Merry Edwards (4.19)

http://www.merryedwards.com

Open 9:30am-4:30pm

Appt required? Yes and no. Required for a full tasting (recommended), but also open for drop-in abbreviated tastings

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2014

Directions

View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:
Set gender aside, and Merry Edwards would be recognized as one of the pioneers of winemaking in California. But as one of the first female winemakers, she paved the way for women in the industry today. As a result, a trip to Merry Edwards Winery in the Russian River Valley, if done correctly, is as much history lesson as wine tasting.

Visitors to Merry Edwards have two tasting options. The first (and recommended) is a call-ahead appointment. This will get you a complimentary sit-down tasting of five Merry Edwards wines in one of their private tasting rooms. The second option is a drop-in abbreviated tasting. Knowing we wanted the most out of our visit, we called in advance and made an appointment.

When you get to the winery, you're surrounded by vineyards and gardens. We entered into a reception area, where we were greeted by a seated receptionist as opposed to the customary bartender with bottle in hand. We checked in, and in a short time were escorted back to a private tasting room. Four glasses of Merry Edwards Pinot Noir were poured and ready for us to taste and critique.

Our host started us, however, with what turned out to be the treat of the visit: the Merry Edwards 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. Known primarily for Pinot Noir, the winery only started producing a Sauvignon Blanc in 2003. However, it hasn't taken them long to get it right. Both my wife and I were very impressed with this wine.

As we moved on to the Pinot Noirs and Merry kept her eye on us from an 8x10 photo (you can see it in the background of the picture above), we learned about Merry Edwards's bio, the barriers she overcame to become one of the most successful winemakers in California, and some of the history of the winery. I don't know if it was the shrine-like setup in the room, or the affection of our host for his employer, but the information was delivered with almost a creepy reverence. While he had every reason to respect and admire Merry Edwards, it came off a little over the top. Actually a lot over the top, kind of like Hector in Blades of Glory.

Anyway, back to the tasting. We tried four Pinots: 1 appellation (the Russian River Valley) and 3 single vineyard (Meredith, Coppersmith, and Olivet Lane). The Russian River Pinot was good, but it didn't stand up to the single vineyards. Having a sister with the same name as the winemaker, I was predisposed to like the Meredith Vineyard the best. But the Olivet Lane turned out to be our favorite, with the Coppersmith placing firmly in 3rd among the single vineyards. The 2007 Meredith had a long finish and low acidity, and a lot of mineral from the soil at the estate. But the Olivet Lane was the most complex of the three single vineyard wines, and I think it will get even better with a little aging.

We wrapped up the tasting, waved goodbye to Merry's picture, and left the mini shrine behind, happy to have tried the wines and laden with some extra information about one of California's preeminent winemakers. From a value standpoint, I think the Pinots were a bit pricey, but I appreciated the complimentary tasting (which seems harder and harder to find these days), especially for a sit-down private event. I think this is a stop worth making, both for the wine and the history lesson.

Recommended wine: The Olivet Lane was my favorite of the single vineyard Pinots, but the Sauvignon Blanc is the wine I'd most recommend.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.25	TASTING ROOM	4.50
ATMOSPHERE	4.25	VALUE	3.75
OVERALL		4.19

Arger-Martucci (4.06)

http://www.arger-martucci.com

Open 10am-5pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010

Directions

View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:

Arger-Martucci's tasting facility sits a quarter mile from Hwy 29, near the south end of St. Helena, and can be identified by the red barn off of Inglewood Rd. We made a quick stop at the winery (no appt required) based on a recommendation from Hope & Grace.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the ubiquitous winery dog. "Oh, good!" I thought. "I love dogs and they love me." This one seemed a little less than friendly, and greeted me with "get away" barks. I approached anyway and offered my hand in greeting, only to have the barking triple in frequency and intensity. Uh oh...not a good start.

We found our way past the house that the Martuccis live in to the courtyard and tasting room. The tasting room is a small structure that faces the family pool, and Arger-Martucci typically conducts tastings outside at a set of picnic tables set up for the purpose. Tastings typically consist of 5 wines (2 white, 3 red) and cost $10 (refunded with purchase). After the first white was poured (their Viognier), I asked if we could do reds the rest of the way -- not because there was anything wrong with the Viognier, but because out of 400 bottles of wine in our house, only 4 bottles are white. Our hostess (the owner's daughter-in-law) agreed, and ended up pouring 5 more reds.

