Puglia - day 2

 

Cantina Coppola - near Gallipoli

On day 2 I  visited 4 wineries. Copolla was the first one. It turns out it's been around since 1489 and it has nothing to do with the Copolla winery in Napa. I usually try to avoid wineries that are 100% marketing and 0% good quality wine and I was afraid that was the case here.

They, like many old wineries, used to sell their wine in bulk to be blended by winemakers in the more northern part of Europe until after the 2nd World War. And then they started bottling their rose wine. And then the rest.

And a few very interesting points.

First, they have better Negro Amaro than Primitivo (at least according to my taste). They have a Negro Amaro that is 100% done in stainless steel, with no oak, which they start serving after 3 years of aging. And it turns out, as for many wines from the region, that after you take the time to let the wine open, it's a very nice aromatic, not too acid (despite the grape and stainless) wine. Name Doxi.

And even more interesting, they actually recommend aging it, even if it has not touched oak, for 10-20 years. I bought a bought of 2012 one as well. I am curious to do a vertical testing.

I also bought a few more whites, which they also recommend aging, also verticals. And some oaked wines as well, and as usual for this winery, a few verticals. 

For each of their wines, they still had 2012, 2013, 2014, and for some of them even 2007 or so.

100% worth the visit! Must go. Very nice people too.

Cantina Fiorentino

Here the wines I tried were ok. They also had a "port" like wine, but I thought it was closer to a sherry. However, the fun part was that they were serving wine wholesale using pumps that looked like gas station pumps. They had 4 wines by the pump: White, Rose, Primitivo and Negro Amaro.

The most interesting part? their bulk wine is 1.5EUR per liter. At the time of writing gas here is about 2 EUR per litre. So wine is cheaper than gas. I wonder if you can run a vehicle with wine ;)  While I was there for 30 min or so 3 or 4 local people came in with 5L plastic transparent jugs and bought their wine... I wonder what they do with it that they buy 5L at a time in 1 container. No way you can finish it before it turns sour unless it's for an event perhaps? Or for their pools? ;)  Have you ever bathed in wine yet ?

Origano - wine tasting and lunch

I really recommend this little restaurant for lunch. They also offer wine pairings ( more than just tasting) but the pairings of course match the food. They had quite a few nice whites. I didn't get to try their reds because of what I ordered for lunch. Perhaps a future time.

However, the lunch alone is worth the drive. Beautiful, clean, hard to find LOL, And a lot of charm in the backyard. 

And last but not least 

Castel di Salve

Also, an older winery that was purchased by the present family in the 1920s I think. I understood that the present owner has a Duke title. 

I also strongly recommend to visit! 

First and most pleasant: the owner, the father, stopped by at the beginning to say hi and chat. They used to sell the wine in bulk. Then via distributors, for 1 or 2 EUR per liter. And then they said: why not just sell it directly to consumers for a whooping 8.5EUR a bottle? And here they are.

The son, who did our tastings, was very nice, and of course very knowledgeable. He did some training in Champagne and brought some fun ideas ( check their brochure that has pictures of the wine bottles with the items that give the aromas that are in the wine). And between him and a charming lady who gives tours, they can do tours in English, French, Italian of course, Spanish, Portuguese, and German! Very well-organized tours. With pens, water, light snacks. Exactly like in the US. Must visit!

Oh and of course great wines. I particularly liked a few things here :

1. Their usage of the Verdeca is very interesting. You can see the aromas and the flavors this grape gives very cleanly and intensely.

2. And the same style exercise with the Malvasia Nera. They make it pure. They blend it. And you can learn and understand it very clearly.

Very reasonable prices as well. Must visit!

Puglia - Lecce

Foreward

We came to Puglia very excited after trying many red thick, flavorful, deep, and smooth Primitivo and Negro Amaro in various places (mostly New York). 

We were surprised by a few things:

1. Italian wineries, at least in Puglia, at least in the second half of September, make trying their wines difficult. Many only organize tastings by appointment. And when you walk in there can be any number of employees on their phone-instagram at the front desk. If you didn't set an appointment you can't taste their wines. And if their appointment schedule is full, with 2 appointments per half day, they are too busy.

2. Italian wineries, at least in Puglia, have hours that vary depending on ... the mood of the owner? Some are open only in the morning 10am to 12:30 or 1pm. Some are open only from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Some are open from 10am to 3pm only. Some are open 10am to 1pm and 4:30 to 7:30pm. Anyway, you see the pictures, combined with the scheduling problem above, especially if you don't have appointments.

3. Oh, sometimes your hotel concierge forgets to do any calls. I guess it doesn't happen at all hotels. 

4. Perhaps also very important: locally, at the winery, an average bottle of wine (that's good!) is 5 EUR. And an amazing bottle of wine? 35 EUR. So yes, the prices are unbeatable.

5. But most importantly, the rose and white wines are actually really good as well!

And thus, the visits started.

Annibal -

Some of the nicest and most accommodating people and winery we have seen. We had no appointment. In fact they were serving a wine tasting to a couple from Bologna. And they welcomed us.

(The name: apparently Hannibal Barca, THE Hannibal, after getting tired of beating the Romans in every bottle but not winning the war, spent time in the region thinking what to do next. Hence the name of the winery).

Here we discovered, as I already mentioned, good whites, mineral and flavorful, equilibrated. Good Rose. And we also appreciated their Primitivo. All except 1 of their wines were never in oak barrels, just metal tanks (stainless). To be honest the 1 wine that had been in the barrel didn't taste that much different to me.  Entry level bottles 10EUR. Their high end 20EUR. 

As part of the (25 euros for 2) tasting, they also provide quite a nice assortment of cheese, meat, vegetables, and bread. Don't be shy to eat it. It's covered by the fee.

Agricola Dell'Arneo -

After trying, unsuccessfully to have a taste at Coti Zecca, where everybody in the shop was too busy to have a tasting with us, we ended up in another small family winery, Agricola Dell'Arneo. Once again, very welcoming and very nice.

Here they forgot to charge us anything for the tasting and when I reminded them they round up 1.5 eur "for the tasting".

The average bottle here was 5EUR. Once again, great white, great rose, and as nice Primitivo and Negro Amaro as in Annibal. But the wine price was 1/2 the price of Annibal for the wine. Their cheapest bottle was 4EUR and their most expensive was 5EUR. For the same quality, I will take 1/2 price :)

Really little family-owned, and didn't speak English, but really nice. 

Apollonio

And after trying a few more wineries that either didn't exist (despite Google's information) we finally got to one we have earmarked (based on previous tastings) as a must-try!

We didn't have an appointment, again. However, we were lucky to arrive as another tour was finishing and it was great. We got a really nice quick tasting. And as expected worth every km we did to get there. And the wine is up to our expectations.

One of the oldest wineries around. One of the most celebrated. And one with the best wines.

Got a case. And honestly, they were all better than each other. The most expensive 30EUR was from 2012. Their regular Apollonio brand ones are 20EUR (2021 vintage I think).

They also have other brands, cheaper, which we didn't taste. 

Professional. Straight to the point. Even helped us with packing boxes for the plane. All you would expect from a world-famous winery. And their wines also show the quality of their care. 

We can't wait to drink all of this one and order more from them with the first opportunity.

