2005 Lewis Alec's Blend Napa Valley

Lewis doesn't need me to tell you how good their wine is. This wine was great. Fantastic. Too expensive for me to add to my list, but it made a great gift for which I am very thankful.



Sara and I drank this at home with a good, home-cooked meal. It really made my night. I love cab-syrah blends, and this is one to rival some of my favorite Australians. If you want the details, here's the reverse of the bottle.



If you've not had it, this is a great California wine to try on a special occasion.

2005 Chateau Boswell Chardonnay

Yes, I know. Another white wine. New job, new zip code... new taste in wine? Not really. I still like the reds. I got this for my wife for St. Valentine's day. Every time we go to napa, we drive by Boswell, since we really like the building. We've never made an appointment to go visit it, however, so we had never actually tasted the wines.

As I was shopping for gifts on the 13th, I wandered into the Oakville Grocery and discovered their wine sale. The 2005 Chateau Boswell Chardonnay was $72 but was on sale for 40% off. And it had a picture of the winery on the label.



This is my new favorite Chardonnay. Aside from the price, this wine was perfect. It was everything I want in a white wine. It had definite notes of pear and buttery-oak, but nothing was over powering. It did not taste like Welche's white grape juice--if it had I probably would have returned it. This wine was a very pleasant and bright wine, but subtle. It was not a sweet wine, but it was drinkable by both Sara and I. It is rare that we finish a bottle of anything these days, but we killed this one.

I should mention we had this with a Cassoulet that Sara made out of lentils, beans from Rancho Gordo and mild Italian sausage. You may not think it would be a white-wine dish, but it worked out surprisingly well.

napa trip report, part two

After St. Clement, we drove all the way to the north end of the valley and had lunch in Calistoga. Calistoga, at night at least, is a bit of a party town. We stopped at The Calistoga Inn and Brewery for lunch. We sat in the bar and watched the Washington-Stanford basketball game while we ate.

The food exceeded my expectations. I had the brunch special which was scrambled eggs with artichoke hearts, peppers, a crab cake and some toast. Crab cakes are sort of like Meatloaf in that they can be used as a gauge by which to judge a restaurant. This was a good crab cake. The rest of the family ordered various things that all looked pretty good as well, mostly in the sandwhich department. Because we had already hit to wineries (and it was just about Noon now), I had coffee instead of beer. Sara had a beer (a wheat of some sort) and she liked it quite a bit.

After lunch, on the advice of the nice woman at St. Clement, we went to Dutch Henry. Neither Sara's dad nor I had heard of this place, so it was with a bit of hesitation we approached the winery. It certainly was not the most grandiose structure in Napa but this is the sort of winery one hopes to find on such expidetions. The tasting was held in the cold amongst the barrels of wine. The guys doing the tasting were also the guys involved in the actual wine making. For $10 we got to taste a range of seven or eight wines (some on the list, a zinfandel they opened even though it wasn't on the list). It was completely unpretentious and every wine was a strong example of it's varietal. One stand out was the Pinot Noir, since neither of us generally like Pinot's but this one was quite enjoyable and drinkable. Sara's dad is always trying to find something to drink with Salmon he catches. The other varietals, the cab, the zin and the blends were all very strong. You can only get them from the winery, but joining their club just might be worth it.

Dutch Henry was the last place we stopped in Napa. We drove back down to the bottom of the valley, cut over to Sonoma, drove through downtown Sonoma but it was raining too hard to really get out and do anything. After a quick jaunt around Sonoma, we headed back south, across the Golden Gate bridge, through the traffic in San Francisco and through the high-winds on 280 to finally arrive back home in Palo Alto.

deal alert: oakville grocery in palo alto

The Oakville Grocery in Palo Alto is closing. Currently their entire selection of wines is 30% or 40% off. They have many heavy hitters including the Chester-Kidder and other Napa Valley wines. There are some great deals, so stop in and get them while you can.

napa trip report, part one

Last Saturday Sara, her parents and I visited Napa Valley. It was a grey, overcast day. The hills around the bay area were covered in fog and we encountered rain off and on all day. Everyone we met kept apologizing for the weather, but then we explained we were Seattle natives and this was actually better weather than what was happening up there. Which seemed to satisfy them.

From Palo Alto it took us less than two hours to get to the City of Napa. We didn't actually stop in the city, but instead drove straight on up the valley to PlumpJack. PlumpJack was our favorite winery last time we visited, so we figured we would introduce Sara's parents to the area by starting there. It was about 10:30 in the morning and the place was fairly crowded. We were able to park in the parking lot without issue. They were tasting two wines, their two newly released wines: the 2005 PlumpJack Reserve Chardonnay and 2005 PlumpJack Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The cost was $15. Last time we visited it was $10 and we tasted three wines, but this time we got to keep the glass.

The Chardonnay was decent. I'm not a fan of Chardonnay in general, but this one was nice letting the flavor of the grapes come through. A little oak, a little butter, but nothing gross and white-grape-juice tasting. The Cabernet was great, but literally this was the first day it was released, so it was young and tannic. I suspect it will settle down and be just as good as the 2004--if not better. I am not well trained enough to tell.

