Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Trefethen Family Vineyards Revisited

Trefethen Family Vineyards is a winery that should be on your short list of essential Napa Valley wineries to visit.  They have a superior line up of wines that will appeal to many different palates. Trefethen is located in the Oak Knoll district in north Napa.  Oak Knoll often does not receive the publicity of the nearby Rutherford or Oakville districts, but outstanding wine is grown there, and they have cool enough weather that they can grow good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes without sourcing from Carneros or Sonoma.  Staff at Trefethen are extremely friendly and accommodating.  It really is a family winery. They make you feel welcome. They produce some darn good whites and reds and some that will appeal to those who are new to wine.  And prices are very reasonable for Napa Valley.  It is also easy to reach and has plenty of parking.  If you are unable to visit, I encourage you to try their wines, especially their Cabs and the dry Riesling.  But if you don't visit then you won't have Shannon as a wine host, and you will be missing a great tasting experience thanks to her charm, humor and enthusiasm.  If our blog presented awards for the wine host of the year, I'd nominate Shannon.


Shannon, our extraordinary wine host


The Trefethen family began growing grapes in Napa Valley in the late 1960s when I was drinking Mateus and Lancers and thought they were good wines.  According to the Trefethen website, "When Gene [Trefethen] retired in 1968, the wine-loving Trefethens moved to Napa Valley – then considered an agricultural backwater – where they purchased six small farms and the ramshackle 19th-century Eschol Winery, creating a 600-acre wine estate. At the time, there were fewer than 20 operational wineries in Napa Valley and many of its vineyards were on life support."   Trefethen story




Trefethen building


Almost harvest time




In 1973 they produced their first release.  By 1976 the Trefethen Chardonnayearned “Best Chardonnay in the World” honors at the 1979 Gault Millau World Wine Olympics in Paris.  John Trefethen's wife, Janet, took over the wineries marketing in the 1970s and was one of the first women to become a winery executive.  Their two children, Loren and Hailey, are now actively involved with the winery, making Trefethen an authentic family winery, not one just in name.  Their motto is "One Family, One Estate, One Passion" For 39 Years.


Tour guide?
Trefethen Moto


I recently tasted some Trefethen 2011 Dry Riesling ($22) and Trefethen 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon  ($100) at a party and fell in love with both of them, prompting me to visit Trefethen again. I had previously tasted the 2009 and 2010 Dry Rieslings when they were released and, although they all look similar on paper, I found the 2011 to be exceptional.  It has a light citrus nose with a full, dry presentation on the palate of apple and white peach with great minerality and good, but not overwhelming acid. It has a long, delightful finish.  The Trefethen 2011 Dry Riesling is one of the finest U.S. Rieslings I've tasted. We also tasted two Chards side by side, the Trefethen 2010 Chardonnay ($30) and the Trefethen Reserve 2009 Harmony Chardonnay ($50). They are both superior Chards in different styles.  The 2010 has a light aroma and is dry, citrusy and well balanced with some minerality and a good finish. The reserve has a pronounced aroma with lush peach and apple on the palate.  It is a full rich wine, being very smooth but not buttery.  It is rounder than the regular release with more peach and apple than citrus. They use 20% malolatic conversion and 11 months of French oak.  Both Chards are quite nice and which you prefer will be determined by your personal preferences and what is paired with them.  After the Chards we tried the 2011 Viognier ($30).  It had a nice floral nose with a smooth fruity presentation that was light and refreshing with a long finish. An unusual white wine, the Trefethen 2011 Quandry ($25), is a blend of Riesling, Chardonnay and Viognier. It has an intense, floral aroma that is utterly delightful and much more pronounced than any of the other whites.  I got a lot of fruit, mostly peaches with some citrus.  There is sweetness, but it is balanced.  This is a wine my mother would like, but that I would enjoy drinking with her. It is not as serious a wine as the Chards or Riesling, but more of an easy, fun wine that has more fruit and aroma than even their Viognier.  I imagine it is a very popular wine with visitors.