Burgundy January 2020

After Cote Rotie and on the way to Paris we had to stop in Burgundy.

For the record we stopped for lunch in Macon, in an amazing castle, very authentic. It felt really old and had a lot of charm. I recommend:

The restaurant "Un Passage au Château" in Varennes-les-Macon

In Burgundy, unfortunately, most winemakers were on vacation (gone skiing?).

We were however extremely happy to taste wines at 3 different properties :

This trip again I convinced myself that there is a big difference (in price) and in quality between the white 1er Cru from Burgundy and the "village" ( aka no-cru version). The price is double but the quality is totally worth the price difference (usually 50-60eur a bottle though).

On the other side I am not certain the Grand Crus ( about 100 EUR and up) are worth the price difference vs a 1er Cru. Perhaps as I age (like a wine ?!) I will be able to tell the difference more between the 1er Cru and Grand Cru, who knows. 

The other thing we learned (reminded ourselves in fact) is that in Burgundy referencing to a domain by the last name is confusing. Often the entire family lives in the same village. Each cousin has the same last name. And therefore there are multiple Chavy domains. And in fact more often than not there are multiple domains with the same last name. You HAVE to remember the first names in order to properly reference a domain you want to visit or try.

Domaine Quentin Jeannot

Quentin has joined his family in 2015 and started working with his parents on the property.

Quentin welcomed us at his house on Saturday at 5pm. It turned out it was his birthday that day! So Happy Birthday to Quentin ( January 11th).

We loved his wines. His 1er Cru Reds are very well priced around 25eur ( particularly cheap for Burgundy !). We, however, preferred his 1er Cru Whites. We got a case. (My particular taste is that I prefer New World Pinot Noirs vs the old world Pinot Noirs. However the Burgundy whites I think are the most elegant and refined and I usually love them. )

(We were also lucky that for Quentin's birthday he had a friend over who works with the Domain Rayas owner and after chatting for an hour his friend opened and had us taste also a Rayas Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape from 2004 and WOW, what a wine !!

 He also opened a Domaine des Tours, Vaucluse village. It is a wine also made by Chateau Rayas winemaker but with no particular AOC and honestly for 60-70$ it's probably one of the best prices-to-quality I ever tried. You have to try it !

Here is how to buy it at your own risk : https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/rayas+dom+de+tour+rsrv+rouge+igp+vaucluse+pays+france

We also tried a Bandol, after all of these wines. Unfortunately, after the Rayas it was hard to keep up with the Bandol)

Cave de Chassagne Montrachet

On Sunday not many places were opened so we tried some wine at the Chassagne-Montrachet village wine shop, called Cave de Chassagne Montrachet. Most of them were uninteresting, I think not worth the trip. Got some 1er Cru. 

Domain Philippe Chavy

Here we met with Philippe who was also very kind to welcome us on a Sunday morning at 10am. He is mostly focused on making wine and he honestly told us he is not great with people. However, he was extremely nice to us and we had a great tasting. I think he is great with people. 

We loved his 1er Cru wines again, some more than others. We will certainly go back to get more.

What stood out to me was his barrel in which he had changed the end wood piece for a piece of plexiglass:

I find it fascinating to see what is happening inside a wine barrel while it matures. You can see on the bottom of the yeast and deposits. And you can see the color. Phillippe Chavy changed the wood end for plexiglass at both ends and put a light behind it. He said the wine quality was not affected enough for him to notice (he keeps it mostly in the dark and oak amount is probably similar. 

And last but not least here are a few more useful charts I got from various walls, for general wine culture and reference:

Cote Rotie

We have liked Cote Rotie wines for long time. They have this amazing smokey, roasted taste to them. In general, we really like Cote du Rhones but Cote Rotie stands out as a particular terroire.

In the US they are very expensive. So we decided to go to the source. We have tried a few over the years, and we kept track via Vivino which ones were the best, and we went straight to the winery to taste and buy our favorites.

Cote Rotie is around the little town of Ampuis, about 30 min by car from Lyon. ( We recommend taking the TGV, high-speed train, from Paris to Lyon. Careful, make sure you chose gare Perrache if you want to arrive in the center of Lyon. And in Lyon, we loved the restaurant, Jeremy Galvan! A MUST try! It is very reasonably priced for what it is (50% cheaper than in Paris ?) and it is extremely creative and interesting. ) We rented a car from the train station to go to Ampuis.

 A map of the vineyards of Cote Rotie from Gerin, with the Gerin wine provenance.

 Cote Rotie is interesting because the vineyards are on the steep granitic slopes of the Rhone river. They are extremely steep and can only be cultivated by hand (hence the wine price). And because they are also in full sun in very rocky soil, in southern France, they get a lot of heat. It is a very particular terroir.

In Cote Rotie we visited:

Domaine Gerin  https://www.domaine-gerin.fr/
It is one of the best rated Cote Roties. It is a familial business. We tasted with one of the 2 sons (and the father, the wine maker who built the property was also around working.). They were very nice and easy to get an appointment.
They have 4 different Cote Roties.

We loved Champin le Seigneur, their entry-level Cote Rotie.
La Vialliere was sold out.
Les Grandes Places was also amazing but more expensive.
We also liked their Saint Joseph.
I strongly recommend a visit.


The view from Gerin's winery door in Ampuis, towards some Cote Rotie vineyards behind Ampuis.



Domaine du Monteillet

After Gerin we went to visit the Domaine du Monteillet, about 30 min south following the Rhone in Chavanay. Their Cote Roties were also excellent ( but I preferred Champin le Seigneur at a similar price level). They are also known for the Cuvee du Papi wine. Many people in Burgundy and Cote Rotie have mentioned to us this wine later when we mentioned this domaine. However, not sure if we tasted wrong, but it didn't stand out to us at all.
To me the domain stands out though for the view, a must visit and see!

We have lunch at the Bistro de Serine in Ampuis. Decent meal but maybe avoid the deer.

Guigal
After lunch, we had a meeting with Guigal. Guigal is probably the largest and the most famous winery and wine merchant in the region. We had tried a few famous wines from them before but most people don't appreciate large operations and prefer family wineries.

We, however, went in with an open mind.  We had set up the meeting some time prior. Guigal only welcomes professionals but we are all in luck: Guigal is opening an American-style wine tasting room in a few months. We had the privilege to visit it while it is still under construction:

I believe this is a particularly good move for the winery. People will be able to make their own opinions on their wines, first hand. And of course, you will be able to buy it directly from them.

Overall we were extremely impressed with the Guigal winery in a few different ways.

1. Most important: the wine quality. Yes, they make a lot of wine (4 million bottles alone of their 7eur Cote du Rhone. They buy the juice from different wineries and assemble it through a long process where the Guigal patriarch himself works daily from 5am until the end of the day). But it is by far the best 7eur wine we tried in a long time. ( We love Cote du Rhone, so maybe we are a little biased.). We were lucky to try about 30 wines from Guigal, with one of their winemakers. And honestly, they had amazing wines at all price ranges.
   
2. Their operation: they do everything with 25 full-time employees! The winery is as automated as can be. And when the grapes arrive from the trucks during harvest, Mr. Marcel Guigal, the patriarch personally checks every grape bundle, while his son operates the sorting machine.
    
