By
Dan Williams, North American Wine Buyer
During
February of each year, hundreds of wineries in the Napa Valley hold a
special auction for members of the trade, called Premiere
Napa Valley. The
wineries auction off special one-of-a-kind bottlings in five, ten, or
twenty case lots. These are wines that the wineries don’t sell
anywhere else, and they are crafted to be the best expressions of
their wines they can possibly make; a Reserve’s Reserve, if you
will.
During
this week, wineries throw big parties and tastings where they pour
these special cuvées along with virtually their entire lineup of
wines. Many wineries often pour older vintages from their cellars to
showcase the aging potential of their wines. In addition, we have
great relationships with many of the owners and winemakers in Napa,
so this is a great time to ask about upcoming vintages. This helps
us to get you on the “ground floor” for vintages you should buy
heavier, and vintages where you should “pump the brakes.”
I
don’t know about you, but this sounds like the perfect time to make
a trip to Napa Valley! So Zach Korhonen and I jumped in the car
before the morning light, and by lunchtime, we were drinking
Champagne and Cabernet with some of the best winemakers in the world!
Below are some of the highlights from our mid-February trip.
First
off, let’s talk about the current and a few upcoming vintages.
2011
– For such a crappy vintage, why are there so many good wines?
I’m
not going to lie to you. As a blanket statement, this is probably
the toughest vintage for Bordeaux varieties Napa and Sonoma have seen
in 20 years! This was a cold, wet, and foggy year that prohibited
phenolic maturity and ripeness from occurring in many vineyards,
along with widespread rot. Many vintners have quite a way of
spinning this vintage, telling us things like, “...this was a tough
vintage, but we succeeded in producing elegant and savory wines.”
Quite often, their wines were simply disappointing, showing notes of
jalapeno, bell pepper and harsh tannins.
But
there were, in fact, some amazing wines. Not just amazing for the
vintage, but simply amazing! A few years ago, Zach Korhonen and I
were walking with winemaker Sally Johnson through the caves at Pride
Mountain Wines on Spring Mountain, tasting barrel samples from the
2011 and 2012 vintage. She poured a sample of the Reserve Claret in
my glass, and this wine was an absolute knockout! Ripe, juicy red
and black fruits, notes of vanilla, cassis, velvety tannins, and a
hint of white pepper. I told her that this was a gorgeous 2012 and
her response was, “No, that’s our 2011.” What?!?!? This woman
knows what she’s doing, and for 2011 being such a “crappy
vintage,” why does this taste so damn good?!?!? When we moved on
to a barrel sample of the 2012, yes, it was better, but I don’t feel
there was an extreme difference.
During
spring of last year, I was able to attend a trade-only event in Napa
Valley’s Oakville district and sample many of the wines from this
prestigious region. The winner of that day was Dalla Valle’s 2011
Cabernet Sauvignon. It showcased the ripe black currants, plums,
black cherries and pronounced tannins that I have come to love from
the hillsides of eastern Oakville. It turns out that there are some
successes on the valley floor, but most of the real winners come from
hillside and mountaintop vineyards. Places that were above the fog,
and were able to get enough sunshine to let grapes rid themselves of
those green tasting pyrazines and get some ripeness going.
Great
wineries produce great wine, even in the off years. France’s
Chateau Margaux doesn’t produce bad wine for their 1st
growth label. In tough years they just bottle less wine so that what
does make it into bottle is stellar juice! The same can be said for
the top producers in California’s North Coast. So don’t overlook
quality producers from this year; you might be doing yourself a
disservice.
2012
– Worthy of most
of the hype you have heard.
If
you were a winemaker, and you made a bad Napa or Sonoma Cabernet in
2012, just give up, because this was such an easy year that you will
not be able to make a good Cabernet in any other year! That is a
paraphrased statement from many vineyard managers and winemakers in
Napa and Sonoma.
There’s
typically some news of something rough happening in a given vintage,
but not in 2012. In 2012 there weren’t 10 days of triple-digit
heat, no heavy rains coming during harvest, no smoke taint. In fact,
I don’t even think there were any major frost issues this year. It
was sunny, warm, and virtually uneventful, except for much of the
fruit coming off the vines at the same time (but that was more of a
space issue within the wineries). Winemakers could call the picks as
they wanted, getting fruit that was in their respective sweet spots,
and winemakers made gorgeous wines showcasing luscious red fruits,
nicely placed acidity, velvety tannins, and beautiful aromatics.
So
why, earlier, did I say this vintage was worthy of most
of the hype? It’s hard to pinpoint, but I think some growers and
wineries got greedy. Yields were low for several years, so when the
2012 growing season began, some producers kept yields higher than
maybe they should have been. This meant that those producers made
wines with short finished, or had great presence up front and on the
finish, but was just lacking that “certain something” on the
mid-palate. While we were in Napa Valley this past February, this
was mentioned by more than one prominent winemaker.
However,
there are so many damn amazing wines from the 2012 vintage! This is,
by every means, a vintage to buy. As a blanket statement, these are
wines that are very drinkable now, and will lie down for a decade or
more. The tannins are a bit more velvety than I prefer, but I think
that just adds to their charm and their approachability. Even
producers that aren’t usually “on my radar” have made wonderful
2012s.
2013
– One of the best vintages I have ever tasted!
