Three Years near Wine Country

March 1994.

Tony and Pat here for the weekend. Lucy Still in England.

Day 1.

1. Nichelini. High in the Napa hills, near Pope valley road, this family owned and run Winery is particularly memorable for its Petite Syrah from 1984, and it's fabulous collection of hummingbirds. There was an old Vine Zinfandel which was also worth noting. Otherwise the whites tasted chalky, and very little oak on the Chardonnay. Interesting to compare with the wines from down in the valley. Only open weekends out of season.

2. Rutherford Hill. Charged for tasting (keep the glass). I remember it being quite expensive too (4 bucks). OK Cabernet but not as special as we hoped. Not worth the fee.

3. Casa Nuestra. Small winery off the Silverado trail. Does a field blend Tinto which is actually very nice. Light Italian Style red. Their other wines were too acidic for me. The chardonnay had strong lime and very little oak. The sauvignon was sharp with not enough fruit. Nice place for lunch though.

4. Wermuth Winery. Ralph Wermuth is a character. Another one man band, makes Gamay and another which I forget. Worth a visit to meet Ralph if nothing else. Also sells good half wine barrels.

5. Larkmead Kornell. Aaah Kornell. First time we got there we only tasted the champagne because they didn't have the Rombauer tasting room. Great bunch of people, real fun. Only make Champagne, owned by Rombauer. Brut is lovely, bone dry blanc de blanc and fruity blanc de noir. Never can decide between the brut and the blanc de noir. Nice extra dry - not as good as the others but at 85 bucks a case we had to take a case. Also a Muscat Alexandra - sweet champagne is not my cup of tea, and a Rouge. Odd, some people like it some don't.

Day 2. Tony

6. Kent Rassmussen. Small one man band in Carneros, specialising in Pinot Noir. No tasting room, appointment only.

7. Domaine Carneros. Taittinger's' Californian house. Did a tour which was interesting, but then they charged for tasting. Good champagne, but not worth the tasting fee.

8. Mont St John. Organic winery. Pleasant tasting room, and good Gewurtztraminer.

9. Buena Vista. Oldest winery in California and still trading on the name. Good drinking wine, not too expensive in the supermarkets. Have a reserve tasting for a fee which we didn't do.

10. Sebastiani. Big winery. Good tasting room. Wine to get drunk on rather than to savour..

June 1994

Tommy and Lillemor. Day 1. Napa. Lucy

Nichelini. see above.

11. Caymus. Charged for tasting. Not very special. Not worth it.

12. V. Sattui. Great Picnic spot, good deli, average to disappointing wine. Have an interesting Gamay Rouge - very light and full of cherries. Too full for me. Passable Chardonnay.

13. Robert Mondavi. Quick and relatively basic tour. Tasting was even less impressive until we showed some interest. At that point the guide took us to one side and after everyone else e had left gave us a tasting of the reserve Cabernets which are actually quite impressive. They also have private four hour winemaker tours and vertical tastings which can be arranged in advance. I actually like Mondavi.

14. Rombauer at Larkmead Kornell. For champagne see above. The Rombauer wines really are exceptional. Their Cabernets from 1990 and 1991 were both outstanding and surprisingly their Zinfandel is right up there. But the Chardonnay is a treat. 1993 is OK - nothing special, 1993 is very good and the 94 (tasted in 95) is out of this world. I would say it's my favourite Chardonnay. Loads of melon, vanilla, apples, some peach, and hints of spice. It should get even better. I would be happy drinking this forever. Also I should mention the other two wines they do. The Merlot is great, and the Meilleur du Chai (best of the cellar) is really outstanding. It's pricey, but is still one of the best balanced Californian reds I've drunk. I've been to the tasting room about five times so far and I've never come away with less than a case, and the people we've taken there usually come away with one too. Oh and the Zinfandel disappears very soon after release!

Day 2. Sonoma. Dave

Buena Vista. See above

15. Chateau St Jean. No charge for regular tastings 2.50 for reserve tastings. I was actually quite impressed with CsJ. The reserve Chardonnays were well worth the tasting fee (which got refunded off the price of the bottles). The regular wines were pretty good too. They were pretty heavy on the oak if I remember correctly, but overall well worth a trip. Oh nice grounds too.

16. Dry Creek. Beautiful winery in a really nice area. Notable for a great really dry chenin blanc, good Cabernets, and a beautiful late harvest sauvignon (I think) called Soleil. While the first time we went here we thought it was one of the better ones we'd been to, having since checked out most of the other dry creek vineyards, I would say it's actually probably nearer the bottom. Still very good and worth a visit. Great Picnic area and friendly staff.

17. Clos du Bois. Memorable for being unmemorable. Surprised at the prices in the tasting room - expensive.

18. Piper Sonoma. Finished the day with champagne. Good too, a little better than Kornell but not much. But Charged for tasting.

August 1994

Matthew and Jeannie. Lucy

Dry Creek See above

19. Valley of the Moon. Drinkable cabernets but not a lot that was memorable, except the artwork in the tasting room.

20. Wellington Vineyards. Beautiful winery with new tasting room, again with some beautiful paintings of the valley. Wellington do a Noir de Noir from a grape variety of which I cannot remember the name which actually has red juice. The resulting wine is deep dark red - nearly black, and has very strong tannins. We tried (I think) it was an 1987, which had softened up enough to let some of the fruit come through. It was still very robust and full, and really needed some strong food with it. We actually took a bottle back to Ann and Ross in Britain who tried it with Game Pie and said it went wonderfully.