Of the reds, the 2005 Syrah (our first red) was a clear winner for us. Easily drinkable, lots of fruit, this wine increased my expectations for the rest of what we might try. The remaining reds, while all decent, failed to wow me. In addition to the Syrah, we had a 2005 Atlas Peak Cabernet, a blend they call the Odyssey (which, if it ever becomes popular, may result in a naming rights battle with Miner Family), a straight 2005 Cab Franc, and a 2005 Petite Syrah. In the middle of our tasting, we got a sitdown visit from one half of the ownership team, Rich Martucci. Rich was an affable Brooklynite who seemed about as in tune with the details of A-M's winemaking as the Martucci dog was excited to see me. Rich was fired up because the winery "had been trying really hard to get a 90 point rating, but they were only getting 87s and 88s." But then Wine Enthusiast gave them a 93 rating on both their Cab and the Odyssey. "We didn't just sneak into the 90s, we got all the way up to 93!". Ratings are ratings. My palette didn't give it a 93, and yours probably wouldn't either. But it made Rich happy, and he was nice enough to sit and chat with us for a while. A quick read of the history of the winery confirms my suspicions of Rich's deep wine appreciation -- Arger is the brains behind the wine, while Martucci is the bookkeeper. Hey, it works! You know how the old phrase goes: "Too many winemakers spoil the wine"...or something like that.

On paper, the tasting at Arger-Martucci had everything going for it: nice outdoor setting, personal service, pretty good wine. But like a RomCom that can't decide if it wants to make you laugh or tug at your heartstrings, Arger-Martucci seemed to be missing whatever *it* is that separates a great tasting from all the good ones. Overall, the vibe was off just enough to make this a stop that we appreciated but won't rush to return to.

Recommended wine: All of the reds were pretty good, but our favorite was definitely the Syrah.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	3.75	TASTING ROOM	4.50
ATMOSPHERE	4.00	VALUE	4.00
OVERALL		4.06

WesMar (4.38)

http://www.wesmarwinery.com

Open Contact for information

Appt required? Yes. There really isn't a traditional tasting room here!

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2014

Directions:

View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:
Early in 2010, Williams Selyem received a rare honor: a 100-point score for their 2007 Litton Springs Pinot Noir. While the winery typically doesn't flaunt their traditionally high scores, 100 is a special honor, and they sent the article out to their allocation members in a rare moment of braggadocio. So if this review is for WesMar, why am I writing about Williams Selyem? Because that article is how I first came to learn about WesMar Winery.

WesMar was started in 2000 by Kirk Hubbard and Denise Selyem (daughter of the eponymous Ed Selyem of Williams Selyem). In the aforementioned article, I couldn't help but notice that out of the top 15 Pinot Noirs, almost every spot not held by Williams Selyem was held by a WesMar wine, and all were rated between 92 and 95 points. I looked up the WesMar website, and inquired about ordering wine (you can't order from the site, only from a printable order form that they email to you). I decided I'd do what I never do: order a case based purely on ratings. Unless the article was written by a devious Ed Selyem and he and his daughter were playing me for one big rube, I figured there was a decent chance the wine would be pretty good. One high rating can be an aberration, but 6 wines in the mid-90s usually means the winery is onto something.

My gamble paid off. WesMar Pinot Noirs are classic in the Sonoma style -- light-bodied and fruit-forward -- but there's an extra layer of structure to these wines that make them better than much of what they compete against. Couple that with a reasonable price-to-quality ratio (almost all are under $40), and I was a fan. So when my wife and I were planning a trip to the area, I exchanged emails with Kirk to find out if they ever did any kind of tasting, or if they even had a facility that could host such a thing. He said they could accommodate us, warned they might put us to work while we were there since our visit could fall right in the middle of crush, and we set a date.

WesMar has a wine production facility in a warehouse complex along Gravenstein Highway in Sonoma. We found the address, located the building by number (and with a little help from a few well-placed crates outside), and walked in.

Although this wasn't a fancy tasting room, they still had the omnipresent winery dog, this time a friendly but skittish great dane mix that they had recently rescued named Zoey. Denise greeted us just after Zoey and we followed her past the forklift to the back of the warehouse, where an upright shell of a wine barrel holding 3 bottles waited. Denise had opened their 3 best, single vineyard Pinot Noirs for us to sample. As we started on our first taste, we struck up an easy conversation with our hostess, learning about how the winery started, the challenges of being a small producer, and sharing information about our lives. There was an easy familiarity to the whole thing -- this was a woman who was genuinely interested in us, was passionate about her craft, and was happy to have found people who appreciated it.