3. For the longest story, the present owner's father, Etienne Guigal, had started working in Cote Rotie for another family (Vidal-Fleury) at pure entry-level. And he raised through the ranks, started his own winery, and bought out his first employer later on (when Vidal-Fleury's own family didn't want to continue the business). Guigal has therefore bought slowly, when it made sense, a lot of other wineries in the region.
4. And recently they acquired Chateau de Nalys, a Chateau Neuf du Pape. This winery was owned by a French insurance group, and we had the privilege to also taste their 1st wine, I believe 2017, under the Guigal control. And we loved it.
   
5. Some insider knowledge: they keep their wines in 85% humidity at 13 degrees C.
   
6. They keep all their wines at least 3 years in barrels, in their wine cave, without opening the barrels. Their opinion is that properly capped with a wood cork and a cotton rag, once the barrels lose a little bit of volume via evaporation, the vacuum created will create an equilibrium and no more will evaporate and no oxygen will get in.

Long story short, we loved their wines. 

Wine tasting in the Guigal wine cellar.

We really found great ratio of price to quality in:

• Lieu-Dit Saint Joseph 30eur ( it's Saint Joseph from the Saint Joseph town).
• Chateau de Nalys 50eur ( like the Janasse) white
• Chateau de Nalys 50eur, red also. A lot of olives and black fruits. An old vineyard!/
• La Dorian 62eur, 5 nicest vineyards in Condrieu blend.
• Cote du Rhone 7eur (the 7eur one, yes ! we got a case). 50% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, 45% Grenache
• Chateau d'Ampuis 75eur ( we tried a 2009 and we loved it, it has to age!) assemblage of 7 vineyards.

Other wines we loved but were out of our price range:

• Hermitage Ex Voto 2017, 180eur, very long in the mouth
• Chateau D'Ampuis 2009 - probably one of the best wines I EVER HAD!
• La Turque 2015, I think it needs to age longer but it's already amazing. It's one of their famous 4 vineyards.

Guigal keeps most of its wines in barrels for 3 years.

Guigal uses bigger and bigger vats to assemble the Cote du Rhone.

Bonserine

We also visited Bonserine but their wines are not much my style.

Condrieu
We also discovered Condrieu, which I didn't' know about. It is a little south of Ampuis, same type of terroire as Cote Rotie, but it is a white wine. All Viognier grapes. Apparently, Viognier would make it very soft and round , and this is why most wine makers chose to make Condrieu more acidic, mineral. We haven't tried a Condrieu were the strengh of the Viognier was used and I wish we had. Somebody should try this.

By the way, Condrieu nearly dissapeared after the Second World War. The terroire being steep it can only be cultivated with difficulty by hand, which makes the bottles very expensive (50eur + ). And after the Second World War people didn't know about Condrieu and the wine wasn't selling. Luckily it was saved :)

The best Condrieu we had was at Guigal though :) Note taken!

Rioja

We tried a few amazing Riojas in New York so we decided to go to the Rioja region to try these amazing wines. I thought that in New York we could only have had a small sample of Rioja wines and therefore there were a lot more amazing Rioja wines to discover. What did we visit?

We stayed at the Marquis de Riscal hotel. An amazing hotel I strongly recommend in Cenicero.

What wineries did we try?


Bodega Tritium - open on Sunday
A more modern Rioja winery. We tried their various wines and we thought that as a mix it was overall the best wine set/mix.  We got a bunch of wines mostly reserva and blends. Also, you get a tour of a traditional winery set up in the center of a small town.

Bodega Ostatu - traditional Rioja
To compare with the modern and innovative Tritium wines we then went to Bodega Ostatu in Rioja Alavesa. It is a family winery with a nice tasting room. We personally preferred the more modern Riojas. Howeve,r the drive from Guardia to Ostatu was beautiful with the snow mountains in the back, certainly worth a drive.



Bodega Benjamin de Rothchild & Vega - they don't take visitors
We had the opportunity to try their wines at the Michelin starred restaurant at the Marquis de Riscal hotel and we loved it. The concierge told us that they unfortunately don't take visitors. Perhaps a next time we can try to leverage this blog to get their doors to open.

Lunch in Guardia
We had a great lunch in La Guardia where the view was really nice. Quite a lot of small restaurants. We strongly recommend a reservation though as it is very hard to get in otherwise.

Marquis de Riscal - extremely commercial to an unpleasant point
After lunch, and a nap, as we were staying at the Marquis de Riscal hotel we of course got in the wine tour and tasting of the Marquis de Riscal winery. For the first 20 minute,s we were sat down in a movie theather and we were shown all kind of movies without much substance all to the glory of the winery. It reminded me a lot of the communist propaganda movies. Als,o they spent a lot of time talking about their hotel architecture, plans, moneys spent, etc. We were there for the wine. So we snicked out of the tour, went to the tasting room, where we tried 3 wines that felt very average to us. And then we paid extra to have 2 or 3 glasses of their more expensive wines which, we also felt in the moment, were just ok at best. We didn't try their ridiculously most expensive wine though. I really believe that at comparable prices La Rioja Alta Reserve 904 or Roda kicks the ass of the Grand Reserva Riscal for example.

Haro
Most of the large wineries are in Haro and closed on Sundays. We did a few wineries there:

La Rioja Alta - large commercial and nice tasting room
We had some older Rioja Alta, which is what we had in New York too. And it turns out they are probably my favorite Rioja wines. A lot of nose and flavors. And reasonably priced for such old wines. We took the number of the New York importer for them : Michael Skurnik Wines + 1 516 677 9300 www.skurnikwines.com

Roda - at the entrance in Haro
The other amazing Rioja we had in New York. Larger winery as well but maybe more boutique. The tasting room was nearly empty and small. We also loved their wines. Dark and fairly strong. We loaded on Roda I from there.

Muga
We also stopped at Muga. Also large commercial but more traditional winemakers. It turns out we prefer modern Rioja wines.

Overall it turns out from this trip that I am more intrigued by the Ribera Del Duero wines on average.
In Rioj,a my favorites were older La Rioja Alta Reserve 904 of 10+ years of age. My wife preferred the Roda I, also older bottles. And the other wine worth a mention were Tritium and The Rothchild & Vega wines which unfortunately we didn't get to try extensively.

After visiting Rioja we went to San Sebastian for the food and the surf. We strongly and entirely recommend San Sebastian, staying at the hotel Maria Christina, as an amazing next step from Rioja.

Australia

Lethbridge Wines

Australia is dry.

But it has amazing surf :


And even more amazing wine!
I first tried the Lethbridge Pinot Noir 2014 at the Langham hotel in downtown Melbourne. They have a very nice selection of wines with a gas system which allows them to serve you by the glass unique expensive wines. I was so pleased that I decided to go visit the winery.

At the winery, I was welcomed by the wine marker's themselves Maree and Ray. Both have PhDs, one in biology and one in chemistry. And you can tell from the wines.
It turns out that the wines are among the best in Australia. They are served at the most prestigious restaurants and hotels. And they are far from cheap.

I had an idea that Australian wines, because of the lack of regulation, are mostly made in stainless steel vats with wooden chips, at industrial scale. This is quite the opposite: Ray gave me a tour of the back room and we sampled wines from the barrels and even the fermentation barrels (yes, he ferments them in oak vats or barrels depending on the size of the harvest).

