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Page's first vintage was released in 1997 and he now concentrates on three labels, the Page, Le Nu and the Revolver. The Revolver focuses more on single varietal wines and Page Cellars is more Left Bank Bordeaux style blends. The Revolver theme as you may have guessed is western in nature with ghost towns, weather aged wooden buildings, guns and historical guitars from well known older musicians built into the marketing and packaging. The total production on all his wines as of press time is about 2000 cases with most of his wines coming in at merely several hundred cases. Some small wineries have several people involved with a case production such as this, not Page Cellars and it is a testament to Bryan's dedication and passion to wine in regards to managing this production. The one wine as of press time found under his newer Le Nu label is a Chardonnay called the "naked Chardonnay" which as Brian says "shows the pure varietal characteristics of Chardonnay". This wine is certainly that; it is unoaked, sees no malolactic fermentation and is in higher in acidity than you normally find with Napa Chardonnays. As a result this this is an excellent Chardonnay "food wine". Even the packaging follows the "naked" theme - glass stoppers are used rather than cork. The 2007 vintage shows some mineral notes both in the bouquet and on the palate with clean lean fruit from start to finish. The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is blended with a touch of Semillon. Of note is the Sauvignon Vineyard Page sources from; it is the southernmost vineyard in Napa County - located not far from the San Pablo Bay. It is always nice to try a Sauvignon Blanc that contains some Semillon. The Semillon brings some very nice tropical aromas and flavors to this wine including an additional richness found on the palate. Notes of kiwi, melon and passion fruit bring layered flavors to the wine with a clean refreshing finish. All of Page's wines are unfined and unfiltered for maximum color and flavor. While many producers have automated to some extent the in-winery processes, not so with Page Wine Cellars. Everything is very much done by hand at the winery - literally, even most of the bottling. Small lot T-bins are used to micro-manage during crush and individual pickings are sorted by hand. They even use a hand crank basket press on their wines which allows Bryan to determine exactly when to stop crushing based on flavor, texture and color. Needless to say every part of his wine making is focused on that final quality in the bottle; his wines are literally hand crafted. Most of their grapes are sourced from well established vineyards in Carneros and Yountville. The 2005, The Fury is found under the Revolver label. Yes, there is a story behind the name of this wine but you will have to talk to the winemaker for that one. The Fury is predominately Cabernet Franc with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot blended in. It is aged for 3 years in 100% New French Oak; you won't find many Napa Cabernet Francs with this type of oak program. This is a delicious wine that is big yet restrained at the same time with a fruit forward bouquet which continues onto the palate. Dark fruit flavors show including blackberry and black cherry. The finish is long, slightly dusty and with broad tannins. The 2005, "the Stash" is a predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blend with additional amounts of Petite Verdot and Merlot. This is a big bold layered red wine that should be extremely age worthy. It will coat your mouth red! Aromas of dark fruit, cocoa powder and vanilla lead to concentrated fruit flavors which include plum and black cherry. The finish is big and memorable with meaty tannins. It is recommended to decant this wine while it is still young and yes it is still very young at only 4 years. Page also produces other wines including a Proprietary red table wine, a Merlot and has plans to release a Petite Sirah. Joining their mailing list allows you access to first releases as well as small lot wines not offered to the public. In mid 2009 along with Cornerstone Cellars - Page Wine Cellars opened a public tasting room called "Yountville Tasting Station". This is located on the corner directly across from the Yountville Post Office. We visited soon after they opened and will make another revisit after the rest of the tasting room opens. Plans call for a VIP room, a library room and a small shop containing other food items. Currently they sell a fine chocolates, artisan olive oil, and a number of spices. Based on Bryan's culinary background they will offer sit down tastings paired with various foods - it is with food that Page's wines really come alive. Any tasting room that plays old Johnny Cash music during a tasting (as was playing during our visit) is already raised up a notch in our eyes! Serious wine enthusiasts may also consider making a special appointment to see the actual winery in Napa. Visit: www.pagewinecellars.com |
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