Since it is so close to PlumpJack, Silver Oak was our next planned stop. However it was incredibly crowded with people parking on the road up to half a mile (or more) away. There was a big white tent in the lot and winery workers directing traffic. We decided their wine couldn't possibly be that good and instead returned to highway 29 and continued north up the Valley.

Eventually we got to St. Clement and I suggested we stop there, as they make great wines. Sara's father and I opted for their "all reds" tasting. For $15 we tasted five or six wines. I wish I had kept notes so I could discuss each of them, but the general gist of it was the 2005 St. Clement Oroppas was a star and the 2002 St. Clement Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was a frickin' rock-god. The entire line of reds was enjoyable with each one displaying distinct character and excellent wine making. It was certainly worth the $15. The staff was also very friendly and personable, and the winery is in a great old house on a hill with a nice view of the surrounding area.

Stay tuned for Part Two.

2003 Silver Oak Alexander Valley

We didn't actually visit Silver Oak on the recent Napa Trip (which I will post about soon), but we did decide to pick up a bottle at the store and have it with dinner. Sara's Dad had never had Silver Oak and we all agreed he should try it at least once.



I was disappointed. The '01 and '02 Alexander Valley were both really wonderful wines. I think this is a case of the vintage just not being as good for the region as previous vintages. It was obviously a quality wine; it just did not blow me away the same way previous vintages did. It was still classic Silver Oak--oaky, smooth, supple. Good fruit, good finish. It is everything one has come to expect from California Cabernet. If you are going to drink it, at $50 the Alexander Valley is still a way better deal than the $100 Napa Valley. If you are laying them down in a collection and building a vertical as an investment, I think the Napa Valley bottles are still a decent investment.

napa... it calls to me...

In order to further destroy my liver and life's savings, I'm moving to California. The proximity to Napa, I assure you, is purely coincidentel. Actually I'm changing jobs. The next few weeks will be pretty crazy, so please bear with me as postings may come slower. Thank you.

2004 Plumpjack Merlot

My friend Ben is always going on and on about how terrible Merlot is, how nobody knows how to grow it or make wine from it, and how, in general, he thinks it is all a bunch of worthless, tannic piss. He might have a point, in the general case. However, I felt duty-bound to show him that at least one California wine maker knows what they are doing.

One of the best wines I have ever had is the Plumpjack Merlot. When it was young and just bottled it had intense notes of vanilla and was just a great, big, rich, earthy wine. Now that it has had a year in the bottle the vanilla has mellowed out quite a bit. It has become quite drinkable and classy. It's a damn good wine with a great taste and smell. Smooth, earthy, dark fruit. Mellow, supple tannins. There are few wines I would rather have than this one at this price point ($50).

Charles Krug Winery (current releases)

Charles Krug is a Napa Valley winery located in St. Helena and owned by Peter Mondavi (Robert Mondavi's brother). Their website, which is built using Cold Fusion, is down right now, so I can't do much investigation other than what I remember.

So here is what I remember (all wines refer to the current release):

The Sauvignon Blanc was excellent. It had a really low price point; on the order of $10. It wasn't extremely dry, nor was it sweet or sticky. It was a nice, refreshing white with good crisp fruit. Their Chardonnay was also enjoyable. It had hints of butter and oak, but nothing overpowering.

Their Pinot Noir was surprisingly good. I almost never like them, but this one was quite nice. The color was exactly the light purple you expect from a Pinot, but it was more opaque than most. It was a bit sweet and tasted like grapes. A pleasant experience.

Their Merlot I did not like at all. It wasn't the over-tannic crap most wineries seem to churn out, nor was it too watery. It was muted and thin... not much body. It might go well with the right food. It was only 91% Merlot, with cab, cab franc and others mixed in. This would seem to indicate a sketchy year for Merlot.

The Zinfandel I didn't like either. It wasn't a big zin... it was a muted and thin zin. None of the pepper and mineral taste you get in the big zins. Again, this wine might be stellar with the right food.

Their Cabernet Sauvignon was very good, and had a price point of about $20. It was a bit hot, good body, good taste. But not enough that I wanted to buy it. This could be a good drinker or a safe restaurant order though.

The last wine I tasted was their Bordeaux-style blend. It was okay. It was mostly cab with some Merlot and then about five other varietals blended in, resulting in something that really didn't thrill me. The guy said it was elegant, but to me it just seemed flat.

The Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth in Edmonds with Sara's family. We had two great red wines.

The first is one I brought, the 2003 Worthy Sophie's Cuvee. This is a Bordeaux-style blend from Napa. This is a well-made blend in the California tradition. The wine had plenty of body and good tasting fruit. It wasn't a huge wine, but it wasn't without it's complexities either. You could smell the wine from a good six feet away after opening the bottle and it was quite nice in the glass. This was a $40 wine that got marked down to $20 which is when I bought it from Garagiste. Apparently it got a few bad reviews... but I don't see why. From the texture to the smell, this is everything you could want in a new-world style wine.

