Wine Each Week – Paraduxx 2016 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Red Wine

Paraduxx is known for its blended wines. In fact that is its mission statement - to blend wines from Napa Valley to create the best possible assemblage. Their Napa Valley Red Wine is a wine I’ve had over multiple vintages and it is a wine that has literally never failed to impress. Comprised mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon with 35% Syrah blended in grown on Howell Mountain, this is a beautifully delicate wine with everything you want - subtle blueberry, black cherry, elderberry, boysenberry, soft judicious use of oak, vanilla, black cherry. But what makes this stand out is the harmonious nature of the fruit, the acidity, the oak to produce a seamless wine that is thoroughly enjoyable to drink and has a wonderful palate feel. But this is what Paraduxx excels at with their red table wines. That they manage to do this year after year shows an impressive level of consistency and dedication to producing the best wine they can.

ORIGIN: Napa Valley, California

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

PRICE: $82 (750ML)

SCORE: 92 POINTS

Paraduxx

Shock Then Awe: Napa’s Chateau Montelena - 50 Years of Shocking the Wine Business

(NOTE: This article was originally written for The Hollywood Reporter)

I was invited to participate in a 50-year retrospective tasting of Chateau Montelena’s Napa Cabernet Sauvignon at their historic winery, built in 1888. So, 50 years may not seem impressive. After all, many French Château have been around for hundreds of years. But if you are Château Montelena eclipsing French wines in the famed Judgment of Paris in 1976, you already have a storied provenance, not to mention Hollywood made a movie, Bottle Shock, about you.

Originally the Gothic castle-like winery was called the A.L. Tubbs Winery named for Alfred Tubbs who commissioned it. 129 years later the name Tubbs would take on a new meaning as the Tubbs Fire swept through Napa and Sonoma in October 2017, destroying nearly 38,000 acres and over 5,000 buildings.

A mere 35 people were invited to the Dream Tasting

Vineyard Shock

Fire and Napa have a long relationship. In 1981 the Atlas Peak fire charred 26,000 acres, the work of an arsonist who was never caught. A year later the Silverado Fire burned 2,000 acres, and even as far back as 1913 the Sage Canyon Fire corrupted valuable agricultural land. But the Tubbs Fire was something more aggressive. “From ground zero (the fire started at Tubbs Lane) we had the vineyard across the street,” says Bo Barrett CEO and former winemaker at Chateau Montelena who hosted the tasting. “We lost an 11-acre field of Cabernet (equaling 2,300 cases) so one of our vineyards took a torpedo and sank.” Grapevines are notoriously resilient plants. They can withstand drought, erratic weather and can grow nearly everywhere. Yet questions arose immediately about smoke taint and how the fires would affect Napa wines. “You cannot make the smoke go away, you can’t just wash it off,” Barrett admits. However all the “big money fields” had already been harvested he says, roughly 80% of the Napa Valley. But misinformation persists about the 2017 vintage. “People need to know their producers - the wineries with integrity that don’t make compromises will only sell you the good stuff,” Barrett says. Further south in Napa, stalwarts like Duckhorn agree. “Because Cabernet is a thick-skinned variety and because the grapes were so fully developed, we do not expect smoke impact in the finished wines. Even so, we rigorously evaluated these grapes and if they do not meet our standards, they will not be used,” Belinda Weber, Director of Digital Trade and Consumer Marketing for Duckhorn Wine Company told me. “Smoke affects plants in general by filtering the light, which in turn can affect photosynthesis depending on the intensity of the smoke,” says winemaker Pam Starr of Crocker & Starr Winery in St. Helena. “Though Cabernet Sauvignon is thicker skinned and can persist through inclimate conditions, a thicker skin is not impervious to smoke affects. Research is incomplete on quantification of the smoke phenols in the wines, so the final decision to blend and bottle post-fire lots will be determined by our sensory powers in the winery.”

The author, hard at work

Tasting Shock

So on an overcast January day, I sat down for the Dream Tasting, held at Chateau Montelena. The point of this rare tasting was to showcase the resilience of Cabernet from Château Montelena over five decades in diverse growing conditions. Three wines from each decade, poured from magnums, represented the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, a total of 15 Cabernets. “We didn’t pull out the greatest hits, we were showing how our estate vineyard does well under adversity,” Barrett said as we gathered in the winery’s working barrel room. These are a few selected tasting notes.

1979-This was the second estate bottling and though there was excessive heat for this vintage resulting in a 40% crop loss - this is where you see the identity of Montelena Cabernet beginning to come together. As evidenced from the earlier 1974 and 1975 there is a more comprehensive feel, more seamless integration of the fruit, oak and acidity, finding its stride with better balance. Framed by a brisk acidity and bright, crisp blueberry, blackberry and red fruits, this represents the hallmark they will become known for.

Bo Barrett

1983-From an El Nino year, heavy rainfall hit all of Napa but the vineyard, a rocky well-drained hillside, was not affected. Though a cooler vintage this retains classic Cabernet character with noticeable black berry, raspberry and blueberry. The tannins are less obvious and there is a slightly shorter finish, but this still is a commanding wine.

1994-Nearly perfect weather lays the foundation for this robust Cab offering a bold acidity and gripping tannins. This is a wine that coalesces beautifully, balanced with fruit, wood, acidity and pH, presenting mature blackberry, boysenberry and blueberry, nonetheless elegant in spite of its vibrant character.

2005-Balancing red raspberry, boysenberry black berry, blueberry and black cherry, there is a uniformity of good acids and firmer tannins. It’s less bright fruit and more darker and concentrated with a noticeable polish to it making it velvety and smooth.

Bottle Shock

Clearly Cabernet grapes can withstand climate variations even fire and that is something to celebrate. Also celebratory was the 2008 motion picture, Bottle Shock, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and starred Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, loosely chronicling the Judgment of Paris tasting in France where Chateau Montelena beat out their French counterparts in a blind tasting specifically designed to show off French wine. “The movie’s a great ad,” Barrett told me. “It taught Americans about wine and how hard we work to make a integrity product.” But when first approached about the project Barrett’s initial response was doubt. “What’s it going to be, like eight minutes long? Everyone knows how it ends. Who the hell’s gonna pay for that?” And though the film was not a financial success it did leave its mark. “It still brings people to our tasting room,” Barrett admits. “I mean, the film’s a little bit made up, they moved things around.” Barrett sites that since director Randy Miller was formerly with Disney they added some additional elements utilizing a traditional Hollywood formula. “Regardless,” says Barrett, “it’s a love story to California wines and it showed Americans they can be proud of our wine industry.” 

MerlotMe: Time to Start Drinking Your Fu**ing Merlot Again

The self-proclaimed Merlot Month of October gives you permission to start drinking Merlot again. Just like the talented child overshadowed by his elder sibling (Cabernet Sauvignon in case you didn’t follow that), Merlot is getting the attention it deserves and the oft quoted, well-known line from Sideways, may never be uttered again.

Hello My Name Is…

Merlot grapes have been around since, some think, the 1^st Century. Who really knows? What we do know is that some French dude in Bordeaux mentioned Merlot for the first time in 1784, the same year in the US that we ratified the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War with Great Britain (I know, right?).

Because of the California Gold Rush and the influx of European immigrants, Merlot cuttings arrived in California sometime in the 1850s but it wasn’t until the late 1980s when planted acreage was increased and Merlot became more significant as a stand alone wine. Now, it’s the second most widely consumed red wine in the US.

2014 Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot, Napa

Duckhorn is, without a doubt one of the best and most consistent producers of Merlot in California. Period. Part of that is their decades long attention to Merlot when others shunned it. The other part of that is they are meticulous with their fruit, and it shows. This Merlot is that foolproof wine that balances fruit, wood and age into a terrific bottle of wine. It’s the velvety texture that first grabs you as waves of mature blackberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit cascade across your palate. But it’s also the comprehensive acidity, the proper use of oak as an equal player and the tannic structure that allows this wine to be graceful and self-assured.

($52)

2013 St. Supery Napa Valley, Rutherford Estate Vineyard Merlot, Napa

St. Supery opened their Napa doors in 1989, and Merlot has always been a part of the equation. Elegant and refined this is predominately Merlot with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc, aged for 19 months, roughly half of that was in new French oak barrels. What you get is soft inviting fruit, black cherry, blackberry, ripe plum, dried boysenberry with back notes of wild herbs, Madagascar vanilla, campfire smoke, and hints of anise and mocha. The tannins and acidity are properly aligned in this wine making for a wine of balance.