Buena Vista. Saw As you like it in the open air theatre outside. Nice picnic too.

February 1995

Amber and Huw. Day 1. Napa. Dave

21. Trefethen Vineyards. Great, and I mean great Chardonnay. Friendly, if somewhat republican staff!

22. Turnbull Wine Cellars. Small winery on highway 29. Makes predominantly Cabernets and Merlot (I think). The ones we tasted were heavy, full, tannic and far too young. I'd like to try some in about five years. They did make a sauvignon blanc which was completely the opposite. Light fresh and pleasant. Unfortunately it wasn't released at the time.

23. Vichon. Beautiful spot for lunch. Just up from the Oakville Grocery - possibly the best deli in California. The olives are amazing and they have a great cheese shop.

24. Prager Winery and Port Works. Jim Prager makes two types of wine. Port and non port. They had one non port (actually a perfectly drinkable cabernet) and two ports. A five year old ruby and a fifteen year old tawny. The ruby was nice but the tawny was something else. It was like velvet wrapped up in silk. Astonishingly good. They're also a lot of fun.

Larkmead Kornell. Again. Amber & Huw split a case of Chardonnay and Amber took two of the Meilleur du Chai.

Day 2, Sonoma. Lucy

25. Ravenswood. Started the day with a barrel tasting at Ravenswood. We'd met some of the ravenswood staff at the Med. Student's annual wine tasting in Davis. The wines were good then, but now we got to taste the really good stuff. Started with a light refreshing Riesling while touring the winery itself, and then moved onto a comparative tasting of Chardonnay. American French and Czechoslovak oaked chardonnay (from the same press) were compared side by side and next to the previous years finished blend. Very educational. You can see why french oak costs twice as much as American oak! Followed by barrel tastings of the Merlot (surprisingly good) the Cabernet (Yummy) and then....The Greatest Zinfandel on Earth. Dickerson Vineyard, Wood Road, and Old Hill Vineyard Zins. This stuff is unbelievable. They raffle it off because there's not enough to go round and they don't want to sell it for more than twenty bucks a bottle ("Wine should be for wine lovers not for investment bankers".) Oh and we also tasted the Vintners blend which is perfectly drinkable.

26. Gundlach Bundschu. The G-B wines were OK, but nowhere near as good as the Cutler Cellar Cabernet and Merlot also available for tasting. They're nestling down in my cellar as we speak.

Buena Vista. See above.

27. Carneros Alembic. Not wine but Brandy. They had a tour just going round which we tacked on to. They don't do tastings (unless you can get a special invite through trade apparently) but do tours followed by nosings. Absolutely infuriating. They are due to release their first brandies this year so we'll see how they turn out.

March 1995 Paul & David. Paul

28. Domaine Chandon

Monday night, after work, head over to Yountville for dinner and blues. Dinner at Piatti's and Live Blues at Domaine Chandon. Drank champagne and listened to great music for ten bucks. They do this every other Monday during winter & spring. What a life.

March 1995

John, Lynne and Suzanna. Lucy

29. Alexander Valley Vineyards. I'm always impressed by AVV. They do a very good Cabernet for the price and I always enjoy going there. It may be that the Cabs are actually better younger (in comparison to other places) i.e. they age OK but are actually nice from 4 to 5 years old. Lots of fruit, slight pepper, and well balanced.

30. Kendall Jackson. Tried out their sales and tasting room in Healdsburg, KJ are too often disappointing for me. Their reserve's are sometimes OK but I always feel that they're overpriced. Nothing special.

Dry Creek

31. Rabbit Ridge. Now this was fun. Beautiful winery in the Dry Creek area. Relatively new and already making a huge name for themselves (Wine Spectators Best Zinfandel of 94! good but not up to Ravenswood). Mainly red they do beautiful curranty Cabernet, lots of fruit and wide in the mouth. They also do Sangiovese, Barbera, and a Rhone style blend called Oddux which is almost exactly like a Chateauneuf-du-Pape. They also do a nice Port and an interesting Viognier. Actually I rather liked it, although my colleagues reckoned I'd had too much Chardonnay for Lunch

June 1995

David, Helme, Paul. Lucy

Dry Creek

Rabbit Ridge.

July 1995

Paul, Michael and Jean Marc. Dave

32. Lambert Bridge. Barrel tasting. This is an interesting winery. It went bankrupt around 1992 when the owner lost a law suit with his distributor. It was bought out by a (Swiss?) company and has cut production from 40,000 to 7500 cases a year. The wines since the new company took over are very good. The 1993 Chardonnay was lovely, strong vanilla, peach, melon and buttery and smooth. The 1994 Merlot still in the barrel was deep dark strong, with blackcurrant, spices, pepper, blackberry. We'll see how it develops over the next couple of years but I want a case. They also had a good Meritage in the barrel with already strong differences between the French and American Oak. One to watch for.

33. A. Rafanelli. Heavy, 1993 tannic Cabernet and Zin. Very puckering, astringent, but with fruit lurking. This needs to sit somewhere dark and cool for about eight years before it will be drinking. I tried a bottle in a restaurant a few weeks later of the 1991 and it had softened a bit but was still too young.

34. Quivira Vineyards. They had a spicy blackberry and raspberry Zinfandel that all four of us non French people thought was excellent. Jean Marc preferred the cabernet, and even took a magnum back to France with him. Apparently his family are still speaking to him so it couldn't have been that bad!