Also, I was very impressed with the variety of grapes they make wine from: I would say at least about 20 different grapes. And the styles go from Ripasso to Amphora Aged! I don't think I have ever seen such a diversity in grapes, and winemaking techniques. I would typically be afraid that a winemaker can't possibly excel at such a diversity of grapes and techniques but everything I tried made me think that they, in fact, do excel at all of them. Not to mention that they nearly always have about half a dozen young winemakers or interns from Europe and other parts of the world visiting to learn their art.

Anyway, I sampled all their production. And I strongly recommend trying the aged Chardonnays. They are unbelievable. I really loved, as expected, the Pinot Noirs. The single vineyard pack made from 4 different soils were extremely interesting but it is the blend of the 4 that I like the most.
I discovered the Aglianico. Very impressive as well.
And last but not least their Syrah was also very unique, a little salty.

I left with a case, via Indonesia, on the way home. And guess what? In the Bali airport, they threatened to confiscate my entire case after I properly declared it. Luckily, but still very sad, I managed to negotiate to leave 3 bottles only and keep 9. I am sure the customs officers "destroyed" the wine as soon as practicable.

Helen & Joey

While I didn't have time to visit more wineries around Lethbridge, the following day we went to Healesville Animal Reserve and on the way back home we had to stop at some wineries. There were so many of them! We picked the one with an interesting name and, we were told, a beautiful view. And indeed the view was really fun.

We were served a variety of wines by the charming front desk girls. The winery has 3 levels of wines:
1. Entry level. Inara. Un-oaked, very young. And honestly, I really don't like this style of wine. Very acid.
2. A mid-level that turned out to be our favorite. Layla.
3. The Alena, their high end.

And they also make a "unique wine every year", a wine that is made as experiments by the winemaking team. Each year a different experiment.

And we left with 12 bottles, which were shipped home. But honestly, I don't remember what we bought, lets see what arrives in the mail.

And the obligatory Australian picture:

Cotes de Provence

The last day in Cannes I visited 3 Cotes de Proven wineries.
I strongly believe that they are wrong to focus on rose wine and that their reds and whites are underrated.

1.  Château Sainte-Roseline
I really liked their whites and reds. They have a particularly good red who beat some amazing Bordeaux at blind tastes. They even have old vintages still in stock surprisingly.

2. Chateau Font du Broc
Amazing view and garden, worth a visit but I didn't end up buying any wines.

3. Domaine des Planes
One of the oldest, in a much wilder set. I found their roses to stand out for their taste and diversity.

Short article, but to the point. It's late in Beijing and I need to sleep :)

Chateau Neuf Du Pape day 2

Hi,

Today we visited the actual village of Chateau Neuf du Pape. It felt really special. Unlike other villages in Provence like Roussillon, Gordes,  Fontaine de Vaucluse or Isle de Sorge, there are a lot fewer tourists in the actual village of Chateau Neuf du Pape. That was surprising because it also has an amazing view and a lot of charm.

Overall Provence feels calm, quiet, warm, relaxing. It is probably among the best vacations we ever had. The food is amazing. The wine is even more amazing. And its diversity stands out.

1. Vergers des Papes.

The good: it is free, and the two tasters are extremely informative. In 15 minutes they really explain to you everything you need to know as basics about Chateau Neuf du Paper AOC, wines, region, wine makers, grapes... Everything.

What makes the Appelation d'Origines Controlee unique? Apparently it was the 1st one in France in 1936. Why is the wine special here? Apparently because when the popes used to live in Avignon they wanted nice wine (the church used a lot of wine) so they helped develop the wine in the region.

And what else is special about this AOC? They can use 13 grapes:
The best known one is Grenache which is the majority of the production. They also use Syrah, Mourvedre,  Roussanne, Clairette. But also a bunch I had never heard of: Cinsault, Counoise, Vaccarese, Picpoul, Muscardin, Bourboulenc, Terret Noir and Picardon.

And each wine maker decides who many go in each wine. So wines can go from 100% Grenache to 13 grapes. The old stile Chateau Neuf are made of all 13 grapes and farily strong ( Think: Chateau Nerthe) and the new style can be anything, soft and simple and elegant.

We tried a white Chateau Neuf ( only 6% of production) made of all 6 white grapes they have ( including white Grenach) , one new style Chateau Neuf (very new , 2016 vintage, needed more time to really express) and a 2009 Chateau Neuf as well. The bottles were really cheap by the way , around 25 Euros each.

Over all, the price to quality of the wine we tried was not bad but it did feel like the wine they sell to tourists in the tourist center because nobody else wanted to buy it.

The bad and the ugly: well all you taste here is 3 wines. That's it. And it's clearly made for tourists. So worth a stop perhaps if you are in the village already.

2. Les Girard du Boucou , Chateau Neuf du Pape,

On the way to the car from the Vergers des Papers I did have to stop by another winery and I picked the one that seemed artisanal and had the door open in a very friendly way. Great choice !
We were welcomed by the vinter's wife who was very polite.
We tasted their whites, and 3 reds. And we left with 9 magnums as some of their best wines were only left in magnums. And once you buy 3 magnums it's easier to pack only magnums than alternating normal bottles and magnums.

So I am really excited. With a case of Janasse from Day 1 and 9 magnums ( practically 1.5 cases) from Boucou, I think it's a good start.

But hontesly I feel we barely scratched the surface and 90% of the wine in the region is still to be explored. I think it's even richer then the wine from Burgundy and more diverse and I like it better. And then there is also the northern Vallee du Rhone, and Baume de Venise, and so much more!

I will be back and at least for a week and I will get more wine, for sure!

Chateau Neuf Du Pape

Today we visited Chateau Neuf du Pape.
The sommelier , Christophe, at l'Auberge de Cassagne restaurant ( amazing dinner by the way!) gave us some insider scoops:

1. Domaine de Janasse

We tried their amazing 2010 Chaupin over dinner and we had to go to the property.
They have an amazing Chateau Neuf , for 53EUR , called Chaupin that is amazing. Did I mention it was amazing yet? We liked it better than their 74EUR Vieilles Vignes too!
And we also loved their white Chateau Neuf called Tradition. We tried a 2009 bottle they were pouring in the tasting room but could only buy the 2016 one.
Apparently the 2015 and 2016 harvests are going to be amazing !
Amazing wine, will probably become a repeat buyer.

Also to be noted their Garrigues which is also 100% Grenache (Rouge) whihc is extremely rich with fruits but much less elegant.

Christophe also recommended the following we hope to get to before we leave:

To do :

Vergers des Papes: apparently a nice restaurant who in the basement has an amazing selection of Chateau Neuf you can taste as well. Closed on Monday so maybe tomorrow Tuesday?

Gigondas: apparently the winery to se is Santa Duc, Mr. Yves Gras. Have to go with recommendation from Christophe. He aparently ages the wine in old amphorae he brings from Italy.

And for Northers Valley Christophe recommended:

In St Joseph: Jean Gonon, in the village of Mauves
In Mercuroles, Yann Chave.

I don't think we will get to these last two. We may have to come back!

