Ehlers Estate (4.19)



Open 10:30 to 4:30

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 18, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

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Tasting:
My first visit to Ehlers Estate was 7 or 8 years ago. I remembered a small tasting room that could probably fit around 10 people and also trying some “Madison” label wines being made by an affiliate in Virginia.

Things have certainly expanded since then. The tasting room is 3-4 times bigger than it used to be allowing for a large tasting table to accommodate seated tastings as well as the traditional tasting bar with 8 bar chairs awaiting butts. We tasted with Oscar, who I’m sure has many a female visitor all atwitter with his heavy Spanish accent and “dark and mysterious” vibe. He poured through their standard tasting lineup of Sauvignon Blanc (good, not exceptional), Merlot, 120 Over 80, and Cabernet 1886.

The “120 Over 80” was a new brand on an old Ehlers wine for me. One thing that wasn’t made explicitly clear on the original visit was that 100% of profits from Ehlers Estate Winery go to fund cardiac research. With both my father and father-in-law having had open heart surgery in the last 10 years (7 bypasses between them!), this was something that hit close to home. The “120 Over 80” wine is the rebranded Ehlers Estate Cab sourced from their St. Helena vineyard and a solid value at $45/bottle.

I had remembered liking the Merlot and the 1886 from my first visit, and the same held true on this one. The Merlot was very good and priced the same as the “120 Over 80” at $45. The 1886 had drastically risen in price – I think on my last visit it was somewhere between $50 and $60 and now retails for $95 – but I think it’s worth the money. This was a great wine and one that I’m excited to try in 5-7 years.

The $25 tasting fee was waived with a 3-bottle purchase, and we were happy to oblige given the good cause the money was going to and the delicious wines that we’d be able to enjoy.

Recommended wine: The Merlot was good, and the 1886 Cabernet was great.


Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.50
TASTING ROOM
4.25

ATMOSPHERE
4.00
VALUE
4.00

OVERALL
4.19

Outpost Wines (4.00)



Open: Tues-Sun, 10am-2pm

Appt required? Yes. Book at this link: http://www.outpostwines.com/contact.html

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 17, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:
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Tasting:
On our third stop on Howell Mountain, we chose Outpost. Prior to the visit, I hadn’t heard of this winery, but the view looked amazing on their website and the wines seemed to be priced about right.

We tasted with co-owner of Outpost, Kathy Dotzler. She greeted us coolly (we were late but had called to alert her when we realized we could run late at O'Shaugnesssy and make sure it was okay) and combined our appointment with a couple we had met at O’Shaugnessy, who held the slot after us. That was a relief for Kathy – if we hadn’t done that, it would have just ruined her entire day.

Kathy gave us a brief walking tour of the property and talked about her decision with her husband to buy the land in the late nineties. She pointed out their True Vineyard, a source of great pride, and talked about how they strive to make the truest expression of Cabernet from that vineyard, their flagship. She also told us how the property used to be a “garage winery”, and how they revamped everything. According to Kathy, their “pristine winemaking process produces far superior wine”. Kathy was a little rough around the edges and is not a born salesperson, and comments like this one were delivered a bit like they were being read off a script and with a hint of arrogance that was offputting.

Alright, time to put your money where your mouth is Kathy! We went into the Outpost tasting room. On display in the room were the other wines (Schrader and Maybach among them) made at the property by Outpost’s up-and-coming winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown. We began our seated tasting of four wines: the 2009 Zinfandel, 2008 and 2009 Outpost Cabernet (the 2008 was a last-minute addition), and the 2009 “The Other” Petite Sirah. Curiously absent was the “truest expression of Cabernet”. While many wineries don’t taste their top-end wine, I would have suspected that a trip all the way up the mountain plus all of the buildup would have meant that a bit of the True Vineyard would be included. I thought all of the wines were pretty good, but no real standouts. I felt kind of bad for the poor Petite Sirah – Outpost names its top Cabernet “True”, but brands it’s perfectly good Petite Sirah “The Other” like it was an unwanted family member (or maybe a laboratory mistake like in Dean Koontz’s great novel “Watchers”!).