35. Ridge/36. Lytton Springs. A wonderful finish to a great day out. Lytton Springs Vineyards, owned by Ridge (Santa Cruz) and making field blend Zins. The 92 was one of the best I've ever tasted. The 91 was not as well balanced, but still had plenty of berry. I thought the 90 was definitely not as good as the other two. They also did Late Harvest Zinfandels - the 91 was heaven. Like eating chocolate mousse with blackberry coulis. Fantastic.

July 1995

Joan and Steven

37. William Hill Winery. Bog standard Napa wines. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Mont St John. See above.

Buena Vista. Came for the theatre. Saw the taming of the Shrew.

August 1995

Tony and Pat again. Lucy

38. Stag's Leap. Charged for tasting. Definitely not worth it. The only decent wine was the Fay Vineyard Cabernet, and they weren't tasting the Bin 23(7?). They had the Hawk's Crest out for christ's sake. Complete waste of time.

Larkmead Kornell. Again. The Meilleur du Chai for Lunch, a case of Chardonnay for the cellar and a case of bubbly for Christmas. I love this place.

39. Vincent Arroyo. Now here is an interesting winery. Off the beaten track up at the far end of the Silverado trail (actually on the road to Clear lake but before you hit the road to Montelena). Really nice guy with some interesting wines including a great Zinfandel (for the price) and a good Merlot (again for the price). I'm going to have to go back and try these again.

October 1995

Anne & Ross. Day 1. Lucy

40. Stonegate Winery. Tannic and astringent. Nice sauvignon blanc, but the reds were too young, too tannic and not enough fruit.

Cuvaison. Charged for tasting. Didn't even bother tasting.

Clos Pegase. Charged for tasting. Didn't even bother tasting. This time they told us and I quote "We only make 40,000 cases a year so we can't afford to give it away". Yeah right. I wonder how they could buy all those Italian sculptures and build a huge tasting room?

Larkmead Kornell. Fed up with being pissed around we went back to the nicest place we know.

41. Chateau Montelena. Charged for tasting. We knew they would. 5 bucks too. Only tasted their Chardonnay, Estate Cabernet, and their Reserve Cabernet. All three were good, especially the 1990 Reserve Cabernet. This has to rank with some of the finest Californian reds I've tasted (up there with Opus One, Groth Reserve, and Rombauer Meilleur). The Chardonnay was certainly disappointing. I'd heard so much, but apparently they're not as good as they used to be.

42. Robert Pecota. Caught Robert just as he was putting the last of the cabernet into the crusher. Had a look round and a chat and then tasted the wine. There were a number of nice wines but I can't remember much about them because of the Kara's Vineyard 1992 Cabernet. This is an outstanding cab with great depth, roundness, balance. Strong currant and hints of tobacco. Half a case of that in the cellar I think. Also a nice Moscato (called Andrea after his daughter) pudding wine. Really pleasant place to be.

43. Traulsen Vineyards. John and Paddy Traulsen have a small winery and vineyard at the top end of the Silverado Trail making 500 cases of Zinfandel each year. They are a charming couple and have an amazing garden. 1993 was only just bottled, but not too badly shocked. Good fruit and nice and spicy. Paddy would only sell us the 1993 on the condition we wouldn't drink them for a year or two, so we of course agreed and put a few bottles down.

Day 2. Alexander Valley. Dave

Alexander Valley Vineyards

44. Johnson's of Alexander Valley. Small winery turning out 2,000 cases a year of Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Cabernet and Pinot Noir. The 1987 Pinot that we tried was the best of the bunch. The others were pleasant drinking wine.

45. Sausal Winery. Famous for their old vine Zins, and rightly so. Very good Zin. The rest was OK.

46. Murphy Goode. Famous for their Fume blanc which was OK, but actually I preferred their Cab. Surprisingly good if a little lacking in depth. Lots of black cherry.

47. De Lorimier. This was an experience not to be missed. DeLorimier only make 2,000 cases a year even though they have something like 800 acres of vines. They sell the rest. They pride themselves on being Meritage producers and actually it is very good. The Mosaic red is outstanding, especially the 91. However, what is remarkable is the Sales Manager who is so totally over the top it's actually very funny. Also don't miss the late harvest Sauvignon which was beautiful.

November 1994

Joe, Sheila, Paul, Michael (Jarvis) and Carol (Lucy at Neurosciences)

Vichon. They were tasting the Chevrignon 1994, Chardonnay 1994, and 1992 Cabernet. As soon as I started trying to explain to Joe & Sheila what they were doing the pourer gave us her full attention and coached them through a vertical tasting of the 1994,1993 and 1990 Chardonnays. All three were very drinkable, and the 1990 was actually quite good, so we had this for lunch. The Chevrignon (50% Sauvignon, 50% Semillon) was good hammock wine (to be drunk lying in the hammock on a summer afternoon).

48. Villa Encinal. Groth was closed so we went to Villa Encinal. They said they charged for tasting but we talked them into knocking it off the price of a bottle. Tasted a nice Riesling- not as sweet as the 1.2% residual sugar suggested. Good acid. Then the Chardonnay - nothing special, then the Vintage Burgundy. Blend of Syrah, Petite Syrah and Mourverde. This was the best of the lot. Weak Merlot, and strong pepper in the Cab's nose, but not much body. They used to be Villa Mt. Eden, which sold the name to Conn Creek. The vineyards from VmE now produce the Villa Encinal grapes. However, the new Chardonnay wasn't up to Villa Mt. Eden's 1992.