Burgundy - June 2 and June 4 2017

Last time I visited Burgundy I decided that I actually prefer white Burgundy wines over red ones. And I was lucky enough to drive by Burgundy again on the way to a wedding in Savoie ( it is in fact the road from Paris to Lyons, how convenient!).

So on Friday the 2nd I stopped by

Domain Patrick Javillier - Meursault
19 Place de l'Europe, Meursault

I got a bottle of their White Burgundy and a bottle of their 1st Cru Meursault white. They had 2 1st Cru that was being tasted, but the difference was striking: one was ready to drink and the other one wasn't. When I opened the bottles later the 1st Cru was truly amazing however the white Burgundy was barely ok.

However, they recommend I visit a small grower in Monthelie, the village next to Meursault:

Domaine Boussey Laurent - Monthelie
1 rue du pied de la Vallee, Monthelie

And on Sunday the 4th on the way back to Paris I stopped by the family winery I usually stop by, Domain Gauffroy.
They have red and whites. Some as old as 2008 ! And their Volnay starts around 17EUR  and the most expensive, Volnay 1er Cru is 27EUR. The Pommard in 2015 is for example 23EUR.
I tried and bought only some whites. They have nice Meursault, Monthelie, 1er Cru and villages as well. And their parcels are in fact across the line from most of the traditional amazing Grand Cru and 1er Crus. I will be back and worth the price for sure.

Domain Gauffroy - Meursault
4, rue du pied de la foret, Meursault

The son decided to continue the family winery so the parents bought the house next door, adjacent to their old house through the back yard wall. They took down the wall, and now they have a real cellar, tasting room and space for a real wine operation. Very different than the small bar/garage in a small yard I had seen a few years before.

I left here with quite a nice selection.Their best Meursault is 31EUR, yes! The White Burgundy is 10EUR and amazing, and their Meursault Village is around 20-21EUR. I also got some Puligny Montrachet around 23EUR. A great combination of price and quality. I strongly recommend and I will be back at the next occasion.

How to buy Chateauneuf-du-Pape

In the US and in fact in many places around the world you just can't find Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine below $45 and in fact often even $60.
I have not visited the region and the wineries. From the price one would think that the wine is amazing. So waiting to actually go visit, I've been tasting some Chateauneufs on different wine fairs, mostly around Paris when I happen to be in Paris at the right lucky date. The bottles though still start at 25EUR at least.

Luckily for me, and I hope for you too, my friend Francois' father is a wine investor and has therefore acquired a significant amount of knowledge about what to buy and specifically how.

He strongly recommended this website : http://www.vinadea.com/
It is an organization of the wine makers in Chateauneuf, and you can buy the bottles straight from the wineries at the winery price. They will ship it directly to you as well.

I looked at the Guide Hachette des Vins and picked 6 bottles of the CHÂTEAU LA NERTHE as they strongly recommended it. And I also picked 6 bottles of Bosquet des Papers which he strongly recommended. I couldn't find any of the "Gastaldi" , assuming I am spelling it right.

I will report on the quality, most likely on Vivino. However a case of , apparently, outstanding Chateauneuf for 372EUR including shipping (to France) I think can't go wrong. Compare this to a $65 wine from Napa for example. So exciting ... !

Oct 2016 Napa Valley trip (the birthday trip !)

Hi,

This trip was short, just 2 days and more relaxing than usual. A lot of fun none the less.

Thursday

1. Jam/ Butter

When we arrived to our hotel we were offered a glass of cabernet sauvignon. I was very surprised how soft it was with sweet tannins and jammy flavors. The wine came from the tasting room next door.
Yes, I had heard of Butter, the Chardonnay. And I really appreciated how direct the wine was, cost effective at $16 or so and straight to the point. I didn't know about Jam though, their red wine line.

So on Thursday morning, being ready earlier , as usual, I went next door to the hotel to taste their entire range. I tried their Butter Chardonnay and their Napa Butter Chardonnay and was very pleased with the difference. I knew their cab from the day before, confirmed again of course. And the other wine that stood out to me was their Russian River Pinot Noir. A good start of the day.

2. Madrigal

After having the usual lunch at Rutherford grill ( you really can't miss that !) we were too early for our Larkmead appointment. Driving around randomly I usually find beautiful new gems. We stopped, down the road from Larkmead , to Madrigal. And I was very pleasantly surprised to discover yet another gem.
The Madrigal family has been in the vine management business for many years. They have planted and managed many famous vineyards.
As hey started making wine they seem to specialize in all kind of unique and interesting grape varieties.
We started with a Fume Blanc. And unlike what the name suggest, it has nothing to do with smoke. It reminded me a lot of a Chardonnay fermented on the skins, dark practically amber color, thick and flavourful. An amazing wine.
They are also known for their Petit Sirah (nothing to do with Shiraz also spelled Syrah, as we are often told and I shall repeat yet again). Thick and fairly tannic. Already amazing and I can only guess what it would feel like after a few more years. I also particularly loved their Cabernet Sauvignons. They had a large selection, all of them were complex and beautiful but a few of them, in my eyes, were outstanding !
Madrigal, at least for this visit, was by far my favorite experience. It is small, fun, diverse and the tasting room team was extremely welcoming. Please do visit !

3. Larkmead

Remembering how outstanding was my last visit to Larkmead I wanted to come back and try their latest wines. We tried their Dr Olmo, Solari and The Lark.
Solari was our favorite here and while Dr Olmo was really good, we were really exciting to taste The Lark. The Lark we tried was apparently rated 99/100 by Robert Parker and the next year one (2015 ?) which we haven't tried was rated 100/100. I am not Robert Parker, obviously. I have a lot more to learn about wine and I noticed that the palet changes over time. At my level I preferred the jamier cabernet sauvignons from Madrigal though.

4. 1996 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

On Thursday evening I was treated to an outstanding , stunning and exquisite dinner at the 3 Michelin start restaurant in Napa At Meadowood. The food was exceptional. The best part though were the 2 red wines in the wine pairings. (The 2 white wines in the pairing were very discreet and delicate, and realistically nothing to write about for me).
We had a Rhys San Mateo Countyu Pinot Noir 2013 which was stunning with the flavors and the equilibrium. I added it to my wish list ($75 apparently).
And, le clou du spectacle, we had a 1996 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. Caymus wasn't making their special reserve yet back then. It came from those same vines apparently. And the flavors in this wine were unbelievable. Apparently we can buy it online for about $120. I am excited to try some again at the 1st occasion.

Day 2

4. Rombauer

I have now clearly established that the Rombauer Zins are my favorite. We have therefore once again setup a tasting at Rombauer. They continue to be very strict and despite running a blog and writing about them regularly there was no way to be treated as industry. Which is fine. And yet once again we tried their amazing Zins. This time around, probably later in the season, they only had their normal Zin and their special Zin (Sierra) for tasting. Their normal was just ok, but their Sierra was jammy, sweet, thick, rich... Too bad it was $65. I wanted to leave with a case of the Fiddletown , perhaps next time.

