onefortywines

Life’s a little different now.

When we lived in CA, we didn’t have any kids…which meant we could come and go in the Valley as we pleased.  Now we have kids.

Between my job and our love of wine, we frequent Napa & SF as a vacation destination. Therefore, every time I get on a plane, it happens to be going to ‘Californ’ (as my 3 year old pronounces it).  Since she keeps asking me if she could go to ‘Californ’ one day…we decided to take her on our anniversary trip to SF & Napa this year.  What a great idea.  There’s nothing like seeing places you’ve been 100 times like seeing it through a childs’ eyes for the first time.

We now had to seek out some ‘kid friendly wineries’ if we wanted to take Addy anywhere – and one that came *highly* recommended is Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga.

(Side note – if you are interested in hearing about our other experiences at ‘kid friendly wineries’ in Napa Valley, leave me a comment or email me and I’ll get back to you, as this post is just about Dutch Henry.)

Dutch Henry Winery is a little further up the Silverado Trail in Calistoga, which is never a bad thing.  I prefer the Silverado Trail for everything from getting up/down the valley to the ‘type’ of wineries to visit – as it’s much less touristy than Hiway 29.

When we went in late September, it was about 100 degrees out, but luckily the tasting room was nice and cool as it is essentially setup inside a warehouse.  They did a real nice job making it into a ‘tasting room’ though still – from the decor to the layout.  It had a cool and welcoming feel to it.

I forget the gentleman’s name who poured for us and walked us thru the wines Dutch Henry offers, but he was very nice with a good, dry sense of humor – so that wasn’t lost on us.  He warmed right up to Addison, and made sure that she was welcome and comfortable.  They also never complained when she ate about a DOZEN small slices of bread meant to be sampled with their olive oil.  It was much appreciated as it kept her happy and full (ie quiet).

The full array of wines was impressive – each very different from the prior – and all were slightly ‘different’ than the run of the mill Cabernet or Merlot you’ll taste in a tasting room line up.  While I won’t compare the wines, the style of having a refreshingly different ‘take’ on each varietal reminds me of Artesa, who does the same thing.  Its hard to explain, but essentially after a while the nuances from winery to winery are rather small.  Certain places, and Dutch Henry is one of them, add a little ‘twist’ to the wines they produce which make them THOROUGHLY enjoyable.

Two wines that stood out to us the most was the Rose (Cab Franc, I believe) and the ‘05 Napa Merlot.  The Rose we drank within a week of getting home – as we had a few SUPER hot days here in MA – and it was perfect.  Tart, lucious, not over the top, refreshing yet with good body.

As for the Merlot – I can’t find the winemaker’s tasting notes online, but I believe that it’s a Merlot-driven Bordeaux blend rather than a pure Merlot – and it’s friggin’ awesome. I actually wish that I would have let it sit a little longer in the basement to settle down (or that I just had some more of it), as it never quit.

While we were there, it was the standout from the lineup.  The other wines – Syrah, Cabs, etc – were all great, but this one was balanced with great fruit structure and power.  I loved it.

Tonight, the wine was a little different at first than what I remembered in the tasting room, but they ALWAYS are.  Mid-bottle though, it was back to what I remembered – which was friggin’ awesome.

It opened with a very interesting nose, consisting of deeeeep dark chocolate and (of all things) a savoryness that resembled something between BBQ and beef and broccolli.  I know that sounds crazy, but it wasn’t a bad thing at all…it was just a very deep and savory scent.

After 10-15 minutes, the wine began to loosen up, and a powerful chocolate covered cherry flavor emerged.  The tannins began to emerge and become slowly but surely more refined and really counter-balanced the tartness of the cherry fruit.

The next ‘phase’ was a woodsy, cedary, sage, and spiciness that appeared.  Again, this added further complexity and depth to the wine.  Did I mention that it had a nice, loooong, finish as well?

The bottle ended (yes, we drank the whole bottle) with a beautiful ‘cola’ aspect to it, which really rounded everything out and made this wine super enjoyable all around.

We drank this with grilled skin-on, bone-in chicken breast, gnocchi w/ brown butter sage, and roasted broccolli w/ parm cheese – oh, and it was friggin’ awesome!

