Turnbull Wine Cellars

Prior to this trip, I can honestly say that Turnbull wine has never even been on my radar screen.  I had heard of it but had never tasted it.  One of the members of our group loves Turnbull so we made a reservation and headed on over.  

The owner of the winery has what must be one of the largest (if not THE largest) Ansel Adams collections in existence.  It is amazing.  After making our way through the gallery, we were escorted next door to start tasting some wine.

Burroughs and Abigail had the great fortune of handling our tasting.  Let's just say we'd had a little wine before arriving (actually a lot) so they had their hands full.  

The grapes for Turnbull wines come from 4 vineyards - Turnbull Vineyard, Fortuna Vineyard, Leopoldina Vineyard and Amoenus Vineyard.  We tried the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabs from the different vineyards, a wonderful Merlot and their 2009 Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon that just received a 95 point rating from Wine Enthusiast.

All of the wine we tasted was very good.  The Black Label Cab was excellent.  However, what really stood out for me was the 2008 Fortuna Merlot.  We bought 6 bottles and shipped them home.  It retails for $55/bottle.  

I hope Burroughs and Abigail have recovered from our group of tipsy Texans.  They took us on a terrific tour and were great sports.  Of course, our group also bought an obscene amount of wine from them so hopefully it was worth it!

Plumpjack Winery

This was not our first visit to Plumpjack.  (We attended their Release Party a few years back.) However, we had some new friends with us this year and one is a white wine drinker.  When I heard this, I suggested Plumpjack because they truly make a wonderful Chardonnay.

Visiting Plumpjack always give me an Austin, Texas-vibe.  It's laid back and has a gravel patio - a la most of the bars in Austin.  There's always some animal walking around and it's just a neat winery.  

Cade and Plumpjack are sister wineries so you can choose a Cade flight or a Plumpjack flight to taste.  Of course, we chose both.

The Plumpjack 2011 Reserve Chardonnay that had just been released was excellent.  We actually bought some which may be a first for these die-hard red wine drinkers.  It retails for $48/bottle.

The Plumpjack 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was very good.  Unfortunately, we were drinking it side-by-side with the Cade 2009 Howell Mountain Cabernet and, well, it's CADE and HOWELL MOUNTAIN.  The Plumpjack Cab retails for $98/bottle.  We ended up buying the Cade at $80/bottle.  

Plumpjack always has neat stuff in their shop.  This year they had wine suitcases which will hold 1 case of wine and can be checked as luggage at the airport.  They also have wheels.  If you bought a case of wine, you got a suitcase for free.  SOLD!

If you've never visited Plumpjack, put it on your list.  They have something for everyone - Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah.

Cakebread Cabernet Release Party

As long-time Cakebread Wine Club members, we always attend their Cabernet Release Party while we're in Napa.  It's a fun affair with the current releases being featured, food being served and several Cakebread family members in attendance.  

The following wine was featured this year:

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (new release)
2009 Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2005 Vine Hill Rance Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

It's always a hard call to determine which Cab is the best each year - Dancing Bear, Benchland Select or Vine Hill.

Dancing Bear is on Howell Mountain so, of course, it's usually my favorite.  However, this year the Vine Hill was a strong contender.

Thanks to Cakebread for a lovely party and a great time!

2014 Napa Wish List

We always begin planning for next year's Napa trip as soon as we return.  Our wish list for 2014 includes the following:

·      Spring Mountain

o   Barnett (www.barnettvineyards.com )

o   Pride (www.pridewines.com )

o   Paloma Vineyard (www.palomavineyard.com )

o   Vineyard 7&8 (www.vineyard7and8.com )

o   Terra Valentine Winery (www.terravalentine.com )

·      Howell Mountain

o   Dunn (www.dunnvineyards.com )

o   Cade (www.cadewinery.com )

·      Napa

o   Caldwell (www.caldwellvineyard.com )

o   Robert Biale Vineyards (www.robertbialevineyards.com ) - Zin

·      St. Helena

o   William Cole (www.williamcolevineyards.com )

o   Hourglass Vineyard (www.hourglasswines.com )

o   Kristine Ashe – Entre Nous Wines (www.entrenouswines.com )

o   Corison Winery (www.corison.com )

o   Newton Vineyard (www.newtonvineyard.com )

o   Brown Estate (www.brownestate.com )

·      Calistoga

o   Kelly Fleming (www.kellyflemingwines.com )

·      Yountville

o   Gemstone Wine (www.gemstonewine.com ) – not sure where vineyard actually is

o   Lail Vineyards (www.lail-vineyards.com ) – actually produced on Howell Mountain

·      Oakville

o   Ovid Vineyard (www.ovidvineyards.com )

·      Pritchard Hill

o   David Arthur Vineyards (www.davidarthur.com )

Villagio Inn and Spa and Chiarello's Bottega

Dating back to 2006, we have stayed in bed and breakfast establishments in Napa, Oakville, Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena and Calistoga.  They have all been very nice.  This year we decided to upgrade a bit and booked our stay at Villagio Inn & Spa.  To say that we're hooked would be an understatement.

