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| Envy Wines tasting bar |
Our tasting began with the Envy Wines 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($25). This is made
from one-third estate grapes and two-thirds sourced grapes. 400 cases were produced. Light straw in
color. After a good nose of mostly lemon
there was a crisp, but not tart, lemon and Japanese pear on the palate with
some minerality. It had a medium length
but very pleasant finish of lemon and
vanilla. A nice SB for the price.
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| Envy Wines tasting room |
Envy's Bee Bee's blend has been produced yearly and is named
after Nil's now deceased dog. We tasted
the Envy Wines 2010 Calistoga Estate
Bee Bee's Blend ($41). 450 cases
were produced. Light ruby in color, it is 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
and 10% Petite Sirah and has a nice aroma of red cherries with hints of
cedar. Although rather fruit forward on
the palate, it was not jammy, and had red cherry, pepper and nicely
integrated tannins followed by a lovely and long finish of cherry, spices and
pepper. This was a very appealing red
blend that is quite drinkable now. I
liked it almost as much as the Cab and PS, and it is a rather unusual
blend. My friend liked it a lot.
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| Patio in front of tasting room |
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| Envy Wines from entry way |
Next up was the Envy
Wines 2010 Calistoga Estate Cabernet Sauvignon at $48. 390 cases were produced. This is 100% Cab. An appealing bright purple in color, it had
a very nice aroma of black cherry, smoke and vanilla. Smooth on the palate, it was mostly
black cherry with some vanilla. The
finish was quite long with cherry, lingering tannins and spice. A very nice Cab, indeed, and, along with the
Petite Sirah, my favorite of the wines we tasted.
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| Envy Wines cellar building |
The Envy Wines
2010 Calistoga Estate Petite Sirah at $45 followed. 390 cases were produced. Dark ruby in color, it had a great nose,
mostly spice and pepper. On the palate I got mostly blackberries, pepper and some cola with very
nicely interlaced tannins. Although this was a full bodied Petite Sirah, the varietal characteristics
came through nicely. The finish length was
medium plus with mostly cola and blackberries.
Definitely a superior Petite Sirah, and, along with the Cab, my favorite
of the wines we sampled.
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| Envy Wines from entry |
The final taste was the Envy Wines 2009 Envy Late Harvest at $45 a half bottle. This was 100% Semillon, with a flowery nose
and a pleasant palate of mostly peach and apricot. Although easy to drink, it seemed rather simple
and did not appear to have the subtlety or complexity of a really good French Sauterne,
but it will probably appeal to many persons who like
soft, sweet white wines.
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| Original art on display |
We enjoyed our visit to Envy Wines and want to thank Phillip
for being such a gracious and helpful host. Envy Wines is located across for the Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga and is easy to locate. We highly recommend visiting them but, if you
are unable to do so, you should check out their wines, especially the Petite
Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bee Bee's Blend.
707-942-4677
707-942-4677
Date of visit: April 3, 2013
707-942-4677Date of visit: April 3, 2013
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