Chappellet Pritchard Hill Club Party

I attended the Chappellet Pritchard Hill Club Party. It was a wonderful afternoon of wine, food and artists in the picnic meadow on Pritchard Hill overlooking Lake Hennessey. We had a very good time, and my wife won two bottles of Chappellet wine at the ring toss game! Note that while Chappellet is in the hills above Napa Valley, it is open for tasting only by appointment.

The picture here shows the Chappellet vineyards with one of the employees giving us a tour. Some of the oldest vineyards are in the foreground. Behind them are the bulk of the Chappellet vineyards on either side of the dirt road that runs through the vineyard and Lake Hennessey is in the background.

In Napa Valley most of the Cabernet and other red wine grapes were already dark purple, but in the cooler climate on Pritchard Hill on August 20th they were just changing from green to purple. They said this was about 2 weeks late, so they expect the harvest will be 2 weeks late this year. This is because of the rainy spring we had this year and the relatively cool summer so far. This doesn’t mean this will be a bad year, but it depends on what the weather is like in September and October. One other thing I learned is that they had just ripped out the 40+ year old Chenin Blanc vineyard on the top of Pritchard Hill that produced their Mountain Cuvee Chenin Blanc because the production was too low. They are not sure what they will replant this vineyard with, but the current thinking is Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

The food was excellent, including chicken, Tuscan leg of lamb, asparagus, grilled vegetables, and a bread salad.

There were lots of wines available for tasting. Just released or about to be released:

2004 Chardonnay – Nice lemon and citrus character on the nose and fruit, very high acid, long finish, light oak. This is a nice style of chardonnay I like, which is focused on fruit rather than oak. List price $28.

2003 Merlot – Both red and black cherry fruit, moderate acid, some hard tannins, long finish, still a little rough, needs time to smooth out. List price $30.

2003 Mountain Cuvee – Cherry and currants on the nose. Cherry, chassis, fruit, good acid, substantial softer tannins, long finish. Like the Merlot, this seemed a little rough for current drinking, and needs a little time to come around. My wife won two bottles of this in the ring toss game. Club price was $20.80, not sure what the list price is or if it is available.

2003 Cabernet, Signature – Cherry and chassis on the nose. Red cherry, currents, chassis and some hints of spices on the fruit, good acid, lots of softer tannins, and a long finish. This is a different style than the 2002 which had a lot more black cherry and harder tannins. List price is $44.

2002 Cabernet, Pritchard Hill – Cherry and plums on the nose. Big cherry, plums and tobacco fruit flavors, moderate acid, lots of softer tannins, and a long finish. This needs a few years to soften out the tannins. The wine was available on futures to club members, and will be shipped in October. List price is $120 (Club price is $102).

2004 Barrel samples:
They had separate barrel samples of Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. If you asked, which I did, they would try to blend these in about the proportions they expected to use for the 2004 Pritchard Hill Cabernet. This showed lots of promise, with big black cherry, currants and chocolate fruit flavors. There were a lot of soft tannins showing too.

Library wines:

1994 Cabernet, Signature from Magnum – Cherry and chassis on the nose. Big black cherry, chassis and chocolate, moderate acid, moderate tannin, and very long finish. This was my favorite of all the wines served at the party.

1987 Cabernet, Signature from Magnum – Red cherry and leather on nose. Red cherry, leather and hints of tobacco in the fruit, moderate acid, still some tannins, and a long finish.

1978 Cabernet, Signature from a double Magnum – Very similar fruit to the 1987. Red cherry, leather and hints of tobacco, good acid and still some tannins.

They also had a bottle of 1976 Signature Cab, but I didn’t get in line fast enough and it was gone by the time I got there. They had opened the 1978 in its place.

Napa Valley Trip

Have not posted much here lately, but I have been doing lots of tasting, and I have a bunch of notes I need to get posted. First off, I took a trip to Napa Valley in August and visited a few wineries. I have posted my notes from those winery visits below.

The main purpose of this trip was the annual Chappellet Pritchard Hill Club Party, and I will have my notes up from that in the next few days.

The grapes in the picture to the left were from Darioush.

Niebaum – Coppola

Last time I visited this winery, it was still Inglenook. Niebaum – Coppola has done a nice job of fixing up the old facility.

2004 Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blanc – A nice light bubbly with tropical fruit flavors. List price $19.

2004 Directors Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – pale, clean, critius and light grassy character. List price $19.

2003 Directors reserve Zinfandel – Jammy and overripe. 14.9% alcohol. Didn’t like this much. List price $27.

2003 Director’s Reserve Merlot – Red cherry, chassis, moderate acid, moderate tannins, long finish. Just released, a little rough, needs time. List price $36.

Frank Family Vineyards

I didn’t visit this winery, but they came to the B&B I was staying at and hosted a tasting.

2004 Chardonnay, Napa – Was severed warm. Clean, fruity, not overly oaked. List price $32.50.

2003 Sangiovese – bright cherry, high acid

2002 Zinfandel, Napa – Jammy and overripe. Label said 15.2% alcohol, but the representative from the winery said it was probably more like 16.2%.

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa – Cherry and plum fruit flavors, soft tannin, nice for current drinking. List price $39.75.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Rutherford – Red cherry, currents, and plums, good acid, moderately strong tannins, and long fruity finish. This is a very good Cabernet that needs around 5 years to open up. List price $65.