5. Tulocay

And last but not least we visited probably the smallest winery in Napa, Tulocay. Bill, the founder, welcomed us as usual with a lot of character, humor and of course wine. Their dark Pinot Noir stands out as usual for me.
Bill also explained why the economic pressure of the price per acre for the vines in Napa, and the price per bottle of the different grapes, is forcing everybody to replace all vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon. A good bottle of Cab gets $100 , while a good bottle of Zin $50-$60. And it became so hard to get Napa Zin grapes that he unfortunately hasn't been able to get any in the last few years. Does this mean the end of the Napa Zins ? Perhaps not. There are fashions. Do we need to look forward to the next wine crisis in Napa (yes, crisis happen, like with real estate in 2008) and for the overproduction of Cab and the price of Cab to drop in order get more Napa Zin ? I hope not.

And what's next ?

My friends have now recommended to me an amazing Zin winery in Sonoma, the Hamel Family Wines. I am very curious. Zins are still going strong in Sonoma luckily for me apparently.

I read that the Livermore wine region was the 1st US region to win a prize in a French wine contest in 1890. And that Livermore had as much vineyard as Napa in the 1960s before Napa become world famous.

And I am really curious to try some more wines in the Santa Cruz dry and difficult mountains. I loved Cooper Garod and Pichetti. What else is to discover there ?

So much more to try and learn from. More wines :)

Dry Creek Valley - you must visit !

To me Dry Creek Valley is worth Napa , or even better, is much better than Napa considering it's much less busy and the wine is of comparable quality while being more accessible.


1. La Crema

While driving , as usual randomly, I landed in Healdburg. And across from the parking lot was the tasting room for La Crema. Quite a famous and commercial winery, I was still tempted to give it a chance.

And lucky me : they had an amazing selection of wines from different regions, sold only at the tasting room.

To me La Crema is a must visit . Why ? Because they have a very smart selection and a great region overview : for each grape type they make a wine from Carneros, Russian River, Alexander Valley and sometimes even other regions.

What does this mean ? It means you can try next to each other Pinot Noirs ( and Chardonnays) from Carneros, Russian River, Alexander Valley and sometimes even single vineyards. Same grape which is expressed extremely differently, and the wine maker knows how to express the exact differences and strenghts of each region.

I personally preferred Alexander Valley terroir and wine making style. But this was probably the best way to learn about wine. Stop by and have fun.

2. Simi

I continued with a visit of Simi winery. If  La Crema was so good and commercial perhaps Simi will be similar.
The tasting team was certainly fun. The atmosphere was great. They had snacks you could buy, and good ones too. But honestly I couldn't tell the difference between the $35 ones ( nothing cheaper ?) and the $100 ones.

I then decided to focus on Zins and I followd the recommendation of the tasting room team at La Crema and went to :

3. Limerick

Limerick Lane Vineyard, on Limerick Lane of course.
A wonderful little winery. Their wine maker being from Hungary they imported the grapes to make Tokaj but they make a dry wine out of them. Really interesting.

Tiny winery, family owned. The family lives in the house next door , with 3 ( or 4 ?) kids , and apparently a dozen pets of all species.
I particularly appreciated the tasting room manager who was both fun and knowledgeable. I am embarrassed to say that I appreciated it so much I forgot to take notes and I forgot what I tried.
I will have to go back :)

As I was set to find the famous Zins Dry Creek Valley is supposedly known for I googled : best Zins in Dry Creek Valley. And guess what came up ?


4. Papapietro's Winery

I walked into Papapietro's winery ready to try their apparently famous Zin. And guess what ? They make 10 Pinot Noirs and only 1 Zin. And the Zin is kind of a side wine for them. I am not the first customer to walk in to try their Zin and love their Pinot Noirs.
Prices vary, of course, from about $35 to a very reasonable top range of around $75. If you look at their wine ratings on Vivino they get as close to perfect as I ever found.
And rightfully so. I think they are an underrated winery, comparable to the $300 wines from Napa. A great kept secret. A fun staff, a great wine tasting room ...
One has to go and try their Pinots.
On the way out of Papapietro's I drove, yet again, by a sign saying "Old Vine Zin and Cab" .
I drove past. I stopped and turn around to finally, at the 3rd time I drove by, drive into:

5. Nalle Winery

On the way in I took this wonderful picture inspiring and calm thinking how much I wish I had a place like this to calm down sometimes for a little while.
I than walked in the it was the best visit of the day.
The wine maker, Andrew, and his wife , were doing the tasting.
They have a 5 months old daughter, named Lina. Mine is 6 months and called Mina.
And I talked to them about my Amarone project and... they brought out their own Amarone experiment Andrew had made especially for his wife for their wedding.

The winery has been in the same family for 4 or 5 generations. And they express their grapes in a  traditional way. Wines with a lot of aromas, perhaps nost the most elegant, the way I like them. Brut
 aromas of fruits and loaded with fun.

Left with a case, I think. If not I should have. I hope to stay in touch.

Russian River Valley

While I am staying in San Francisco for a few months I decided to explore off the usual path of Napa and Sonoma.
I spent 1 weekend around Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley.
Saturday was around Russian River Valley and it was a short day with only 3 wineries.


As usual I got there before the wineries were even open. And I randomly drove around and drove into a random winery. This has never failed me and it always led to fun places made even fun by the surprise and the adventure.

1. Battaglini

I started with Battaglini. The winery was bought by a couple of Italian origin more than 20 years ago. They were looking for a small 1/2 acre winery. But they found this 30 acres winery with really old vines who's grapes were being sold and they fell in love.
The owner has been making the wine ever since.
They have very interesting wines, made in the traditional style ( read: to be aged before you drink it , and with wild yeast off the grapes).

They have received quite a few prizes for their Zins. The most concentrated ones come off the slopy part of the vineyard where water is scarcer because it accumulates on the flat part. They therefore make 3 qualities of Zin : no slope (cheapest), medium slope  ( medium price) and steepest slope and most expensive. The prices are around $40. The slope combined with the extremely old vineyard ( grown in the old round shape vs the modern straight lines cuts) makes the Zins certainly unique and worth a detour.

What I retained even more in fact was the $18 2003 Chardonnay. Yes, you read well, 2003 Chardonnay that has the color of honey and a surprisingly low price. The price is low because most likely nobody buys aged Chardonnay. And personally I loved it. Everybody has difference taste in wine, and lucky me, I strongly prefer to be in the minority.  I left with a few bottles.

2. Hook and Ladder

We than randomly , of course, drove into Hook and Ladder. Not too far in fact from the quite famous DeLoach , of which I used to be a club member until I couldn't drink their wine fast enough.

What attracted us to drive in ? The red fire truck parked by the road in front of the vineyard.

Walking in I could tell they didn't have a lot of pretention.
And lucky I was.

They had a very impressive selection of grapes, among the most diverse I've seen in the region: Sangiovese, Merlot, Cab Sauv, Pinot Noirs,  Cab Franc etc. And in most of them multiple qualities of course. Quite a menu. And my favorite part ? The prices were in the $15 to $30 range.

I really think that keeping the wine below $30 makes it much more accessible and fun.
So many wines everybody had a different favorite. I left with the Sangiovese mostly, but also had a few other ones.

This business (or wine ?) strategy reminded me DeLoach's reasonable prices and great quality, at least for their entry level wines. ( I personally think the best quality to price for wineries like DeLoach and La Crema are their entry level wines which are typically $15 or so and I think have 80% of their $40 wines).

