Valentine Vineyards

• January 2010

  RobR, thanks for the additional clarification. Here's what I would suggest based on your desire for a more laid back experience and range of wine price points. I'm not 100% sure about your driving route from Vancouver, but if Mendocino and the Anderson Valley don't take you far... Read moreRobR, thanks for the additional clarification. Here's what I would suggest based on your desire for a more laid back experience and range of wine price points. I'm not 100% sure about your driving route from Vancouver, but if Mendocino and the Anderson Valley don't take you far out of your way, I'd certainly plan to spend a day there. Make sure to see (probably overnight in) Mendocino. Then depart south hitting Navarro, Lazy Creek, Husch and Roederer (good call napagirl!) on the way toward Napa/Sonoma. Once in Sonoma, I'll add my vote to those above for the Russian River Valley area. We stay at The Farmhouse Inn, which is a bit rural but still convenient to a lot of vineyards and has its own great restaurant. I'd specifically recommend vists to Iron Horse and Sunce (a smaller winery owned by a Croatian winemaker; their wines are mostly big reds). I'm a huge fan of the casual nature and big bold wines of the Dry Creek Valley area. Healdsburg is a quaint town that's full of good lodging and restaurant options (and some tasting rooms). DCV is just a bit north and I'd particularly recommend Unti, David Coffaro, Teldeschi and Preston (plan to picnic there). Ridge Lytton Springs is also there (I've only been to Ridge Monte Bello, but would thik Lytton Springs well worth a visit). In "true" Napa, along with Howell Mountain, I'd consider Spring Mountain (Terra Valentine, Spring Mountain Vineyards, York Creek). You'll likely need appointments for all of these and you've just taken a pretty big step up in price point. Whatever you choose, it's hard to have a bad wine country experience. Can't wait to hear your report when you return!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Recommended Wineries in Napa... by chadrich

  
  
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  March 2009

  Valentine Vineyards Cabernet Tory's Block Rouge 2004

  Snoothrank: Starting at $39^.00

  Intense dark berry flavor/taste and well structured tannin. This is good and you can enjoy now without decant.

  Wine review by show

  
  