In addition to this strong line up of whites, Trefethen also offers some excellent reds.  Most Pinot Noirs from Napa grapes come from Carneros.  Trefethen is one of the few wineries I know of that use Valley floor grapes in their Pinot.  (Hendry is another I can think of.) Their Trefethen 2010 Pinot Noir ($48) has a light nose with wonderful  raspberry like fruit on the palate, and pleasantly interlaced tannins. Fairly bright with light to medium body, I found this to be a very nice Pinot.  Next we tried the Trefethen 2009 Cabernet Franc ($38). This varietal is often found in a Bordeaux style Cabernet Sauvignon blends, but some wineries offer it on its own, and it can sometimes be an interesting wine by itself.  In this case it is a blend of 86% Cabernet Franc with 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot.  This one has a great aroma, with soft tannins, good balance and nice fruit. It is one of the better Napa Valley Cab Fancs.  Next we tried the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($60) and the Trefethen 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($100).  With the former I got a very nice cherry nose with mostly plum on the palate, good balanced tannin and acid, and a good finish. It was a nice Cab but the 2008 Reserve was in another league.  It was fuller bodied wine with ripe black cherry and spice.  Extremely well balanced with an interesting, clean finish.  This is an especially good Cab and highly recommended.  We finished the tasting with the 2009 Dragon's Tooth ($75), an interesting blend, which is mostly Malbec (67%) with 19% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot and the Trefethen 2006 Halo ($175).  The Halo is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec and is from their Hillspring Vineyard.  It sees 28 months in French Oak.  The Halo had a remarkable nose, great black cherry and blackberry like fruit, with deliciously integrated tannins.  It is a complex, interesting wine with hints of forest floor, spices and chocolate.  This is an exceptional wine that is worth the $175 price tag.






Trefethen is a winery that we plan to visit more frequently.  (They are open to the public with no appointment needed.) Although we sampled 11 wines, we never did get to the Merlot, the 2009 Cab or the Late Harvest Riesling.  They have several different tasting options, the Estate Tasting of four wines for $15 and the Winmaker's Reserve Tasting of all five reserve wines for $25. I'd recommend the Reserve Tasting for most serious wine lovers, but you should return again to try the estate tasting because you won't want to miss these either, especially the dry Riesling.  We really liked all of the Trefethen wines but the standouts were the 2011 Riesling, 2008 Reserve Cab and 2006 Halo.  Trefethen is an outstanding winery, and I think you will love your visit there.






Trefethen Family Vineyards
1160 Oak Knoll Ave.
Napa, CA 94558
707-255-7700
Date of visit October 10, 2012

Monday, October 8, 2012

Smith-Madrone 2010 Riesling

My tasting notes on this wine, my favorite U.S. Riesling,  were buried in my winery review of Smith-Madrone Winery so I decided to retrieve them and expand upon them. I find most wine tasting notes to be rather dull and many to be uninformative. If you read different tasting notes on the same wine you will also notice that there is very little agreement among tasters. Usually only comments about the most outstanding elements of structure will be consistent among reviewers, even among famous critics. That is not a criticism. Wine tasting is subjective, and every palate is different. In an unusual display of enthusiasm, I wrote tasting notes for the 2010 Smith-Madrone Riesling. This is a great wine. I hope I did it some justice. In some ways it reminds me of my favorite author, Proust, in that it is subtle but also profound, with many layers of complexity that take time to appreciate. (And yes, I've read all of Proust.) This wine also continues to haunt my memory the way Proust's madeleines haunted his.

The Smith-Madrone 2010 Riesling sells for only $27 and compares to the best Alsatian and German Rieslings being made today. Arguably, the Riesling varietal is one of the four greatest or most noble grapes in the world, along with the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1970s, I went through a Riesling phase back when wines from famous wineries around the world were still affordable, even great French and German ones. Over the years, I have found only a few really good American made Rieslings, with most of the drier ones lacking complexity and minerality and the sweeter and late harvest ones usually being too simple and sweet without the interesting layers that can be found in high-end late harvest German and Austrian Rieslings. The Smith-Madrone Riesling is a drier style Riesling, drier than most German Kabinetts, more along the lines of an Alsatian Riesling, but without being overly tart on the palate or austere on the finish, as some Alsatian Rieslings can be. The vines are on Spring Mountain in Napa Valley, near St. Helena, and are 38 years old. Only 450 cases were produced.

Riesling wines are among the most visually beautiful wines in the world with their deep gold to green-gold colors. This one leans toward light straw. Hold the glass up to the sunlight before you drink it or you will miss part of the pleasure of a Riesling. The nose tends more toward a tart apple aroma like a Granny Smith rather than a sweet apple like a Fuji or Gala. Rieslings make one of the most nakedly honest wines in the world, with no malolactic conversion, oaking or winemaker skills or tricks to compensate. (Some are late harvest with botrytis, but that is really nature’s doing.) The varietal characteristics always come through strongly as well as any minerality and regional characteristics or terroir. This Riesling gives me Cox’s Orange Pippin apple on the palate (I grow one, so can be specific.), with a mere hint of sweetness (0.65%), balanced acidity, and great minerality. It is a respectable 12.9% alcohol, making it all the more interesting and substantial compared to some of those of those low alcohol. (7.5 to 10%) German Rieslings. This Riesling tells me that it does not come from the Rheingau, Mosel or Alsace. It has a unique Riesling personality from its own vineyard.