And guess what ? The owners of Hook and Ladder used to own DeLoach until they sold it to the French family. And they are at it again. I would certainly like to keep Hook and Ladder in sight.

And bonus points :  As great price to quality think alike on wine , they recommended Al's Place restaurant for a Michelin star restaurant at reasonable prices  in San Francisco. We went a few weeks later and Al's Place is probably among the top 3 most innovatives restaurants I've been at an unbeatable $75 per person ( very reasonable I think !). A must visit !

3. Russian River Vineyard

Do not be confused : there is a vineyard called Russian River Vineyard, in the region called Russian River. Somehow the name was not taken and they took it.
The best part : they have a great restaurant on the property. You MUST try the burger.
The wines ? Great , very good. But a little sad that they didn't have much under $65 except a "Beaujaulais style" Pinot Noir. And you know what ? I personally don't care much for the French Beaujolais , but I loved this one. But for $35.... I still feel it was a little steep.

Larkmead, Leap Frog and Caymus

I returned to Napa for day-trip on August 7th 2016. And as planned I started with Larkmead winery.

1. Larkmead

I have to say that Larkmead's reputation is fully entitled. The wines are of course expensive, but nowhere close other winery's crazy prices. They tend to be in the $100-$150. The price is however entire worth it as they are , at least in my opinion and for the ones I tried, really outstanding.

I tried Firebelle and their white wine and I was very impressed.

And I also have to mention that while the winery itself is very pleasant the staff, and especially Jessica, have been extremely welcoming. She is born and raised in Napa Valley and one can tell.

The wine tasting was a real pleasure, it was non commercial, the wine quality was among the best I ever had , both flavorful but also elegant. And the site is also extremely pleasant. I become wine club member as well.

2. Frog's Leap

Jessica from Larkmead recommended we visit Frog's Leap as a small-ish and more reasonably priced commercial winery.
The wine prices are indeed very reasonable with the most expensive wine being the Napa Cab at $55.
The wine tasting price is also reasonable.
We were visiting on Sunday which did mean that there was a huge crowd at the winery.
So overall I would just say just another winery if it wasn't for their garden. They had ripe raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and many more things you could just taste on the vine. I am not certain if you are welcome to try them or it is frowned upon, but they tasted amazing.

Worth a visit even if it's just for the garden.

3. Caymus

A staple in our visits to Napa. Caymus made the choice to raise the tasting price to a hot $50 per person, ouch ! The good news is that it's still completely full and everybody, given the price, gets to try their Reserve Cabernet (at $160 per bottle otherwise) which is entirely worth the try.
We also had their Mer Soleil Chardonnay which I liked a lot. And of course one of my favorites : their Emmolo Merlot. I am still well stocked on their wines since my last visit in January otherwise I would have left with more.

Next visit : Dry Creek Valley and Russian River.

Plans for next visits ( Larkmead, DryCreek and Russian River )

Returning back to Manhattan after spending a few days in Napa is mildly depressing. Noisy, craziness, dirty, stinky, gray and cold.
Compare this to Napa early in the morning in February :

Caymus Winery at 9am on Saturday

Driving back to Napa from St. Helena on Silverado Trail at 9:45am on Sunday morning

But I am already making plans for my next trip to the region. Maybe in April.

Friend of mine strongly recommended Larkmead winery.  https://www.larkmead.com/ . As they are also wine knowledgeable and have a certain passion for wine I took this very seriously. While checking their website I read the following about Larkmead:

"This  splendid estate situated in the heart of Napa Valley has enjoyed a reputation for high quality for well over a century. Tasting with Larkmead's proprietor Cam Baker demonstrated once again just what brilliant wines these can be."

~ Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, October 31, 2013

And after further research I read that they "sell" their wine based on allocation , which I assume is random. I was scared that it was another $1000 per bottle wine again. However I was very pleasantly surprised that it is priced around $80-100 per bottle.  My hopes are really up and I will certainly go visit it during my next trip. I really hope I will not be disappointed. Also I've been to Napa many times but I think it's time for me to go visit beyond Napa and Sonoma. I hope next trip I can take 2-3 days in Russian River Valley and Dry Creek. If only I knew when my next trip is...

WORST experience in Napa : Back Room wine store downtown Napa

Bad experiences happen but I think we reached a new level.

On the way back from Calistoga I stopped downtown Napa at the Back Room wine store at 1000 Main Street.

I was beyond disappointed by the experience there. They were serving at $5 a taste from a $60 bottle of wine with a Coravin. Is a $60 bottle of wine now so high end that it needs to be Coravined ? But the real shock was that the $60 wine was clearly corked. Wet cardboard nose, wet cardboard body and ... they kept serving it. I asked if they felt it was corked. They guy serving it clearly had no idea, he hadn't even tasted it !! Really ?? And what did he do ? Did he taste it then ? Nope. He declared it was fine.

Oh, I thought maybe as a wine store at least they will have supplies. I asked if they sold airplane packaging. Same guy then spent at least 5 minutes telling me  that checking wine on a plane is a no-no and it ALWAYS breaks. Did he ever fly on the plane ever ? Probably not. Somehow, miraculously, I've been flying with wines for more then 15 years and guess what ? NOT A SINGLE bottle ever broke. At least if their wines they had selected were any good or the people were interesting or knowledgeable.

Expensive tasting at $20 (tax was not included too !) . They probably need to change the team there.

Napa Valley 3rd trip day 2

Day 2

Day 2 of the 3rd trip to Napa was going to be very busy by design. I started at 9am and it’s still going as I write these lines.

1. Caymus winery

Started with my usual stop at Caymu’s winery. Made it there before it even opened. They renovated the front of the tasting room and it feels extremely calm and welcoming before the crowds arrived. Tried their Zin, Cab an more. They sold the Meiomi brand 3 months ago for $350m so unfortunately they do not make it anymore. Did try their $55 Belle Glos Pinot Noir which is the next level up from Meiomi. But one has to make a point that the $20 range Meiomi was so popular because it was good but certainly because it was priced right too. This should make people think that maybe instead of focusing on $110 bottles of wine most wineries should focus on $20 bottles of wine.
What really stood out for me was the $60 Merlot from their sister brand and Wagner family daughter Emmolo. I was so happy to find an amazing Merlot that stands out and in my eyes was my favorite wine in what I tasted there. Sideways did a disservice to the wine world by killing the Merlot. I really hope for more wine makers to make more Merlots so that we can get back the beautiful silky and velvety Merlots I had 10 years ago.

