Mer Soleil Chardonnay 2013 Reserve The Wagner family legacy of winemaking has been carried on for three generations. The family’s deep roots of farming grapes and producing wine began in 1915 in the Napa Valley. Charlie F. Wagner and Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, along with their son, Chuck, established Caymus Vineyards in 1972. Chuck saw great potential for producing quality wines outside of the Napa Valley as well, and by 1988, Chuck began planting land in the Santa Lucia Highlands. This appellation, located in Monterey County, is along the cooler coastline, yielding early ripening for Chardonnay. Mer Soleil Chardonnay became the product of this quality chosen site, and has been…
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Frog’s Leap 2013 Napa Chardonnay The first Frog’s Leap wine was released in 1982, a 1981 Sauvignon Blanc, featuring designer Chuck House’s award-winning label, with grapes purchased from Spottswoode. Later, Spottswoode, replanted the Zinfandel to Cabernet Sauvignon, thus eliminating the winery’s source for Zinfandel. With no source for Zin, John Williams makes Cabernet and tries his hand at Chardonnay, and by 1985 is devoting full time efforts to Frog’s Leap, releasing his first Cabernet in 1987. In 1989, Frog’s Leap receives California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) status. In 2005, Chardonnay moves to a single vineyard program, with fruit from Tony Truchard in Carneros. Opening a bottle, the color is light straw…
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Trefethen 2013 Chardonnay Constructed in 1886 by a Scottish sea captain, Hamden McIntyre, the winery was originally known as Eshcol. McIntyre designed it as a gravity-flow system: a horse-drawn winch brought grapes to the third floor of the three-story structure for crushing; gravity carried the juice to the second floor for fermenting; and, eventually, the wine descended to the first floor for aging. Eshcol was among a number of wineries McIntyre designed during this period; the others were Greystone (now The Culinary Institute of America), Far Niente and Inglenook. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Napa Valley was a thriving viticultural community with nearly 140 wineries. However, in…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc De Blancs N.V. This is the last in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja, and in my opinion I saved the best for last. Today I am commenting on Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc De Blancs N.V. Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it is one of the few to remain family owned. Most all of the Champagnes produced undergo a process of Disgorgement (getting rid of the dead yeast from fermentation) and adding a Dosage, topping off…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé N.V. Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 1999 This is the third in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja. Today I am commenting on two Champagnes; Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé N.V. & Billecart-Salmon Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 1999. Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it is one of the few to remain family owned. The excellence of Champagne BILLECART-SALMON is due to the knowledge of its men who cultivate with rigor an estate of 100 hectares…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut N.V. Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois N.V. This is the second in a four-part tasting series from a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne event led by Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja. Today I am commenting on two Champagnes; Billecart-Salmon Extra Brut N.V. & Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois N.V. The family motto: “Give priority to quality, strive for excellence”. This motto is evident at the family garden, which was redesigned in 1926 in a French style under the guidance of Charles Roland-Billecart. The idea of his project was to create a garden at the heart of the village, enclosed by walls surrounded by lime trees primed in to a…
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Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve N.V. I recently went to a private Billecart-Salmon Champagne tasting hosted by my favorite wine shop, Stew Leonard’s Wines. Billecart-Salmon Brand Ambassador, Clement Calleja (photo below), was leading the tasting and provided excellent insights into six of the Billecart-Salmon Champagnes we tasted. Over the next several postings, I will comment on all six Champagnes I tried, just in time to provide some insights should you want to stock up before the holidays. Stay tuned for the remaining 5 reviews in coming posts! Billecart-Salmon is a medium-sized champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Ay, France, near Epernay. Founded in 1818 with the marriage of Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, it…
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Sequoia Grove 2012 Chardonnay Who would have guessed Napa Valley, a small pioneer community established during the gold rush days would flourish into one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world today? Surrounded by its purple hued mountains, Sequoia Grove Winery sits on 22 acres right in the heart of the valley floor in a region referred to as the “Rutherford Bench”. Here the alluvial soil, rich in minerals, combined with the fog from the bay, mingling with the warm inland temperatures create the ideal location to produce fine wine. Michael Trujillo, the Director of Winemaking and President, has been with Sequoia Grove since its beginnings joining…
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Nickel & Nickel 2013 Chardonnay Truchard Vineyard Nickel & Nickel winery, located in Oakville, Napa Valley, produces 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that express the distinct personality of each vineyard. Established by the partners of Far Niente in 1997, Nickel & Nickel is focused on producing single-vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the appellation’s most significant AVAs. A small collection of single-vineyard Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah complements the portfolio. Construction of a cutting-edge winery facility housed within a vintage 1880s farmstead was completed in the summer of 2003, when the winery officially opened to the public. Truchard Vineyard lies in the heart of Carneros, prized for its rolling hills, sun…
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J. Rochioli 2013 Chardonnay Joe Rocchioli Sr. legacy began in 1911 when he immigrated to America along with his parents, Michele and Menichina Rocchioli (they later dropped the second “c”). Originally from a small village just outside of Lucca, the Rocchioli’s were one of many Italian families that arrived in New York, made their way across the country, and settled in Northern California. In 1934 Joe Rochioli Jr. was born and the family moved to a 125-acre property nearby called Fenton Acres (same location where Rochioli Vineyards is today). At that time, grapes were a small part of what was grown here and much of the land was dedicated to…