If I may be pseudo-poetic for a moment, the Smith-Madrone Riesling seems to reveal the subtle minerals that the vines slowly extracted and dissolved from the rocky soil of Spring Mountain, yielding something like a primal connection to the earth and nature, with perhaps subtle hints of heaven. This is an interesting, complex and layered wine to slowly savor. Roll it around in your mouth. Notice how it is different on the various areas of the tongue. Let it warm a bit in your mouth to see how it changes character. This is a wine that invites investigation beyond its lovely color, crisp apple taste and long finish. Like a beautiful painting, the more you spend time with it, the more you will appreciate it. A quick glance or a cursory viewing will not allow you to understand or appreciate its beauty. You will miss so much if you do not take time and savor the experience.

On a less poetic level, this is a crisp and dry, but not bone dry, very well balanced wine that should go well with seafood. Others might suggest Thai or Vietnamese food, but I confess to liking this sort of wine either alone, with a little cheese or with sushi or sashimi. If you understand the difference between grocery store sushi and sushi from a great Japanese sushi bar then you will understand the differences between various Rieslings. Or perhaps, if sushi is not your thing, you would prefer to think of the difference between French food at an informal sidewalk café compared to a great French meal from a master chef. It has that extra magic, that interesting complexity that eases you into the experience. Time seems to slow down while drinking this wine. The Smith-Madrone Riesling is ideally paired with a kiss or perhaps with the memory of a madeleine.

Smith-Madrone Vineyards visit may be viewed here: Smith-Madrone
Our second visit may be viewed here: Revisit

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Tres Sabores Winery

Tres Sabores Winery is an extremely friendly, down to earth winery that embraces visitors, eschews all pretensions and provides the sort of tour and tasting that is extremely appealing to visitors.  Who would believe that this small, certified organic winery is only a few minutes off of Highway 29 in the Rutherford District? Forget every negative stereotype you have heard about some Napa Valley wineries with their pretentiousness, corporate ownership and crowds of tourists.  Visiting Tres Sabores is like visiting a small Napa Valley winery back in the early 1970s, something I did frequently.  Tres Sabores means "three savory flavors." Julie Johnson is the owner and winemaker and, if she does not conduct the tour herself, she will probably drive up, wave at you and join the tour in progress. 

 

Grape vines
If you had a winery tasting room and invited visitors, then wouldn't you want the visitors to have a positive experience? Good wine is extremely helpful, a beautiful setting is a plus, but hospitality and treating visitors decently, even graciously, is essential  Do you think the French Laundry has such fame only because of the quality of the food?  Not on your life.  You are treated specially with the attentiveness and charm that only the finest restaurants can provide.  It is very important to make people feel welcome at a restaurant or winery.  Ashley, our host, was friendly, down-to-earth, helpful, unpretentious, and enthusiastic while the owner, Julie Johnson, was equally so. You may scoff at Yelp and similar reviews, and I don't blame you, but look at the ones for Tres Sabores. People really like visiting them. Visitors are treated very well and it is reflected in the reviews.



Bill punching down the grapes

Tres Sabores also makes olive oil.  We were able to view the trees, but it was not the season for tasting.  They have sheep and guinea hens, too, plus pomegranates.  This is more like a Napa organic farm than the stereotyped upscale Napa Valley Winery. You will meet the farm dog, Moose (who doesn't chase the deer away but is loved nonetheless), eat some pomegranates if they are in season, sample the various grapes if they are ripe, tour the grounds, and have an opportunity to punch down some grapes if you are there soon after a harvest.


Tasting table & Moose the dog



Our tasting began with the Tres Sabores Ingrid and Julia 2011 Rose ($20).  This is made from Zinfandel and really is quite dry.  The Tres Sabor 2001 Sauvignon Blanc Farina Vineyard Sonoma Mountain ($24) was next.  This is whole cluster pressed, from 95% stainless and 5 % neutral oak, with sur lie fermentation for six months.  Only 400 cases were made. This had a slight citrus nose, with a very dry, crisp palate, with some minerality and a pleasant touch of herbaceousness and spice along with a crisp finish. I liked it.  Different, but not really my cup of tea, was the Tres Sabores Farina Vineyard Sonoma Mountain 2010 Chardonnay at $25.  Only 360 cases were produced. This, again, is whole cluster pressed, stainless and sur lie  without MLF.  I have long been an advocate of less oak and little or no malolatic conversion with Chardonnays and often welcome whole cluster pressing and  sure lie.  This Chard had a light nose and was rather soft, smooth and fruity on the palate with a touch of minerality. It was a good Chardonnay but more fruit forward than I prefer with this varietal.  Our host said it was a Chardonnay made more like a Sauvignon Blanc.  It is a very different type of Chard, and some people might really like it.  At least it is not another uninteresting, middle-of-the-road Chardonnay that will put you to sleep with its ordinariness.  