($50)

2015 Shooting Star Merlot, Lake County

Jed Steele has an amazing knack for finding impressive fruit and delivering that fruit in a structured wine that over delivers in quality yet is underpriced. His Merlot, grown in volcanic soils, represents the minerality and richness these soils are known for. You get subdued blueberry, blackberry, plum boysenberry with some cedar and vanilla from the eight months of oak aging, but also fairly tight tannins. This offers mare mature fruit and if far richer that typical Merlots at this price point. This a wine that is so structured and uniform, that the price belies the quality in the glass.

($14)

2015 Chelsea Goldschmidt Dry Creek Valley Merlot, Sonoma

Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley is bet known for Zinfandel rather than Merlot, yet a few pockets turn out terrific Merlot fruit. This Merlot straddles a line between bright fresh fruit, and undertone of earthiness. Yes there is blackberry, black cherry, blueberry with back notes of plum, sage and wild thyme. But there is also delightful toasted oak giving off vanilla and cedar notes, but this wine has subversive tannins, they seem mild, but they announce themselves mid palate. The acidity rounds this out make for a great food wine. ($19)

2015 J. Lohr Los Osos Merlot, Paso Robles

From the El Pomar district of Paso Robles, the J. Lohr team brings you fresh bright fruit as Paso grapes tends to be more ripe and that’s the case here. The fruit is more berry driven, so you’ll taste blueberry pie, boysenberry cobbler, back notes of black cherry, blackberry with mild tannins and mild acidity. The oak is evident but not powerful and it lays a solid framework for the fruit and for an easy drinking Merlot. ($15)

Atlas Shrugged

What is Merlot? The second cousin to Cabernet Sauvignon? The over planted, over hyped grape as a counterpart to Syrah? American Merlot has long been denied respectability in part because it’s treated (typically) like a cheap wine here in the US. Sure, go to France and Merlot gets more respect. Ah, respect. That’s the word. There are a handful of excellent producers of Merlot in California and in case you’re thinking that Merlot is second fiddle, Duckhorn’s 2011 Napa Valley Atlas Peak Merlot is a game changer.
The best Duckhorn Merlots rival Cabernet, not in their Cabernet-esque quality, but provide more manageable tannins with as much robust ripe deep red fruit. Should you shrug and say, I don't really care? Well, that's up to you but Merlot should not be viewed in anyway shape or form as somehow inferior to Cabernet. It is a different grape altogether and whether you appreciate the nuances or not, to avoid drinking Merlot limits your wine knowledge. The grapes for this wine, grown on Atlas Peak located on the Western side of the Vaca Mountain range and first planted to grapes around 1870, are typically cooler than Napa Valley floor fruit and yet they achieve a stunning maturation. This Altas Peak shows how compelling Merlot can be; rich definable blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, huckleberry, cedar, all judiciously handled by the Duckhorn team – experts in Merlot. Sure the market is awash with inferior generic versions of Merlot (much to my dismay), but do not let those iterations cause you to believe that Merlot is a one-trick pony. Yes, the Duckhorn Merlots are not inexpensive, but after spending time with them, you will gain an understanding of the breadth of what Merlot can be.

ORIGIN: Napa, California

PRICE: $72/ 750ML

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  94 POINTS

Hark! The Herald Angels Drink

The Holidays – a blur of parties, gifts, stress, bad drivers, and other things. So let’s simplify the gift giving process (enough with S’well bottles, gift cards, and Blue Apron) let’s focus on six top-notch liquid gifts for your loved one, for yourself, your neighbor, pastor, UPS driver, or whomever. Life is short, so drink well.

The Three Wise Wines

Canard Vineyard 2012 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Under the radar and around since their first vintage in 1984, Canard is one of those incredible finds. Canard sacrifices big yields for smaller grapes and greater concentration of flavor due to their dry farm approach. Located on the Silverado Trail they craft a rich and voluptuous Cabernet with vibrant black cherry, raspberry, black and huckleberry, with shrewd notes of cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and black pepper spice - a perfect balance of oak, fruit and a mild but proper acidity. This is a seamless wine that reflects exactly how dry farming can change the complexity of a wine. ($125, canardvineyard.com)

