Wednesday, October 5, 2011

St Supery Estate Vineyards and Winery

If you like Cabernet Sauvignons, especially the justly famous Rutherford cabs, then you won't want to miss visiting St. Supery Estate Vineyards and Winery.  When you do visit you will see the gorgeous Queen Anne's style Victorian home, the 1882 Atkinson House, a registered historical landmark that has been restored and decorated by the winery.  The tasting room is nearby in a building that was completed in 1988. They also have a wine museum upstairs where you may partake of a free, self guided tour.  In the museum are many old bottles of wine from the late 1800's and early 1900's.  St. Supery was named after one of its owner from the 1800's, Edward St. Supery.  Since 1982 St. Supery has been owned by Skalli Family Wines of America.  Robert Skalli, a third generation French winemaker is founder and chairman of the Board of Skalli Family Wines of America

Their "Divine Wine Tasting" was $25 and included four to five wines.  (Check with the winery for current pricing.)  Service (Aaron) was very friendly and informative.  We started with the St. Supery 2009 Dollarhide Sauvignon Blanc at $35 which had a nice light nose, a touch of sweetness and, to me, a more pineapple than grapefruit palate. It was okay but, we preferred the reds at St. Supery.  The St. Supery 2006 Elu is 86% cab, 7% merlot and 7% petite Verdot.  It spent 24 months on French Oak and is their "meritage."  It was very well balanced and had mostly cherry on the palate.  At $65 a bottle it is quite nice.  Even better though was the really excellent  St. Supery 2006 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon at $80.  This is drinkable now but will improve with time.  It had a nice cherry, earthy palate, with good tannins and a long finish.  It is one of the finest Cabs we've had.  The last wine was the St. Supery 2006 Dollarhide Cab at $85.  It was a bigger wine with some spiciness and will age very well.  I preferred the Rutherford Cab for drinking now but I'd bet the Dollarhide Cab will be a knockout in another five years.  St Supery Estate Vineyards and Winery is certainly worth a visit. 

Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 963-450
Visited October 5, 2011

Beaulieu Vineyard or BV

Beaulieu Vineyard or BV is one of the most historically important Napa Valley wineries, one that everyone serious about wines should visit at least once. I have been to Beaulieu Vineyard many times over the past forty years and a visit is always worthwhile.  I had many bottles of their Beaulieu Vineyard 1970 George de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet, which helped put Napa Valley on the map and was a great cab back then. It was one of the first Napa Valley Cabs that I fell in love with. I preferred it to most first cru Bordeaux wines which I actually could afford back in the early 1970s but for which I would have to mortgage my home to purchase now in today's market.  I remember its restrained elegance that contrasted with some of the bigger Napa Valley Cabs, such as the Charles Krug.  I continue to have a vivid memory of tasting the famous 1970 BV reserve alongside the 1965 Charles Krug cab.  BV produces many different varietals but in my mind it will always be the home of the BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Beaulieu derived its name from George de Latour's wife, Fernande, who in 1900 when she first saw their original four acre vineyard in Rutherford, exclaimed "Quel beau lieu," or "What a beautiful place."  In 1901 they purchased a nearby winery that had been built in 1885. George de Latour was originally from France and his vision was to produce Napa Valley wines to compare with great French wines.  He imported phylloxera resistant rootstock from Europe and then survived Prohibition by remaining open and selling sacramental wines to churches.  In fact, BV was so successful in selling sacramental wine that when it ended in 1933 they were producing over one million gallons of wine a year.  In 1938 he brought over from France the famous Andre Tchelistcheff, an iconic legend who was both a viticulturist and a winemaker and who mentored almost every famous early winemaker in Napa Valley, including Mike Grgich, Joe Heitz and Robert Mondavi.  By the 1949s BV wines were being served at the White House.  During the 1950s BV was considered to be one of the "big four" Napa Valley wineries, along with Inglenook, Charles Krug and Louis Martini.  In 1969 BV was purchased by Heublin, Inc. who later became part of RJT Nabisco.  In 1987 it was sold to Grand Metropolitan.  When they merged with Guinness in 1997 to become Diageo, BV became part of the world's largest multinational beer, wine and spirits company.

During this visit we opted to only sample two wines, the Beaulieu Vineyard 2008 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon at $32 and the Beaulieu Vineyard 2007 Reserve Maestro Cabernet Sauvignon Ranch No. 1 at $65.  The former had a blackberry nose with good fruit and balanced tannins.  The later was riper and more extracted and was even better.  It was rated 91 by Robert Parker.  As good as the Maestro was, though, we thought the Rutherford cab was probably the better deal at less than half the price, although both cabs were very good and well worth a visit.  At the time of our visit you could sample wines by the glass or chose the Maestro Tasting of four wines for $15 or the Premier Tasting of four wines for $20. Please call or check their webpage for current tasting fees. They are also in the Napa Neighbor Program.  BV is open to the public without an appointment.  Tasting options are listed here: BV tastings.
 
So put Beaulieu Vineyard on your list of iconic, historic Napa Valley wineries that you should visit at least once if you are a wine lover.  BV is located next to the famous Rutherford Grill and near the wonderful Italian Restaurant, Alex.  Both are highly recommended for lunch or dinner before or after a visit to BV.  

Beaulieu Vineyard or BV
1960 Saint Helena Hwy
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 967-5233
Date of visit: October 5, 2011

Sequoia Grove Vineyards

Sequoia Grove Vineyards is well worth a visit.  Be sure to try their 2008 Cabernet at only $38. Sequoia Grove Vineyards was founded in 1979 by Jim Allen and is located next to Highway 29 in a renovated 150 year old barn on 22 acres in the Rutherford AVA.  It was named after two large Sequoia trees that grow at the front entrance. The lovely, rustic tasting room is lined in wood and the bar is a single slab of wood.  In 2003 lightening struck one of the sequoias and it fell through the roof.  A skylight can now be seen where the tree fell through.  Jim Allen's brother, Steve Allen, is the vineyard manager.  Michael Trujillo is their winemaker.  Jim Allen sold the winery to Kobrand Corporation in 2004.

I've driven past Sequoia Grove Winery for many years but only recently sampled their wines and will certainly be back.  First, they have one of the few dry Gewurztraminers produced in the U.S.  Usually I have to purchase Alsatian ones to have a nice, flowery white wine to compliment Thai or Vietnamese food or just to drink alone on a summer day.  The Sequoia Grove 2008 Glorious Gewurztraminer at $18 a bottle is a bargain.  We also had the Sequoia Grove 2008 Rebellious Red which is a Tempranillo and is quite good at only $34.  The Sequoia Grove 2007 Merlot at $40 is fairly good with a peppery nose and some pleasantly soft tannins.  I believe they said it had 5% Cab Franc in it.  Even better was the Sequoia Grove 2008 Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah at $32. But our favorite was the Sequoia Grove 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $38 which is a very nice Cab for the money.  The Current Release Tasting was $15 for four wines and the Library Tasting was $20 for three cab tastings. If you can't make it to the winery, you might be able to find their cab at Whole Food, Bevmo or Safeway.  

Addendum September 21, 2012: I've tried two of the Sequoia Grove 2008 Cabernet Sauvignons now and it is a nice Napa Valley Cab and well worth the money.
8338 St. Helena Hwy
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 944-2945
Visited: October 5, 2011