Thursday, March 10, 2011

Artesa Winery

Please see our updated 2013 review here: Artesa Vineyards and Winery Revisited

Artesa Winery is located in Carneros AVA in Napa Valley in a modern, very interesting building with fountains and a gorgeous view of the San Francisco Bay.  The view and setting is not one you will want to miss. Staff were very friendly.

We opted for the Classic Tasting at $10.  (The Reserve is only $15.)  This began with the 2009 Pinot Blanc which was well balanced, with a touch of sweetness but without the dryness or minerality of a really good Alsatian Pinot Blanc.  But it was certainly better than most California Pinot Blancs and was well worth the $24.  I applaud Artesa for producing this interesting white wine, one of my favorite whites.  The 2009 Carneros Chardonnay was fairly good and only $20 a bottle.  It had an apple aroma with some French oak but was not one of the butter bombs that some Napa Chardonnays have become.  The 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir at $25 had a nice cherry aroma and wasn't overly fruit forward but was too light for our taste.  But we both really liked the 2008 Estate Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir that had a raspberry aroma and some complexity.  It is $40 instead of $25 but is, by far, our favorite of the two Pinot Noirs and well worth the $15 difference in price. We also tasted a nice 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon with a full plum aroma and balanced tannins.  It is well worth the $40 and we couldn't leave without purchasing some.  After we left, I read the brochure and the 2006 Limited Release Cab sounds very interesting at $70. I regret we didn't try it. Next time we visit, we would like to try the Artesa Limited Release and Reserve Tasting.

Artesa Winery
1345 Henry Rd
Napa, CA 94559
(707) 224-1668
Date of visit: March 10, 2011

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