 Sauvignon Blanc saw mostly stainless steel during fermentation and aging with just a kiss of neutral oak. The nose shows juicy fruit - more tropical in aroma than citrus like. Stone fruit aromas are present including white peach and white nectarine as well as hints of lemon grass. This wine has great acidity and a mid palate that shows flavors of pomelo. Good mineralties are present on the finish with a touch of graphite - it is lean and clean on the palate - a balanced wine. Enrique runs a vineyard management company and manages vineyards from Carneros in the south to Calistoga in the north. As a result he has plenty of perspective into the valley's sweet vineyard spots and with his connections in the industry can source premium fruit for Encanto. The 2008 Pinot Noir from the Napa side of Carneros reveals a wide breadth of aromatics on the bouquet. It is elegant, slightly floral yet at the same time shows earthy characteristics and a touch of pepper. Holiday spices and a faint trace of browned sugar linger. The palate shows a wide richness of flavor and complexity including some influence of oak with baking spices and hints of toffee. The mouth feel is rounded upon entry but quickly gains layers of flavor with a lingering intensity of fruit that completes the pleasing finish. Encanto means enchantment in Spanish and is a name that represents a number of facets in the wine industry. Their wine and name are Rosaura and her husband's tribute to their family, their hard work in the vineyards and all farm workers who are the backbone of this industry. It is their work that directly contributes to the beauty of the Napa Valley and its "enchantment" that this special region has on so many people. With such a small production (between approximately 100 and 200 cases per each wine) - most of their wines are only available direct through their mailing list. Encanto has very select distribution in Boston and Dallas and locally you can find the Pinot Noir at Press Restaurant in St. Helena. For more information visit: www.encantovineyards.com |
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released their first wine in 2007 - a Cabernet Sauvignon. This gem of a property in Oakville is planted to 26 acres of vines - most of which is sold to premium wineries. Each year, Kristine Ashe harvests from select blocks and makes about 500 cases of wine. All grapes for their wines are from the estate. Proprietor Kristine Ashe grew up in Marin County in the San Francisco Bay area and used to take trips up to Napa - where she ultimately fell in love with the lifestyle and the region's wine. In 2000 she purchased her Oakville Estate - hired well regarded vineyard manager David Abreu - who promptly sectioned the property into smaller blocks to better micro manage the vineyard. Today the vineyard is carefully managed, fruit is watched closely and dropped throughout the growing season, leaving only the most healthy quality bunches to fully ripen before harvest. The property is organically farmed - even sheep are brought in seasonally to graze the cover crop between the vines. More recently, much sought after winemaker Phillipe Melka was hired and currently is their winemaker. Phillipe consults for a number of premium producers in Napa. He is well recognized in the industry and was voted American Winemaker of the year in 2005 by Robert Parker in Food & Wine Magazine. Philippe has a geology degree as well as a degree in oenology and agronomy (he knows his Napa terroir very well). He is as detailed in the vineyard as he is with the wine-making. We first discovered Kristine Ashe at the Taste of Oakville trade tasting - this is a tasting that prominently features Cabernet Sauvignon (it is Oakville after all!) however Kristine Ashe was pouring a Sauvignon blanc and a Rose. By virtue of this - in a nearly all "red" tasting - their wines were certainly attracting some attention. During a follow-up visit to their estate we tried their current releases. Their wines are crafted in the style that Kristine enjoys - more old world, lower alcohol, built to age and certainly food friendly. The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc shows a clean nose, with notes of white pineapple, floral characteristics and a hint of the tropics (guava, passion fruit). This wine strikes a nice balance between the more tropical sauvignon blancs and the more acidic ones. In fact, the winery used their fruit to make both styles usin oak and stainless tanks for fermentation and or aging. Eventually they settled on using concrete for fermentation and then oak for the aging. As a result, this wine is neither too tropical in nature or too crisp and lean. The finish lingers with nice intensity for some time showing notes of red apple and orange. The 2010 Rose is extremely delicate in color in the bottle - showing fainter colors of pink and orange. This wine saw just a kiss of skin before being pressed (usually merely 3-5 hours). As a result of the color we