I have tried to locate the CA wines mentioned in this thread that everyone favors to no avail. Would any of you mind to comment on the list of producers of 2012 cabs that will be available at a local barrel tasting in DC in March. Here is the link. http://bassins.com/2014californiabarrel/participating_vineyards.html. Thanks in advance.

Most of the wines I list are mailing list wines that release once or twice a year. If you see something you like, check out their website and sign up. You can always pass on an offering should you not want it.

For your tasting, the ones I noted would be my first stops:

Antica
Arns
Axios
Barnett - good Spring Mountain juice
Bevan cellars - Russell is an awesome winemaker. Taste them all
Blackbird - Aaron Pott wine? Worth a shot
Carte Blanche
Chateau Boswell - good stuff
Crocker & Starr - sold lineup all around. Great cab franc!
Cliff Lede
Delectus
Dunn - the older vintages are truly classic
EMH - I Iike the black Cat cabs
Fontanella


Girard - good, reasonable prices
Hensley Family
Hourglass - good stuff
Hope & Grace
John Anthony
Kobalt
Ladera
Larkin
Mark Herold
Maze - good stuff
Metaphora
Meteor Vineyard
Miner Family
Montagna
Morlet - good


Pahlmeyer
Paul Hobbs - good wines b
Ravenswood
Regusci
Relic - Mike Hirby's juice. Great stuff.
Ridge - the Monte Bello is a classic...ages well
Round Pond - good
Sanguis
Signorello
Somerston/Priest Ranch
Stonestreet
Tablas Creek - good stuff
Three Clicks
Vineyard 7&8 - excellent
ZD

Thanks BSD. You have given me a good starting point to explore small production CA wines. I get the idea that you are a big fan of the spring mountain AVA. Which qualities of spring mountain wine are compelling to you?

I love the depth and complexity of the mountain fruit. It's not as in-your-face as some of the valley floor wines can be, but offers a nice change of pace as the flavors develop in your mouth.

Tonight's dinner at French Laundry:

2011 Konsgaard "the judge" Chardonnay



And the 2009 Schrader CCS To Kalon cab

on the list above, i would add:

Carte Blanche - very good Burdundy wines
Kobalt - good, big Napa cabs. at their price point, though, probably some better options.
Stonestreet - good wines, interesting flavors. Some of their chards are really extraordinary and I think their cabs are pretty good value, although not cheap.

Ridge is an excellent producer of reds. Lytton Springs is another consistently outstanding red they produce.

[This message has been edited by bularry (edited 2/15/2014 12:09p).]

Someday I hope to "not drink wine" just like BSD!

Re: the Opus - another vintage recommendation is welcome. We're tied to it because when we were there for a tasting we said we'd treat ourselves to a bottle once we accomplished our goal. It may not be the best juice we could get our hands on but it's sentimental.

Haha, Cecil. I had to tell the somm that he was only allowed to pour me one glass of each. It was the hardest thing in the world to say, but my wife enjoyed the rest of it all! Both of those wines were at the top of their respective classes in grape school. I was blown away. The Chardonnay paired beautifully with the canapés during the first part of the dinner.

Tonight's glass should be off the charts as well. My winemaker buddy is bringing a special bottle. Then it's 4 months of no juice again.

quote:

---

Last night was a special occasion, so I had a glass of wine. We met up with some good friends at a restaurant in SF and opened a bottle of 2007 Maybach cab. The first taste was mind blowing! Huge depth, lots of layers and a finish that wouldn't quit. It's easily one of the best Napa cabs out there and I'm very thankful that I had the pleasure of enjoying it. It was a wonderful evening.

---

So I told my winemaker friend who knows Thomas Brown really well about this bottle and he says that Thomas thinks this is the best wine he's ever made. I couldn't agree more. I wish I had more!!!

Last night I was fortunate enough to have the 2011 Schrader T6 (to Kalon vineyard, oakville, napa) at Bistro Jeanty. Not many were made and while Fred Schrader and Thomas Brown kept most of them for personal use, my buddy was able to grab one from them and brought it to dinner. Not many on the mailing list got them and I am way too far back to even get the '12s so I had no shot at this one! He said there was about 1.5 tons of grapes picked from this block in '11, compared to 22 tons in '12!!! He was very proud of this wine because while '12 made the wine for him, he worked hard to get this wine good enough to be worthy of the Schrader name. It was a beautifully expressive cab with good minerality and big bold fruit. When it opened up, it was singing. It was fun listening to the Napa business talk and learning about the industry out there. What a weekend!