Great job guys – all around.  Dutch Henry was super welcoming and accommodating when we were there, and the wines surpass all of the ‘mass market’ stuff out there.  There is an attention to detail and a style to their wines that will make us keep coming back.

Cheers!

2004 Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot

The Winery

I forget how I first learned about Duckhorn, but I knew about them early enough on in my wine ‘career’ to know to visit them when we first went to the Valley on our honeymoon.  When I was setting up places to visit – I called Duckhorn, inquired about a tour and tasting, and mentioned (literally just mentioned) that we were on our honeymoon.

The unexpected, and impressive, thing was when we arrived at the vineyard and the treatment that we received – for free, nonetheless.  We were treated to a private guided tour of the facilities & barrel room by the winemaker, and a private tasting in a reserved ‘board room’.

On just about every return visit to the Valley, we would go on our own or take our guests for a tasting.  While the experience wasn’t the same as our honeymoon (how could it be), we were always given a ‘red carpet’ treatment which is standard to all their guests and simply the way they do business.

The property and grounds are beautiful, well manicured, and simply relaxed and welcoming.  You honestly feel like you are visiting your friends house in the Valley instead of a winery.  There is a warm fireplace upon entering, a giant atrium for tasting, and a big wrap-around farmers porch all around the house.

Personally, I think that Duckhorn wines are in a bit of a transitional period since they were acquired by GI Partners in 2007.  Volume has significantly increased, and they have launched a few new off-shoot brands like Paraduxx and Goldeneye to maximize profit.  I’ve primarily noticed this in the Sauvignon Blanc (the ‘07 and the ‘08), and the ‘06 Merlot – and I’m interested to see how it affects the rest of the portfolio going forward.

The Vineyard

In the late 1800s, the land that is now home to the Three Palms Vineyard was a residence for famed San Francisco socialite Lillie Hitchcock Coit. She left her mark on San Francisco in the form of Coit Tower. She left her mark on the Napa Valley in the form of three lone palm trees, which were all that remained from her estate after the house fell into disuse and ruin. The 83-acre vineyard is located on the northeast side of the Napa Valley in an alluvial fan created by the outwash of Selby Creek where it spills out of Dutch Henry Canyon. The site is covered with volcanic stones washed down over the centuries from the canyon. The soil is rocky and well drained, causing the vines to send their roots far, wide, and deep to find the necessary nutrients and water. The stones aid the vineyard, absorbing the sun’s heat during the day and radiating the heat during the night to protect the vines during frost season and help ripen the fruit.

The Wine

Duckhorn may say it makes ‘Merlot’ or ‘Cabernet’, but they focus on Bordeaux style wines which means that they always blend to balance and provide a consistent product.  The 2004’s blend is:

• 75% Merlot
• 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
• 9% Petit Verdot
• 5% Cabernet Franc
• 1% Malbec

There is a surprising amount of Petite Verdot in this – 9% – which is equal to the amount of Cabernet.  I’ve never seen a Bordeaux blend with more than 2-4% or Petite Verdot, so I’m assuming that the Merlot was a little too soft on it’s own, as Petite Verdot is a real peppery-licorice powered grape.  It adds that deep, dark complexity to a wine, and can be overpowering if not done carefully.

When I first opened the bottle and smelled inside – it literally smelled like a raw steak.  Usually, you get oak and cork at this stage, so I don’t even know why I do it to be honest.  I did find it interesting though.

There is a beautiful blueberry and violet nose at open.  A nice cassis comes in as well, with very subtle oak. This screams Napa terrior on the nose.

A cherry tartness is prominent at first taste. Slight mint or wintergreen, ever so subtle, most likely a byproduct from the oak.  Lite body, not very viscous, which is not what I expected and I’m not sure how I feel about it either.  My wife, however, loves this wine from the get go, so my palette might just be mis-firing – but my nose knows.

There was a weird tannin/bitterness battle at first, but it will subsided once the wine opens and warms up from the cellar.

The wine eventually settles into a deeply tannic, dark, minty, earthy, wine with a nice cola touch to it.  The blend really hinders tying it to one varietal over the other, which is essentially the goal.  It’s a nicely blended wine, which is NOTHING what I expected to be.  Its a nice touch, and something to enjoy with each sip.