Signorello Estate Winery is one of our favorite wineries, a
real jewel. Like a really nice wine, all of its
components come together beautifully.
They are located just off Silverado Trail in the Oak Knoll
AVA
right next to the Stag's Leap District so finding them is easy. The winery is set back from the Silverado
Trail far enough to provide privacy and is elevated up on a hill to offer a
very lovely view of
Napa Valley
to the west with the mountains in the back.
There is a large parking area. Service has always been great. Wines are
exceptional. Signorello seems more like a small, hidden, romantic, retreat than
a typical winery. The grounds are very pretty with an ivy covered building, an
Italian Terrazzo style patio and an infinity pool, providing a private,
romantic setting that seems ideal for an intimate culinary experience. And, indeed, you can enjoy delicious food and
wine here because Signorello is more than a small, lovely, family owned winery
with friendly service and excellent wines; it also has a full time chef and provides
a gourmet dining experience that was awarded 3.5 stars by the San Francisco
Chronicle. Check out this article about their wine and food offering: "One of
Napa's
Best Dining Experiences Isn't At a Restaurant -- It's at a Winery"
Article
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Signorello winery building |
Inside the attractive, airy, Tuscan styled winery building
is a gourmet kitchen and there are lovely dining areas both upstairs and out on
the patio. While we were there a couple sat outside for lunch and wine in what
seemed like an intimate, romantic setting to rival any in Napa Valley. I could easily imagine this as a place for a
marriage proposal or romantic rendezvous. Neither my friend nor I have tasted
the food here, but it gets rave reviews from others and for the next several
days after visiting, we exchanged phone calls, imagining how nice a wine and
food pairing would be at Signorello. I
have a few favorite places such as sitting on the outdoor patio at Auberge du Soleil
in the summer with my wife, enjoying French food paired with good wine, while
watching the sunset and savoring the scenery.
Signorello seems to be one of those special places where wonderful food
and wine come together in a romantic setting. My friend plans to visit there soon for just
such an experience.
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Signorello pool and patio |
The 100 acres at Signorello Estate were purchased by Ray Signorello,
Sr. in the mid 1970s. He resided in San
Francisco and originally planned to have a summer home
but decided to plant vineyards and source the grapes to local wineries. In 1985, however, they had a surplus of
grapes and decided to produce some of their own wine. The summer home never did get built, but a
winery building was completed in 1986.
In 1998 Ray Signorello, Sr. passed away and his son, Ray Signorello, Jr.
took over, something that was natural for him to do because he had been
involved with the winery since the mid 1980s and is even co-winemaker. In 1990
they added new plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon (25.5 acres), Cabernet Franc (3
acres), Merlot (1.7 acres) and Syrah (2 acres). These are mostly on the
hillside. The remaining acres are planted with white wines including 5 acres of
Chardonnay, 1 acre of Sauvignon Blanc, 1.5 acres of Semillon and 0.5 acres of
Viognier. The Chardonnay vines were
planted in 1973 on the valley floor and are some of the oldest Chardonnay vines
in Napa Valley.
Signorello Estate now has 42 acres of planted vineyard and is certified by the
Napa Green Certified Land Program. Total production is only about 7,000 cases
per year. Signorello is a very small
production, high quality, boutique, family winery, quite different than the
large, corporate owned, high production wineries.
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Signorello ivy covered buliding |
Our tasting began with the Signorello Estate 2012 Seta at $45.
This is a blend of 64% Semillon and 36% Sauvignon Blanc that was aged in
28% new French oak and remained on the lees for eight months. It did not undergo any malolactic conversion.
700 cases were produced. It is a very
easy to drink white wine that we have always enjoyed. This 2012 had a fantastic aroma of very pronounced
nectarine, along with melon, peach and floral notes. On the palate it was full bodied, very well
balanced and smooth, with good crispness and intense fruit, mostly melon and
pineapple with some toasty oak, vanilla and minerality. The finish was long and delightful. Most Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends are predominately
Sauvignon Blanc with a small percentage of Semillon to soften and round it
out. This one is mainly Semillon but the
combination works well and we always enjoy it, finding it interesting and
different. I like it on its own, but it
pairs really well with many dishes. "Seta" is Italian, by the way,
for silk.
