Napa Trip, February 2008
Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
It seems we couldn’t have picked a better week to leave NJ for the West Coast; we somehow managed to trade a paralyzing snowstorm on the East Coast for a sunny/rainy week in the Napa Valley. (No complaints here!) The schedule was tight: barrel samplings for our GF private label project (coming soon), meetings to scope out some new wines for our shelves and to catch up on our friends’ projects, and of course the big draw, the Premiere Napa Valley Auction ’08 (we'll refer to it as the PNV to save space!) But somehow, amongst it all, we managed to have a great time, as always. We invite you to scroll down to check out a week in the life of the GW&M team on the road in Napa…
Day 1:
 We hit the ground running in San Francisco around 11:00 am. First stop, once we refueled with copious amounts of coffee, was lunch and tasting at Lail Vineyards with Robyn and John Lail. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the valley as we tasted their 2007 Blueprint Sauvignon Blanc, 2002 and 2006 Georgia Sauvignon Blanc, (quite possibly three of the best Sauvignon Blancs we’ve ever tasted) and 2006 J Daniel Cuvee, which Robert Parker likened to a “great vintage of Chateau Latour” … not a bad compliment at all.
Lunch and the wines were absolutely terrific, but even better was hearing the story behind Robyn’s family history of five generations in the wine business. (That’s a lot in California!)
Following lunch, we zoomed up to Viader to meet with Delia and her son and winemaker Alan. Here, we tasted several different blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to narrow down our Viader GF Grand Finale blend for our own private label project. (Tough decision!)
With the day’s business behind us, we met friends for an anniversary celebration dinner at Hall Winery, one of the most stunning settings in the valley.
Day 2:
We awoke the next morning refreshed by a few extra hours of sleep, and ready for a much-anticipated helicopter tour of the valley we had scheduled. Unfortunately, a dense  fog had settled in the valley that morning, and showed little sign of lifting as we impatiently sipped our coffee and watched a few hours pass by. Finally a solution presented itself; if the fog won’t lift, we take off from ABOVE the fog! So up to Mt. Veeder we went, where it was sunny and clear enough for a successful lift-off. For the next hour, we toured the valley from above, gaining a new perspective on the topography of the various appellations. Truly a treat.
We caught up with Girard’s Pat Roney over a quick lunch at Market, then trekked up to Calistoga to check out Jericho Canyon. All of the wines tasted on this visit were uniquely exciting to us: our own GF Grand Finale barrel (coming soon!) and their PNV lot (which we successfully bid on at the Auction the following Saturday, MUCH to the delight of our friends!)
That evening, we dined at Redd restaurant with Genevive and Luc Janssens of Portfolio, tasted a stunningly balanced, small-production, “art-inspired” Bordeaux blend from Hendry Ranch and Weitz vineyards. What a great way to wrap up the night!
Day 3:
Monday morning started off with a tasting at Roy Estate, with New Jersey expats Shirley and Charles Roy and renowned winemaker Philippe Melka. We previewed their ’05 and ’06 (barrel samples) Proprietary Red and Estate Cabernet from the foothills of the Vaca Mountains, all of which were showing beautifully.
Tasting Notes:
2006 Roy Proprietary Red (barrel sample): Beautiful minerality of iron and clay on the nose, a well-integrated hint of spice, and elegant but powerful tannins that linger on the finish.
2006 Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (barrel sample): On the nose, the tannins appear sweeter, but really strengthen on the palate. Dark, brooding fruit with hints of toasty oak coming through.
2005 Roy Proprietary Red: Again, a distinctive aroma of iron/clay on the nose accompanied by blackberries. Soft and graceful mid-palate, with good tannins on the finish.
2005 Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: Deep, dark fruit backed by hints of earth and muscular tannins.
 Following our visit to Roy, we lunched with George Hendry of Hendry Family Vineyards, where George taught us all a fascinating lesson on the effects of residual sugar on the palate (and why he leaves it entirely out of all but his rose wine.)
 The afternoon included a quick stop at Bryan Page’s (Page Wine Cellars) garage winery to taste our very first, almost finished GF Grand Finale bottling entitled “Gary’s Grand Garage.” We couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome of this crazy blend of every great red grape under the sun.
Next, a visit with winemaker Michelle Edwards of Cliff Lede Vineyards to taste a lineup of their wines, including their “Cinnamon Stardust” and their PNV auction lot (another blockbuster we successfully bid on!)
 Last but certainly not least, we ended the day with a charming dinner at Anselmo Vigne with Steve and Cecilia Simi and their talented winemaker Karen Culler, accompanied by a vertical of their 2002-2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tasting Notes:
2002 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon: Showing well with aromas and flavors of leather, anise, tobacco and red fruits.
2003 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon: A riper, juicier year overall, this wine showed soft and balanced red fruit and pie spice.
2004 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon: Mirrors the 2002 in many ways: savory with ample tannins and a touch of peppery spice.
2005 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon (preview): Soft and velvety, reflects the 2003 vintage with full red fruit and sweeter tannins.
Day 4:
 Tuesday morning began bright and early with a 9:00 AM barrel-sampling at Saintsbury to choose our GF Grand Finale blend from their award-winning Lee Vineyard. (Wait till you taste this one!)
 Next was a visit to our good friend and fellow fun-loving carnivore, Jeff Smith at Hourglass. Now Jeff wanted to do something specialwith us on our visit, and he couldn’t think of a better privilege than allowing us to help him dynamite his mountain to make room for the new cave facility he’s constructing. Brian had the honor of setting off the blast (a privilege he couldn’t quite get over the excitement of, evidenced by his refusal to take off the orange safety vest for lunch.) Ahh, memories.