49. Girard. Rather pretentious little winery off the Silverado trail. They were tasting a Dry Chenin Blanc, which was surprisingly dry, a chardonnay, a Zinfandel called Blue Jay, which smelt and tasted more like Methane and Skunk. Not impressed. The 1992 Cabernet was nice, but they also did a 1990 Cabernet tasting for 3 bucks. That was actually worth it. Much better than the 92. Light pepper and strong currant with a very smooth finish. They also had their ratings by Robert Parker. I didn't agree with them by a long way. The cabernets were good but not that good.

50. Mumm. Finished off with Champagne during sunset. Pleasant way to finish off an evening. Charged 7.50 for a tasting of three champagne's which wasn't as big a rip off as it might seem. We also had a couple of extra ones thrown in for free (end of the day?). The Brut was a classic, and the Blanc de Noirs was very summery with strawberry and cherry overtones. Good end to a very relaxing day.

Monday 19th February

Since the snow was so crappy we though we'd head off to the foothills and go wine tasting in Amador County. With Lucy and I was Erin.

51. Shenandoah Valley Vineyards.

Took 75 minutes from Davis to get her around 10:45. They were pouring their Sauvignon Blanc, White Zinfandel, Zingiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Zinfandel, Late Harvest Zinfandel, Orange Muscat, Port and Black Muscat (called something else I can't remember). Of note.

Zingiovese - a blend of 45% Zin, 45% Sangiovese and 10% Syrah. Actually very nice. The Sangiovese complements the Zinfandel very well. Bought a bottle to examine at leisure later.

Zinfandel. A good solid foothill Zinfandel. Plenty of spice, good body and acidity, with tobacco and smoky overtones.

Late Harvest Zinfandel- Strong tobacco, and sweet, but not too sweet berry with long finish and would go well with chocolate (rare amongst dessert wines I know).

Orange Muscat. Peach Apricot and most of all nectarines in this dessert wine with almost sickly sweet sugar. Almost OTT but with a good pudding with some acid may cut nicely.

52. Renwood

Regular tasting was the Santino Fume Blanc, Renwood Semillon, Santino White Harvest Zinfandel, Santino Satyricon (blend of Mourverdre, Grenache, Syrah and Santino), Renwood Sangiovese, Old Vine Zinfandel, and Barbera. Reserve tasting ($3:00 knocked off purchases) was the Viogner, Nebbiolo, GrandPere Old Vine Zinfandel, Fiddletown Old Vine Zin, Syrah, Reserve Barbera, and a late Harvest which we didn't try. Also tried their new 1994 Grand Mere Zinfandel which is still in the barrel. Apparently the winemaker from Ridge has moved to Renwood three months ago, and the GrandMere was the first of his wines available. Of note. Nice Viogner, a personal favourite, not enough grown in my opinion. The Old Vine Zinfandel was definitely a nice Zinfandel but was put to shame by the two reserve Zins. The GrandPere was complex, full bodied, with plenty of fruit. The Fiddletown wasn't as flowery or fruity, but was more intense, deep and rich. The reserve Syrah was a classic example, deep, lush and rich, without much fancy flowers or complexity, but lots of fruit. The Barbera was probably one of the nicest Californian examples of the Italian grape, with lots of body, fruit and character. One of the best all round wineries we've been to in a while.

53. Sobon Estate.

This winery used to be D'Agostini, one of the oldest wineries (the oldest they claim) in California. Unfortunately the wine wasn't particularly remarkable. From memory they were tasting a White Zinfandel which I didn't try, a Sauvignon Blanc (which I have no memory of so it may have been something else), a Rhone style red (Mourverdre, Grenache, Syrah and Sinsal), a Cabernet Franc, a Syrah, a Zinfandel and a late Harvest something or other. The only one of note for me was the Rhone style red which was good drinking plonk and at $6.00 per bottle worth every penny. The rest was unremarkable to say the least.

Footnote. When we got back we went to Safeway in Davis and they were selling Sobon Fiddletown Lubenko Vineyards Zinfandel, at 11 bucks a bottle. We bought it and tried it next day. It was wonderful, better than anything they were tasting. We were also told by friends that they did a really nice Viognier, which they weren't tasting either. Maybe next time.

Had a picnic in the pouring rain in the car. Actually it was really good food, fresh bread, salad with balsamic vinegar/Dijon mustard dressing, pastrami, brie and gorgonzola followed by fresh fruit and accompanied by the Rhone style red. Yummy

54. Montevina.

These guys are into Italian wine. They were tasting the first Chardonnay of the day and also a fume blanc which was notable in that it tasted and smelled strongly of smoke (in a nice way of course) and I swore had been in toasted oak barrels, but actually had been in stainless steel the whole time. They also had a Zinfandel called something like Briosco or something like that which had forty percent whole berry fermentation and tasted flat and uninteresting with no body, light fruit and like a cross between white Zinfandel and Bardolino! They also had a regular Zinfandel which they weren't tasting (apparently they'd sold out and the new stuff wasn't due out 'til March, although they wouldn't let us taste the stuff in the barrel). They were tasting a forgettable Sangiovese (I think - it may have been a Barbera or something), a blend of Italian grapes called Matrimonio which was also eminently forgettable and another called Metrinomo or something which was actually really nice drinking wine. This would have been good wine to quaff away with and Erin walked off wit a couple of bottles. At the price (under 8 bucks a bottle) it was definitely worth it.

