Joseph Carr’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley

The white was impressive and went great with the cheese and charcuterie I put out before dinner.  It was rich clean with refreshing acidity.  There is a lot of melon on the nose with a hint of honey.  The ripe melon continues into the mouth accompanied by a mix of mild citrus flavors.  Very enjoyable, especially for less than $16.

The Napa Cabernet was fantastic, and stood up proudly to the heavily-seasoned pork shoulder that had spent 7 hours roasting.  Much of the fruit in this wine comes from Oakville, which I think lends to the smoky nose and ultra dark fruit flavor.  The wine had the character and structure of a high-priced Napa Cab with about 5 years of age on it and was amazingly ready to drink at such a young age.  At $22, Joseph Carr is practically giving this wine away.  My neighbors, who joined us for dinner and regulary drink budget wines, were absolutely delighted that such high caliber wines could be had for just a couple dollars more than they usually spend.

1997 Pontet Canet and 2004 Double Diamond Amber Knolls Vineyard

I picked up both of these wines at internet auction for a song.  My expectations for the Pontet Canet were fairly conservative after enjoying a bottle from the 2000 vintage a few weeks before; that one was tremendous.  What a pleasant surprise that the ’97 was still showing strong.  It had a much heavier body than I expected and notes of smoke, tobacco and currant.  I preferred it to the Double Diamond, which was a bit flat and flabby.  I was excited about the Napa wine as I like most made from the Beckstoffer Vineyards, but this one just didn’t impress.  I will continue to seek these out because they are made by talented winemakers who use very good fruit.

Like me, they had the delight of visiting the winery. The Artesa facility itself is a sight to see, one of Napa’s most unique. Indeed, it is almost all located underground with a grass roof. The ultra modern interior includes original artwork of the artist in residence, and the tasting room staff and tour guides are unpretentious and friendly.

Artesa stands for “craftsman,” which is appropriate for a winery that crafts its wine with great care under the leadership of their winemaker, Mark Beringer. Artesa achieves a different, softer style because they do not crush any red grapes (they do crush white grapes releasing juice to be fermented without skins). They leave red wine grapes to begin fermentation inside the skins, which break open on their own and release juice. When making red wines most winemakers gently crush the grapes to release the juice. Crushing is perfectly fine and makes wonderful wines, but just a different style.

Aresta’s no-crush approach makes wines that are softer and fruitier because fewer bitter flavors from skins and seeds are released into the wines. Their wines are rich and velvety with a softer style than many “big” Napa Valley reds, yet they are still wonderfully flavorful and complex.

Artesa’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown in its Napa Valley Carneros-based winery, while some of the other red grapes are grown in warmer areas in Sonoma and Napa. Carneros has a surprisingly cooler climate than the rest of Napa. At a visit during one of the hottest  weeks this summer (while it was well over 100 degrees just an hour away in Sacramento), Carneros was down-right chilly by comparison, with cool breezes coming off the San Pablo Bay. Meanwhile, that week, unbearably hot weather plagued Pinot Noir grapes at Oregon vineyards, which are considered some of the best sites for Pinot Noir in the country because their usually cooler climate. Carneros is indeed a particularly unique place. In addition to cool breezes fog blankets vineyards in the morning, keeping grapes cool before it is burned off by bright sunlight. These factors produce good ripening of grapes with a relatively long-hang time on the vine.  They can then develop complex, fruity flavors and sugar, while maintaining enough acid to make balanced wines.

Not surprisingly, Artesa produces fantastic Pinot Noir wines, at all price points. Their value-priced Pinot Noir has a delicate profile–as Pinot Noir should–but it is still packed with fruit flavors and spice with complexity. You can get the 2006 Pinot Noir Carneros for $20-$25.

