Thursday, February 24, 2011

White Rock Vineyards

Please see our updated review at:  White Rock Vineyards Revisited

White Rock Vineyards is a special place, a unique and interesting vineyard with great wines!  We've been touring Napa Valley wineries since 1973 and White Rock is now our favorite winery.  It is not an upscale winery like Spring Mountain or Joseph Phelps (two other wonderful wineries) but is a small, friendly, down to earth, family run, working winery that is not well known.  (Advance reservations are required, of course, so please do not show up without reservations.)  If you want really exceptional and interesting Napa wines at a very reasonable price, this is the place to visit. The main dilemma will be decided which of the wines to buy and how many.

We tasted five different wines, that were among the best wines I have ever had at a winery, along with the best wine and cheese pairing I've ever tasted. The owner, Henri, provided us with an interesting and gracious personal tour of the vineyard and caves. One of his sons, Michael, supervises the vineyard and the other, Christopher, is the winemaker.  After the tour, Christopher then presented and discussed the wines while his sister, Anne Marie, a cheese maker, selected the cheese (not her own, but delicious) and bread. (This was through a KQED donation offer, a great way to help PBS and have a unique and incredibly enjoyable experience.)  We found them to be very intelligent, interesting, cultured people with wonderful values and incredible wines, each varietal being consistently excellent.

The White Rock 2008 Chardonnay ($30), with its minerality, reminded me of a good French white Burgundy and has become my favorite Chardonnay.  The White Rock 2006 Claret, ($36), with its excellent balance, has become one of my favorite Cabernet blend.  This was also more in the French style but at half the price of a French wine of comparable quality. Both were great buys. Prices across the board were much less than one would expect for this quality! The White Rock 2005 Laureate Cabernet Sauvignon, at only $45, is full and complex, but they also have a great older White Rock 2003 Cave Hill Reserve Cab ($85) which was a real knock out wine and also a "must buy."  Both cabs are drinkable now but should age very well. The White Rock 2006 Malbec ($25) was good, more in the French style than the Argentine.  Soon all of their wines will meet the criteria for being organically grown. 

We couldn't imagine going to go to any other winery after visiting White Rock so simply had lunch and called it a day. Our visit to White Rock was truly a wonderful experience!

1115 Loma Vista Drive
Napa, CA 94558
(707) 257-7922 Advance reservations essential!
Written 2/24/2011


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Spring Mountain Vineyard

Please see our updated 2013 review here:  Spring Mountain Vineyard Revisited

Spring Mountain Vineyard is an exemplary winery. With a very lovely setting, extremely courteous and professional service and great wines, it is definitely a place to take discerning friends.

Near the bottom of Spring Mountain in Saint Helena, Spring Mountain Vineyard is set in a beautiful and magnificent garden setting with wine caves and a charming house that use to appear on the TV show Falcon’s Crest. Be sure to bring your camera! As with all wineries on the mountain, reservations are required but easily obtained by phone or over the Internet

Our wine host was extremely pleasant, professional and informative.  We began with the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($40) which was different and interesting and better balanced than most Sauvignon Blancs.  The 2008 Syrah Co-Ferment ($55) demonstrated how good a Syrah can be when it is not all fruit, whereas the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) was big, balanced and delicious in the best Napa Valley tradition.  The 2006 and 2007 Elivettes ($125) were in the style of a really good French Bordeaux.  Every wine at Spring Mountain Vineyard was an interesting tasting experience and well worth the price. This is a winery where you can join the wine club and never have a disappointment. It is a truly great Napa Valley winery in every respect.

Addendum 10/6/11: We opened the 2005 Spring Mountain Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) and it was one of the best cabs I’ve had in the past 40 years.  All three of us were in ecstasy. Spring Mountain Vineyard is really making some great wines!!! I can’t wait to return.
2805 Spring Mountain Rd
Saint Helena, CA 94574
(707) 967-4188
Visited 2/17/2011