were expecting a fairly light Rose on the palate - not so - and this is a testament to the richness of fruit from this particular terroir. This is a Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon and is a wine they make every year from a dedicated block in their vineyard; this is not an afterthought wine - it is one of their three primary wines made each year - truly a hand crafted Rose. Aromatically it is pleasing with delicate aromas of strawberry and raspberry. The palate shows nice acidity with flavors that linger for some time on a relatively long finish for a wine of this style. The palate has good depth of character (this wine is aged on the lees). The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with a slight amount of Petite Verdot. This complex nose changes wonderfully in the glass over time - it is an elegant bouquet that starts with floral notes along with with black fruit - black cherry, and blackberry and as it opens deeper notes of earth, leather and smoke show. Also black licorice. It is dark purple in the glass with crimson hue notes. The palate is deliciously soft upon entry but quickly builds in structure - the mid palate strikes a nice balance between fruit, acid and structure. The finish is already well balanced considering the age of this wine and it lingers with dusty tannins and more subtle underlying sweet notes of mocha. "Entre Nous" in French means "between us" - bringing those together who have both a role in making the wine and those who enjoy drinking it. In addition, "entre nous", when applied to wine - indicates this is a beverage that is best enjoyed with others! To join their mailing list and for more information visit: www.entrenouswines.com |
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From the driveway in front of the tasting room or from the patio you can see the location of Old Faithful Geyser and if you are lucky it will be spouting off its white spray high into the air. There are also great views of the nearby mountains including the tall Mt. St. Helena in the distance. During our first visit we had the privilege of barrel tasting what will be Envy's first vintage including a nice Syrah. During a later visit we sampled the final version (big nose, great flavor, full bodied) but by this time it had already sold out! Future releases will be available in a larger production. You can either taste indoors at the long tasting counter or relax on their patio. The well-known winemaker & co-owner of Envy, Nils Venge, used to work at Groth Winery and his Cabernet Sauvignon many years ago was awarded the first 100 point American Cabernet by the famed American wine critic Robert E. Parker. Note Nil's initials, NV and you have an appropriate name for this winery! Besides Envy's wines, two other labels are made on site. One is Vine Haven which is Nil's "pet project" off and on again for the better part of the last 20 years. These wines are priced extremely reasonably for a winemaker of Nil's caliber. In addition, Carter Cellars makes their wines here. These wines are vineyard designates and he even uses some of the same rows every year. These wines are typically only tasted for prior appointments or specific requests. Carter Cellars focuses on very high end Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a Merlot. Their first vintage was in 1998 and their wines have received exemplary ratings. We recommend their Coliseum block Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is named after the way the rows of grapes are oriented in the shape of an ancient coliseum. A tasting includes any five wines from Envy and Vine Haven's collection. A couple of wines that stand out are their 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. This is a perfect wine to complement seafood or even drink before dinner on a warm night. A plethora of fruit flavors comes through on the palate including pineapple, pear and apple. Their 2004 Vine Haven Merlot has an exotic nose that has characteristics of a Port. However all resemblances to a port stop with the aromas as this is a dry very dark wine that is fruit driven with notes of chocolate rounding out the finish. Also of note is Envy's popular Bee Bee blend which is made every year. This is named in honor of Nil's now deceased dog and is the only blend he makes. Great blueberry aromas are followed by dark fruit notes on the palate. It is well rounded with a delightful smooth finish. Having fun tasting? Request to check out their barrel room for a barrel sample or two. One other note of interest is the historical looking house far to the west of the tasting room was used in the movie, Nine Months with Hugh Grant. www.envywines.com Note: You can also taste Envy's wines in the shared tasting room called Up Valley Vintners - open to the public, located at 1371 Lincoln Ave in downtown Calistoga. |