Ram’s Gate 2013 Pinot Noir Bush Crispo Vineyard

Located in Carneros, Ram’s Gate is crafting exceptional wines, though this vineyard is Russian River Valley. The nose is super ripe black cherry that gives way to rich luscious hedonistic black cherry, blackberry, black raspberry, acidity and a joyfulness in simply drinking this wine because it's just so damn good. And that is the X factor: a wine that tastes so good that you want to drink it three ways hard, fast and continuously. But do savor this wine – in fact it makes you stop whatever you're doing when you take the first sip and say, damn, I need to pay attention to this. What stands out is the dark rich vibrant fruit, more so than the oak treatment. ($70, ramsgatewinery.com)

Duckhorn 2012 Rector Creek Vineyard Merlot

Duckhorn has always been at the forefront of Merlot, even when it wasn’t popular they have continued to show how the grape could excel. Rector Creek, located just north of Yountville produces powerful Merlot grapes grown on alluvial soil. With velvety smoothness, this Merlot exudes blackberry, black cherry, a wee bit of plum, a hint of cedar, allspice and a mild acidity, which compels this wine forward. Merlot’s softer side and its food-friendly nature shine through with this compelling wine. ($95, duckhornwine.com)

The Three Wise Spirits

Hennessy VS Limited Edition Cognac

Hennessy has been making Cognac for 250 years and I had the great fortune to visit them firsthand in early 2015. Twice distilled, Cognac (actually a brandy) has reached mythic heights in part because the aging process can take decades. Wine is distilled into eaux du vie, which is then distilled a second time and aged. The VS Limited contains more than 40 different eaux-de-vie, aged up to eight years. This smooth refined Cognac offers a bite at the end, but it is full of spice, cedar and amber notes from the oak casks, a slight floral nose with violets and rose petal and a caramelized nut note. It’s smooth, sweet, mature and complex, as Cognac should be. ($45, hennessy.com)

Jonnie Walker Select Series Rye Cask Finish

The first iteration in the Johnnie Walker Select Cask series (traditional whiskies finished in different casks than they were aged in) is a rye cask finish which brings together a blend of whiskies aged for 10 years in new American oak barrels and then finished in older American rye barrels, or casks. Light malt, vanilla, and honey slowly infiltrate the palette and then there is the noticeable oak. Yes the rye is evident but most noticeable is the sweet peat and smoke that permeates all around followed by sugared almond, citrus, soft resin and a spicy, floral finish. ($45, jonniewalker.com)

Teeling Irish Whiskey

The Teeling family traces their distilling history back to 1782, but it was only 1987 when John Teeling reopened a distillery in Dublin with the goal of producing age-old Irish recipes that had been long forgotten. This is a soft and aromatic whiskey with notes of citrus, resin, cinnamon, vanilla, cedar and rose water. Unlike many brown spirits, there is no harshness to this, it is an elegant, gracious and personable whiskey, finished in rum casks and easy to drink, offering a maturity you wish all whiskies had. ($40, teelingwhiskey.com
 

Eye Spy Goldeneye

It was August 29^th, my birthday. It also happened to be International Cabernet Day (sort of an official wine day? Not sure but what the hell.) So as wine lovers reached for a Cab to open last Friday, I, like the proverbial salmon swimming upstream and bucking the currents, opened Pinot Noir - which also happens to compliment salmon quite well. The Goldeneye 2011 Confluence Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Mendocino’s Anderson Valley is that type of Pinot Noir that makes you realizes why you love, or should love, Pinot Noir, because it has everything, a confluence of a deft acidity, black cherry, raspberry, mild strawberry, a hint of dark cola, spice, judicious oak, and it walks that line between being polite yet mysterious, and an in-your-face attitude, and that indescribable intangible that just makes it taste so damn good. Many Pinots have some of these components in various quantities but to find the whole package is like discovering plutonium. Bam! Suddenly in your glass is that elusive wine people write poetry about, and winemakers weep over - and this Goldeneye is like a golden goose.  

GOLDENEYE

ORIGIN: Anderson Valley, Mendocino, California

PRICE: $80 - 750/ml

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE: 93 POINTS

300 Wine Bloggers Walk Into a Bar...

I’m not a joiner. I rarely attend conferences unless I’m speaking at them because I have a pretty hectic schedule as it is, but when the annual Wine Bloggers Conference - 2014 was held in my backyard in Santa Barbara winecountry, I had to attend. I had never been to this three day conference before and frankly there was little impetus to go in the past. But proximity was the deciding factor and I confess I’m glad I went.

