Browse Tag

napa valley

7×4

[label]Hendry 2005 Zinfandel Block 28 (Napa Valley) – 15.2%. To me, Hendry is an underrated producer. Heck, I even like their chardonnay. Mitigating against that, at least for my cellar, is that their prices are…well, they’re low for Napa, but aggressive in any wider context. That’s one thing when discussing the cabernet, quite another when looking at the zinfandels, which are reliably high-quality but priced as if they’re at the pinnacle, which they’re not. Here’s a wine with concentrated wild-berry fruit (blackberry, olallieberry, perhaps even some dark, exotic plum), excellent structure, and obvious aging potential. The finish is medium-length but vibrant throughout. I just wish it was a little cheaper. (9/09)

The mighty Tor

Kenward “Tor” 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Mast-Cimarrossa (Napa Valley) – Corked. So massively-fruited that it almost overcomes it. But still corked. (10/09)

Montelena Olin

[vineyard]Montelena 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – 14.01% alcohol. Those were the days, eh? Though I can’t help see the precision of the number as a sort of jibe. Anyway…the wine’s highly structured, but everything else is quite advanced (especially the color), and I think drinking is in order over the next few years. Tobacco, gravel, and cassis liqueur are present, but the dominant impression is a dusty austerity. Restrained, but not I think by middle age, but by its basic nature. A good, not great, Montelena. (2/09)

Gin

Martini 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – Artificial blackberry syrup, in taste and texture. The damage done to this name by the new owners is unforgivable. (2/09)

My darling dear, love you for all time

Brick Angel 2006 “Littlefoot” St. Barthelemy (Napa Valley) – Half petite sirah, one quarter each zinfandel and syrah, 15.1%. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. (1/09)

Dynasty

Coturri 2001 Zinfandel Forsythe (Napa Valley) – 15.9%. This tastes very much like the Coturri grenache, which just can’t be good. It’s an overwhelming explosion of slutty fruit given a massive sheen of oak; not the flavor, but the polish, which (for me) is rarely a positive for zinfandel. The acidity is vibrant, and the wine is – despite the temple-throbbing alcohol, which is immediately noticeable – quite chuggable, but there’s just nothing interesting in this bottle. Except, perhaps, the next morning’s hangover. (10/08)

The Mayacamas, the Maya go

[vineyard]Storybook Mountain 1996 Zinfandel Mayacamas Range (Napa Valley) – 14.3%. Really good, with nicely developed black fruit turning towards peppercorn and black dust, yet still firm with structure. There’s a cohesiveness that’s not always found in zin, and a balanced confidence rarely found in Napa zin, that are immensely appealing. This should age for a long, long time, though eventually I think the tannin will outlast the fruit. (8/08)

Please Allomi to introduce myself

Hess 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Allomi (Napa Valley) – Obviousness personified, and though the wine has more of cabernet’s tobacco signature than most of its pushed-ripeness, overoaked, over-merloted brethren, there’s an unfortunate satisfaction with that state: it tastes like fermented tobacco wine rather than something made from grapes. Plenty of structure, especially tannin, so this will last a good long while. I have no idea what it will develop into, though. An ashtray? (7/08)

The heart of Napa

[grapes]Corison 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – Great acidity, which I say about once per decade about a Napa wine. Black’n’blue berries, crisp apple, thyme, rosemary, and cedar with the structure one expects. Not yet done aging, of course. Terrific. Corison remains grossly underappreciated. (2/08)

Chopin

[filling a barrel]Etude 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – An insular wine. Chocolate-covered cherries and nearly-crisp blueberries. Dense, tough, and hard. Turns hot on the finish. Just OK. (2/08)