I didn't feel bad enough for “The Other” to bring it home with me, though, or any of Outpost’s wines for that matter. Ultimately, Outpost was hampered by the other great wines we’d already had that day at Dunn and O’Shaugnessy. All of their wines were good, but they were more expensive and inferior in quality. If the $25 tasting fee (for only 3 wines) was refunded with some type of reasonable purchase, I may have carried a few bottles away, but it was either non-refundable or only refunded with something like a 6-bottle purchase. If you’ve traveled all the way to Howell Mountain, I would try some of the other locations before heading to Outpost unless you happen to be a big fan of their wines.


Recommended wine: Nothing got me excited. Good wines, but nothing great.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.25
TASTING ROOM
4.25

ATMOSPHERE
3.50
VALUE
4.00

OVERALL
4.00

Napa: April 16, 2012 (300 Level)

April 16, 2012 Itinerary
(Napa, with Flint and Deena Tearney)


Number of wineries: 7
Average rating: 4.33
Wine Route Rating: Advanced (300)
Highlight of the day: Sullivan (4.88)

Notes: Flint and Deena Tearney joined us for this full Monday of tasting. After a good start to the day at Chappellet, things dipped a bit at Nichelini and ZD, only to rebound with back-to-back great tastings at Hope & Grace and Sullivan. We polished the day off with stops at two of the few "after 5pm" tasting rooms on Hwy 29. Rated "300" (Advanced) due to the multiple reservations and obscurity of some of the places on the list.

LocationStart TimeStop TimeReservation?Notes
Chappellet (4.63)10:0011:15
Seated tasting in their unique geodesic domed facility
Nichelini (4.19)11:3012:15
Lighthearted tasting experience at a winery dating to the 1800s
ZD (3.81)12:301:00
 
Not Needed
Seated tasting on their patio overlooking the lake. Fantastic wine as well
Lunch at Redd Wood (4.13)1:152:10
Richard Reddington's foray into cured meats and wood-fired pizza
Hope & Grace (4.69)2:153:15
 
Not Needed
One of our favorites. Great Pinot and Cab from winemaker Charles Hendricks
Sullivan (4.88)3:304:30
"Rutherford Dust" Cab plus a fantastic Bordeaux blend, the Couer de Vigne, in a relaxed outdoor courtyard
Alpha Omega (4.06)4:305:15
 
Not Needed
Decent whites and big reds, but a bit pricey
Peju (4.06)5:156:00
 
Not Needed
Open late! Lots of wine to taste, but now way overpriced compared to others in the area
Dinner at Ad Hoc (4.19)6:45
A single dinner choice per day. On this occasion, we got their famous fried chicken!

Route:

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Map:

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Allora (4.88)




Open: By appointment only. Contact the winery for availability

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 18, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

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Tasting:
A weathered, rusty iron gate guards the beautiful property that houses Allora as well as owner Terry Klein. After buzzing us through the gate, Terry greeted us with a big smile and welcomed us to the property. We strolled toward the cellar door while Terry pointed out the vineyards and talked to us for a minute about where each varietal is grown on the property. Then he drew our attention to a wall by the pool. “See those four pots above the door by the pool? That’s the most asked-about feature of the winery.” We gave him a quizzical look. “The door underneath those pots leads to THE BATHROOM.” I knew we were in for a good time.

We wandered down into the cellar, past the barrels (“the difference between us at 1000 cases per year and some of the other guys is we actually know what’s in these”) and to a cellar with a tasting table in the middle and an aquarium in the corner. Allora has their own custom-made wine glasses, and I don’t mean a standard glass with the winery logo on it. Terry had a glass designed – dubbed Vino2 -- with an indentation on the side of the glass that protruded up into the bowl of the glass like a weird goiter. This was to allow for expanded surface area and additional aeration of the wine in the glass. It wasn’t a Rojaus or Vinturi, and I’m not sure how much it changed the wine, but it was certainly interesting.

Terry poured through the selection of wines while we traded quotes from some of our favorite stupid comedies (Dumb & Dumber, Anchorman, Zoolander) and Terry told us stories of his primary job as a master plasterer who had worked on a number of significant properties in the area. When I told him about my background working with Siebel, he recounted a story about Tom Siebel’s visit to the winery, not for wine but for a plaster work consultation. As Terry tells it, in typical Tom Siebel fashion he demanded Terry guarantee he’d have zero cracks in his plaster.