Regardless of what you may think of bloggers (and there are very talented bloggers with a huge reach, and those who struggle to construct an intelligent sentence) this conference is about blogging but I think more importantly it is about the future of wine writing. I’m fortunate to write about wine for international magazines like Decanter (London), Fine Wine & Liquor (China), and U.S. publications like The Tasting Panel, and The HollywoodReporter, (and of course this blog) and whereas many people mistakenly believe that print publications have more intrinsic value than blogs, the future of all print publications including magazines and newspapers are evolving. Blogs and websites are changing the wine discussion, bringing small producers who rarely get media coverage to a wider public, advancing grape varieties and wine maybe you’ve never heard of to a thirsty public, and have few constraints in terms of what is acceptable story telling. And this is what the Wine Bloggers Conference does – it continually stokes the embers of writers to keep doing their best, if not outright outdoing their best.

Sure there are panels on making money, SEO, trends and topics and each conference is a great chance for the host wine region to showoff its uniqueness and history. The WBC in Santa Barbara brought out old school winemakers, new kids, the politics of wine and panels on wines from across the globe. A few highlights for me:

Speed tasting!

Speed Tasting: In a cacophonous environment each winery visits your table for just 5 minutes and pours one wine. You can ask questions, Tweet about the wine or do nothing if you wish. It was actually quite fun. First off there is a sense of time constraint and I’m all about this concept because I really don’t need a large swath of time in order to determine if I like a wine or not. By the end of the hour you’ve had 10 different wines from various producers covering various varieties. It’s fast, furious and for me, two wines fit specifically into two different stories I was working on at that time, one for The Hollywood reporter, and one for IntoWine.com.

Diversity: So many different breakout sessions, which feature a diversity of wines, not just the AVAs in the region you are in. So I went to a tasting panel on Greek wines - having been to Crete and written about it I wanted to check out other Greek wines and was able to sample wine I had never tasted like Robola, and Malagousia . I also attended a panel all on Merlot from Duckhorn and Rutherford Hill wineries because I sincerely appreciate this under appreciated grape.

People: I have been writing about wine for magazines (both national and international), newspapers, websites and blogs for well over a decade. But being in the industry you don’t always meet in person other writers, winemakers, PR folks and brand ambassadors, even though we have an on-line relationship, and the WBC is important for just that fact alone.

Should you attend? I say yes if you haven’t ever been to one before. WBC15 will be in the Finger Lakes wine region in New York in August, 2015, a terrific region and a compelling reason to go in its own right as the Finger Lakes are hitting a confident stride of wine production. And no, it’s no like you need to have some wildly successful wine blog, maybe you’re just starting out – a huge strata of people attend. You'll meet and network with others in the business, have lots of dinners and lunches, lots of wine, late nights and get tons of valuable information. Ultimately the wine writing world is always in a state of flux: new wines, new technologies, new regions, new packaging, new marketing. But what never changes is that it’s all about the people – you, the winemakers, other writers and industry folks - your stories, their stories and shared connections, and that was the best takeaway for me.

Twin Sons of Different Mothers

Summer is fast approaching and typically folks turn to white wines to stave off the heat. I don’t advocate whites in summer and reds in winter – wine is an all-year adventure, be that Champagne, dessert wines or whatever else you might find, there is no “season” in which to drink them. Having said that a pair of terrific lighter wines together on one table provides something for everyone, regardless of the calendar. The 2013 Decoy Sauvignon Blanc out of Sonoma has soft citrus, lime, grapefruit and beautiful mouth feel to make this perfect with appetizers of cheeses, kicking it on your deck. The Decoy lacks the sometimes more astringent nature of Sauvignon Blanc, and has a creamier texture, akin to Chardonnay. Its “brother” is the 2013 Halter Ranch Rose from Paso Robles. This baby rules because this version comprised of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and the wildly offbeat Picpoul Blanc, is simply a standout wine. I love the acidity which is needed for food along with a dark strawberry, black cherry, pomegranate kind of thing. It’s deeper than most roses so if you prefer red wines, this is for you. So find these wines, get them on your table and if it is hot or cold where you are, sunny or overcast, these two wines are the best of both worlds. 

DECOY 

HALTER RANCH