J. Davies 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District The Davies family, proprietors of Schramsberg Vineyards in Napa Valley, produces still wines from the historic Diamond Mountain vineyards purchased in 1965 and replanted to Bordeaux varietals beginning in 1994. The wine is named in honor of patriarch Jack L. Davies, who along with his wife, Jamie, revived the Schramsberg property and established the preeminent American sparkling wine house more than four decades ago. A creation of the next generation of the Davies family, the J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon is the product of an intimate knowledge of a place and a passion to create a delicious red wine. Opening a bottle of…
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Faust 2013 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Interesting to learn that Faust, the wine, celebrates a legend which has inspired many great minds, among them the German poet Goethe, from whose masterpiece they draw inspiration. In Goethe’s most famous work, the aging scholar Dr. Faust barters his soul in the afterlife in exchange for another chance at youth. He gets his chance, yet ultimately his soul is saved by love. Faust is indeed the fruit of renewed passion for Agustin Huneeus, though Mephistopheles has not yet appeared to claim his soul. The underlying premise for all of the wines he has ever produced has been that great wines must be a reflection…
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Saintsbury Carneros Pinot Noir 2012 In 1977 David Graves and Richard Ward, both UC Davis graduate students met in brewing class. In addition to sharing a passion for brew, they also had a passion for Burgundies. In 1978 they began working the Napa harvest at Chappellet and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. In 1981 David and Dick founded Saintsbury and began focusing on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The winery’s namesake honors George Saintsbury (1845-1933), literary historian and oenophile. Vivid ruby red, with a bouquet of dark red fruit and spicy aromas. On the palate ripe fruit flavors of cherries, plum and dried red berries, slight earthy and mineral taste. Aged for…
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Cakebread Cellars 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Cakebread Cellars was founded, in 1973, by Jack and Dolores Cakebread and they have an enduring commitment to quality, their belief is that life’s occasions are elevated by good people, good food, and good wine flows through everything they do. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is a blend of Grapes: 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. In 2013, Cakebread Cellars celebrated their 40th wine harvest, and the second generation of winemaking. Today, the winery owns 13 sites totaling 982 acres, 460 of which are currently planted. The Cakebread Website is full of interesting information and loaded…
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Grgich Hills Estate 2012 Napa Chardonnay Miljenko “Mike” Grgich first gained international recognition at the celebrated “Paris Tasting” of 1976. Then, in a now-historic blind tasting, a panel of eminent French judges swirled, sniffed, and sipped an array of the fabled white Burgundies of France and a small sampling of upstart Chardonnays from the Napa Valley. When their scores were tallied, the French judges were shocked: they had chosen the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, crafted by Mike Grgich, as the finest white wine in the world. Mon Dieu! The results stunned the international wine establishment and immediately earned Mike a reputation as one of the greatest winemakers in the world.…
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Robert Mondavi 2012 Napa Merlot Robert Mondavi Winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest. Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Opening a bottle of 2012 Napa Merlot, I noticed a dark red color, almost purple with blue and black fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet…
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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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Caymus 2012 40th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon In 1971 Charlie Wagner and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner asked their son Charles (Chuck) Wagner, who had just graduated from high school, if he would be interested in joining them in starting up a winery. If Chuck declined the offer, Charlie and Lorna were planning to sell out of their ranch in Napa Valley and move to Australia. Chuck accepted his parents’ offer to launch the winery, Caymus Vineyards. The Wagners produced their first vintage in 1972, consisting of 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then, Caymus has focused their efforts in the production of quality Cabernet Sauvignon. …
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Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Whitehall Lane was founded in 1979 but the history of the soil cultivation dates back two centuries. In the mid 1800’s, Napa Valley settlers were drawn to the deep, loamy soils and ideal climate, planting high quality grape vines at the Whitehall Lane Winery site. A barn constructed in the early 1900’s for equipment storage is still used today. In 1979, two brothers started the winery and directed their winemaking efforts successfully to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They named the winery after the road that runs along the south border of the property, Whitehall Lane. In 1993, the Leonardini Family of San Francisco took control…
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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…