VinRoc Wine

VinRoc is owned by Michael Parmenter and Kiky Lee. We have met with Napa vintners from a variety of backgrounds including a former prison guard, a marine biologist, a fireman, a cattle rancher, but this is the first vintner whose background involved shoe manufacturing. Looking for a change in the 1990s and to “escape” Los Angeles for a country location Michael & Kiky began looking for property specifically in northern California wine country. They have both enjoyed wine for many years.

After nearly 2 years of looking for property, they purchased 35 acres in the hills east of the Napa Valley floor in 1999. This was raw land with no other vineyards in the immediate vicinity. With no intention of making wine commercially they soon planted 5 acres of vines to three clones of Cabernet Sauvignon. As their wine interest grew, they both decided to enroll in viticulture classes at Napa College. After a few years the grapes were ready and so Michael re-enrolled, this time taking enology classes. By this time Napa Valley College was building their own winery.

They waited 4 years after planting their vineyard to produce wine. By this time, they had significantly increased their knowledge of both the vineyard as well as the winemaking. Michael also wanted to help build the reputation of region and in 2004 with the support of others helped start the Atlas Peak Association (he was their first president). In addition to Michael, the original founders of the association included Jayson Pahlmeyer of Pahlmeyer Vineyards, Rob Meyer of Atlas Peak Winery, Jan Krupp of Stagecoach Vineyards, Patrick Elliott-Smith of Elan Vineyards and grower, Don Simon

This is truly a small family-owned winery as for many years both Michael and Kiky oversaw everything themselves from the vineyard management to the winemaking. Currently the employ a winemaker who oversees the day to day production. The vineyard is at an elevation of 1600 feet, planted on southwest facing slopes just below Atlas Peak. Growing conditions are excellent as they are above the fog line which along with their vineyard’s orientation allows them to receive additional sunlight hours. Even though the days may warm up in the summer, the nights are typically cool; this diurnal difference is instrumental in long hang time and ripening fruit evenly with good acid balance.

This is mountain grown Cabernet Sauvignon country and that is the varietal they focus their efforts on. Everything at this winery is completely micromanaged and often their harvest can take 3 to 4 weeks as not every block ripens at once. Only a ton is picked at any one time and only specific clusters are harvested when acidity, flavor and sugar are at the desired level. They will return a number of times to pick only ripe clusters throughout the harvest even to the level of picking specific rows. This of course is not the most cost-effective way to harvest a vineyard but is what counts when your focus is on quality.

The ripe blocks of their vineyard are harvested and then allowed to ferment and age totally separate from the other blocks until the final blending decisions take place usually 18 months later. The red wines typically spend two years in barrel and another 1.5 years in bottle before being released. The soils at the vineyard site are volcanic in origin, very rocky and red underneath the surface – ideal growing conditions for premium Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, yields are low, and flavors are concentrated.

Vin Roc produces wines that have a certain sense of comfortability and contemporary Napa Valley familiarity upon release, are always focused on the fruit with the oak offering a complimentary and supporting character, but never dominating.

Select Wines
The 2021 Vin Roc Coyotes Howl Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak, Napa Valley is deep ruby in color; more red fruited than dark, the nose offers aromas of Santa Rosa plum, red cherry, dark raspberry, suede, strawberry jam, and assorted sweet baking spices. Pretty. Superbly balanced between flavor, texture and acidity, this wine tastes like raspberry, red cherries and wild plums – like the ones we randomly pick while riding our bicycle in the Napa Valley in late spring and early summer, currant and lingering layers of dried tobacco leaf and dried sage. Finishes red fruited with a light savory character and well tumbled tannins. We like its light tangy character, a result of its bright acidity and red fruits.

The 2022 Vin Roc Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak; pure contemporary Napa Valley the bouquet smells ripe, fresh and forward fruited. It scents include cherry, blackberry, raspberry, red plum, the aromatic of water being poured on dry slate rock on a hot day, smoked sage and sweet tobacco. And as the wine opens further it reveals a light note of cocoa powder. Plush across the palate, this wine has ‘crowd friendly’, written all over it. Its flavors mimic the bouquet including raspberry, cherry and plum. And a final and lasting note of dry tobacco leaf. The tannins are spherical, completely sans of edges and are remarkably soft, especially for a mountain wine and representative of texture as a whole from Napa Valley red wines in 2022.

In the past they have produced what Kiky calls their ‘fun wine’, a dry rosé, a wine that Kiky enjoyed during a number of trips to Southern France. Not often finding a “true” rosé in Napa Valley, they decided to produce small amounts of this. This wine is a very unique blend of Grenache and Barbara. These varieties are not commonly planted in Napa Valley – as a result they source these grapes from Lodi. This wine was not created by bleeding off juice, i.e., the commonly used Saignee method. Rather it was made in the tradition of southern France where the juice is allowed to sit on the skins for a short while, creating a dark pink color. The grapes were harvested lower in sugar with a higher total acidity. This wine pairs well with food or can also be served as a stand-alone wine, especially in summer.

2004 was their first commercial release with the wine made at the original Judd’s Hill Winery for several years until the 3,500 square foot VinRoc wine cave was completed. The 2005 VinRoc Cabernet Sauvignon offers a layer of cedar in the bouquet with attractive and bright, both red and darker fruits on the palate. This wine is well balanced between flavor, acidity and structure. One can certainly drink this now, but it is going to continue to evolve nicely with some aging.

During our first visit to their property, we tried the 2007 VinRoc Cabernet Sauvignon. This is their signature wine. The bouquet immediately reveals appealing baking spices, which transition into fruit as the wine evolves and picks up more oxygen. Additional aromatics are earthy and dusty. The entry is soft and continues with rounded and supple tannins across the palate. Its flavors include blackberry, blueberry and other assorted dark fruits. The finish is defined by silky tannins which linger gently for some time. This wine is delicious and certainly ready to drink young but will continue to evolve and drink well for a number of years.

A second label used to be produced, simply titled Enjoie RTW or “red table wine”; these bottlings included grapes from the estate as well as purchased grapes from other vineyards within Napa Valley. It is interesting to note that government laws specify that wine called “table wine” must be under 14% alcohol; this wine is under 14% alcohol.

NOTE: this review has been identified as needing a *major* update.

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Kiky’s background is in art design, and she creates all their labels. Michael speaks of a type of “zen” approach to wine making… patience of course but discovering how things evolve both in the vineyard and wine making. Also like the sacred “mandalas” which are a thing of beauty but then disappear when the artist blows them away, so to with wine, once its consumed, it is gone leaving only a memory of those moments. The word on the door to the cave means “wine” in Chinese and their custom-built home which took 3.5 hears to build, incorporated an Asian decorative style. This house unfortunately burned to the ground in the October 2017 Atlas Peak fires.

This major conflagration quickly tore through Atlas Peak leaving significant damage; the stories of survival that we have heard firsthand from speaking with a number of vintners directly effected in the path of this particular fire are remarkable. Residents escaped with only the clothes on their back and their vehicle. Some were caught fleeing the fire down by the pet cemetery unable to exit Atlas Peak Road due to a tree that had fallen and completely blocked the road. With surrounding flames, combined with horrific winds and smoke, we can only imagine the nightmare that was ensuing – fortunately the tree was finally cut, letting the lineup of cars drive through the flames and thick smoke to safety at ‘the bottom of the hill’ near Silverado Trail.

And then unbelievably in August 2020 the property *again* burned – this time doing much more significant damage to their own vineyard along with damage to some of their neighboring vineyards further up Atlas Peak Road. Kiki built a monument of recovered steel and scraps from the 2017 fire which stood for several years at the intersection of their driveway and Atlas Peak Road. My goodness – how much more can one take of these natural disasters?

Since these fires, parts of their vineyard have since been replanted.

Production is extremely limited – usually around 400 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate plus several wines sourced from other vineyards, mostly from neighboring vineyards on Atlas Peak. One can sometimes find the wine locally at Backroom Wines in the city of Napa and V Wine Cellars in Yountville. Distribution is at select restaurants in California with very select placement in New York, Shanghai and Tokyo. Tastings are for serious wine enthusiasts by appointment. For more information or to join one of their three wine club offerings, visit: www.vinrocnapa.com