Open: 10:00am-5:00pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 17, 2012 Itinerary)
Directions:
View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions
Tasting:
“Reeeeurruhuh!...Do you know what that is, Stephanie?”
“Is it the Black Stallion?” my wife, always game for humoring me, grudgingly asked after my awesome horse impersonation.
“No, that was Iron Horse.”
I waited 5 seconds. “Ruuuurrruhuh!..... Do you know what that is?”
“Iron Horse?”
“No, that’s the Black Stallion!”
So began our visit to Black Stallion Winery. The winery is located off of the Silverado Trail on the southern end of the valley. We stopped on our way back after a lengthy day of tasting on Howell Mountain, so suffice it to say that I was the only one excited to try one more winery.
We entered the large tasting room and were greeted by a random woman sitting at a podium, almost like a hostess at a restaurant or a gatekeeper for the tasting bar. “Welcome to Black Stallion! You made it just in time!” she said in a slightly condescending way. It was 4:20, and they closed at 5:00. I gave her a smile that said “your job is meaningless” and we bellied up to the bar.
Black Stallion offers a few different tasting options, but two in particular caught my eye: a Cabernet vertical tasting (‘06-‘08) for $20 and a Bucephalus (their ever-changing red blend) vertical tasting (‘05-‘08) for $30. We shared one of each.
The hostess behind the bar set out 7 glasses. Making casual conversation, I asked her what her personal preference was for tasting order for the Bucephalus. She really struggled with the question. “I…I really couldn’t say. You could start with the youngest and work backwards, or start with the oldest and work forward. Or you could do both.” No shit, Sherlock. Then, as if she had forgotten a key note in her delivery she said out of nowhere, “This is the Bucephalus…it’s like an iron fist in a velvet glove.” Jesus. Please just leave me to my wine before you hurt yourself. She did.
Prior to the tasting, I'd never heard the name Bucephalus, but that's what Wikipedia is for! It turns out that Bucephalus is not a venereal disease (my first choice) or the sound one makes when sneezing (BUCEPHALUS! Excuse me!) or an iron fist in a velvet glove, for that matter. Bucephalus was in fact a real-life horse belonging to Alexander the Great and one of the most famous horses of antiquity. If I was working their tasting room, I would have told the story of Bucephalus while I poured out the tasting. As chronicled on wikipedia: "Bucephalus is described as a massive creature with a giant head, having a black coat with a large white star on his brow. He is also supposed to have had a "wall", or blue eye, and his breeding was that of the "best Thessalian strain." Plutarch tells the story of how, in 344 BC, a thirteen-year-old Alexander won the horse. A horse dealer named Philonicus the Thessalian offered Bucephalus to King Philip II for the sum of 13 talents, but because no one could tame the animal, Philip was not interested. However, Philip's son Alexander was. He promised to pay for the horse himself should he fail to tame it. He was given a chance and surprised all by subduing it. He spoke soothingly to the horse and turned it towards the sun so that it could no longer see its own shadow, which had been the cause of its distress."
But enough about a horse that's been dead for 2300 years -- on to horse wine! Steph and I tried the Cabs first, electing to go youngest to oldest…and then oldest to youngest. They were fairly consistent, with 2006 emerging as my favorite of the bunch, but only by a thin margin. We (meaning I) then moved on to the iron fist in velvet gloves, again braving new waters and going youngest to oldest and then oldest to youngest. Here, the wines showed a lot more variation. The blend for Bucephalus changes fairly significantly year-to-year. For example, 2005 had 50% Merlot, while the 2006 had none! With plenty of wine to try and time to try it, I settled in. The horses had been loaded into the starting gate, the gun sounded, "and they're off!". The "Bucephaluses" raced around the track in my mind, vying for the coveted #1 Bucephalus prize and maybe a trip home with me.
I'm a big fan of 2007 Napa wines, but the 2007 Bucephalus (66% Calistoga & Coombsville Cabernet, 20% Syrah, 10% Cab Franc, 4% Merlot) stumbled early out of the gate and couldn't keep pace with the rest of the field, finishing a clear and distant fourth. The "Show" wine for me was the 2005. A significantly different wine, mostly due to its 50% Merlot (balanced with 33% Cabernet and 17% Syrah) made this smoother, with less tannins and a medium finish. It kept pace for a while, but after multiple side-by-side tastings, it faded against tougher competition.
"And down the stretch they come!" The 2008 Bucephalus was the best structured of the four blends, with solid tannins likely due to its heavy (89%) Cabernet contribution. It hung close with 2006 until the final turn, when 2006 clearly broke away from the rest of the pack, winning by a solid 7 lengths. The 2006 Bucephalus was the clear #1 for me, with heavy tannins that gave way to a long fruit finish. The blend was made up of 80% Cabernet from Atlas Peak, Calistoga, and Yountville combined with 20% Syrah.
With the race over and our tastings finished, we examined the price sheet. The Cab was $75/bottle, and the Bucephalus $150 per bottle ($175 for '05-'07). With each 3 bottle purchase, Black Stallion would generously refund one of the tasting fees, but unfortunately for Black Stallion, this was not a claiming race. The wine was good, but it wasn't amazing, and it didn't live up to its price point. These tasted like $50 and $75 wines to me, respectively. Given that, we only did the tastings, which at this point now seemed like a reasonable bargain given how they valued their wine.