“So now you have enough money to change the laws of physics?” Terry wondered.

Tom apparently said that he has no cracks in any of the concrete at his property and offered Terry $1000 for every crack he could find. As Terry put it, the interview goes both ways, and this was not going to be a working relationship that would function well for either party.

Let’s not forget the wines! The company and laughs would have made this visit a winner, but the fact that Allora makes some damn good wine made it all the better. We tried in order (take a breath – this make take a while): the 2009 Lieta, their Savignon Blanc / Viognier blend; the 2008 Cielo, primarily Sangiovese(82%) blended with some Petite Sirah; the 2008 Cabernet Franc; the 2007 Petite Sirah (recommended by Tim from Corison); the 2007 Tresca, primarily Cabernet (90%) blended with some Cab Franc; the 2007 Lusso, Allora’s reserve Cabernet; and finally their 2010 Sussurro, a delicious late harvest Petite Sirah. There wasn’t a dud in the bunch, and there were definitely some superstars, in particular the Cielo, Tresca and Cabernet Franc.

Great wines here – a case would soon be on its way to our home. We settled up with Terry (no charge for the tasting after we purchased) and left happy to have stumbled on such an excellent tasting experience.

Steph with owner Terry Klein

Recommended wine: Really not a bad wine in the bunch. I particularly liked the Cielo, Tresca, and Cab Franc.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.75
TASTING ROOM
4.75

ATMOSPHERE
5.00
VALUE
5.00

OVERALL
4.88

Corison (4.25)



Open: 10am-5pm

Appt required? Yes.

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (April 18, 2012 Itinerary)

Directions:

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Tasting:
With the end of our trip looming, I started to get antsy and see what other wineries we could potentially cram in. With our first appointment set for 11am on our last day and nothing prior to it, I scoured the route between the Napa Valley Marriott and Calistoga for wineries opening at 10am that I hadn’t been to and didn’t require an appointment. There were surprisingly few that met the criteria, but I narrowed down the list to a few possibilities. At the top of the list was Corison, which according to their website did in fact require an appointment.

Given it was a Tuesday in April, I thought our chances were good. We headed in that direction, and at 9:45 I had Steph call to see if they could take us. No problem!

We arrived shortly after 10:00 and approached the large barn-like structure. Opening the giant door, we were greeted by our host Tim. He started us with a taste of their 2008 Gewurztraminer under their “Corazón” label, and well as the 2005 Helios Syrah. Both wines were so-so for me, but then we moved into the interesting part of the tasting.

Corison is primarily known for their Cabernet, and they make a Napa Valley Cab from a few different vineyards (including Morisoli and Hayne, from which Elyse also sources fruit) as well as a single vineyard Cabernet from their Kronos estate vineyard. We tried the 2008 Corison Napa Cabernet, followed by the 2005 Corison Napa Cabernet. Tim then went in the back and pulled a bottle of 2001 Napa Cabernet. The first bottle turned out to have some type of issue, but the second one was issue-free and solid. Of the 3 wines, my favorite was the 2005. Tim revealed that was also Cathy Corison’s favorite.

As if on cue, Cathy made a brief appearance. She was busy working, but stopped for a second to welcome us. Our last taste was of the single vineyard Kronos Cabernet from 2007. This was excellent and my favorite of all of the wines.

It turned out that the multi-year approach was for a reason. Corsion was having a “vertical sale”, where if you bought any three bottles from different years they’d discount the order 15%. Not too shabby! Given how much I liked the 2007 Kronos and the fact that they seemed to make some solid wine in 2005, I decided to get a 2005, 2006, and 2007 vertical pack of the Kronos. Wines on their way and discount applied, we moved on to our next stop at Allora.

Outside in front of the Kronos Estate Vineyard


Recommended wine: I think the Kronos is significantly better than the Napa Valley and not that much more expensive.

Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.25
TASTING ROOM
4.25

ATMOSPHERE
4.75
VALUE
3.75

OVERALL
4.25

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