• May 2008

  Back in February, Mark posted a summary of Vertical vs. Horizontal wine tasting. It was a clear and concise description of both; so, I'm not going to steal his thunder by repeating anything he wrote. However, I will ask the Snooth team to "link it up," as the one and only Gary... Read moreBack in February, Mark posted a summary of Vertical vs. Horizontal wine tasting. It was a clear and concise description of both; so, I'm not going to steal his thunder by repeating anything he wrote. However, I will ask the Snooth team to "link it up," as the one and only Gary Vay-ner-chuk does many times in his daily video blogs. What I will do is fulfill my promise to detail a "horizontal" tasting of 2005 Napa Valley Cabernets. So, here it goes. First, the year. The vintage. When asked about the 2005 vintage, many a winemaker in Napa Valley will respond without thinking, "a huge crop." Production at most wineries was up. A long, cool growing season with late Spring rain and no heat spikes in the Summer produced large berries that matured slowly and in balance. In Spring 2006, James Laube wrote in the Spectator about the 2005 vintage when he barrel tasted 50+ wines (blind). Laube said the large crop was a detriment to quality but went on to compare it to the yields of the praiseworthy, exceptional, 1997 vintage. As discussed in these posts before, (wine) quality is in the mouth of the beholder - especially when a vintage follows one of great critical acclaim. The 2004 Napa Valley Cabernets have been touted for their incredible richness (density), power (structure) and complexity (depth). The 2005 wines had large scores to live up to especially when dealing with the challenges of a disparate growing season. So, immediately winemakers started to defend the 2005 vintage and do what all wine drinkers (enthusiasts and professionals) know how to do best, we make comparisons. And for 2005, comparisons were made to Bordeaux appellations up and down the left-bank of the Gironde and we were chuffed when these repeated cries were heard by wine critics who went on to print them in the pages of their newsletters and magazines -- thank you. It is true, the 2005 Napa Valley Cabernets that I tend to gravitate to have a purity of red and black fruit wrapped in subtlety and nuance, grace and elegance. The wines of 2005 are approachable now and are drinking like you'd want them to drink when you are hovering above a piece of well-cooked red meat. Let's get on with it.... Sometime in late March, at Larkmead, I gathered with colleagues and friends for a pot-luck barbeque that started with a cocktail party of oil-tanker sized proportions. Sixteen 2005 Napa Valley Cabernets (and blends) in the $45-$80 price range were tasted side by side. I won't give scores or rank my favorites (notes below are in alphabetical order). However, there may be a word, a phrase or a line or two that speaks to the wines I liked or disliked. So, enjoy and drink up. Producer (Description/Appellation) Price. Cakebread (Napa Valley) $65 - A bit green. Nose and palate a little harsh. Felt the tannins from the back to the front of my mouth. Caymus (Napa Valley) $70 - Very focused aromatics. Soft and subdued linear movement through the mouth. Well worth a second sip, even a second glass. Cliff Lede (Stags Leap) $50 - Approachable even as a big wine. A bit of Brett on the nose, but the texture in the mouth is soft and cedary with chewy tannins on the finish. Covenant (Kosher/Napa Valley) $80 - A bit of parsley on the nose highlights the 'green' in this wine. Reminds me of the aromas of a wine during fermentation. Whole cluster to be exact, which tends to subdue the fruit characters with herbaceousness and spice. Never tasted anything like this from a Cabernet. David Ramey (Larkmead Vineyards/Napa Valley) $80 - Ripe, over ripe and then extracted some more. Finishes very oaky, then green and then bitter. Over the top for my palate. Fisher Vineyards (Cameron/Napa Valley) $55 - Soft on the nose and palate. Silky, as if you wrapped a silk scarf around your neck already adorned with a silk shirt. Dusty tannins front a long, sweet finish. Garric Cellars (Napa Valley) $75 - Complex. Layered. Lean. Elegant. Balanced. Sweet. Everything you could every ask for from a wine (or a woman). Joseph Phelps (Napa Valley) $55 - Ripe, vanilla, red raspberry cream. Same on the mid-palate. Then finishes with a refreshing, dry bitterness. Larkmead Vineyards (Napa Valley) $55 - Review omitted due to bias. Orin Swift (Papillion/Napa Valley) $55 - Wildly attractive packaging. The 5.4 lb bottle is 62% Cabernet, 19% Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot to finish. The gravitas of the packaging outshines the wine. (I need to taste it again from a brown paper bag to give it its full due.) Pride (Spring Mountain) $65 - A bit green and disjointed right down the middle - like its appellation breakdown: 58% Napa Valley, 42% Sonoma. Possibly a fault in the wine or bottle variability. Would like to re-taste. Shafer (One Point Five/Stags Leap) $70 - Lovely, lingering nose. Lean fruit, not sweet. Finishes with a comparable lingering, soft, bitter tannins. Terra Valentine (Wurtele Vineyard/Spring Mountain) $55 - An outlier - young from start to finish but giving up good chalky tannins and fresh acidity. Ageworthy. Turnbull (Oakville) $45 - Completely fruit driven with a soft, supple finish. Nothing profound about this wine, it is simply a crowd pleaser. Vineyard 29 (Cru) $50 - If you love your asparagus wrapped in bacon and your filet dripping with blue cheese, this wine delivers the steakhouse complement - ripe and delicious... but somewhere, deep down inside it wants to be Bordeaux. ZD (Napa Valley) $50 - Watery red fruit, short on the finish. Surprising as I have tasted many good stand-up wines from ZD before.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic 2005 Napa Valley Cabernets by Dan

  
  