We sauntered out just before 5:00 (“just in time!”), and I made some horse noises from the passenger seat which Stephanie FINALLY recognized meant I wanted to take a few pictures of the horse statue in front of the winery. If you’re into Cabernet and high-end Napa blends, this is worth a one-time stop for the vertical tastings of some pretty good wine and the opportunity to make horse noises. But the wines are significantly overpriced and the atmosphere a bit bizarre, so temper your expectations.
“Is it the Black Stallion?” my wife, always game for humoring me, grudgingly asked after my awesome horse impersonation.
“No, that was Iron Horse.”
I waited 5 seconds. “Ruuuurrruhuh!..... Do you know what that is?”
“Iron Horse?”
“No, that’s the Black Stallion!”
So began our visit to Black Stallion Winery. The winery is located off of the Silverado Trail on the southern end of the valley. We stopped on our way back after a lengthy day of tasting on Howell Mountain, so suffice it to say that I was the only one excited to try one more winery.
We entered the large tasting room and were greeted by a random woman sitting at a podium, almost like a hostess at a restaurant or a gatekeeper for the tasting bar. “Welcome to Black Stallion! You made it just in time!” she said in a slightly condescending way. It was 4:20, and they closed at 5:00. I gave her a smile that said “your job is meaningless” and we bellied up to the bar.
 |
| Someone is not amused by my horse noises... |
The hostess behind the bar set out 7 glasses. Making casual conversation, I asked her what her personal preference was for tasting order for the Bucephalus. She really struggled with the question. “I…I really couldn’t say. You could start with the youngest and work backwards, or start with the oldest and work forward. Or you could do both.” No shit, Sherlock. Then, as if she had forgotten a key note in her delivery she said out of nowhere, “This is the Bucephalus…it’s like an iron fist in a velvet glove.” Jesus. Please just leave me to my wine before you hurt yourself. She did.
Prior to the tasting, I'd never heard the name Bucephalus, but that's what Wikipedia is for! It turns out that Bucephalus is not a venereal disease (my first choice) or the sound one makes when sneezing (BUCEPHALUS! Excuse me!) or an iron fist in a velvet glove, for that matter. Bucephalus was in fact a real-life horse belonging to Alexander the Great and one of the most famous horses of antiquity. If I was working their tasting room, I would have told the story of Bucephalus while I poured out the tasting. As chronicled on wikipedia: "Bucephalus is described as a massive creature with a giant head, having a black coat with a large white star on his brow. He is also supposed to have had a "wall", or blue eye, and his breeding was that of the "best Thessalian strain." Plutarch tells the story of how, in 344 BC, a thirteen-year-old Alexander won the horse. A horse dealer named Philonicus the Thessalian offered Bucephalus to King Philip II for the sum of 13 talents, but because no one could tame the animal, Philip was not interested. However, Philip's son Alexander was. He promised to pay for the horse himself should he fail to tame it. He was given a chance and surprised all by subduing it. He spoke soothingly to the horse and turned it towards the sun so that it could no longer see its own shadow, which had been the cause of its distress."
But enough about a horse that's been dead for 2300 years -- on to horse wine! Steph and I tried the Cabs first, electing to go youngest to oldest…and then oldest to youngest. They were fairly consistent, with 2006 emerging as my favorite of the bunch, but only by a thin margin. We (meaning I) then moved on to the iron fist in velvet gloves, again braving new waters and going youngest to oldest and then oldest to youngest. Here, the wines showed a lot more variation. The blend for Bucephalus changes fairly significantly year-to-year. For example, 2005 had 50% Merlot, while the 2006 had none! With plenty of wine to try and time to try it, I settled in. The horses had been loaded into the starting gate, the gun sounded, "and they're off!". The "Bucephaluses" raced around the track in my mind, vying for the coveted #1 Bucephalus prize and maybe a trip home with me.
"And down the stretch they come!" The 2008 Bucephalus was the best structured of the four blends, with solid tannins likely due to its heavy (89%) Cabernet contribution. It hung close with 2006 until the final turn, when 2006 clearly broke away from the rest of the pack, winning by a solid 7 lengths. The 2006 Bucephalus was the clear #1 for me, with heavy tannins that gave way to a long fruit finish. The blend was made up of 80% Cabernet from Atlas Peak, Calistoga, and Yountville combined with 20% Syrah.
We sauntered out just before 5:00 (“just in time!”), and I made some horse noises from the passenger seat which Stephanie FINALLY recognized meant I wanted to take a few pictures of the horse statue in front of the winery. If you’re into Cabernet and high-end Napa blends, this is worth a one-time stop for the vertical tastings of some pretty good wine and the opportunity to make horse noises. But the wines are significantly overpriced and the atmosphere a bit bizarre, so temper your expectations.
Recommended wine: Despite by disappointment with the wine price inflation, the 2006 Bucephalus was quite good, as was the 2008. The Cabs were decent, but better can be found for cheaper in the area.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.25 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.50 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.00 |  VALUE | 3.25 |
 OVERALL | 4.00 | ||
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