Amapola Creek  Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley ‘07

The title says it all, this is the best kept secret in California. Are you still in search of the most prized vintage of the decade, 2007?  If so, then Amapola Creek is the wine for you.  If you are a Cabernet lover, then I presume you love wines with lush fruits, a generous mouth-feel and a full body. It would also be safe to say that you are still in search of the most prized vintage of the decade, 2007.  If all of this is true, then Amapola Creek is the wine for you.

This luscious Cabernet is a product of one of California’s greatest wine makers, Richard Arrowood.  The vineyard sits on the border of the famous Monte Rosso vineyard, along the steep slopes of the Macayamus range reaching a 600 ft elevation.

Amapola Creek Cabernet is a dark ruby color, with magenta highlights and intense aromas of cassis, ripe plum and blackberries.  On the palate the wine is full and elegant and the alcohol is well-integrated, finishing with a sweet coconut taste.  You might not be familiar with the name, but all the pieces come together to make this Cabernet the best kept secret in California.

Two go hand in hand…Trione Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Trione Vineyards has always been a staple in Sonoma, just ask any local.  Whether they are making Zinfandel or Syrah, Trione farms from the best Sonoma locations for each varieties.  The Russian River Valley with its well-drained soil provides the perfect place for growing world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Both wines go through a strict 3-year barrel program, using the best French oak available.

The Trione Vineyards Chardonnay is silky with flavors of baked tree fruit and crème brulee.  It has a vibrant acidity that only this Russian River can create.  The oak is used perfectly to add just enough spice to the delicious fruit.

The Trione Vineyards Pinot Noir is light bodied and perfumed with red cherry and raspberry aromas.  There is an underlining sweet spice and floral characteristic which gives it lift and complexity.

Last month I had the honor of attending a tasting in which one of the local San Diego wine brokers, Rob Rubin, dug into his cellar and opened a vertical of Grgich Hills Cabernet.  The vertical went from 1981  to 1997.  What a treat!

I have always been under the impression that Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, received the short end of the stick in the movie Bottle Shock.  It was his Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that was sent off to the tasting of Paris n 1976.  His role in the movie was minuscule in comparison to his real role as winemaker of the famous wine.  Well, today lets give him the praise he deserves for these outstanding Cabs.

The wines held up surprisingly well.  It is so interesting to see what Napa can do when winemakers treat Cabernet with an old world sentiment, focusing on terroir and acidity rather than alcohol and fruit.

I unfortunately did not right down notes, however I did tweet some of my comments during the tasting.  I will say that I am very impressed with the age-ability of these wines.   It is a delight to see that Napa Cab, when made properly, has a tremendous life span.

1981 was a bit oxidized and missing most, if not all, its fruit.  I thought for sure that the tasting was going to be a disappointment.  Just as I was trying to loosen up the wrinkles on my forehead, I tasted the Grgich Hills 1982.

My Tweet:

“’82 grgich hills cab, vibrant, fruit is still lively, tannins are firm and very balanced! wow! #winesthatmakeugommm”

Wow, was right!  It had structure, tannin, fruit and it blew me away. I can’t believe I am going to say this; but, here it goes… there are not many 1982 Bordeaux’s that could stand up to the ’82 Grgich Hills.

The tasting progressed.  The mid and late 80′s were all good, but nothing really stood.  The wines had fruit, acidity and structure; but as Darren on Storage Wars would say, “The WOW FACTOR” was not there.  Now this is not a bad thing…the wines were good and I would happily drink them again, but they just were not memorable.

When I got to the ’90′s I knew we were in for a treat…’90 was showing great.

My Tweet:

“’90 grigich hills cab, blk fruit, slight prune, big mouthfeel, tannins are drying and juicy”

The next wine was the ’91 which was slightly corked.

The ’92 was the other stand out.  Between ’90-’94 the wines had a similar quality. There was definitely a focus on terroir.  I think that the best of the early ’90′s was the ’92. Although the wine was a bit austere, there was still generous amounts of fruits, ranging from black berry to prunes and other bottle age notes, such as leather.

From ’95-’97, the style took a different turn.  Of course, we’re talking about vintages that were revered as some of the best in Napa; however, they were not “Oh My God” wines.  The fruit was a lot more forward.  It was the first time that terroir took a back seat to the fruit.  I kid you not, the wines were delicious, but I don’t see them showing the same as the ’82 vintage when they turn 30.

All in all, the wines show that Grgich Hills remains one of the most consistent wineries in Napa.  While many wineries are in pursuit of ripeness, Grgich Hills strives for balance. Their focus of an old world sentiment has given them the greatest reward a winery could ask for, longevity.

Want to make it in the wine business?  Buy a vineyard next to Sea Smoke and Cha- Ching!  Any smart businessman would just cash in, purchase the vineyard, harvest the grapes, produce wine with an abundant use of French oak and throw a little Syrah into the Pinot and money, money, money.  Only a fool would purchase this valuable real estate and make wine the hard way; either a fool or a true visionary.

Owner and winemaker, Peter Work an IT corporate executive from Denmark had the urge to leave the corporate life and dive into his true passion, wine.  His love for wine drove him to the Santa Rita Hills where he found an 82 acre parcel of land which he  devoted to harvesting grapes the way they were intended.  Like all good Danes, Peter’s vision and purpose is a lot more global in thinking.  He wanted to make wine, all the time, thinking of its effects on the ecology and the people living in the area.  His decision to be biodynamic is not a marketing gimmick; there is real soul behind it.  I sat with Peter for about an hour, a very different meeting from other wine makers.  Instead of talking about his wine and the cute story of the name and the design choice behind the label, he discussed in detail the process of biodynamic farming.

image taken from http://www.sshomestead.org/userfiles/image/biodiagram2_sm.jpg

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Moshin Vineyards, crusaders for balanced wines

In 2009 Moshin Vineyards and Winery celebrated it’s 20^th anniversary; 20 years as a crusader for balanced wines.  The owner/winemaker is Rick Moshin who began making wine out of his garage in the 1970’s.  His professional career included a 12 year stint at Gary Farrell where he solely focused on Pinot Noir.  When he erected the Moshin Winery he chose to stay true to this finicky grape.  In staying true, Rick uses biodynamic farming techniques in the vineyard and does not add sulfites, letting the natural acidity preserve the wines.  The winery uses a gravity flow system so that very little human contact interferes in the temperamental juice’s journey in finding a resting place in barrel.  Upon sitting down and tasting with Rick, he mentioned that his intention is to make Pinot taste like Pinot.  This day in age other winemakers are pushing ripeness and the Pinot Noirs are loosing their inherent liveliness and acidity.  At Moshin the opposite is true; pushing acidity rather than alcohol which ultimately, while in the glass, shows that it has a sense of place.

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