The second wine was the 2003 Cayuse Camaspelo, which is another Cabernet Sauvignon blend. It's just a great wine. Good bits of Oak and the distinct taste of Washington soil. It was a medium bodied wine with nice dark color. This is the lowest scoring of the Cayuse wines, but if I could find enough bottles I would drink it every night.

a happy birthday indeed

On Friday night, Sara and I attended her esteemed uncle's birthday party. One of the things I love about her family is their high appreciation of fine wine and unending generosity in sharing it. We were, as always, in a hurry to get there in time for dinner (getting anywhere after work on a weekday in Seattle is a battle) and I utterly failed to pick a bottle from the wine cellar to bring to dinner (we brought a bottle of the Gaja as a present). It didn't matter--anything I was likely to have picked would have gone unopened in my desire to try the other wines that were present. We did have to drive home, after all.

When Raphael and I were roommates, we would frequently have guests over and go through a flight of bottles that had big names, but this night will stand out in my memory for a long time. Sure, there are some big names in the following list. Some may say they are overrated. I won't argue the point. What I will say is that drinking all of them was a pleasure. I hope I remember everything accurately.

We started with the 2003 Stag's Leap Petit Syrah. Stag's Leap has made an appearance here before, so you know how I feel about the winery. I've never had the Petit Syrah before this. I've often seen it, as I'm sure many have, at the wine shop, but it always made me a little nervous. Just something about the lone varietal stamped on the label that seemed a bit foreboding. All my fears were unfounded. It was a nice, dark, wine that was very smooth. It wasn't a gigantic wine which is what I expected. It had a few interesting layers and was very drinkable on its own, as we had it before dinner without accompaniment. For those keeping track, it is actually a blend of mainly Petit Syrah with Viognier, Carignan, Mourvedre, and Grenache. Like I said before, these wine makers know what they're doing.

Sara's aunt cooked dinner. It was (this is the theme for the night) another thing I had never had. Sara told me on the way over that it was going to be Cabbage rolls. Thoughts of bad Thai restaurants popped into my head, but she assuaged my fears. They turned out to be amazing. It was meat and other goodness wrapped in cabbage and cooked in a red sauce. I ate too many of them. I focused so much on eating them that I hadn't finished my glass of the Petit Syrah when I noticed the next wine had appeared in the decanter.

The second wine of the evening was the 1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. If you're wondering why that name sounds familiar, it's because Quilceda Creek is the only Washington winery to ever produce a wine that got 100pts from Robert Parker two years in a row (2002 and 2003). The 1997 was the first time I've ever had the pleasure of tasting anything from Quilceda, and I must admit it lives up to the reputation. This is perhaps the earliest anyone would want to drink the '97; according to the winery they should bottle age well into 2020. The bottle we had was young, but it was far from infanticide. It was a very well put together wine, blending 89% cab, 9% merlot and 2% cab franc. What I tasted most was the mineral taste that seems to be characteristic of these Washington wines. There were hints of fruit as well, but I had a hard time placing them. It reminded me most of snozzberry.

In case that wasn't enough, we went back to California to finish off the night with a bottle of the 1997 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon which comes from Napa. Unfortunately, I utterly failed to find out which of their cab's it was. It was oddly similar to the Quilceda, but more supple and less mineral. It was really great to drink after the Quilceda, because it really contrasted the two regions. A truly luscious wine. I will add it to my list of wines I'd love to drink daily but just can't afford.

Quite a night!

1998 Behrens & Hitchcock Merlot

Sara's father brought a 1998 Behrens & Hitchcock Merlot over to help celebrate Sara's mother's birthday. Up front I have to say it's a great winery and an obviously well made wine. And I love a good Merlot. One of my favorite wine's is the PlumpJack Merlot and if I could afford it I would drink it every night. That said, the majority of Merlots (where the wine is overwhelmingly Merlot; I often love blends that involve Merlot) just do not do it for me and this was one of those wines. It was smooth--not too tannic--and the label is very pretty. But I can't really say much more for it.

2000 Stag's Leap Estate Reserve Cabernet

The other night we had dinner with Mitch and Sarah at Cafe Flora. Those of you who have not experienced Cafe Flora, you should check it out. I am not a vegetarian--in fact I generally don't consider it dinner unless a large land animal died--but I appreciate good service and finely crafted food, no matter what it is.

A quick glance at Cafe Flora's wine list didn't reveal anything I especially felt like paying for that night, so I decided to let my friends pick up the corkage fee and bring my own wine. I entereed the cellar and came out with my last bottle of 2000 Stag's Leap Estate Reserve Cabernet.

At this point I will introduce a new character in my little blog-narrative: Nabil. Nabil owns Seattle Wine Co., which is located on 130th in Bellevue. 2000 wasn't the best year for Napa Valley wines. Somehow Nabil got a close-out deal on the 2000's and recognized that, even though it may have not been the best vintage ever, a well-made wine is still a well-made wine. Raphael and I picked up several 6-bottle cases for $25 / bottle. This was truely an excellent deal.

The wine itself was great. One of my favorites. The tannins were mellow and the wine was complex. A hint of vanilla on the finish. Not as much oak as I generally like (I'm an oak-freak). It's 98% cab with just 2% merlot.

If you have this wine, you may as well drink it now; I don't think any further aging will get you anything.