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Signorello tasting bar |
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Signorello tasting table |
Next up was the Signorello
Estate 2011 Hope's Cuvee Chardonnay at $70.
30% of this saw 16 months on new French oak, and it underwent 100%
malolactic conversion. Native yeasts and whole cluster pressing were used, with
634 cases being produced. It had great
aroma for a Chard, mostly melon and lemon.
On the palate it was very smooth, round, buttery, and silky, with mostly
citrus, peach and pear along with some vanilla and toasted oak. The finish was medium length and soft with
some additional pineapple and tropical notes.
It is nicely done for this style of Chardonnay and should appeal to many
people who like a Chardonnay that is generously oaked and creamy.
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Signorello pool and patio area |
With our third pour we moved on to the red wines with the Signorello Estate 2009 Merlot at
$70. It is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet
Sauvignon. A mere 90 cases were
produced. This is another one of those
very good Napa Valley Merlots that scoffs at the misinformed presumption that
Merlots are not interesting. This one
began with a very good nose of black cherry, vanilla and toasted oak and was
medium plus bodied. It had good fruit,
mostly red cherry and raspberry with decent structure, good acid and tannins
and a medium length finish. It benefits
from some air. Quite decent and easy to
recommend.
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Signorello window view |
Signorello is famous for its Cabs, though, and these were
next. The Signorello Estate 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon at $90 came
first. It is 93% Cabernet and 7%
Cabernet Franc and saw 16 months in 45% new French oak, with 1,025.5 cases being
produced. (They list 2,051 half-cases.)
It was given 93 points by Robert Parker. I enjoyed the lovely ruby to purple
color. It had an earthy nose with cherry, some mushroom and forest floor with
hints of cedar. On the palate it was
black cherry, black currants, vanilla, toasted oak, cedar and baking spices
with good structure. It is a fairly big
Cab and will continue to improve with age.
If I had tasted this blind I would have guessed it was from the Stag's
Leap District, even though I love Oak Knoll Cabs just as well. Highly recommended.
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Signorello patio |
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Signorello patio table |
Our final tasting, and my favorite of the line up, was the Signorello Estate 2010 Padrone
at $155 which is dedicated to the founder, Ray Signorello Sr. The 2010 is 100%
Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 20 months
in 75% new French oak, it sells for $155 and only 658 cases were produced. Grapes come from two blocks on the rocky
hillside where the annual yield is only 1.3 tons per acre. This is a big, full
bodied Cab and I'm not surprised that Robert Parker gave it 95 points. After a good, interesting nose of
blackberries and black currants, it came on with a powerful presentation of
blackberry, black currant, Sumatran like coffee, dark Belgium
chocolate, vanilla, toasted oak, good tannins and lots of structure with a long
finish that seems to last forever. Although
this is a wine that will easily last another twenty years or more, it was, for
me, very pleasant to drink right now.
Usually wines of this power and complexity are not very drinkable now
and really must be cellared for years until they are approachable. It does need some air of course. Very highly recommended.
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Signorello sign |
Signorello Estate is a charming winery you will certainly
want to visit if you like romantic settings, great wines and excellent service,
but do consider one of their gourmet
food and wine pairings or one of their
special events. Personal cooking classes are also offered.
Signorello Estate Winery
4500 Silverado Trail
Napa, CA 94558
Phone: 707-255-5990 or 800-982-4229
Date of visit: February 4, 2014
We have always had excellent service at Signorello
Estate--friendly, unpretentious and helpful. Our thanks this time to our host,
Joseph. Because of their license they
are open to the public only by appointment, but they can sometimes accommodate
last minute appointments so be sure to call them if you are in the area.
The tasting fee at the time of our visit was $35 and includes a taste of their
$155 Padrone. They are in the Napa
Neighbor Program. Information about visiting hours and reservations:
Visiting
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Signorello grounds |
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Signorello kitchen |
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Signorello Bacchus |
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Signorello fountain |
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Signorello driveway |
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Signorello grounds |
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Signorello sitting bench |
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Signorello tasting room
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