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Ever since selling his original winery he always wanted to have his own label again and an opportunity to work with several of Napa's higher end hillside vineyards presented itself. Bob released the first Eponymous wine in 2003. As of press time, he makes his wine at one of the most historical custom crush facilities in the valley and the grapes are sourced from two high end vineyards, one on the slopes of Mt. Veeder on the Sonoma County side of the Mayacamas mountain range and the other at the entrance to Soda Canyon. This wine despite its very much hillside location is in the "Sonoma Valley" appellation. Go figure! The Mt. Veeder vineyard has a history of producing stellar Cabernet Franc as it can be hard to find high end vineyards in the valley for this varietal. Bob recognized early on the potential for this vineyard and locked up the fruit in a longer term contract. Currently Eponymous makes two wines, their red blend and a 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon. We tried several individual components from barrel that will be used for blending in the 2007 MacAllister Mt. Veeder Vineyard red Meritage including the Merlot, Cabernet Franc and the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines while very young were already showing good balance and well roundedness. We then tried their current release, the 2004 vintage. It is always interesting to see how each component taken by itself does not have the power and richness found in the final wine. The 2004 version is a very elegant polished wine. It is smooth and the Cabernet Franc really helps bring the rich fruit flavors to the foreground and the finish is long with structured tannin management. Touches of chocolate and rhubarb round out the complex palate. Their total production is about 1200 cases, however they are distributed in very select markets in about 25 states. With over 30 Napa harvests under his belt Bob is open to making additional wine depending on vineyard availability. As a top winemaker running your own small label, if an opportunity to source from high end terroir comes your way, you don't let it pass you by! You can find this wine locally at Whole Foods in the town of Napa. Visit: www.eponymouswines.com |
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Erba Mountainside Vineyards is a 20 acre vineyard located on the back of Atlas Peak. The property was purchased in the late 90's, planted to several Bordeaux varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Erba is owned by Paul Erba an Oklahoma based Physician who has a passion for wine. He helped select the specific clones based on the specific soil types in his vineyard. Part of the vineyard is so steep that it can only be hand farmed as it is not suitable for machines. There are great views of Wooden Valley on the backside and the shimmering Suisun bay to the south west. The vineyard sits at about 1500 feet and as a result is above the fog which often covers the valley floor far below. This ensures a long ripening period. The vineyard is separated into 14 unique blocks each of which is harvested separate from the other based on when the grapes are ready to pick.
Their first vintage was a 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and in addition they make Syrah, Merlot and one of the owners favorites, a Proprietary Blend. A variety of new French Oak is used on all the wines, in varying amounts depending on the wine. The winemaker is the well regarded Kristophe Anderson who trained under Nils Venge at Saddleback and currently also makes the wine for Gargiulo Winery. All the wines we tried were 2004 vintage. All had great color and are very dark and inky representative of probably extended maceration and the hillside vineyard from which they were sourced. Their Merlot is a big full bodied wine full of dense fruit flavors including mouth watering cherry and red currant. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich very dark wine with many layers of flavor. As this is a fairly new winery, it takes some time for the winemaker and vineyard management to discover the sweet spots in their vineyards and find out which clones work best. One of their earlier Cabernet Sauvignons was already very highly rated at the trade only event, Napa Valley Premiere. Visit: www.erbamountainsidevineyards.com |