During
my Napa trip in February, I think the worst wine from the 2013
vintage I tasted was really, really good….that was the worst
wine. Now if that’s the case, just think about how good the best
wines tasted! Flash back to my Napa trip from last year, and it was
as if winemakers were given a script to read. Every time I asked
about their 2012s, they stated they were very happy with them, and
the 2012 were fantastic wines. But when I asked about their 2013s,
they would all cover their mouths, look around, and state that their
2013s were even better! I would ask another winemaker (who, mind
you, was not within earshot of the previous conversation), and their
statements were similar. This happened almost 10 times during that
trip. So as great as the 2012s were, I was already getting giddy for
the 2013s over a year ago. Now that I have finally tasted so many of
the 2013s, I feel confident in saying that 2013
Cabernets from the top producers may be some of the best Cabernets I
have ever tasted out of Napa Valley!
These
wines have rich, decadent, intense black fruit flavors, remarkable
aromatics, gorgeous purity, amazing mid-palates, amazing structure,
pronounced but balanced tannins, and lengthy finishes. Moreover,
they have good acidity that gives these ripe, fruit-forward wines the
structure to be balanced. These are wines that should be able to age in
your cellars until your newborns are “of legal age.” In fact, it
would not surprise me if the top producers made wines that will age
20, 30, even 40 years!
In
addition, the Chardonnays I have tasted from this vintage may also be
some of the best Chardonnays I’ve ever tasted from this region. I
can’t recall the last vintage where the Chardonnays have brought
such a smile to my face! Again, the acidity in these wines balance
out the richness that can sometimes be overdone from this area.
Some
Highlights from the Trip
Morlet
One
of our fist stops of the week was to visit the masterful Luc Morlet
at his eponymous estate. Luc knows how to craft magnificent wines
from many different varietals. From 1996-2000 he made the wines at
Newton, where he helped to craft their Unfiltered Chardonnay, a
favorite among collectors. He then became the head winemaker for
Peter Michael Winery and crafted their wines from the 2001-2005
vintages, where his wines earned up to 99 points! While he does
consult for a few other wineries (such as Bure), he focuses most of
his time for his own Morlet label. Here, he is making Chardonnays,
Pinot Noirs, Syrahs, and Cabernet Sauvignons that are among the most
intriguing and nuanced in Napa and Sonoma! His prefers his vineyard
sources to be organic, and he uses minimal amounts of sulfites in his
wines; he wants to be as “out of the way” as possible. The
Morlet wines are not to be missed!
Kata
The
Beckstoffer family is known as having one of the best Cabernet
Sauvignon vineyards…not only in Napa, but in the world! We are, of
course, speaking of Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville.
However, their other vineyards are just as stellar! We met up with
David Beckstoffer at the family’s Beckstoffer Bourne vineyard in
St. Helena, and tasted a few vintages of David’s Kata Cabernet
Sauvignon blend. This property is nestled in the same neighborhood
as Spottswoode, and down the street from the family’s Dr. Crane and
Las Piedras vineyards. The 2012 Kata blends Cabernet Sauvignon with
Petite Sirah from vines that are over 50 years old! Benoit Touquette
makes this wine, and if you know how awesome the wines are that he
makes for Passenger, Hartwell, and Realm, then you know how amazingly
good this wine will be when it’s released this April!
Memento
Mori
The
past two years, this has been one of our favorite wines of the entire
trip! Adam Craun, Hayes Drumwright and Adriel Lares wanted to make
a wine from only the best grapes. Yeah, while others say this, these
guys actually did it! The grapes come from Beckstoffer Las Piedras,
Beckstoffer Dr. Crane, and another killer vineyard on the steep
slopes of eastern Oakville, right next to Phelps’ Backus Vineyard!
Their winemaker is the young and talented Sam Kaplin, who caught our
eye when we first tasted the wines he makes at Arkenstone on Howell
Mountain! Sam’s keen eye and deft hand have created a masterpiece
that stands apart from other Napa Valley Cabernets, as this showcases
rich, dense black fruits, with good tannin structure, floral
aromatics, and just enough acidity to make our mouths water. The
newly released 2012 (#241990)
has just landed, and it received 95 points from Robert Parker…very
limited!
Pulido
Walker
Two
of the unstuffiest (is that a word?) people in Napa are Mark Pulido
and Donna Walker. They…are…appreciative; of everything they have
in life. They appreciate the hard work from their employees, the
loyalty of their direct customers, and the partnership with their
restaurants and retailers. They’re also pretty cool and down to
earth, and that makes us want to see them succeed even more! Their
winemaker is Thomas Brown, who has made 100 point wines at Schrader,
and even makes the wines at Maybach and Outpost. The newly-released
2012 Panek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (#249330)
comes from a small vineyard near Vineyard 29, Morlet, and Revana.
Earning 95 points from Robert Parker, this is already close to
selling out!
Shafer
Vineyards
I’m
not gonna lie; this is always one of my favorite stops of the
weekend! Shafer rolls out the red carpet, often showing the current
vintage and one older vintage of Chardonnay, Merlot, Relentless, and
One Point Five Cabernet. Oh…and they pour 5 different vintages of
their Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, along with their PNV
offering! I was amazed at how youthful the 2004 Relentless Syrah was
showing, and the tremendous purity of the 2012 One Point Five
Cabernet (#259830).
Their Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay sells out every year, and I will
go out on a limb and state that the 2013 Chardonnay (#259600)
is the best Chardonnay I have ever tasted from Shafer! Run, don’t
walk, to get this wine!
Want
to hear more, or learn about some of the other gems we found in Napa,
including some first-time releases from new wineries you haven’t
heard of? Then come on in and speak with Dan or Zach!
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