The property is BEAUTIFUL.  All of the accommodations were top notch and the breakfast buffet each morning was the best we've ever had in Napa.  The waffles were especially popular.  Whoever is making their salsa should bottle it because it's outstanding.  

Villagio is located in Yountville and is within walking distance of several neat restaurants including Ad Hoc, Bistro Jeanty and Michael Chiarello's Bottega.  Chiarello's Napa Style store is located across the sidewalk from Bottega.  

The spa is supposed to be terrific but we were too busy this year.  Next year we're blocking off spa time.

Bistro Jeanty is phenomenal but we decided this year to try something new and made reservations at Bottega.  Of course, we brought fabulous wine with us to pair with Chiarello's legendary Italian cuisine.  

Between the 6 of us, I think we tried just about every appetizer on the menu.  The polenta under glass was my favorite but the guys all loved a dish called green eggs and ham.  

I ordered tagliarini bolognese and it was fantastic.  Everyone ordered something different but all entrees received 2 thumbs up from the group.

Several desserts were ordered but the real standout was the basket of Italian donuts.  Fabulous!

Groth

In all fairness, it probably wasn't the best idea to visit Groth immediately after leaving Marita's Vineyards.  There's simply no comparison.  

Groth is a beautiful winery in Oakville located across the street from Silver Oak.  They make very good wine which I have bought many times before.  

We tasted:

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2002 was good but not great.  The 2007 Reserve was also a bit of a disappointment, especially given that it was a Reserve wine.  Both of the 2009's showed promise but were obviously too young to drink.

Overall, it was a wash.  Lovely place but just not producing the types of Cabernets that we are looking for after 7 years of visiting Napa.  We want the exceptional, not the mass-produced.  Groth was the only winery we visited this year where we did not purchase wine.

Marita's Vineyard

Our first stop after reaching Napa this year was at Marita's Vineyard.  We had heard about this amazing place from some friends in Dallas and made an appointment for a tasting.

It's a bit off the beaten path but we eventually found ourselves at the Montes home in Coombsville.  After being ushered through the house we were seated on a lovely patio set up to taste some wine and pair with tapas.  Mrs. Montes busied herself with serving us tasty tapas treats while we sipped wine and listened to her winemaker husband and daughter, Mara, tell the story of how Marita's came to be.  We started off with their red wine called Soma and finished up with their flagship wine, Marita's.  

Bulmaro Montes worked for Joseph Phelps for 30 years, retiring in 2003.  Not content to sit back and enjoy his retirement, he decided to buy some land and begin growing his own grapes.  His dream was to make Cabernet Sauvignon "his way".  He also wanted to release the wine only when he really thought it was ready.  He planted his vines in 2002 on 2.6 acres and his wine is only made with grapes that he grows.

Soma was a first run wine that did not turn out the way Bulmaro envisioned.  However, it was very good so the family decided to create a second label called "Soma" and try again for the perfect Cab.  The result was Marita's.  It's truly a Cabernet for the Cabernet lover - bold and smooth with a great finish that stays with you.

This wine is so outstanding that I would recommend this be a stop you make at the END of a day of tastings and not at the beginning.  All other Cabs are likely to pale in comparison after you've had this wine.

We ended up joining the wine club and our first shipment arrived yesterday.  That is definitely some wine that will be saved for special occasions!

A trip to Marita's Vineyard is not just a wine tasting - it's a wine experience.  To visit the home of the winemaker, listen to him explain his winemaking philosophy and drink wine with him out of his private cellar was tremendous and one of the highlights of our trip this year.

Here are some facts about the various Marita's releases from their website:

Appellation/AVA:  Coombsville, Napa Valley

Fruit Source:  100% MARITA´S VINEYARD

Vineyard Size:  2.6 acres

Vineyard Age:  Vineyard planted in 2002

Topography:  The unique vineyard setting is a hillside slope.

Soil:  Well-drained rocky and stone/gravel soil.

Root Depth:  Shallow - Average 24 to 36 inches. (Shallow root depth has a major impact on fruit quality by concentrating the fruit flavors.)

Varietal/Blend:  100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Aging:  Wines are aged 18 to 20 months in French oak.

Vintages:

SOMA 2004 - Never sold or released - Available for vertical tastings at vineyard only (70 cases made)

MARITA´S VINEYARD 2005 - 225 cases
SOMA 2005 - 230 cases

MARITA´S VINEYARD 2006 - 225 cases
SOMA 2006 - 265 cases

MARITA´S VINEYARD 2007 - 225 cases (Not yet released)
SOMA 2007 - 230 cases (Not yet released)