Vacation, Part 2 We left Tahoe on Sunday, spent Sunday night with her parents in Sacramento (Asahi, no wine). Monday we went to San Mateo, visited her cousin (along with the cousin's husband, daughter, 2 bloodhounds, and 8 adorable 6-week-old puppies). Dinner that night at a pretty good neighborhood restaurant, La Lanterna. Nice appetizers assortment, good veal milanese. As cousin and her husband met at AA, I was only one having wine, a glass of Wente Sauvignon Blanc (unknown vintage). Good acidity, fig and apple, pleasantly herbal.
The following AM, we went to another cousin's , in Benicia. They're more interested in wine, and wanted to show us Napa Valley. We packed a picnic and started heading up Highway 29. We stopped for a tasting (and our picnic) at Trefethen. Somewhere in my travels, my notes were lost for this day. But I remember REALLY disliking the Viognier, which seemed flabby and muddled. Is there oak here? I thought the Pinot Noir was a bit thin and short. The best wine of the tasting by far was the 2002 Estate Chardonnay, the oak restrained, good acidity, bright fruit and a touch of minerality. The Cabernet Sauvignon was pretty good, though not up to the level of the Chard. The Trefethen property is quite lovely, and we enjoyed the picnic.
Folks had warned me of the touristy side of Napa, but I was really unprepared. The Trefethen tasting was $10, any given day in Westchester one could find a store offering a free tasting with a wider variety. And Trefethen seemed to offer a better deal than most. I passed on tasting at Niebaum-Coppola, where $12.50 buys you a few sips of their supermarket level wines. But the property (old Inglenook estate) is lovely. I enjoyed the corkscrew collection at the Culinary Institute of America's westcoast branch, and Betsy enjoyed herself in the giftshop there. Roger made a note of their upcoming crème brûlée class. We agreed to enjoy the drive, rather than worry about tastings. Roger and Rosanne took us to the Auberge du Soleil, where we enjoyed a cold seafood platter (shrimp, oysters, prawns, etc) on the beautiful patio looking down on the valley. A glass of the Auberge self-labeled Chardonnay was typical and refreshing. If I go to Napa again, we'll concentrate more on the Silverado trail.
We had dinner at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. Very good, I enjoyed the escargots appetizer and the veal kidneys. A lost cause trying to find a good match for the 4 main courses (my kidneys, plus coq au vin, lamb, and fish) , and Roger is a strictly red man, so I went with what I hoped was a food friendly red, the 2000 Unti "Petit Frère" Syrah ( Dry Creek Valley). And it was food-friendly. Bright, fruity Syrah, deep red fruit and a hint of smoked meat along with some (nice) herb/veggie notes. Fully ready to drink and uncomplicated, pleasant dinner wine. B+ After dinner a glass of the 2000 Rieussec (Sauternes). Nice balanced acidity to counter the sweetness, not as intensely botrytis-driven as most Rieussecs I've had, good for an "off" vintage. B/B+
We spent the night in Benicia, then met ANOTHER cousin of Betsy's for breakfast. We finally got on the road to Southern California by 11. Going down
101, we decided to stop and visit one vineyard in Paso Robles. Tablas Creek seemed to be a good option. We took a beautiful drive down Peachy Canyon Road, to Vineyard Drive. Ended up at Tablas Creek. Friendly informative staff (and a really nice dog!). $5 tasting fee gets one a nice variety of wines (and a souvenir glass). The wines:
2002 Côtes de Tablas Blanc - melon, flowers, and peaches, light mineral notes, decent acidity considering grapes (36%viognier,30% marsanne, 26%grenache blanc,
8% roussane) and climate. B/B+
2002 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (70% Roussane, 25% gren. b., 5% viog.)- round , fat, and delicious, could be a good CdP blanc. Good acidity, favorite of tasting. A-
2002 Rousanne- honeysuckle and dried apricots, tasty. B+
2003 Rosé (64% mouvedre, 28% grenache noir, 25 % counoise)-sturdy, big rosé, strawberry fruit, no oakiness, good. B/B+
2001 Côtes de Tablas (38% mouvedre, 34% syrah,24% grenache noir, 4% counoise)
-nice spicy red, but rather short finish. B
2000 Esprit de Beaucastel (35% mouvedre, 26% syrah,25% grenache noir, 14% counoise) - earth and red fruit, could easily pass for a mid-priced beefy CdP. B+/A-
2002 Las Tablas Estates Glenrose Valley (35% syrah, 29% mouvedre, 26 % grenache noir, 10% counoise)- if I understand correctly this was made from Tablas Creek/Beaucastel cuttings, but grown by another grower. Pleasant ripe red, very good, but without the character of the Esprit. B+
A couple of notes of interest from Tablas Creek- they didn't make a Esprit rouge in 2001, but think the 2002 will be best yet. As they said they grew only Rhône varietals, with the exception of the Chardonnay for their "Antithesis" (good name!), I was surprised to find a Vermentino offered. Apparently it IS grown in Rhône, under name Rolle. I'd recommend Tablas Creek to anyone visiting Paso Robles area (they have a free tour, we missed by half-hour). Nice place.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency Dale
Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply