Open: 10:00am-4:30pm
Appt required? Yes, but we walked in without one
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012
Directions:
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Tasting:
Because our Phelps tasting wrapped up quickly, we had time to kill before our next appointment at Chateau Boswell. In the spirit of revisiting places I hadn’t been in years, I decided to give Casa Nuestra another try. My first trip there had been a disaster. I went on my second or third visit to Napa, and it was one of the first appointments I’d ever booked. Walking in with two other friends in our twenties, the person pouring made a snap judgment that we knew nothing about wine or had no intention of buying wine or both. When he espoused the virtues of what I thought was a pretty average Cabernet, he told me I just didn’t know how to appreciate a wine that would get better with age. Can you blame me for never going back?
I decided I’d enter with an open mind, and it’s good I did. The atmosphere was the complete opposite of my first visit. Despite not having a reservation, they were happy to squeeze us in, and the two gents pouring were relaxed, friendly, and completely unpretentious. Things had changed at Casa Nuestra for the better.
We started off the tasting with their Chenin Blanc, a refreshing white that was decent but nothing that had me reaching for my wallet. We then moved on to a Charbono – also decent – before the tasting took a turn in the right direction. Our next wine was a delicious Cab Franc, which we then followed with Casa Nuestra’s Meritage. Both of these wines were well-structured and solid offerings, and ended up being my favorites of the visit.
We weren’t close to being done, though. Casa Nuestra makes two “Tinto” wines, or field blends – one from their Oakville vineyard and one that is an overall Napa Valley blend. Meredith particularly liked these, especially the Napa Valley Tinto. I thought they were good, but a step back from the Meritage. We ended the tasting with a very good Cabernet Sauvignon.
Overall, the guys pouring couldn’t have been more accommodating. They didn’t roll their eyes (at least not where I could see) when Meredith wanted to do a photo shoot with the dancing Elvis clock or when we had to interrupt the flow of our tasting for a quick bathroom break. When we purchased a few bottles they didn’t charge us for the tasting, and I left with a completely different impression of Casa Nuestra than the black mark it had left several years ago. This is now a stop I can recommend with confidence.
I decided I’d enter with an open mind, and it’s good I did. The atmosphere was the complete opposite of my first visit. Despite not having a reservation, they were happy to squeeze us in, and the two gents pouring were relaxed, friendly, and completely unpretentious. Things had changed at Casa Nuestra for the better.
We weren’t close to being done, though. Casa Nuestra makes two “Tinto” wines, or field blends – one from their Oakville vineyard and one that is an overall Napa Valley blend. Meredith particularly liked these, especially the Napa Valley Tinto. I thought they were good, but a step back from the Meritage. We ended the tasting with a very good Cabernet Sauvignon.
Overall, the guys pouring couldn’t have been more accommodating. They didn’t roll their eyes (at least not where I could see) when Meredith wanted to do a photo shoot with the dancing Elvis clock or when we had to interrupt the flow of our tasting for a quick bathroom break. When we purchased a few bottles they didn’t charge us for the tasting, and I left with a completely different impression of Casa Nuestra than the black mark it had left several years ago. This is now a stop I can recommend with confidence.
Recommended wine: Most of the reds were pretty good, with the Meritage and Cab Franc standing out as my favorites.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.50 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.00 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.50 |  VALUE | 4.50 |
 OVERALL | 4.38 | ||
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