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Erna Schein is named after Les's mother. Behrens & Hitchcock's first vintage was in 1993 and when the Hitchcock's retired Erna Schein took over as the primary winery. Plans are to continue to making small quantities of B&H wine (about 500 cases/year) for a number of years. Les originally made home wine and soon started making limited quantities of commercial wine. His grape sources were from high end vineyards in the Napa Valley and for several years during harvest he had to make the arduous one day 11 hour round trip drive hauling the grapes back north to where he lived. Eventually they purchased land and soon after he and his son constructed their small winery. His philosophy has always been to let the vineyard site dictate the wine - the old adage that 80% of winemaking is conducted in the vineyard is generally true! Winemaking here is very much a family affair and several other labels are made including Drinkward-Peschon, Relic, Robert Nenow, & Zeitgeist. Tasting is appointment only for serious wine enthusiasts and is always kept private for your party. There are fantastic views from the winery overlooking the nearby mountains. Some of the other labels made at the winery are also available for tasting. They make red wines exclusively focusing on Cabernet Sauvignon and a variety of blends. All wines we tried were vintage 2005. Their Spare Me is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Cab Franc (the very unique label is of a woman bowling). This wine is made from primarily Calistoga grown grapes is well balanced with lots of fruit on the mid palate and a soft finish. The Herrick Moulds combines Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain and the Oak Knoll district - fruit from the hillside and fruit from the valley floor. This wine has a very earthy exotic nose with lots of fruit up front on the palate complemented by notes of cedar and tobacco. Two wines really stood out from our tasting; the Cemetery and the Family Reserve. The Cemetery name is interesting for two reasons; Les used to be a gravedigger and the vineyard providing the fruit for this wine backs right up to the St. Helena Cemetery! The label was drawn by the acclaimed artist Rosemary Feit Covey. It is one of the darkest wines you will ever see, is big and is very full bodied. In comparison the Reserve is a totally different wine. It is a blend of four Bordeaux varietals and is only made when they feel the "juice" is of the highest standards. It is a very elegant wine, soft on the palate and smooth on the finish. Erna Schein wines are distributed in a select number of states and you can find their wine locally at ACME wine shop in St. Helena and Backroom Wines in the town of Napa. The total Erna Schein production is about 2500 cases. A visit to the winery incorporates a unique tasting experience to Napa. Les and Lisa have acquired a 1947 Westcraft trailer which now serves as a tasting room for visitors who make an appointment. This type of trailer used to be the top of the line at the time. Now it makes for an unusual and intimate Napa tasting experience - one that is perched at the top of the ridge with stellar views of the nearby mountains and valley far below! Visit: www.ernaschein.com |
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Esca Wines was started by the husband wife winemaking team of Mario and Anna Monticelli. Both are young and like other young winemakers they already have International harvest experience. They met during their last quarter of school as undergrads at UC Davis while earning their enology and viticulture degrees. Mario is a fourth generation winemaker with extended winemaking roots in California (his father was winemaker and an executive for Gallo Winery and his brother is also a winemaker in Napa). As a result of his family background Mario's immersion into the wine industry started as a child helping to make wine at his grandparent's winery. Mario worked as assistant to the well known winemaker Philipe Melka, at Quixote and currently is the winemaker for Trinchero's Napa Reserve.
Anna does not come from a wine making family and was on the fast track to medical school when a viticulture elective sidetracked her college education, and looking back - eventually became career changing. She worked a harvest in Bordeaux at Chateau Chevel Blanc and at Napa notables including Seavey Vineyard and Bryant Family. Currently she is the winemaker for Pina Cellars. Mario and his brother have operated their own label for a number of years and it was only a matter of time before Mario and Anna decided to create their own brand. They jointly share the winemaking duties - Esca is Italian, honoring Mario's heritage and means "allurement" or "bait" in Italian. Wine lovers beware - as Esca says, "just as the nectar of the Hibiscus flower attracts the bee on the label, these wines attract the enophile!" Their first commercial release was in 2002. We started our tasting with the 2005 Zinfandel sourced from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County which is the only non Napa wine available as of press time. This ruby colored wine has big Zinfandel aromas somewhat floral in nature with notes of violets as well as cedar. The mouth feel is soft and supple with lively fruit and bright acidity. This is a not a huge spicy Zinfandel rather its more elegant with just a touch of spice on the palate. Soft delicate tannins anchor this delightful food friendly wine. The 2005 Syrah is very dark with a consistent nose over time full of candied fruit and notes of cassis. It is full-bodied and soft all across the palate with structured but fairly smooth tannins. Good fruit