Groth Cabernet Sauvignon "Oakville" 2008

We tasted the 2008 vintage of Groth Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon in the office recently and I walked away both impressed and thinking about how we all approach vintage. Vintage becomes a double edged blade when it comes to selling and buying wine, especially when it pertains to regions such Bordeaux, Brunello di Montalcino or Napa Valley. So called Vintages of the Century can be followed by equally good or better wines the following year that struggle to find buyers. We seem to be hung over after dizzily chasing the hyped vintage. I believe 2007 and 2008 in Napa is exactly this scenario. There is no doubt 2007 was a great vintage for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and deserves all the media and consumer acclaim the vintage has received. 2008, although subtly diiferent in style, was equally good but does not seem to have much buzz so far; in large part this is because there simply was not much of it! Severe frost put natural limitations on crop levels, add a late and hot indian summer to get the grapes ripe and a small but outstanding harvest was the theme throughout through most of Napa. Groth was no exception, their 2008 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is soft and luscious with blackberry on the palate and sweet vanilla on the nose from 22 months of barrel aging. As much as I continue to appreciate the power of the 2007 vintage, I think many of the 2008's including Groth may offer more pleasure!

Marques De Caceres Rioja Rose 2010

Yesterday I had one of those really great wine experiences; a wine I have not given a great deal of thought to or tasted in a long time gives a great deal of pleasure.  Several colleagues and I were having lunch at a local brick oven pizzeria and decided on a bottle of Caceres Rose 2010 to go with our Prosciutto and basil pizza, what a combo!  If you are not following the weather on the East Coast its really, really hot outside!  The chilled Rose was perfect, great fruit, strawberry and bright cherry notes, and enough acidity to make it a good food wine.  The wine is a blend, 85% Tempranillo and 15 % Garnacha, and aged entirely in stainless steel, no oak to impede all the fresh fruit flavors.  All in all a terrific choice for a summer wine!

Silverado Sauvignon Blanc "Miller Ranch" 2009

The last few years it has been pretty impressive to watch Silverado Vineyards as they continue to almost remake themselves.  Silverado has long been considered an iconic brand in the Napa Valley but recently they have really shaved production and gone to almost entirely estate wines looking to take the quality of their wines to a whole new level.  The 81 acre Miller Ranch in Yountville was Ron and Diane Miller's first acquisition in Napa in 1976.  Inititially selling fruit to other wineries, Ron and Diane crushed their first vintage in 1981 and released the first Silverado Vineyards wines in January of 1983.  Although today Silverado is probably best known for Cabernet Sauvignon, they continue to produce consistently one of California's best and most interesting Sauvignon Blancs.  The 2009 is no exception with citrusy fruit, especially grapefruit and tangerine, balanced with pleasant acidity to give a crisp mouthfeel. 

The Miller Ranch continues to be Silverado's home for Sauvignon Blanc.  Until a few years ago there was also a good deal of Chardonnay planted in this vineyard but the Miller's like this Sauvignon to such an extant they have been tearing out the Chardonnay and replanting to Sauvignon Blanc, quite an expensive proposition but worth it if more Sauvignon Blanc like this is to come our way!

Silverado Vineyards

Ponzi Pinot Noir 2009

Its amazing to consider but 2009 is Ponzi's 39th Pinot Noir vintage! Richard and Nancy Ponzi moved to the Willamette Valley in the 1960's and bought a 20 acre farm, planting and pioneering Pinot Noir in the region, they opened the doors to Ponzi Vineyards in 1970. Today the family owned estated is 120 acres and additional contracts with some of the top growers in the area Ponzi has become known as a leader in Oregon viticulture, committed to sustainable farming, and one of the best domestic producers of Pinot Noir in America.

2009 was an interesting vintage in the Willamette. A very cold winter led to a late bud break causing wineries to believe they were heading towards a late harvest and low yields, but then extreme heat spikes in July and August crossed up many vintners. In September many younger vineyards were almost over ripe and ready to pick while mature vineyards such as Ponzi did not have the sugar levels to harvest. A moderate October allowed Ponzi to keep the grapes hanging until ready and the results were terrific! The Pinot Noir 2009 is soft, supple with dusty tannins and bright cherry notes on the palate and spice box aromatics.