Artesa Chardonnay is a particularly nice, balanced wine, in contrast to other California Chardonnay wines that some say receive excessive oak or other treatments. Fifty percent of the wine is fermented in oak barrels, is aged with the yeast (aged “on its lees”), and receives malolactic fermentation. The other half is fermented in stainless steel and does not undergo malolactic fermentation. In addition, the French oak barrels are 34 percent new (which extracts more intense flavor) and 66 percent used (which exacts subtle if any flavor). French oak imparts flavors that are less intense than American oak, which is commonly used in California Chardonnay.

Also worth hunting down are Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines. If you visit you can taste some of them at the winery in Carneros, but the grapes are sourced from their vineyards in warmer areas—one in Napa’s Atlas Peak area and the other in Alexander Valley in Sonoma. These reds offer opulently rich and velvety flavor and texture with deep, dark fruit flavors. Try the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa/Sonoma made with 55 percent Napa grapes and 45 percent Sonoma-sourced grapes.  It is aged in French oak barrels for 24 months. It is available for $20-$25.  Total Wine has a Napa Valley only Cabernet for $29.99, worth trying.

If you have a bigger budget and are willing to do mail order, Aresta’s single vineyard and limited release wines are nothing short of fantastic. Artesa also markets wines under the label of Ridgeline, which are quite delicious. I recently mail-ordered from the winery half a case to enjoy this summer. You might also locate some on on Wine Searcher. Check out the others available on their website.

On the 7th day...

Sunday evening normally ushers in two emotions.  One is the anxiety around waking up on Monday morning to face the week’s unkonwns.  The other is tension from whether a glasses of wine (or two) will clarify or cloud the judgment I need on Monday morning.

If you decide that Sunday night is one of the best nights of the week to crack open a bottle, regardless of the cuisine or company, you’re not alone.  I found myself facing multiple reasons to stay up past my bedtime last Sunday:  Celtics, Oscars and wife with a stomach bug.  I consulted Cor.kz for the wine in my basement that I could admit to drinking alone.   Despite being an off year, I wanted to save the ’97 Pontet Canet for a friend who is a fan of the property.   The next 4 on the list I had opened recently, so my choice was a Napa blend I had recently acquired from auction at a respectable discount.

The 2001 Merryvale Profile had appropriate color transparency and aromas of red fruit, cedar and chalk, which conjured memories of sailing an approach to the pacific northwest after a long year at sea.  Were I tasting blind, the first impression shortly after opening would have had me guessing 2005 vintage or later.  Fresh and fleshy with spongy tannins, the Bordeaux blend from St. Helena offered a hint of evergreen, olive, flint and other minerals.  At the end of the bottle the structure had softened a bit, and I was left wishing I had decanted for an hour.  This was one of a number of Napa reds I’ve had from the 2001 vintage that are running on all cylinders right now.

Though I woke up 20 minutes late the next morning, I was able to reflect on a great bottle while on my ride to the office.

Here are the details for her tasting:

Saturday, March 13, 2010
Whole Foods Market • Old Town
1700 Duke St,
Alexandria, VA 22314
12pm-5pm

The wine does have aging potential, as Frank Ortiz recently chose to pour the 1992 vintage by the glass at the Mission Inn’s newest outlet, 54 Degrees at Duane’s Prime Steaks.  Frank observed a lot of oak, a high level of tannins and peppery notes on this red, which he’ll pour in your choice of three different sizes.  He recommends pairing this wine with a fat, juicy rib-eye.

Find this wine at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher.com.

The 801 Chophouse has won many accolades, including a DiRoNA Award and a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence.  They specialize in the freshest and best cuts of meat and seafood, and offer plenty of outstanding wine pairings.  The restaurant is also proud to be cigar friendly, and will offer a $30 3-course menu for the city’s upcoming restaurant week starting January 22.

Franciscan wine highlights the importance of mesoclimates—relatively small areas with unique climatic conditions. Sometimes these are called microclimates, but that term a actually refers to even smaller areas within the vine canopy. Franciscan’s winemakers recognize that every plot of land has different attributes—from soil to sun to temperature—that produce grapes with characteristics unique to the site.  Accordingly, Franciscan works unusually hard to employ the unique attributes of each site to make the best quality grapes from that site.

