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Open 10am-5pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010
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.
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 | ||
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