Napa and Sonoma Wine Tasting: Hartwell (4.69)

http://www.hartwellvineyards.com/

Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. $25 Short Tour scheduled on the hour (max 8 ppl); Special Tasting with cheese pairing at 2pm for $45

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (May 16, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

View Napa in a larger map or Get Directions

Tasting:

I had noticed Hartwell when passing by it several times on the Silverado Trail, but it wasnt until this past May when I finally found time to work a visit in to my schedule. Hartwell’s website is a bit vague when it comes to appointments and tasting experiences and so I called to get the skinny. I was told that they typically do tastings on the hour and usually for groups of 2-6. I explained it would only be me, and since it was mid-week and still early in the season, they were happy to be a bit flexible on their standard policy. We settled on 11:30 on a Wednesday.

I arrived as planned, was buzzed through the gate, and drove up the driveway to the hillside facility. The tasting room is a blocky building that backs up to a hillside and what I’d later see was a direct entrance to the winery’s caves. My host Dave came out to greet me with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, we enjoyed the wine outside while Dave pointed out different features of the property. The Hartwell estate is not terribly large and sits west of Silverado Trail. Much of the property sits on a hillside, and this combined with their eastern exposure gives them significantly different yields from the wineries around them.

Armed with this knowledge, we went into the winery and caves to see how the product was made. Dave followed up my pour of standard Sauvignon Blanc with a taste of a delicious Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. At $70/bottle, Dave spent some time trying to justify the price point for a Sauvignon Blanc (he couldn’t, at least not to me), but the wine was quite delicious. We saw the interesting system of rollers and casters that Hartwell uses to rotate barrels – something that was brilliant in the simplicity of the idea – as well as the “Library Room”. This room in the heart of their cave is where they conduct daily 2pm wine and cheese pairings and is certainly going to be on a future stop for me.

We returned to a small bar in the tasting room for our move to Cabernet and the conclusion of the tasting. Dave started me off with their 2008 Miste Hill Cabernet, a delicious, structured wine. I was a big fan. Then he let me know the price: $49. I was a huge fan. This was among the best bargain bottles I found on my trip. Dave said they want to make an entry point wine to be able to get their product in the hands of more people, and so they intentionally try to keep the price down on this wine. (Note: this wine was rebranded the “Hartwell Estate Cabernet” starting with the 2009 vintage). He followed up the Miste Hill with the 2008 Hartwell Reserve Cab, which was one of the five best wines I tried on the trip. Outstanding, priced as expected (at $125/bottle), but truly delicious.

Throughout the bar tasting, I also enjoyed one of the best Valley palate cleansers I’ve had: smoked almonds tossed in EVOO and herbs de provence. Delicious, and naturally also for sale at the tasting room. Those came home with me, along with some delicious Cabernet from one of the better finds of my last trip.

Overall, my expectations were significantly exceeded by the quality of the wine at Hartwell. Dave was friendly and accommodating, and I'm definitely looking forward to a return visit and a seated tasting in the Library Room.

Recommended wine: The Reserve Cabernet was excellent and highly recommended, and the Miste Hill was a very good wine and a terrific bargain.

Ratings (out of 5):