Open: 10am-5pm
Appt required? Yes
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 18, 2012 Itinerary)
Directions:
View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions
Tasting:
James Cole is a quiet winery located on the southern end of the Silverado Trail. We made a point to visit on a recent trip to the area based on a friend’s recommendation, and judging from the wine lineup plus their winemaker (Charles Hendricks, of Regusci and Hope & Grace), I was pretty excited to see what they had to offer.
There were two tasting experiences offered: a standard tasting for $20 which included 5 wines, and a Reserve tasting for $30 that included a Reserve Cab (for $140) and a Canadian Icewine, off all things. While I’d normally always go for the reserve tasting, I was more interested in the full portfolio than 2 wines for $30. Our host Ben, an affable British chap, started pouring.
We started with the 2009 Chardonnay which was fine but unremarkable. We then tried two interesting wines back-to-back: the 2008 Il Mostro Proprietary Red Wine and the 2008 Old Vines Zinfandel. The Il Mostro was 87% Petite Sirah and 13% old vine Zinfandel, while the Old Vine Zin was 90% old vine Zin with 10% Petite Sirah. Basically mirror images of each other, and both Steph and I strongly preferred the Zin.
We moved on to the 2008 Malbec, a wine I was excited to try given Charles’ excellent Hope & Grace Malbec. This one was pricier ($75) and not as good, so a bit of a letdown. We finished with the 2008 Estate Cabernet, a wine that was pretty good but not worth the $75 price tag.
In addition to the tasting, we took a short stroll through the winery. James Cole has a collection of interesting and eclectic things throughout the winery – old motorcycles, vintage pinball machines, a giant movie screen showing Pink Floyd videos. The coupe de grace came in the tank room in the form of a beautiful silver 1959 Corvette, impractically parked in the middle of the floor.
They also have a statue of their logo in the tasting room, which upon closer inspection is a diver. I had always seen it and just assumed it was a longhorn skull, something Ben says his Texas visitors frequently also assume especially given the burnt orange color. Stephanie thought it looked like the diver was doing something other than diving.
“Doesn’t it look like he’s…you know…” she said to me, too embarrassed to spit it out.
“Trying to suck his own…?” I said, not one to mince words.
“YES!” Stephanie said, stopping me before I said anything more. She turned red, and we moved on to other conversation topics.
The facility was nice, and we had a pleasant tasting experience with Ben, but ultimately the wines didn’t justify the price tag. The $20 tasting fee was refunded with a two bottle purchase, and so I ended up ordering a couple of bottles of the Old Vine Zin (at $65 per bottle…pricey for a Zin!), but left thinking that if I wanted Charles Hendricks wine, I should stick with Hope & Grace.
There were two tasting experiences offered: a standard tasting for $20 which included 5 wines, and a Reserve tasting for $30 that included a Reserve Cab (for $140) and a Canadian Icewine, off all things. While I’d normally always go for the reserve tasting, I was more interested in the full portfolio than 2 wines for $30. Our host Ben, an affable British chap, started pouring.
We moved on to the 2008 Malbec, a wine I was excited to try given Charles’ excellent Hope & Grace Malbec. This one was pricier ($75) and not as good, so a bit of a letdown. We finished with the 2008 Estate Cabernet, a wine that was pretty good but not worth the $75 price tag.
They also have a statue of their logo in the tasting room, which upon closer inspection is a diver. I had always seen it and just assumed it was a longhorn skull, something Ben says his Texas visitors frequently also assume especially given the burnt orange color. Stephanie thought it looked like the diver was doing something other than diving.
“Trying to suck his own…?” I said, not one to mince words.
“YES!” Stephanie said, stopping me before I said anything more. She turned red, and we moved on to other conversation topics.
The facility was nice, and we had a pleasant tasting experience with Ben, but ultimately the wines didn’t justify the price tag. The $20 tasting fee was refunded with a two bottle purchase, and so I ended up ordering a couple of bottles of the Old Vine Zin (at $65 per bottle…pricey for a Zin!), but left thinking that if I wanted Charles Hendricks wine, I should stick with Hope & Grace.
Recommended wine: No strong recommendations for anything here at the price points.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 3.75 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.25 |  VALUE | 3.25 |
 OVERALL | 3.88 | ||
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