shows from the entry to the finish. The 2005 Esca Cabernet Sauvignon is priced very well considering it was made with fruit sourced from Oakville and Yountville. Black fruit dominates on the aromas and on the palate with soft fruit showing up front including blueberry, blackberry and black currant intermingled with nuances of smoky oak. This wine is mouth watering with great natural acidity... a good steak wine! The tannins are the biggest of the three Esca wines we tried but are still well balanced. A new project that Anna is spearheading under Esca is a second label called Ilaria named after an Italian cousin in the family. The focus of this label is on high end single vineyard wines with their first vintage being a 2007 Syrah. Syrah is one of Anna's favorite varietals, not only because of its unique aromas and flavors but because of the differences it exhibits based on specific terroir and microclimates - i.e. cool weather versus warm weather Syrah. This wine was sourced from Coombsville, a rolling hill vineyard covered area just east of the town of Napa which is more on the cooler side of the curve. This small block of a larger vineyard is planted to an Alban clone. Alban are makers of fine California Central Coast Rhone based wines including Syrah. John Alban is often called the "Father of Syrah in California. This vineyard is certainly a good source! While Esca sources fruit from various vineyards, Ilaria is from vineyards that are locked into longer term contracts, thus ensuring consistency of fruit. The 2007 Syrah is a totally dark black inky wine and while totally young as of press time already shows big fruit with juicy characteristics. There are great layered flavors including chocolate and plum with hints of vanilla on the bouquet. This is a wine you buy several of - for drinking now as well as aging! Additional plans under the Ilaria label call for other varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is a unique situation where you have two extremely talented winemakers who have combined efforts to focus on affordable wines that are to be enjoyed now with friends and family. For the quality to price ratio, Esca is among one of the best values in Napa Valley. I mean, where else can you find fruit from Oakville and Yountville in a Napa Cabernet under $30?! You can find their wines locally at Dean & Deluca or Backroom wines in the town of Napa. Visit: www.escawines.com |
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The tasting room is located among a number of historical looking grey-stone orange tiled buildings. You need to drive all the way around to the back of the winery where you will find the visitor's entrance to the tasting room. When you leave do not drive back the way you came in - rather continue driving around the tasting room and you will hook back up with the road near the entrance. Etude's focus is on two types of wine, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, although they do make 6 or 7 other varietals produced in very small quantities. In fact they have almost 20 different Pinot Noir clones planted on site! Their vineyards are somewhat unique in the Carneros appellation. The reason being is the soils are volcanic in origin rather than the soils found in the rest of the Carneros area which are mostly clay, originally bay bottom soils. Etude has conducted extensive soils analysis on their property and planted their clones in small blocks based on the soil types. The soil types vary even by small distances so as a result they have a number of very small blocks planted to specific clones. Also of note is their bird defense program around harvest time! They use trained falconers to keep the hungry flocks of starlings away; these birds can be fairly common in parts of Napa's Carneros region. Tastings in the elegant tasting room are by walk-in and the few times we have been here we've seen a number of bicycles parked in front as this tasting room is on the radar of several local bike rental companies. More private and sit down tastings are by appointment only during the weekdays and are offered 3x day in their Reserve Room. Choose from two tasting flights. The standard tasting includes their Fortitude label and their Vineyard Designated & Appellation tasting includes higher end Pinot noirs and Cabernets. Typically each type of wine is made in quantities of only several hundred cases. During one private tasting we were lucky to have the head winemaker stop by. Out of our numerous Napa winery tastings this tasting had the most wine glasses on a single table that we've ever seen! The larger special glasses are for their Pinot wines. Our choice for Pinot noir is their Heirloom Carneros and our pick for Cabernet Sauvignon is their Rutherford. Etude really does a good job on their Cabernets. Also informative color maps of their vineyards will be shown during your tasting. Visit: www.etudewines.com Winemaker Intro |
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