We tried the Balletto Vineyard Pinot Noir, the Oehlman Vineyard Pinot Noir, and the Hellenthal Vineyard Pinot Noir. All were excellent, but our personal favorite was the Oehlman (interestingly, the lowest rated of the 3 by the Wine Enthusiast article -- more reason why I rarely rely on ratings). We said farewell, promised to send the pictures I took of Zoey once we got back, and left happy. As I said to Steph on the way out, "Isn't that the type of place you'd like to give your money to?", and she wholeheartedly agreed.

We had a great tasting experience at WesMar, and I would readily recommend their wine to anyone. Since there really isn't a tasting room, visiting the production facility is less about tasting than it is about meeting the people behind the wine. Try the wine, and if you like it, see if they're around for a quick chat and a taste. You won't be disappointed.

Recommended wine: I really appreciate all of the single vineyard Pinot Noirs. The Oehlman is my personal favorite (and Denise's, for what it's worth!)

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.50	TASTING ROOM	3.00
ATMOSPHERE	5.00	VALUE	5.00
OVERALL		4.38

Ramey (4.75)

http://www.rameywine.com

Open 10:00am or 2:00pm, Monday-Saturday

Appt required? Yes. Two seatings as noted above

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010

Directions:

View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:
If you're planning on tasting at Ramey, eat first! Ramey offers a seated tasting of their fine wines twice daily, at 10:00am and 2:00pm. We decided we'd start our day with them at the 10:00am appointment, and were joined at the tasting by 6 other people. Awaiting us at the table were nine glasses of wine -- each -- and a solar system map to help us navigate the next 90 minutes. Ramey does not allow sharing at the tasting, and so this was an aggressive start to our day.

We started with 4 Chardonnays -- 2 appellation (Sonoma Coast and Russian River), and 2 single vineyards (their Hyde Vineyard and Hudson Vineyard). All were very drinkable. While the single vineyards were a bit more earthy and complex, my personal favorite was the Sonoma Coast, a rich, smooth wine which featured low acidity and a nice long finish for a Chardonnay.

We moved from there to the reds. Ramey ultimately focuses on Cabernet, but we started our red journey with a spice box Syrah. Heavy on pepper, this would be a great food wine. We moved on to their Claret, 80% Cab with a blend of the other usual suspects. This was solid and immediately drinkable. We then finished with 3 Cabernets. Our first taste was of their appellation Cabernet from the Alexander Valley. This was a high quality wine, but it was quickly forgotten once we delved into the single vineyards. Ramey makes two distinct single vineyard Cabs: one with grapes from the Larkmead Vineyard, and one from the Annum Vineyard. 2006 will be the final year for Larkmead Vineyard Cab at Ramey. For reasons unclear, the agreement with Larkmead to purchase fruit fell through, but the wine Ramey produces stands up to the wine made from the same grapes at our favorite winery over in Napa. The 2006 Annum was even better, and one of the more appealing wines on our trip. Our hostess for the day had mentioned the excitement around the 2007 vintage, something I am equally giddy about for Cab and Pinot Noir from that excellent year in California. She mentioned that the 2007 Annum had been bottled and that it was just about ready to be released. I asked the question that I had to: did they happen to have any available to try? Her brow furrowed and she left to check on that.

To my enjoyment (and everyone else's there), she returned with a bottle which she split in its entirety among the 5 of us interested in trying it. And boy was it good, even more deep and rich than the 2006. It maintained the complexity of the 2006 but drank even better. A wise investment, Ramey Winery: one bottle split among tasters turned into a sale of multiple bottles to me!

The Ramey experience was wholly enjoyable. While I wish it was free (the $25 tasting fee is charged in advance), I also felt like I more than got my money's worth of wine. I'd recommend any of their wines, but the single vineyard Cabs stand up to some of the finest out there, and I think that the price point on all wines we tried was accurate and fair. This was a solid and recommended tasting experience.

Recommended wine: Good whites, but the reds really stole the show, especially the single vineyard Cabernets. The 2007 Annum is going to be a great wine (94+).