55. Karly.

This is small family owned winery where they were tasting a really nice sauvignon blanc. I was very impressed with this, clean crisp, with slight apples and good balance. It was very refreshing towards the end of a hard day when my palette was getting blasted (and not just my palette). They also do a white Zinfandel which we didn't taste, and a Sangiovese which was very quaffable, more so than anything at Montevina. The find though was their Zinfandel which was a nice well balanced, spicy earthy and still fruity Zinfandel which will probably also sit down for a couple of years nicely. We took a few bottles back to check at home because our taste buds weren't particularly reliable by now.

56. Story

Finally (and this was probably a mistake since by now we weren't as discerning as we should have been - thank god Lucy was driving) we went to Story. It was a pity that it was pissing down by now because this has a beautiful tasting room overlooking the valley floor. They were tasting a nice dry and light Gewurtztraminer and a vertical tasting of the 1991,93 and 93 Zinfandel. Now these were memorable. The 1992 was flowery and exploded in my mouth like a firework with little bits going off everywhere, a real taste sensation, but short lived without much body, depth or finish. The `1991 was much smoother, better balanced with less fireworks but more depth and finish, and actually more enjoyable. The 1993 was intense, deep and strong with lots of fruit and tannin, but to m not as interesting as the 1991. They were also tasting a Zinfandel Mission blend called ZinMiss, which in my opinion was a waste of the Zin. The mission is horrible. Also apple wine (cider) - yeah well if I want Cider I'll go to Zomerzet thank you), and a late harvest something which I can't (or won't remember).

In summary a wonderful day wine tasting, with some outstanding and some forgettable wined. For me the outstanding ones were the Renwood GrandPere, and Fiddletown, the Story 1992 Zinfandel and the Karly Zinfandel, and the Renwood Reserve Barbera. I know Erin really liked the Renwood Syrah and the Karly Zinfandel.

Sometime in February I think.

Drove up with Jean Marc and Lucy to Dry Creek for a library release. Met up with Paul and Leah and Suzanna.

57. Teldeschi. Small family winery on Dry Creek Road, specialising in Zinfandel. Not overly impressed. Found them a bit harsh. They were tasting 1988 through 1992, and the odler ones hadn't softened that much. Also did a sweet dessert wine which wasn't very impressive. I think they had two Chardonnays, but I'm not too sure.

Dry Creek. The library tasting was of the 1987 Bordeaux blend, the 1989 , 1991 and 1993 Meritages. All of them were excellenmt with the 1991 being my favourite. Really sticks out in my mind is the plum from the 1987, and the soft, velvety feel on the palatte. Less plum in the 1989, but mor structure, and more complexity. An outstanding wine. The 1991 tasted much younger and was beautifully balanced. It had structure, depth, fruit and was aging nicely. The 1993 was difficult to compare because of the previous wines, but it had the characteristic Dry Creek body and depth. One to watch certainly.

Sunday 24th March 1996. After a good day skiing yesterday we went off to Napa to meet up with Susan at Vichon. We crossed somewhere and never met up, but Lucy and I had a lovely day out.

58. ZD wines

Off Silverado trail I had heard a lot about this place, but was a bit disappointed. They were tasting two Chardonnays, a Pinot and a Cabernet, and charging 3 bucks (knocked off the price of any purchase). The first Chardonnay was OK (1994, California). A blend from several vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. It had strong apple, light melon & pineapple. Very smoky but hints of butter. They were then tasting a 1992 Chardonnay which had lost all the fruit and now tasted of raw American oak. Balance was all wrong in this and it was really quite acrid on the back of my palette. Any vanilla or butter was overwhelmed by the smokiness, but it didn't have the body or fruit to sustain it. The Pinot Noir (Rosa Lee 1994, Napa Valley) was much better. A light pinot, with strawberry and mild cherry. Medium bodied in the middle with a short finish this is a good light Pinot. We had a bottle for lunch (well a couple of glasses out of it). We finished it off when we got home and Jean Marc, usually the critical Frenchman gave it a very high mark. At $16 a bottle it's not cheap, but worth the winery price. The 1993 Cabernet (Napa Valley) was a dark red, big nosed green pepper wine with strong blackcurrant. It had a decidedly isopropyl smell, and strongly wooded taste. I thought it was closed and would probably need time in the bottle. Not my style of Cabernet, and would need to be tasted again in three or four years.

Rombauer.

Yes I know we've tasted Rombauer before, but this time we went to Rombauer rather than Kornell. They were their 1994 Zinfandel (which is why we made the trip), their Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cab. Sauv. and Meilleur du Chai. Every single wine we tasted here I would like a case of. The Franc is the best single varietal Franc I've had in California. Franc usually lacks subtlety and character to me, but this, although still heavy on the bell pepper, had great balance, and was very smooth. Dark cherry and blackcurrant with nice spices. I couldn't take notes for the rest because they were too good, and I forgot to write down what I was experiencing. The Meilleur du Chai is especially good. Rombauer have this incredible balance between the power and the subtlety of their grapes, and the mix results in really outstanding wines. They saved the Zinfandel till last, and it really is a corker. Totally different to the Amador Zins, soft, lightly spicy, with a huge long finish. This is the most subtle Zinfandel I've ever tasted. We bought a mixed case of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, which at $24 and $20 is really the upper limit of our price range, but well worth it. They'd sold out of the Chardonnay, and the new one won't be released until July.