BSD: You're just a big 'ol tease,...

With the kind of wine he brings it likely doesn't matter how big it is...

Cabs:
Jordan
Hollis
Peju
Caymus
Chateau St Jean
Highway 12
Shannon ridge

Chardonnay
Jordan

Blend
Pine Ridge

Jordan still makes a nice cab. I remember when it was all the rage 15-20 years ago. Ironically it still sells for about the same price as it did back then! So it's a better bargain now.

It is shaping up to be a good spring for wine around here. The Wilamette valley wine association is hosting a tasting in DC called Pinot in the city. I will put in a plug for them to have one in Texas when I go. Any recommendation for the tables I should hit first? Here a list of the participants so far.http://willamettewines.com/participating-wineries thanks again for all your help.

All of them

quote:

---

And a 2008 Opus is way too young anyway!

---

Yep. I'm still holding a 2000 Opus.

quite the list reload, many of whom I am unfamiliar.

However, if I was there, I would make sure to taste and talk with James Cahill of Soter, the Winderlea owners, Dick Shea, the lady who owns Left Coast, Domaine Serene and Antica Terra.

I don't know what it is with Left Coast, and hopefully their upper level wines are better, but the Callie's Cuvée is terrible now. Their '08 vintage was great, but everything since has been borderline undrinkable. There's half a case of it sitting on the shelf where I pour wine, and I'm trying to convince the owner to left me make a big batch of boeuf bourguignon just so we can get rid of it.

Just got in a couple of bottles of Amarone from WTSO. Part of my further efforts to go beyond Napa cabs.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on Amarone?

I love Amarone, but it is definitely an acquired taste.

I've always loved Amarone. Allegrini is available here and we've bought a few of those over the years. I still have a couple of '97s that I need to enjoy someday.

If you want an introduction to the style, pick up a bottle of Palazzo Della Torre. It's not a true Amarone, but it will give you an idea of what you're getting.

I got two of:

2009 AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOC “CAMPO CASALIN” “I CASTEI”

Enjoy!

Here's a fun article on the auction this past weekend in Napa.

http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/02/scarecrow-catches-fire-at-napa-auction

Were you at the auction? I got a copy of the auction list, it was pretty amazing to see what all was being offered.

[This message has been edited by HTownAg98 (edited 2/25/2014 6:43p).]

Unfortunately, I was not there. We were there the weekend before. I have some friends that went to the after parties and said it was a ridiculously good time.

Speaking of ridiculously good times, a friend out there is already planning (and therefore acquiring wines for) his 40th bday next year. Even though I'll only be able to taste, that should be insane. I may take him to French Laundry and tell that I'll take care of the meal if he brings the wine. I think I'd come out ahead there!!!

Here are the wines. Man I wish I had tasted the Scarecrow and the Ovid.

http://premierenapawines.com/2014/

Thanks Bularry. Sounds like a good start. I was also curious to try some Solena estate juice.

Has anyone been keeping up with feud between Parker and the earlier pickers. Here a link to a blog that a friend forwarded to me. http://www.terroirist.com/2014/02/parkers-remarks-memorable-but-disappointing/. I started reading a little deeper and I do not see what all of the fuss is about. End the end we the consumer decides what is to our liking. If a merlot is a different wine in fronsac ,Italy , California or Washington, why does the winemaker need to pick the grapes earlier to make it taste like an European version?
What do you think.

Simply, it is because tastes evolve and change. Five to seven years ago, Zinfandel was supposed to be a jammy fruit bomb. Thankfully, that is starting to change. Cabernet was headed the same direction, but it seems to have stopped, and the wines are becoming more balanced.

Cecil, I tried sending you an email but I think it got kicked back to me as spam. Please reach out to me when you can. It's nothing pressing, I just thought I'd send your wine over since I won't be making it that way anytime soon.

If anyone wants to get in on a bottle of 2011 Scarecrow, let me know. I don't need all 3 bottles from my allocation.