Graffigna Malbec 2008

My first visit to Argentina was in the mid 1990's.  I recall going with the expectation that since Argentina is considered a Latin America country the population would generally speak Spanish.  I was surprised by how much Italian I heard both in Buenos Aires and traveling through wine country, but if you look at the history of Argentina it makes sense, especially in how it impacts their wine industry.  In the late 19th century at the same time as many immigrants were arriving in the USA from Italy there was also an influx to Argentina.  Many of the families arriving to both countries were farmers looking for better opportunities and included in both countries was a healthy number of vintners.  If you look at Sonoma in California wineries such as Rochioli, Foppiano and Seghesio descend from this time.  In Argentina the Graffigna family immigrated and settled in San Juan, opening Graffigna Winery in 1870, the oldest winery in San Juan and the second oldest in all of Argentina.  Mendoza has gotten most of the publicity for wine regions in Argentina but San Juan has all the potential to match its southern neighbor in quality.  As Malbec has gotten more and more popular I continue to believe Graffigna Centenario Malbec (Centenario is Graffigna's entry range) is one of Argentina's best values! 

Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2009

I thought about what to post on July 4th, Zinfandel as the "American" grape has been overdone, and its probably not true.  After tossing out a number of ideas I decided to go with the story of a winery and family that has helped build and sustain the reputation of our domestic wines around the world, Grgich Hills.  In 1976 in Paris at a now infamous tasting an all French panel awarded the top Chardonnay to Chateau Montelena 1973 over its French competitors.  I don't know if there is any wine analogy today that can explain the sheer shock this caused.  The winemaker for Montelena at the time was Mijenko "Mike" Grgich, propelling Mr. Grgich to reknown as one of the great winemakers of the world.  Soon after Grgich sat down with Austin Hills of Hills Coffee and on Independence Day 1977 (see it all draws together) Grgich Hills Winery was born.  It was a perfect partnership, Grgich winemaking skills and Hills owned prime Rutherford vineyards.  Today Grgich Hills owns 366 acres of vineyard up and down the Napa Valley.  Always commited to quality the winery is entirely Estate bottled and under the direction of Mike, Mike's daughter Violet and Mike's nephew and current winemaker Ivo Jeramez the vineyards have become certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic.  One of the most popular wines from Grgich Hills has been the Fume Blanc.  The current vintage is 2009 and the wine is a product of a unique fermentation and aging process.  80% of the fruit is aged in large (900 gallon) Oak casks and the other 20% in small neutral oak barriques, allowing the clear expression of the fruit to come through with all the creamy texture of the oak but no harsh tannin to interfere with the delicate flavours and aromatics.

      Mike Grgich                                                              Violet Grgich

Hahn Family Vineyards Pinot Noir

Nicky and Gaby Hahn have always been two of my favourite people in the Wine Business. After purchasing the Cabernet Sauvignon acclaimed winery Smith and Hook in the mid 1980's the Hahn's continued to purchase acreage in Monterey. In 1991 the Hahn Family brand was born. Hahn was instrumentel in developing the Santa Lucia Highlands as an AVA (American Viticultural Area) and the reputation of the winery and the region took off. I visited the winery several weeks ago for the first time since 1998 and was struck by the dramatic change. Hahn in the past was known as a Bordeaux varietal producer and the planting mostly followed suit, mainly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and yet the Santa Lucia Highlands is a cool climate region that has become known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Now as I visited the winery out of almost 700 acres of vines almost 500 hundred acres are Pinot Noir! If you have not tasted the Hahn Family Pinot Noir you are missing out! With all of their recent success the current vintage is already 2010 but the wine is truly an attractive example of what California Pinot should be , bright cherry on the palate and floral hints of violets on the nose with delicate soft tannins and great mouthfeel!

And the perfect dish to pair with Hahn Pinot Noir, Chicken Cacciatore of course!