Had a lovely lunch, overlooking the Valley from Rombauer's garden. Pate de Campagne, Brie, Stilton, Ash coated Goats Cheese and Olives from the Oakville grocery, with a green salad with Balsamic Vinegar, Dijon and olive oil dressing, and fresh french bread.

Stopped at Duckhorn which was closed.

59. Villa Mt. Eden. This was actually at Conn creek winery which is owned by the same people. They were tasting a California chardonnay (1994, $9.50). This had a sharp nose with a bit of sulphur still on it. The taste was well balanced if a little unremarkable. Some oak, and some peach according to my notes. No big deal though. The Pinot Noir (1994, $18) was interesting. It had strong clove smell with skunk backing up (if only very slightly). Strong cherry and almost effervescent taste like sherbet. The Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Grand Reserve (1992, $19) was strong bell pepper, very hidden fruit, and dry, Well structured, I would like to see how this one develops. At $19.00 I don't think it's worth experimenting. Maybe if I see it in a restaurant in a few years time...

60. Conn Creek. Now this was a deal. They were tasting their version of Meritage, called Anthology (1992, $30). A beautifully well balanced blend of CS, CF and Merlot (I think) it was a classic black cherry, black currant wine with blackberry coming up from behind. Well structured, will probably lay down well, good fruit and good structure (read tannin). I'd expect some chocolate, tobacco and leather in five years or so. Next came a nice surprise. They were tasting (free) the 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley ($60). Real leather, almost sweet, and deep. It was almost black cherry in there somewhere too. The middle was lacking a bit, and I think it's past it's peak. Then they tasted the 1980 Cabernet Sauvignon ($100 for a magnum, sold out of regular bottles), which again was dark, chewy leather, still some black cherry, but velvet on the tongue. Smooth, so smooth it was like wild mushrooms in melting butter. A really outstanding wine. I can taste it again now (Tuesday) just writing about it. Las but not least the 1983 Zinfandel (Napa Valley $12). This was an amazing wine. It smelt like honey. Not hints of honey, but like sticking your nose in a pot of hone. Probably made from cherry blossom, but definitely honey. The taste was dry though, like a dry fortified red wine. I've never had anything like this so I don't really know how to describe it. It had leathery tones, it was chewy, but tasted almost dusty. And yet it was really nice. Now, I know I like Zin, but this was really strange. We bought a bottle to check out at home. Anyway, that was it for the day and we headed home.

May 25th 1996

Lucy and I drove up to Healdsburg, to revisit Lambert Bridge, who had released their Merlot. First stop was Mazzocco though.

61. Mazzocco Vineyards

On Lytton Spring Road overlooking the Dry Creek Airport, Mazzocco Vineyards is a relatively small winery. The total output is 16,000 cases, and they were tasting two Chardonnays a Cab, and two Zins. The 1993 River Lane Chardonnay ($14) had a fruity nose, with strong melon. It had a drier taste than I expected with light butter, but some grapefruit type acidity coming through. The Winemaker's Select Chardonnay ($18)was slightly more acidic, with seemingly more oak, more tartaric acid and slightly bitter butter. I'm not sure these were flaws though, it was actually quite well balanced, and an impressive Chardonnay. The 1992 Sonoma County Cabernet ($18) had strong bell pepper, but was remarkably light. Not too fruity, but also very soft. Not overly strong oak, but it was there. Nicely structured. They were also tasting a Cab Sauvignon, Cab Franc blend called Matrix (1992, no price), which had a softer nose, with strong raspberry and blackberry coming off. It was lighter than I thought it would be, and a little briary. Better balanced than the 100% Cabernet. They had two Zinfandel tasting, a 1993 Sonoma County ($14) from a mixture of Alexander Valley and Dry Creek grapes. This was loads of berry, with black cherry coming through. Quite spicy with cloves in the taste. We walked off with three bottles of this one. The second was a 1993 old vine zinfandel from Dry Creek (Cuneo-Saini Vineyard, 1993, $20). This was also a beautiful Zinfandel with strong redcurrant and raspberry. It was lighter than the Sonoma County (surprisingly) and had a cherry finish. Overall impression was that the winery was very friendly, had some great potential, and impressive Zins.

Lambert Bridge.

Susan turned up here with her biker group. Tasted the newly released 1994 Dry Creek Merlot ($18). Bing cherry and raspberry. Nutmeg and black pepper. The fruit had softened a lot since we barrel tasted last July. Strong oak in the finish and very chewy. Half a case thank you. Also tried the 1994 Fume blanc ($8.50) which is on the grassy side but light with gooseberry and a little ammonia which needed to blow off. Good value and went well with pasta salad for lunch. The 1994 Sonoma County Chardonnay ($15.00) had strong ammonia (for me) and very appley. There was definite coriander in the nose (am I going mad?) and it was also chewy. The 1993 Sonoma County Chardonnay (10.00) was much better, still a hint of cat's pee, but more fruit, melon and kiwi. Still appley too. Also chewy. The 1994 Sonoma County Pinot Noir ($15.00) was very light and smoky. Light cherry, and quite woody. Strawberry fruit. 1993 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($10) was much better, light cherry and Beaujolais-ish. Toasty smell, and forest floor nose. More body than the Sonoma pinot. The 1993 Sonoma County Cabernet ($15) was strong bell pepper in the nose with Bing cherry, blackberry and spice. Lovely balance, and structure. I really liked this one, so we bought three bottles. I didn't take notes on the 1994 Dry Creek Zinfandel ($12.50), but I must have liked it because we bought three bottles. We were also taken through the back for a taste of the 1993 Meritage which was still in the barrel. This is one to watch. It's gained a lot more oak since last year and has a more toasty nose. The fruit has softened a little and the colour is still deep and dark. All in all a great tasting, although those Chardonnays are too cat's pee ish for me.