Old wine press


Next we proceeded to red wines with the Tres Sabores 2010 Rutherford Estate Zinfandel ($35). It is somewhat fruit forward, but has nice pepper and spice, something I always welcome in a Zin.  The vines for this Zin were planted in 1972, which means they are 40 years old. For some reason, Zins usually taste much better when they come from older vines, and this is no exception.  It was my favorite of the wines we tasted. 500 cases were produced.  The final tasting was the 2009 Por que NO? Napa Valley Zinfandel Blend ($25). It is about 50% Zin with Cab, Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot, rather an unconventional blending of varietals.  It is rounder and more fruit forward than the regular Zin and has some sweetness that will make it appealing to many palates, especially those that dislike big, tannic, bold red wines.  The party of four from Sweden who were on the tour with us all seemed to like it as did my friend. It is certainly easy to drink.  I did not find it interesting and much preferred the Rutherford Zin, but that is just my palate.  2000 cases were made, making it, by far,  the largest production wine for Tres Sabores.


Olive trees


Tres Sabores is a very small winery with extremely limited production, so it is understandable that they were sold out of the 2009 Calistoga Petite Sirah ($45). (200 cases were produced.) This was a disappointment for me since PS is one of my favorite varietals.  Even more disappointing, was that we were not able to taste the 2008 Rutherford Perspective Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc ($80).  They only made 127 cases of it, so I assumed they were sold out.  Rutherford is, of course, justly famous for their Cabs.  You know, Rutherford dust, etc. To visit a Rutherford winery and not taste a Cab is something of a sacrilege, but one must expect that when visiting a small winery with such a small production.  I think I would probably love the Petite Sirah and Rutherford Cab from Tres Sabores. If I ever find either in a wine store I'll purchase them and report back on them.  I frequently add updates to winery posts or even post a special review of a wine if it is exceptional.



Picnic area

If you like the idea of visiting a winery that is like an old fashioned Napa Valley farm where you will be welcomed with enthusiasm and treated with respect, then you will love visiting Tres Sabores. Their prices are very reasonable. I especially liked their Sauvignon Blanc and Rutherford Zinfandel and most likely would have loved their Petite Sirah and Rutherford Cab if they had not been sold out.


Vineyard


1620 South Whitehall Lane
St. Helena, CA 94574
707-967-8027
Date of visit: October 3, 2010


Fall harvest from the garden




Pomegranates

Monday, October 1, 2012

100 Napa Valley Wineries Reviewed

Quintessa was the 100th winery we have reviewed on our blog since we created it in 2011.  We have visited many more wineries over the years, of course, and have recently visited wineries in other states and regions that we have not reviewed. We have also reviewed some wineries more than once but only counted them one time in terms of the number of wineries visited and reviewed.

Most people in the wine trade, with whom we have spoken, estimate that there are now about 420 actual physical wineries in Napa Valley. But there are actually around 904 wine producers in Napa Valley (perhaps as many as 1100), with around 420 having physical locations. Some simply round it off at around 600.  David Thompson at The Napa Wine Project represents the gold standard for information in this area. It is amazing that he has been able to visit so many Napa Valley wineries (700+) and to write such detailed, objective reports. Very few blogs have reviewed as many Napa Valley wineries as we have, but he has reviewed seven times as many! He started his project in 2006. These are not Yelp type reviews but objective documentary descriptions of Napa Valley wineries. The emphasis is not so much on reviewing the wine as on introducing us to the winery. If you own a winery and have not yet agreed to participate in this project, please reconsider. His blog is really more of a Wikpedia of information than a compendium of tasting notes or preferences. Many of us find interesting historical information on his blog that we don't even find on the winery's web page. I hope the value of his project will be better acknowledged by Napa Valley wineries and eventually published as a book. Please check it out:
Napa Wine Project

A significant advantage to living in Napa are the numerous wine festivals and tasting events plus having access to many incredibly high quality wineries and great wines, especially Cabs and Cab blends. Our access to great wines, however, is really comparatively limited, as is our ability to taste large numbers of wines. Well known wine critics, wine distributors, wine store owners, and commercial purchasers of wines for restaurants, etc. are able to sample many more wines than most of the rest of us, often hundreds a day.  (One of my favorite wine critics, Richard Jennings, recently stated that he tastes about 7,000 wines a year and wine tasting and writing is not even his full time job.) They also have access to expensive wines that the rest of us can't afford. This exposure to wines, plus their incredible expertise, really places these experts, not just in another league, but on another planet, if not in another universe. We can read and learn from them, but almost none of us could ever have as much access to and experience with wine. 

So, we have now reviewed 100 wineries.  We have no goal or specific number of wineries we plan to review but will simply continue doing so as long as it remains an enjoyable leisure activity for us. We are simply two guys who have loved wine for the past forty-five years or so and enjoy learning. We hope some of our enthusiasm and discoveries will be of interest to others.

Please see our list of favorite wines here: Favorite Wines from Napa Valley Wineries

Good night and good luck, TJ