Cuvaison Estate Wines

Please see our updated 2013 review here: Cuvaison Estate Wines Revisited

Cuvaison Estate Wines provided us with a wonderful experience, thanks to their very good, well balanced wines, a beautiful setting and to our extremely friendly, courteous and knowledgeable wine educator, Patty.

Although I've heard of Cuvaison since the early 1970s when I first began doing comparative wine tastings, this was the first time I visited the winery; it certainly won't be the last.  With wines this good, hospitality this stellar and a lovely setting and view, Cuvaison is a place I now plan to take relatives and friends when they visit us here in Napa.

Cuvaison provides two different flights, one at $15 and another at $20, both for four wines.  It appears from other reviews that they often provide one or a few additional complimentary tastings.  This probably depends on how busy they are and how enthusiastic the tasters are.  Cuvaison also has a winery with many of the same wines up in Calistoga.  At the Carneros one, though, they have a lovely view of vineyards through huge glass windows or from their patio and they serve the wine to you at tables.  You don't have to edge your way in to a bar and stand.  It might have helped that we went on a Wednesday morning during off-season and were the only ones there. Any winery can get really busy and swamped with customers.  But this is the same time we visit wineries every week and the service from Patty was really exceptional. She even went out into the vineyard and brought in a bunch of Pinot Noir grapes on a large leaf for us to examine or taste while we were drinking the Pinot Noir.  It just doesn't get better than that.

All of the wines at Cuvaison were exceptionally well-balanced and multi-layered, even by the best of Napa Valley standards.  Here is a sampling of my notes:  Cuvaison 2010 Carneros Chardonnay ($23): 9.5 months in French oak with 60% malolactic conversion.  Nice nose with apple and lime on the palate.  Dry with some minerality, extremely well balanced with a long finish.  I usually prefer Chards without MLF, but this one was not overdone.  In comparison, the Cuvaison 2009 S Block Chardonnay ($38) was 100% MLF, with 12.5 months on French oak.  The aroma to me was a little lighter and the oak and butter were more pronounced.  It had some nectarine and vanilla on the palate.  I prefer little or no MLF or oak and a drier, flinty, mineral presentation such as that found in good white Burgundies.  But if you like more of a round and buttery taste, you might really like this Chard.  Again, it is very well-balanced.  Their Cuvaison 2009 Carneros Pinot Noir ($35) is in the lighter style, a style I usually do not like all that much.  But this one is so well balanced that I liked it.  I got some cherry aroma with a soft but balanced light raspberry palate and a long finish.  For this style of PN, it is very well done.  The Cuvaison 2009 Carneros Syrah ($35) had some blueberry on the nose with nice but soft tannins and some jammy fruit.  Although it has ample fruit, it is not one of those Syrah "fruit bombs."  The Cuvaison 2008 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, at $45, was very good, and another "must buy."  It is 76% Cab, 11% Malbec and 13% of Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot.  It is quite good for the price.

We were also fortunate enough to be able to taste three wines that are usually not available for tasting and are sold only to wine club members.  After tasting them, we both wanted to join the wine club. The Cuvaison 2008 Two Estate ($54) comes with a gorgeous custom wine label of stained glass.  I got a raspberry aroma, with a palate that was very smooth and balanced with good acid and tannin.  This one has more Merlot than Cab (64% & 39%) with 6% Malbec.  Even better, though, was the Cuvaison 2008 Brandlin Cabernet Sauvignon ($90 but on sale for $78 to club members).  This was a very lovely Cab (88%) that had a little Malbec (6%), Cab Franc (4%) and Petite Verdot (2%).  This was brighter on the palate and perfectly drinkable now, although it should get even better with some age.  One of the best of their wines, and a tremendous value, is the Cuvaison 2009 Diablo Syrah. This is dry farmed and available only to club members.  It lists at $35 but sells to members at $28 and is one of the best California Syrahs I've tasted.  With some cherry on the nose and very good tannin, fruit and acid balance, this is not overly jammy like some Syrahs.  Both of us really liked it a lot.

Cuvaison is a winery you must visit!  The service was fantastic and the setting really lovely. Every wine we tasted was a winner, although some stood out more than others did.   This makes it a winery that is very high on the list for club membership by which you may have access to exclusive wines, discounts on all wine, invitations to special events and complimentary tastings for you and your guests.  We both plan to return soon.

Cuvaison Estate Wines
1221 Duhig Rd
Napa, CA 94581
(707) 942-2455

Visited 12/1/2011