Lunch was followed by yet another GF Grand Finale barrel sampling, this time with Duckhorn winery (another home run…), followed by a tasting of some great Chardonnays and Cabernets at Lewis.
 Quick change at the hotel, and then we met with our group of rowdy bus-riders for our “Official Kick-Off” to the week, a long-lasting tradition of dinner at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars with Gary’s good friend and legendary Napa wine pioneer Warren Winiarski.
Dinner was circus-themed with impressive gymnasts and dancers entertaining us throughout a crazy, inventive meal of Meyer-lemon cotton-candy topped hamachi, Cracker-Jack encrusted beef and cinnamon-smoked chocolate ice cream. There’s no duplicating a meal like that!
Day 5:
When there’s this much wine to be tasted in one week, we get the ball rolling early! Breakfast was enjoyed at Oakville Ranch, where we conducted an Oakville Appellation tasting of Oakville Ranch, Joseph Phelps and Turnbull wines, with informative talks about the unique nature of the appellation by the respective winemakers and marketing managers.
Once we were full of croissants and Backus, it was on to Paraduxx for phase two of our GF barrel selection. With the entire group there to weigh in, we think we found our perfect blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
 All that blending made us hungry, so we met up with Doug and John Shafer and winemaker Elias Fernandez at Shafer Family Vineyards for sandwiches and a vertical of their celebrated Hillside Select Cabernet from ’87, ’96, ’99, ’02 and ’04. They all showed beautifully, with ’99 as the crowd favorite of the afternoon.
After prying our bus-riders away (and we wish that was an exaggeration), we stopped by Franciscan for a tasting of a few new releases before finishing the day with an extensive 19 wine tasting from Atalon, Freemark Abbey, La Jota and Cardinale. Highlights of the flight were the 2002 Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (milk chocolate and nicely mellowed tannins), 2005 La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (minty nose, hints of chocolate and minerals) and both 2004 and 2005 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon (the ’04 showed dark black fruit and beautiful tannins, while the ’05 had a “prettier” nose with dense mouthfeel and vanilla oak on the finish). We finished with dinner, some back vintages of the four brands’ wines, and a good (sleepy) look at the lunar eclipse.
Day 6:
Six days into the trip, we were only warming up, as there were dozens and dozens of PNV Auction lots left to taste and only two more days before the gavel fell. We started the morning tour off at Bond, where we fell in love with their Melbury Vineyard Auction lot (which we luckily won on Saturday!) as well as their ’04 flight. (The crowd favorite was the St. Eden by a nose, pun unabashedly intended.)
Next was a walk-around Howell Mountain Appellation tasting, hosted generously by O’Shaughnessy Winery, where we had the opportunity to taste Auction and regular release wines from Howell Mountain Vineyards (who brought a terrific ’05 Zinfandel), O’Shaughnessy (who’s auction lot joined the must-haves for Saturday), Ladera (another auction trophy), Outpost, PlumpJack, Clark Claudon, and Cornerstone (one more auction lot we had to have…)
Apparently, that visit only got our thirst for great PNV lots going, because we found a few more we had to have at the Epicenter Tasting later that afternoon, including Wolf, Rockledge, Realm, and a collaborative effort from Robert Foley and Switchback Ridge. These auction lots may well have ranked as some of the fan favorites for the group, and mutiny no doubt would have ensued if we didn’t gain them on Saturday.
We finished the day with one more walk-around at the Taste of Yountville and a stop by one of our favorite annual parties, the “Open that Bottle Night” at Cliff Lede, before Gary’s team headed off to join some of the vintners for a festive PNV welcome dinner at Tra Vigne.
 Day 7:
Friday, our last day to taste before the Auction, was a whirlwind of Open Houses. We started off at Cakebread and Grgich before heading on to Chappellet’s cooperative tasting with Cloud View, David Arthur, Krupp Brothers, Kuleto and Versant. (This is where we discovered Chappelet’s 2006 “Heaven on the Hill” Auction lot, a Saturday win.)
Next we stopped by Silver Oak before heading on to the Spring Mountain Appellation tasting (where we favored the Fantesca, Peacock and Vineyard 7 & 8 auction lots). Next was the Appellation St. Helena walk-around, followed by an open house for Blackbird (had to have that lot!), Round Pond, and finally one more walk-around for the Stag’s Leap Appellation. Our palates (and feet) needing some r and r, we stopped by a hopping Joel Gott “Tacos and Beer” fiesta before turning in for the night.
 Day 8:
The big day finally upon us, we showed up to register for the Premiere Napa Valley Auction promptly at 9:30 AM. There were still quite a few barrel samples to be tasted, so we wasted no time in culling through the balance, an even 200 lots in all. It was here that we found some  last-minute gems, including Parallel, Martin Estate, Larkmead, Bighorn, D.R. Stevens, and XTANT, to name a few. With a wish-list a mile long, the hour finally arrived, and that #1 paddle of Gary’s flew up with a vengeance. Once again, Gary Fisch was top bidder of the day (for the sixth time) and was rewarded with a record thirty lots to take home, not a less than exemplary wine among them! Read the official press release
We celebrated that night with the Novaks of Spottswoode Winery (one more lot we proudly acquired!), who graciously welcomed us into their home to kick up our heels.
We now find ourselves safe and sound, back in New Jersey, with oodles of wine to look forward to as it’s bottled in the next few years (you mean we have to wait for this stuff??), and culling through pages and pages of tasting notes on our new discoveries …
-The Gary’s Team
For a full list of tasting notes on our thirty acquired Premiere Napa Valley 2008 Auction Lots, visit www.garyswineblog.com.
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