Encanto Vineyards

Encanto Vineyards focuses on single variety, single vineyard wines and is owned by first generation Mexican American vintner Enrique Lopez. Enrique was born in a small village, El Espiritu in Michoacan Mexico; he graduated university in Mexico with a degree in chemical engineering. His first job in Napa Valley was working for Warren Winiarski at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Enrique is the youngest of 14 children; perhaps the only vintner in Napa Valley who has more siblings is Stephanie Trotter, owner of her appropriately labeled wine brand, Trotter 1/16th.

In 2000 Enrique founded St. Helena based Servin-Lopez Vineyard Management Company overseeing vineyards mostly in Napa Valley. The first bottling of Encanto Vineyards was in 2007.

Encanto Vineyards is one of the founding members of what was called the Napa Sonoma Mexican American Vintners Association; now called The Mexican American Vintners Association (MAVA). This group was formed after a number of Napa and Sonoma based 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. Today MAVA hosts several events each year, provides scholarships to Latino youth and provides other support to Mexican Americans in the wine industry.

Winemaker
Rudy Zuidema has crafted every vintage of Encanto Vineyards. He was born in Sacramento but grew up in nearby Davis, a town known for its university. Conveniently Rudy was accepted to UC Davis where he spent three years studying photography and design with the intent to eventually create logos and designs for sports equipment. However, he eventually discovered this was not a career field he was passionate about. He became intrigued with the world of wine while taking an introductory course to viticulture which inspired him to switch majors to Plant Science and Viticulture. Graduating in 1991 he moved to Napa; his first job in the valley was working in retail at the Oakville Grocery (back when Joseph Phelps owned this iconic purveyor).

He would often taste up to 300 wines per month; one of these wines was from St. Clement which he was happy to sell and promote at Oakville Grocery. But after being told to replace those wines with some of the Phelps offerings he quit and decided to pursue winemaking. He showed up at St. Clement unannounced and spoke to their winemaker at the time, Dennis Johns. Rudy quickly reminded him that he was the guy helping to sell all that St. Clement wine at the Oakville Grocery and then asked Dennis if he needed any winemaking help. Dennis soon hired him; this was Rudy’s first winemaking job in Napa Valley.

Today along with Encanto Vineyards, Rudy consults for a handful of premium wine producers and operates his own brand, Zuidema focusing entirely on Grenache.

Encanto means enchantment in Spanish and is a name that represents a number of facets in the wine industry. The wines are Enrique’s tribute to his 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 Napa Valley and its “enchantment” that this special region has on so many people. And as it is written on the back label of every bottle, “Tradition, culture & hard work”.

These wines regardless of variety are meant to age and after trying a number of older vintages, they certainly are highly cellar worthy. They are balanced, bright and often show younger than the actual vintage date.

Select Wines
In 2002 the Segura family (Rosaura, who is no longer involved with Encanto Vineyards) 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. Initially they sold all the grapes (and continue to sell the majority) but now produce a Sauvignon Blanc and also a late harvest wine from this variety. Following their first wine, a Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, a Napa Valley Carneros Pinot Noir was later added to the portfolio.

Sauvignon Blanc
The 2022 Encanto Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County is medium gold in color. The bouquet shows plenty of California sunshine; no green or grassy here. Its aromatics offer a number of tropical fruited characteristics including of passionfruit, pineapple, guava and starfruit. Additional layers include kiwi, honeysuckle, tangerine, horned melon (look that fruit up if you need to), citrus blossom, honeysuckle, and honey dew melon. The bouquet is fresh, zippy and filled with plenty of aromatic energy three years post vintage. On the palate there are flavors of crenshaw melon, apricot, golden plums, yellow apples, comise pear, mandarin orange, pineapple and lemon/lime. The finish lingers with plenty of zip, featuring ripe fruit, loads of movement and a subtle but lingering dry note and flavor, similar to that of grapefruit pith. The mouth feel offers a saline and almost briny character, with a texture best described as being supple. Drinking this made us want to pair it with something from the sea, prepared with plenty of spicy Thai sauces and a beach in Thailand.

The 2013 Encanto Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County is medium to deep gold; this darker color makes sense as we are tasting this wine 12 years post vintage. The bouquet is surprisingly vibrant at this age, and while showing some oxidation, there is still plenty of fruit at play. Its tangy aromatics include golden apples, a light touch of bruised apple, kumquat, pineapple, dried apricots, hazelnut, dried lemon peel, chamomile, lanolin, orange blossom and honeydew melon. Bright and intensely flavored, this wine tastes like golden delicious apples, pineapple, apricot, yellow peach, baked pear, loquat, almond and hazelnut. Its texture is somewhat fleshy, creamy and rounded, but these attributes are buoyed high but its still energetic acidity. To be honest, we had no expectations when opening this wine, but were pleasantly surprised by its overall cadence, both on the bouquet and palate and how well both have held up to its decade+ time in bottle. The ripe fruit and vibrancy from this vintage is still every much evident in this bottling. Pair with lightly seared oysters, a few drops of fish sauce, oregano and a skosh of fresh lemon juice. You won’t be disappointed.