First, like most premium winemakers, Franciscan grows various grape varieties in several locations to optimize lands best suited for each varietal. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in the warm Oakville area of Napa, and Merlot is grown in cooler areas between Yountville and Carneros. Franciscan grows its Chardonnay grapes in the cool Carneros region.

Unlike many other winemakers, Franciscan also practices what it calls small-lot winemaking, which takes advantage of each lot’s special mesoclimate. Other wineries tend to pick all the grapes from various lots at one time and then crush and ferment them together. Franciscan crushes and ferments each lot separately. Once wines are made from each the 400 lots, the winemaker blends wines from the various lots to produce the finished product. Not all wines from the lots are used in the blend. Franciscan notes on its website that its winemaker, Janet Myers, only uses the best ones to ensure that final wine for that year meets the winery’s high standard of quality.

Franciscan’s approach means that the winery can pick each lot exactly when its grapes are ready, rather than picking everything at once and mixing grapes at various levels of ripeness.  According to Franciscan, this approach essentially produces many “limited production” wines that when blended are more complex and interesting.

To top off their careful viticulture, Franciscan also employs some sophisticated winemaking techniques. For example, Franciscan uses a cold soaking approach for its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Verdot grapes. Cold soaking involves letting the crushed grapes and skin sit in a cold environment (to prevent fermentation from beginning) to allow the juice to extract flavor and color from the skins before fermentation. The result is richer, deeper fruit flavors.

The best news is these wines are more affordable and more widely available than most limited production wines of the same quality.  Indeed, try any Franciscan wine and see if you agree. On the high end of the spectrum is the Magnificat, which is a Bordeaux style blend of several varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc. The winery describes it as having an: “Elegant, well-structured mouthfeel, with cherries, rich chocolate, black pepper and vibrant plum flavors filling the palate. Very supple, with fine texture and firm structure, giving an immediately approachable richness. The finish is a seamless continuation of fruit and cocoa-like tannins.” This one is available for about $40-$50.

Fortunately, you do not have to spend that much to get a taste of Franciscan’s glory. Try their Merlot, which is particularly pleasant an approachable. Aged and both French and American oak, Franciscan describes its 2005 Merlot as “Round, full-bodied palate with vibrant dark cherry fruit, sweet herbs and silky mouthfeel. Very supple and elegant, the finely knit tannins highlight bold fruit and sweet tobacco notes, giving a velvety finish.” For a fuller bodied red, try Franciscan’s Cabernet Sauvignon and pair it with a juicy steak.

Franciscan Chardonnay is an extra special treat offered at a great price. Costco has offered it for about $13, while many other places charge closer to $20.  Franciscan describes it as: “Layered flavors of lemon and Golden Delicious apple, pineapple and toasted oak. The round mid-palate extends to a lingering crisp finish with bright citrus flavors, minerals and sweet oak.” This is one of the best values of Chardonnay on the market, better than many higher-priced Chardonnay wines. It should also put to rest fears of buying an over-oaked or otherwise over-done Chardonnay. It manages to be both crisp and round, with a juicy, fruity flavor that is smooth rather than tart. It is a personal favorite and should be a stable for anyone looking for a reliably delicious Chardonnay to drink at home or to share with friends.

Nicola is currently the buyer for Private Cellar, a personalized wine service that since 2004 has specialized in connecting customers with unique selections including grower- produced wines and small-capacity wineries.

The Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon can be found at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher.

  Sara will have the pleasure of hosting Robert Foley for a winemakers dinner in Mooo’s wine cellar on Wednesday, July 22.  Reserve a seat by calling 617.670.7525, or emailing tpereira@mooorestaurant.com.  Sarah regularly offers guests a selection from an award winning wine list of over 500 labels to pair with dishes such as Kobe Beef Dumplings with ginger, scallion and soy or Classic Beef Wellington.

  Find the Robert Foley Charbono at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher.