Tasting Trip No. 1.0

This technically isn't our first tasting trip, but it is the first one of our blog. Shane got the idea to write up tasting notes to send to our friends (which we did), and from there, the blog seemed like a natural progression. So, here it is, our first set of tasting notes:


Shane and Jen’s Tasting Notes – January 29, 2005
Wineries Visited:
Rombauer
Duckhorn
Heitz
Prager Port Works
Silver Oak
Rutherford Hill

We discovered some nice surprises outside of Napa’s big three (Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay). Duckhorn poured a wonderfully crisp Sauvignon Blanc that showed a nice complexity most likely due to its blending with Semillon. This wine had all the lovely crispness of Sauvignon Blanc but without some of the disagreeable characteristics that you sometimes see in this varietal (such as the flavor of cat urine). We had a few nice Zinfandels, as well – the Rombauer 2002 Zinfandel is the quintessential Napa power Zin – the wine exhibits a bold fruit explosion and is a great deal at $23 a bottle. Duckhorn also a has nice field blend, featuring Zinfandel (along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), which their marketing gurus labeled "Paraduxx" (think about it). The 2002 showed all of the lush, upfront fruit of the Zinfandel grape, as well as the structure of Cabernet and the softness of Merlot. We were both very excited about this wine until we saw that it sold for the double the Rombauer – it would be a nice deal at half the price. We also tasted the 2001 Paraduxx, which was not nearly as fruit-forward.

Since Shane has recently discovered Ports, and Jen is a Port snob of some repute, we thought we would give the Napa port-style wines fair tasting. We tasted at Prager Port Works and Rutherford Hill, and purchased a half bottle at Heitz. Notably, Heitz was the only one of the three that used the traditional Port varietals. Prager used Petite Sirah and Cabernet, while Rutherford Hill used Zinfandel. Regardless of the varietals used, the results were quite similar - all of these ports displayed a nice sweetness and flavor up front and just when you are getting excited about them, the flavor disappears. None of them had the intensity and complexity of a true Port, although the Rutherford Hill and Heitz efforts were the closest contenders. Other than that, we were left feeling that Napa port-style wines are like Elvis impersonators – entertaining but not the real deal.

We were eagerly anticipating the Cab tastings at Duckhorn and Heitz. Shane was somewhat disappointed, while Jen was a bit more forgiving. Duckhorn poured three 1998 Cabs, each hailing from a different vineyard. Shane felt that the wines were faded and past their prime, whereas Jen enjoyed the "bare-bones" structure of these older Cabs.

At Heitz, we tasted the 2001 Napa, Bella Oaks, and Martha’s Vineyard Cabernets. Both the Napa and the Bella Oaks were inaccessible – too tannic and not much fruit showing. The Martha’s vineyard, while similarly immature, hinted at beautiful fruit. Of all of these cabs, we saw the most potential in Martha’s Vineyard. We agreed that we would like to revisit it in 5-10 years.

The raison d’etre for this tasting trip was the semi-annual release party at Silver Oak. This was the next to last stop on our trip, and the entire morning before, we heard of long lines, big crowds. The wine being unveiled this time was the 2000 Napa Valley Cab. We were anxious to taste it, having recently enjoyed the 2000 Alexander Valley Cab.

As we approached the winery, we noticed that cars were parallel parked up and down Oakville Crossroad. We quickly parked behind a car bearing a license plate frame proclaiming the ubiquitous Silver Oak slogan, "Life is a Cabernet," and joined the pilgrimage of the faithful to Cabernet Heaven. As we approached the scene, Shane thought we had left Napa and entered Oktoberfest – big white tents dominated the grounds, where what looked like thousands of people were eating barbecued appetizers and looking at souvenirs. As we got closer, we saw folks spread out on towels and lounging in lawn chairs. This was the place to be on January 29. This red carpet feeling was confirmed by the winemaker, who signed the logo wine glasses as if he were a rock star.

Somewhere in this melee, the actual tasting took place. After paying $20 for our glasses, we headed toward the densest part of the crowd to get our first 2 oz. ration. First ration, because the wine kept flowing, with everyone going back for more.

Initially, it appeared to us that some people were receiving rather large pours, nearly a full glass, while we on received a mere 2 oz. tasting portion. After a few moments of observation, we realized that many people were going up in groups of four and then pouring all their tastings into one glass so that someone in their group, usually a princess in a half-top proudly displaying her belly button, would have the decadent privilege of possessing a full glass of Silver Oak. One young lady of note ended up wearing more wine than she drank; her purple-splotched white blouse had probably just tripled in value due to the price of the fluid responsible for the splotches.

The wine itself displayed a burst of flavor which I described as vanilla-like (rather similar to a powerful Zin) while Jen insisted that it wasn’t a particular flavor as much as it was just "fruit," enveloped in velvet. While that flavor-burst was decadent and delicious, once it disappeared, there wasn’t much behind it. Although we liked the flavor and mouthfeel, and found the wine enjoyable for that, we were disappointed at the lack of complexity and structure and hence, capacity for aging. It is the quintessential Napa Cab in that it is drinkable upon release and accessible even to those who otherwise don’t drink wine, in contrast to the more austere style of Bordeaux and a smattering of Napa renegades. As Jen so eloquently put it, a French winemaker would take one taste and spit it out asking "Why did you serve me this? Are you trying to poison me?"

After a mixed-bag of Cab tasting, Shane suggested that we head over to Rutherford Hill and try their 2001 Cab. We’d heard and read good things about it, and Shane was quite certain that their Cab would easily stand up to the others we had tasted. We were not disappointed – this is a wine that deserves to be taken seriously. The wine displays some nice bing cherry flavors up front and, as the wine descends down your palate, the cherry flavors transform into a panoply of secondary flavors including a touch of chocolate, a smattering of tobacco and a hint of oak. These flavors are supported by mild tannins which do not interfere with the flavor but suggest that this wine, while eminently quaffable now, definitely has some aging potential. The complexity of the flavors should increase with two to four years of bottle age. This is the wine that I would hand to the French winemaker who is spitting out the Silver Oak.