Latest Harvest Sauvignon Blanc
The 2013 Encanto Vineyards Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County is deep amber in color. There is a lot going on in the nose at this age, 12 years post vintage. Layered, intense, honeyed and supremely ripe the bouquet offers scents of golden raisins, orange marmalade, peaches in syrup, beeswax, overripe apricots, candied orange slices, ginger, caramel, and some rancio characteristics including toasted almond, hazelnut and loads of caramelized sugars. We could keep writing; there are many more layers, but I think you get the idea in terms of its rich aromatic expression. Equally as rich on the palate, some of the flavors mimic the palate including of apricot jam, ripe peaches, crème brûlée, honeycomb, caramel, orange marmalade and candied orange peels. Its texture is silky and oily, felt on the palate like running ones fingers across the fur of a young miniature schnauzer. Finishes rich, layered, and intense – loaded with flavor and residual sugar. Best served chilled with a cigar hanging from your mouth, with your body recessed deeply in a dark leather sofa. And if you are a dessert wine enthusiast, you will be attracted to this wine like a bee to a beehive. This bottling is a listed 16.8% ABV.

Chenin Blanc
The 2023 Encanto Vineyards Chenin Blanc, Lake County is medium straw in color; highly pungent, one can smell the beauty of its generous breath immediately upon opening. Think floral and springtime. These are the types of wines we like to enjoy in the winter months because they make us dream of warmer weather. Course we are never here much in the winter any more these days, as we don’t do well in cold environs. And for those who know us, that is putting it mildly. Its scents include star jasmine, honeysuckle and citrus blossom. Additional layers include pineapple guava, comise pear, passion fruit, white peach, Asian pear, quince and not fully ripe apricot. Balanced, bright, and intensely flavored, this wine tastes like golden delicious apples, white nectarine, pineapple guava (a flavor we are highly familiar with since we first started harvesting these fruits from our local cemetery in 1992), lemon curd and lime. We love the tension between texture, fruit and acidity here; the mouth feel sports an almost waxy and silky texture. We’ve had many thin Chenin Blancs before; this is not one of them. Beautiful. If this wine is any indication, why don’t we see more Chenin Blanc from Lake County?

Pinot Noir
The 2016 Encanto Pinot Noir (Pommard clone) offers an intensity of aroma framed around the fruit but with plenty of secondary aromas as well. Blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry and cherry cola show along with cedar, truffle, and darker notes including black pepper and tar. As the wine breathes, it reveals additional nuances of cocoa powder. The bouquet is savory. On the palate, the entry is gentle with a slight creamy texture from start to finish. Lingers with notes of mocha, dried berry fruits, red licorice and a cigar like spice. This wine packs plenty of flavor.

The 2015 Encanto Vineyards Pinot Noir, Carneros Napa Valley is pale to medium ruby in color; the bouquet still smells surprisingly fresh 10 years post vintage. Its layered aromatics include plum skin, strawberry, dark raspberries, cherries, dried rose petals, a light note of soy sauce, cured meats (this aromatic made us think of the great selection of such meats at the Mercato del Gusto at V Sattui Winery), roasted herbs and all spice. Despite its nearly 10 years in bottle, the fruits still strongly show on the side of being fresh rather than being dried. So the ABV is a listed 15.2% and there is certainly an element of ripeness at play here, more noticeable on the palate than the bouquet, but in a blind tasting we would not have guessed the alcohol to be would be that high, such is this wine’s still youthful character. Its flavors are both red and dark fruited and include Bing cherry, dark raspberry, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, cranberry and pomegranate. Lingers savory with a dark character, with lightly gravelly textured tannins, a note of white pepper, dried herbs and an accompanying balanced but still bright acidity.

The 2008 Encanto Vineyards Pinot Noir from the Napa side of Carneros reveals a wide breadth of aromatics on the nose. 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 as the wine evolves in the glass. 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.

Merlot
The 2018 Encanto Vineyards Merlot, Napa Valley is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the nose is obviously focused on its core of fruit, while its time in oak barrels provides a number of complementary characters. Ripe, fresh and still sporting youthful aromatics 7 years post vintage, this wine smells like red plums, red cherries, cherry cola, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry, tobacco spice, dark cocoa powder, mocha, old cedar box, dark chocolate, coffee and toast. The palate is dominated more by red fruits than darker fruits; these flavors include cherry, plum, currant, cranberry and not fully ripe boysenberry. Built with plenty of movement due to its lively acidity, this wine is singing brightly at this age. Juicy. Fresh. Vibrant. The broadly coating tannins linger with a light gravelly and dusty character and a subtle note of dried tobacco leaf. Lingers mouth watering. We would enjoy pairing this wine with a BBQ and pork shoulder covered in an assortment of dried herbs and spices.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2015 Encanto Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Usibelli Ranch, Rutherford, Napa Valley (to be be confused with the Usibelli Vineyards in Pope Valley) offers darker fruit driven aromatics including boysenberry, blackberry and plum with an initial very subtle hint of jalapeno pepper opening to toasted cedar, olive, tobacco leaf and brown chocolate. Darker spices. Flavors of blackberry and plum with some darker spices towards the back of the palate. The texture is an appealing characteristic – granular tannins with a medium grip. Not course in their feel but long lasting.

—

Through his vineyard management company, Enrique 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 grapes for Encanto.

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 one can sometimes find the Pinot Noir at Press Restaurant in St. Helena. As of our latest update to this review, tastings are by appointment and are held at the Gustavo Wines tasting room across from Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa. Parking is curbside if available or in one of the nearby public open-air lots. Note that parking can be difficult to find here on certain days especially Friday evenings and weekends and if there is a concert being held at the nearby Oxbow commons stage. During our visits over the years, staff has always been bilingual between English and Spanish. And while a couple of younger vintages are available or tasting or purchase, the vast majority of their inventory are older wines.

For more information, to schedule a tasting or to order mostly older released wines, visit: www.encantovineyards.com

Tasting Room

Usibelli Ranch