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.75	TASTING ROOM	4.75
ATMOSPHERE	4.75	VALUE	4.75
OVERALL		4.75

Stonestreet (4.19)

http://www.stonestreetwines.com

Open 11:00am-4:30pm

Appt required? Yes on Tues-Thurs; no on all other days

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010

Directions

View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:
There were a few things that caused me to set up a tasting at Stonestreet Vineyards: their reputation for premium chardonnay and cabernet, their proximity to Hawkes (we had originally planned to visit Hawkes -- a Barlin favorite -- the same day), and their offer to let you design a custom tasting for yourself. I called in advance, made an appointment, and talked through the tasting I wanted to do (1-2 single-vineyard chards, followed by 5 of their red wines).

We arrived at the vineyard, and followed a long winding road to get to the tasting room. A few minutes before we got there, a bus full of people had arrived, and so the tasting room was packed. We sneaked in a side door and saw a second room set with three sets of 7 glasses. Could this be for us?

Well, sure enough it was. I was mildly annoyed that my "custom tasting" wasn't custom at all, but that annoyance quickly dissipated. Set in front of us were four single-vineyard Chardonnays, their proprietary Bordeaux-style blend Legacy, and 2 single-vineyard Cabs. We started, of course with the Chardonnay.

We tried the Red Point, Broken Road, Upper Barn, and Gravel Bench Chardonnays. All were produced in the classic buttery, California style, and all tasted relatively similar with subtle differences. For both Steph and I, the Red Point stood out. It was perhaps the least complex, but it was soft and creamy and by comparison seemed to call out the mild roughness of the others. The Upper Barn was a close second, with the Broken Road and Gravel Bench bringing up the rear. As noted, though, all were drinkable and purchase-worthy (although pricey).

We moved on from there to reds. The Legacy was TANNIC, and I wished that they had placed it at the end of the tasting. The wine was good, structured, but at $75 a bit overpriced in my opinion. And it temporarily destroyed my palette. I found myself thinking it would be interesting to try it in 7-10 years -- the structure was there, the fruit was delicious, but it was chewier than a wookie. This was something consistent with all of the reds we tried: lengthy cellaring is recommended for Stonestreet! After chewing through a few bites of the Legacy, I tried the 2005 Black Cougar Ridge single vineyard Cabernet and the 2005 Christopher's Vineyard Cabernet. Both impressed, but again, 5 years old and both were still a bit tight. The Black Cougar Ridge is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Christopher is 91% cab mixed with 9% Syrah. Interesting. For immediate drinkability, the Christopher won for me; but I again found myself wondering how these might taste in 5-7 years.

Enter Caleb, our host for the tasting. I happened to notice that they were offering vertical packs of the Black Cougar Ridge covering 1999-2002. I asked Caleb if any of these were open, and they weren't, but he offered to open whatever I wanted to try. Well, I wanted to try them all! But given it was the end of the day, I told him any of them would be fine. He came back with 2 bottles: a 1999 Black Cougar Ridge and a 2002 Black Cougar Ridge. 1999 has always held a special place in my heart -- I think it was a great year for Napa Cab, and so I was prepared to love this wine (even if it was from the other side of the mountain). But it turned out that the 2002 stole the show. Still retaining its structure, the tannins had softened allowing the fruit to come to the forefront and followed with a long, smooth finish. This was a wine worth the price tag.

We polished off our tastings, and closed out with a purchase. The earlier switch on the custom tasting was forgotten, and we were ready to leave happy and impressed when Caleb says, "Oh, did we settle up for the tasting?" I must have given him the look of death, because he quickly recanted, writing it off to his "failure to mention the cost of the tasting over the phone". Tasting saved, Caleb...BARELY. Overall, the Stonestreet tasting was high quality, with only a few rough edges to smooth out. All of the wines were overpriced, but with age, I can see how some of them could stand up to the price tag.

Recommended wine: I thought the single vineyard Chardonnays were all good, with my preference being the Red Point, but not twice as good as a Frank Family or Ramey Chardonnay. The Black Cougar Ridge Cabernet was the better wine of the two single vineyard Cabs, but the Christopher may have been slightly tastier right now. For the patient among us, the Black Cougar Ridge is my recommendation, and of the 3 years I tried, I thought 2002 was the best.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.50	TASTING ROOM	4.75
ATMOSPHERE	4.25	VALUE	3.25
OVERALL		4.19