62. Bellerose Vineyards.

Tucked away off Westside Road is Bellerose vineyard. An organic vineyard with an eccentric winemaker, who has retired this year, Bellerose make big, Bordeaux style red wines. Nearly all their wines are blended. We tasted their 1992 Merlot which had cherry! strong and intense. Like a young Bordeaux with loganberry and black cherry. A long finish and well structured. A 1992 Workhorse red - plonk but OK - a 1990 Reserve Cuvee which had blackcurrant and black cherry on first taste, but was pretty astringent. If it hasn't softened at all by now, it may never do. The 1989 reserve cuvee had a lot of oak still there, and high acid, but still detectable fruit especially black cherry. The 1991 Reserve Cuvee was the pick of the lot. 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and much softer than the others. Still had good structure and oak, but better balance than the others. It tasted older than the 1989. They were also tasting a 1992 Petit Verdot, and a 1993 Malbec, neither of which had much to them, and the malbec actually had skunk/sulphur notes. This is an intriguing winery, well worth a visit, but with some really nice wines. The reserve cuvees are well worth trying, and we came away with three bottles of the 1991.

63. Hop Kiln Winery

This was more of a tourist trap than a winery and was like a zoo. Maybe we caught it at the wrong time. The wine was poor too. Sickly sweet blends of Chardonnay, J.Riesling, Gewurtz. and Sauvignon, bland Zin/Cabernet blends and barely passable Zins. Very popular with the visitors, but we were not impressed with the wine.

Rabbit Ridge.

Back to an old favourite to try the 1994 San Lorenzo Reserve Zinfandel ($23). They weren't pouring it! It was nearly five o'clock, so we were pushing it. We bought a bottle anyway to try at home. Also tried the 1995 Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($8.00, more cat's pee!), the 1995 Viognier ($15.00, which I really like). Good fruit, with grapefruit and peach in the same glass. Still some cat's pee though. They also have a nice Sonoma County Chardonnay ($11.00) with good fruit, but still some ammonia there. They do a "Rhone style" red Allure ($7:00) which is actually quite light, and a very easy drinking red. Their Sangiovese ($13.00), which is briary and fruity at the same time. Very moreish. I could drink a LOT of this. The Montepiano "Tuscan Blend" ($11.00) was more musty, with some skunk in the nose. On the palate it was more rounded with less fruit than the Sangiovese, but actually a really nice wine. The Sonoma County Zinfandel ($12.00) was as nice as ever, lots of dark berries. My notes fall off at this point. The Oddux ($16.00) and Sonoma County Merlot ($16.00) was also tasting together with a sweet wine called S2 ($13.00) which was disgusting.

Altogether a slightly different wine tasting for Dry Creek. There was a lot of softer wines than usual, many not as fruity. The weather was beautiful.

Sunday 22nd June, Dave, Lucy, Jeannie and Matthew

Drove up to Pleasant valley to see Matthew and Jeannie and do some wine tasting. Weather was beautiful.

64. Sierra Vista. The winery is situated with an incredible view of the high Sierra. The picnic area is beautiful, and the wines average. They were tasting Black Oak Chardonnay ($7.25, light nose with mild cat's pee, sharp American oak without fruit) and a sauvignon blanc (1995 $8.50, bitter, tart, grapefruit, which they called Fume Blanc even though it had never seen wood). Neither were particularly interesting and the sauvignon was actually pretty bad. Then they had a line of Rhone style varietals - Belle Rose (1995, $7)- a light rose which was bland, without body or taste; a Rhone style blend (Grenache, Mourverdre, Cinsault and Syrah) called Fleur de Montagne (1994 $12) which was slightly buttery and redcurranty with some raspberry. Some body, but not great; and one called Lynelle 4th Cuvee, $7.50) , which was interesting- strawberry compote, and light red jammy flavors - again the four Rhone varietals, but with Cabernet, Cinsault and Zinfandel. Schizophrenic. They also did a Zinfandel (1994, $10.50) which wasn't too bad, but still lacking in the typical Zin punch, and a very short finish, a Syrah (1992, $18) which was woody (leaf mold and forest floor, some fruit and starting to open up, clearly the best of the bunch, but still overpriced) which may be good if laid down, and a Cabernet (1993, $12) which was fruity - black cherry and black berry, and green pepper and garlic on the nose.

65. El Dorado Winery

Stopped here on the drive past. The owner (Ed Coulson) has recently bought this place. It used to be called El Dorado Vineyards, but Ed will be buying in grapes. His first release was in April, and he was tasting two Chardonnays (Standard, $10 and Reserve, $14), a Grenache ($10) and a Rhone blend ($14). The standard Chardonnay was OK, and the reserve was actually pretty good. Strong fruit and good structure. Very apply with some pears and pineapple. Definitely one to watch. The Grenache was light, but had more body than Sierra Vistas, and very strong strawberry jam. The Rhone blend tasted great at the winery, with forest floor and plums, but we bought a bottle and opened it a couple of days later and it was garbage. I don't know if it had cooked in the car, or maybe needed to breathe, but it was really skunky. He was also off loading some of the previous winery's Sauvignon blanc called 49er Gold, which was slightly sweet, and musty, with honey on the nose and spice on the palate. Five years old and needed to be drunk pretty quickly.

