is owned by Jim Paras and contains 22 acres that he purchased in 1990. It is located on the hillsides of Mt. Veeder just off the road that leads to Mayacamas winery. Jim founded Jade Mountain winery in 1988; this label has since been sold. This is a unique piece of property in that Jim searched for a number of years for one piece of property that could support both Red & White Rhone varietals as well as Bordeaux varietals. In the late 1980′s it was hard to find good Rhone varietals and Jim saw that these varietals were lacking in the Napa area. Vines had been planted on site since the early 1900′s but after he purchased the property he conducted extensive soil research and replanted to a number of Rhone Varietals including Viognier, Grenache & Syrah. Soils are shallow on the property, vines are planted closely and production is extremely limited typically in the range of 1 to 1.2 tons per acre. The result is highly concentrated fruit with rich flavors.
During a recent tasting of multiple Napa mountain appellations this was the only winery who had a white wine available! In this case it was their 2006 Viognier. This is an amazing wine very true to its varietal characteristics. It tastes like a Viognier, not like a Chardonnay! Part of this has to do with their wine making program. It does not undergo Malolactic Fermentation and it sits on the lees rather than being stirred among the lees. This wine has wonderful aromatics (there is a reason why Viognier is sometimes blended in with other red varietals) including tropical notes. Its off dry so there is some residual sugar but is very well balanced with a rounded mouth feel. Delicious!
The 2005 Syrah is blended with 6% Viognier. This wine is full of rich Mt. Veeder fruit flavors including flavors of blackberry and blueberry which dominate the palate along with more subtle notes of vanilla and chocolate. What is neat is the vineyard is producing all of these flavors rather than the nuances from the French Oak. The 2005 Merlot has a touch of Grenache blended in which only helps to bring out the flavors and aromatics as well as bring up the acidity slightly. Again good fruit flavors are present most notably raspberry and blackberry. Lastly the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon has 12% Petite Verdot, 8% Malbec and the Cabernet Sauvignon itself, is a blend of 3 different clones, each providing a unique feature to this wine. Drink now if you can resist cellaring this wine. It is a big wine but their specific barrel aging program has helped soften the tannins somewhat. Visit: www.parasvineyard.com
NOTE: This review has been archived.
REASON: Stopped producing wine commercially, their Mt. Veeder vineyard still provides fruit for other producers
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