2. Honig winery

After Caymus , very close, continued with Honig. I had had it in the past at the winery and it was certainly good but having a Cab bottle only a few months ago in New York made me want to go back and revisit. Happy I did so. Their Sauvignon Blank stands out. But what really attracted my attention was their single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Rafael Vineyard from 2002. They apparently had 18 bottles when I got there. 16 after I left. This really points out that wine aging is really very important and I think people do not put enough emphasis on drinking 10+ year old wines. They really are much different. A little patience please 

3. Rombauer winery

The team at Honig advised me to visit Rombauer which I quickly did. And I am so happy I did so. Overall I think it is the winery where the prices are the most reasonable and the best ratio of price to value with outstanding quality. They had 4 Zins which are different and similar and wonderful and an experience and all prices in the $30-$43 per bottle. What a treat! And of course they are known for their Chardonnay, worth a visit. They do have some $90 wines but I really did not see the point when their Zins are so interesting, priced right, wonderful and exhibit such a variety in aromas and tannic structure. I will be back 

4. Frank Family winery

And based on Honig’s team advice I also went to Frank’s family vineyards, advertised as similar to Rombauer. It was certainly interesting. Their Chardonnays are a nice middle ground between French and buttery. Their Pinot Noir stood out, their $50 Cab Sauv and most important what really was unique for me was their 100% Petit Sirah which I could taste …and buy. The Petit Sirah is a 2012 and I hope that by aging it another 10 years I will be able to hopefully match the 2002 100% Petit Sirah from Crocker Starr I bought the last time I was in Napa. These are however $60 vs the $120 (from memory) I got at Crocker. I’ll let you know how this turns out, if I am patient enough to wait 10 years for it.

5. Lava winery

After lunch continued with Lava winery in Saratoga. The atmosphere was really fun and really laid back. It was really busy as well. Some interesting grapes and for me the Petite Sirah really stood out. However the prices , at $58 per bottle without offering any possible discounts seemed really steep for the location and winery type. I was expecting more $30-40.


6. Tulocay winery : best small winery and value around.

What a gem ! I found it by randomly calling wineries on Google maps. After making an appointment with Bill, it turned out when I showed up that he was also the wine maker. He has been making Tulocay wines since 1975. Fearless he had started back then, at age of 30, without knowing anything and not knowing he knew nothing. And 50 years of experience in making wine shows. For very reasonable prices ($30-$35 for most of their wines) you can taste some of the best wines I've have in Napa. Different people and different taste. I really like wines with character and aromas and they are spot on ! They are probably coming close to the best I've had and hardly any wines I ever tried around Napa beat them. Bill opened some 2002 Syrah and the body was really extraordinary. They only have about 15 cases left and at about $35 a bottle I think it's an amazing deal.

I also had the pleasure to meet Brie, Bill's daughter who is slowly taking over and transitioning the wine making. She is right now 1/2 time assistant wine maker at a different winery and 1/2 time at Tulocay.

Tulocay makes right now about 1000 cases per year in about 5 flavors, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir ( which is like a Carneros Pinot Noir), Zinfandel, Carbet Sauvignon and Syrah. So there isn't much to start with . Apparently their Zin is their most popular wine. But their 2010 Zin was sold out and they didn't make any in 2011 to 2013. The 2014 is still in the bottle. So I didn't even get to try any.

I signed up the for wine club to make sure I get their wines as they ship them. At $200 per year I definitively think their wine club is the best deal around.

p.s. After getting home I checked their website and guess what ? Their Zin got the Platinum medal at the World Wide Championship with 98 points. And you know what ? They didn't mention it even once while I was there for a few hours. Best kept secrete in town. 

Napa Valley 3rd trip day 1

Exciting to be in Napa for a 3^rd visit. It’s been quite busy and a really active visit. And it’s not even over yet

1.      1. Luna Winery

I first stopped at Luna Winery just at the entrance of Oak Knoll. Italian inspiration. They stood out for growing Sangiovese grapes imported from Itality in Napa. Left with some Classico Sangiovese.

2.      

      2. Reynolds Winery

After driving a little further ended up on the right at Reynold’s winery. The team there was especially nice and you can taste outside and indoors. They really stood out for their darker and boldier Pinot Noir. But what was really special was their Quote blend made without sulfites but with an Ozone ( O3) process. Very fruity and flavorful. Also really liked their 100% Petit Verdot which tasted surprisingly like a really nice Cabernet Sauvignon.

3.      3. Grgich Hills Winery

After a nice lunch at Rutherford Grill, as usual, moved on to Grgich Hills winery not far from the restaurant on the left. It is on the main road and very popular. The owner is of Croatian origin and they have a nice board showing Napa’s wine history. Nice wines but a little pricey. Left with a 100% Petit Verdot from here too, mostly as an educational wine showing the tannins power in a Petit Verdot while keeping the wine still very pleasant.

4.     

     4. Heitz Winery

Continued with the Heitz Winery. I had a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon in Capital Grill at a very reasonable price and really wanted to try their collection. Was not disappointed. They had some 1998 Cab single vineyard which had a unique minty nose and body. The mint aroma I had never had before especially in a red wine could potentially come from a lot of eucalyptus trees around the vineyard. And what stood out for me was also their port made with the original port grapes , a whole mix of 5 or so grapes, from Portugal. Not cheap, but they do make ½ bottles and their 750ml bottles are still reasonable. Maybe a trip to Port in Portugal is worth it.

5.      C5. Corasin Winery

Finished with a unique visit at Corasin winery. It is on reservation only but I was exceptionally welcomed in by Nolan who also opened up their wine collection for a taste. They have a TINY, and by that I mean TINY offering and the entire vineyard is in the back of the winery. They are known for pickcing their grapes early in the season. And you couldn’t tell from the wine color. Unique wines worth the experience but certainly on the expensive side. 

Saratoga Wine Trail

While visiting Mountain View in Silicon Valley and having a free afternoon I wandered if there were any vineyards around.

I was not surprised to find tens of vineyards within 30 minute drive in the mountains to the west of Silicon Valley.

Put apart the wonderful scenic drive I had time to visit 2 vineyards. And guess what ? I found the wines to be really outstanding , especially from Picchetti !! Absolutely worth a trip !

1. Cooper-Garrod Estate (http://cgv.com/)

Cooper Garrod had a very warm welcome and gave the feeling of a family run vineyard. The patriarch of the family, also named George, when he retired from being a NASA test pilot planted 0.5 acres of Cab Sauv in 1972. And that retirement hobby turned into today's winery which is also paired with a horse riding ranch.

I tasted their entire line up. And I personally really liked their blends.
They have Pinot Noir, Cabernet France, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. And they create blends adding also at Viognier and Merlot to them.

I personally liked the Syrah/Viognier blend, their Bordeaux blend and their Cab Sauv blend.

In general all their wines are relatively light, even for a Cab Sauv or Cab Franc, with light fruits.

2. Picchetti Winery (http://www.picchetti.com/)

Picchetti looks from the outside as a family farm. However as soon as you walk in the wine tasting room it really gives you the feeling of a business where you go to the register to pay for your tasting 1st before anything else happens.

Without being too put back by the big black registers, the team there was also very friendly. However their wines are spot on for my taste. They are not cheap with their flag star wines around $60, their best selections around $45 a bottle and their entry level around $30.
They source their grapes from different locations in addition of what is grown locally which allows them to have a nice selection.

And I had quite some interesting ones. The wine maker here really enjoys heavy bold strong wines. They go regularly in the 15% alcohol easily.

I cared a lot for their Pinot Noir with grapes from Carneros which made me think more of a Cab Sauv then a traditional Pinot Noir.
 
The white Viognier was interesting.

Their Cabernet Franc's nose was spot on as I liked them however the body was just the "bell peppers" usually people call spices.

And last but not least I really found their old vine Zinfandel OUTSTANDING. Lucky me, they also make a port out of a Zin/ Syrah blend also in 750ml bottles.

It is worth a trip just for the Zin if nothing else. I was told it is their most popular wine after all...