Sequoria Grove

Is a smaller winery which I have visited a number of times over the years. I have always liked their white wines.

2002 Chardonnay, Carnaros - Lemony, fresh, high acid, long fruity finish. This is a nice Chardonnay with fruit character and only light oak. List price $18.

2002 Syrah, Napa – Dark, black cherry nose. Black and red cherry fruit with pepper, high acid, strong tannins, long fruity finish. This wine seems rough and not balanced. This is the first vintage from this vineyard. The vines are only 4 years old. List price $32.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa – Dark, cherry and chassis on the nose. Black cherry, spicy, peppery, high acid, moderately high tannins, long fruity finish. This wine will benefit from a few years aging with should smooth it out. List price $32.

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Napa – Dark, cherry, chassis, with some Rutherford dust. Black cherry, current, and chassis, high acid, high tannins, long fruity finish. This is a very nice cabernet that needs some time. List price $55????

1996 Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Napa – Leather on the nose. Cherry, chassis and leather on the palette. High acid, still some tannins, and a long fruity finish. I suspect this wine is close to mature. List price $65.

Cliff Lede

This winery use to be known as Anderson Vineyards. Cliff Lede bought this winery about 3 years ago and he has been changing the winery to focus more on Cabernet and Bordeaux blends. Currently they also produce Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc from purchased grapes. They will be discontinuing those, except for the Sauvignon Blanc when the contracts run out in the next few years to concentrate on Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends.

2004 Sauvignon Blanc – Very pale yellow, but very nice lemon and grassy nose and fruit flavors. A good Sauvignon Blanc with lots of Sauvignon Blanc character.

2002 Pinot Noir, Carreros - Red cherry and oak nose, Red cherry fruit with cedar and spices, good structure and finish. I like this one.

2002 Merlot, Stags Leap District - Tight, young wine with cherry and high tannins. Needs some time.

2002 Syrah, Napa Valley - Rasepberry and cherry fruit, good structure, moderate tannins, well balanced. Not overripe like the 2003.

Silverado

2000 Merlot – Very nice cherry and chassis, well balanced and good structure. The best Merlot I tasted this day. This was a library wine. The 2002 is the current release.

2001 Cabernet, Stags Leap District – Lots of black cherry and chassis fruit, with good structure and moderate tannins. Very nice wine. List Price $70.

2001 Cabernet, Limited Reserve – This is a huge wine, with black cherry, currents, chocolate, good structure, and significant tannins. This wine looks outstanding and needs probably at least 5 to 10 more years to mellow out. I think this was the best Cabernet I tasted on this trip to Napa.

Silverado is now using screw caps for their Sauvignon Blanc, but they said they had no plans to use screw caps for the red wines.

Regusi

Regusi is a small family owned winery. They have been making wine since 1996, mainly Cabernet, Merlot and some Zinfandel.

2002 Merlot – red cherry fruit with a little bit of dust. List price $40.

2002 Cabernet – Nose had cherry and oak. Cherry chassis with hints of chocolate, good structure, long fruity finish. Could use a few more years aging. Very good. List price $48.

Darioush

Darioush Khaledi is an Iranian that made his money in the grocery business in Southern California. The very impressive year old Darioush winery has Persian architecture. The tasting fee was $15.

2003 Viogrie – Very fruity and floral, perhaps a little sweet, low acid, 14.9% alcohol, list price $34. Too sweet for my taste.

2001 Red Table Wine – Niece nose of red cherry, and cedar. Rich forward black cherry fruit, good acid, soft tannins, and long fruity finish. 64% cab, 32% Merlot, 4% Franc. 14.5% alcohol List price $38. Nice wine for near term drinking.

2002 Merlot – Lots of black cherry fruit on the nose and palette, moderate acid and tannins with fruit on the finish. Nice merlot. 14.0% alcohol. List price $44.

2002 Shiraz – Big black cherry, black berry fruit, good structure with moderate tannins, long fruity finish. 14.5% alcohol. List price $64.

2002 Cabernet – Big cherry and chassis aromas on the nose. Big black cherry and cedar flavors, good structure, moderate tannins, long fruity finish. 85% cab, 10% Merlot, 2% franc, 1.5% Petit Verdoit, 1.5% Malbac. 14.8% alcohol. List price $68

Darioush appears to be making wines in the highly extracted, softer tannin style that is popular now days. I did not like the Viogie, but the other wines were good, though pricey.

Cline 2003 Mourvedre

2003, Cline, Mourvedre, Ancient Vines, Contra Costa County
Medium dark garnet color. The nose has aromas of raspberry and chocolate with hints of pepper and spices. The forward fruit had flavors of cherry, chocolate and peppery spices, high acid, soft tannins, and a long spicy finish. I think this is a delightful wine for drinking over the next few years, and good value. 18,000 cases produced. List price is $18, Cline wine club price only $13.50. My rating 89.

2003, Cline, Mourvedre, Small Berry, Contra Costa County
Dark garnet color. Nose has aromas of cherry and eucalyptus. Big intense fruit flavors of cherry, mint, chocolate and spices, moderate acid, big soft tannins, and a long fruity finish. This is big, fruity wine that can be paired with strongly favored foods. Alcohol is 15% but the wine did not taste overripe. List price is $36, Cline wine club price is $27. My rating is 90