66. Madrona Vineyards.

Off the beaten track this winery is situated in the middle of Christmas tree and apple orchards. The tasting room is in a log cabin with secluded picnic tables outside. The owners were away on holiday and friends were standing in to run the tasting room. They were tasting a lot of wine, Riesling (1993, apple, fruity, too sweet), Chardonnay (1994, harsh cat's pee, bodiless and watery), Estate claret (bland, but some black cherry - a forgettable drinking wine), Zinfandel (1993, Blackberry, raspberry and black cherry, none of which strong, without much structure or punch), Cabernet, (1992 very tannic with almost no fruit.).Two sweet wines, a late harvest Riesling (flowery nose, and very very sweet and cloying) and a late harvest Zin (also too sweet, less porty than usual). Nothing of any note although I couldn't decide if the cabernet was a great wine which needed laying down or swill that should have been blended with Merlot and Cab Franc in the estate claret. Lucy thought it was would be better blended (actually a polite interpretation of what she said).

67. Lava Cap. Tasting a Fume blanc (1994, $8, which had seen oak, melon and pears coming through but very watery and bodiless), a Reserve Chardonnay (1994, $15) which was good, vanilla full bodied and very big in the mouth. Apples pears and melons. The Cabernet (1992, $15) had green pepper on the nose (which I like), and strong black cherry with good structure. It was actually very smooth for such a young cab, with a buttery finish. Probably the best cab of the day. They were out of Zin, but were tasting a Muscat Canelli (1995, $15) which was full of orange blossom., but very light, too light for a dessert wine.

All in all the wineries were beautiful, but the wines average at best. My pick of the day would be the El Dorado Chardonnay or the Lava Cap Cab. Neither of which I would buy in bulk, but I might order them in a restaurant.

Monday 1st July. Dave, Lucy, Tony and Pat

Napa Valley. After a beutiful meal the night before at Terra in St Helena (with a beautiful 1993 Grgich Hills Chardonnay and finished with a Robert Pecota Muscat for pudding we went for a private tasting at Far Niente.

68. Far Niente

We arrived about ten minutes late for the appointment, and attached ourselves to the end of a tour of the cellars that FN had put on for us and six other people. Great cellars, and a decent auto collection (big on Ferraris). Then we tasted the 1994 Chardonnay ($35), which was pretty good (it ought to be too), plenty of fruit and plenty of oak. The 1992 Cabernet ($45) which was highly tannic with very little fruit evident. This wine should not be touched for at least five years, and then only to check if its softened. The most tannic, harsh Cabernet I've had from Napa, and really not worth the hype. Then we tasted the Dolce which is the sweet, Sauternes style late harvest Sauvignon/Semillion blend. This was an exceptionally good dessert wine, with plenty of honey in the nose and orange and citrus in the mouth without being cloyingly sweet. All three were good quality Californian wines, but no Opus, and overpriced. The people were friendly, but formal, and we were delighted to be given a bottle of the Chardonnay to take home at the end of the tasting.

69. Chateau Potelle

High on the slopes of Mt Veeder, Chateau Potelle is a small family owned winery. they were tasting a fruity, full bodied Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay (College Cuvee, apparently so called because they were hoping to send their daughter to college on the proceeds), and a Cabernet which had nice fruit on the front, and a strong backbone of tannin. It was full bodied, and had dark fruits coming through, black cherry and cassis. The Sauvignon blanc was perfect for a light picnic with a breathtaking backdrop.

70. Mayacamas

This winery has been here seince before Prohibition, and was the scene of the film A Walk in The Clouds. It is high on the slopes of Mount Veeder and reached by bumping along a dirt track for a few miles. They were tasting a 1989 Cabernet ($20), and a 1993 Chardonnay ($18). The cabernet tasted a lot younger than 1989, more like a 93 and had beautiful fruit overlaid by mouth filling body and strong structure. The Far Niente might be like this in a few years, and Mayacamas do well to hold their cabs before releasing them. The Chardonnay was also excellent, with ripe apple and melon fruits and medium to heavy oak.

Domaine Chandon.

After dinner at Piattis we went to drink champagne and listen to Charlie MusselWhite play blues harmonica while a huge full moon came over the eastern Napa hills.

Saturday and Sunday July 6-8th. Dave, Lucy, Kenton, Suzanne, Susan, Vicky, Larry, Erin, JeanMarc, Nick, Nicky, Nicky

71. Elyse

Elyse is a private label of Ray ****. He makes his wine in the Rutherford Grove winery. Ray took us for a barrel tasting of his three designated vineyard Zinfandels. All three were totally different, one from down in the valley (Marchioli ?), one from Howell Mountain, and one from *******. I don't have notes on them, but the first was typical Zin, the second was very fruity up front almost like cherries and strawberries (apparently it had a lot of gamay in it), and the third was ripe, full, black cherry and blackberry, with a long, deep finish. They were also tasting one of the Zins in the tasting room.

72. Rutherford Grove

While we were there we took the opportunity to try the other wines available for tasting from Rutherford grove. they had a Gewurtztraminer (nothing special), a Chardonnay, a cabernet and a

Rombauer

73. Davis Bynum

74. St Francis

75. Arrowood

Ravenswood

76. Burgess Cellars

76. Duckhorn

77. La Jota

78. Liparita

79. Summit Lake

80.

Dave's home page