• January 2008

  On Friday, January 25th Napa Valley residents celebrated the Immortal Memory of the "Ploughman Poet," Robert Burns. The event was promoted as "The Grain Meets The Grape – an evening of Scottish tradition." This was Napa’s second annual Burns dinner organized by Ediburgh's (and... Read moreOn Friday, January 25th Napa Valley residents celebrated the Immortal Memory of the "Ploughman Poet," Robert Burns. The event was promoted as "The Grain Meets The Grape - an evening of Scottish tradition." This was Napa’s second annual Burns dinner organized by Ediburgh's (and Larkmead's) own Colin MacPhail who entranced us all with the promise "once you have heard bagpipes, eaten haggis, heard Scots verse and danced a 'Strip the Willow' your life will be somehow deeper and richer." Burns is probably most famous in the U.S.A. for his song "Auld Lang Syne." Without letting auld acquaintance be forgot, one hundred and fifty people from all walks and skirts (I counted a minimum of 20 men in kilts) braved a daylong torrential downpour to fulfill their curiosity. Hosted in the Tucker Farm Center in Calistoga, the rustic, candlelit setting adorned with tartan tablecloths was a far cry from the obligatory glitz and glamour of a Napa Valley gala. And with Burns himself not a fan of the grape juice, as he declared in his poem "Scotch Drink"… Let other poets raise a fracas 'Bout vines an' wines, an' drunken Bacchus An' crabbit names an' stories wrack us, An' crate or lug: I sing the juice Scotch bear can make us, In glass or jug. …I was smitten with the cast of winemaking characters sitting at my table, DuMOL and HdV, Anthill Farms and Terra Valentine, Vineyard 29 and Saracina and over the shoulder at a table behind us Turley and Saintsbury, to name a few. Preparing for the evening, I was not content to while away the night with a dram of whisky; so, I used this opportunity to fulfill my previous post’s "Resolution" by ridding myself of odds and ends bottles of younger wine in my cellar. Running the muddy road in the rain, six-pack in hand, I carried the following wines to be uncorked: 2006 Yves Cuilleron Syrah 2005 Meadowlark (73% Cabernet and 27% Syrah) 2004 Hartwell Merlot 2003 Larkmead 60/40 (Cabernet and Merlot) 2002 Gary Farrell Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County A few of my tablemates followed suit with a 2005 Vineyard 29 Cru, a 2006 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc and the house provided 2006 Larkmead Sauvignon Blanc. Some Tasting Notes and Snooth Ratings below: 2006 Saracina Sauvignon Blanc: a pungent and pronounced SB from cool climate Mendocino showing lime-like acidity and an extended mouth feel and finish. Refreshing, even on a rainy winter’s night. (4 Snooth Glasses) 2006 Yves Cuilleron Syrah: a tablemate leaned over after taking a smell and a sip and whispered, "[Yves] should stick to the whites." Yes, it is true. This wine had a bit of mouth puckering sourness. In contrast, Cuilleron's Condrieu La Petite Cote (Viognier) will always be a desert island wine of mine. (2 Snooth Glasses) 2005 Vineyard 29 Cru: An obvious crowd pleaser, rich and ultra-concentrated, lovely (cassis), dark (cherry) and deep (chocolate) from the venerable Phillipe Melka - and a lot easier on the wallet. (4 Snooth Glasses) 2004 Hartwell Merlot: I jones a good Merlot and was truly excited about tasting this wine this very evening, but the wine showed a faint hint of volatile acidity (i.e. acetic, vinegary, nail polish remover) that I couldn’t overcome in the glass. Very sad, I was. (Hate to do this, but 1 Snooth Glass until I taste it again in hope that this was just the devil in bottle variability.) 2002 Gary Farrell Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County: Another exciting tasting opportunity for me this evening as I have been seeking out high-quality Cabernet on the other side of the Hill (in Sonoma). And 2002 was a superb vintage year in both counties. But in the end, I am still seeking and deem "I am neutral" on this wine, as the 2 Snooth Glass rating is website described. And for the astute few who realized my six-pack was one shy, it was true, my sixth bottle was a Glenmorangie Cellar 13 Single Malt (which I am drinking the remains of while I type this). The pale gold liquid in the honey yellow label was the clear winner that evening. Spicy herbaceous-ness with a hint of tangy lemon-ness above a bit of woody bitter-ness. Only Don Knotts as Mr. Furley could say it best, "Snooth," I mean, "Smooth." I hope you all can attend next year's Calistoga Celeidh. Dan Petroski is Assistant Winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Napa Valley. Dan has an MBA from New York University and worked as an Ad Exec in New York for several years, before switching it up and trading his suit for a move out west.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Burns Night by Dan

  
  

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