Passalacqua (4.19)

http://www.passalacquawinery.com

Open: 11am-5pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012

Directions:

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Tasting:

After Dry Creek Vineyard started to be overrun with people around lunchtime, we hightailed it out of there looking for a more relaxed setting. Directly across the street we found what we were looking for. I’d passed Passalacqua every time I’d visited Dry Creek Valley, but had for some reason never stopped in. We parked in the ample (and mostly empty) parking lot and wandered past some antique farm equipment and through an archway to a sprawling wooden deck that overlooked the vineyard. A medium-sized tasting room waited for us around the corner.

Meredith and I split a tasting and got started with the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. Nothing special there, and we moved to the 2009 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. This wine was buttery but not over-the-top and pretty decent. We both though this was one Jane Barlin would enjoy (but that’s mostly because it said “Chardonnay” on the bottle).

From there it was time for reds, and the 2009 Estate Zinfandel, sourced from the vines we saw from the deck on our way in to the tasting room. This turned out to be my favorite of the stop, but was a milestone wine for Meredith, but not for any of the reasons you probably imagine.

“This is the first time I’ve ever dumped wine in the bucket at a tasting,” she revealed. I thought back to some of the big tasting days we’d had over the years and just shook my head.

The next red was another Zinfandel, the 2009 Old Vine Zinfandel. This had good flavor and balance, but I preferred the 2009 Estate Zin. We finished with the 2008 TR Passalacqua Vineyards Cabernet, which I thought was just okay.

Or did we finish? Not so fast! Our host poured us a sample of Passalacqua’s flagship wine, the Radici della Famiglia Tre, a Super Tuscan-style blend. I had high hopes, and while I liked the wine, it didn’t astound me.

We headed off to our next stop after some obligatory pictures of the deck and with the farm equipment. This was an above average setting with decent wines. Picnicking on the deck would be a nice alternative to the melee that occurs across the street at Dry Creek Vineyard, and I think I’d send most people here (or to Lambert Bridge) to picnic instead in the future.

Recommended wine: Nothing came home from here with me.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.00	TASTING ROOM	4.25
ATMOSPHERE	4.25	VALUE	4.25
OVERALL		4.19

Spottswoode (4.13)

http://www.spottswoode.com/

Open: By appointment. One tour and tasting at 10:00am; tasting only at 2:00pm

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2013

Directions:

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Tasting:

Within the last year, Spottswoode started doing tours and tastings. Given the reputation of the wine, I made a point to add it to our last itinerary.

When we visited, Spottswoode was conducting a single tour and tasting each day, at 10am (they have since added a seated tasting only at 2pm). They limit the tastings to 10 people, so it’s best to book several weeks in advance. We arrived a few minutes early and waited with around inside their small reception house for our tour to begin. While we waited, we saw what awaited us: a seated tasting of what appeared to be 3 wines.

The tour started promptly at 10:00am with a walk down the road from the winery to the Spottswoode home. We stopped for a moment to gaze at the estate vineyard while our guide explained some of Spottswoode’s farming techniques which are, for the most part, identical to most of the rest of the Valley. The walk to the residence is not insignificant – I would guess it’s about a quarter mile. We arrived at the home somewhere around 10:20 or so, did a lap around the driveway while our guide talked to us about the diverse flora that the family had brought in (pretty interesting), and then headed back to the winery.

When we got back to the winery (around 10:45), we weren’t done touring yet. We took a quick look at the production facility, as well as the very old barrel room they still use today. Around 11:00am, it was finally time to sit down for a little wine.

We did in fact try 3 wines: the 2012 Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, the 2011 Lyndenhurst Cabernet, and the 2010 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet. The Sauvignon Blanc was pretty good, but not amazing and not something I’d look to purchase. The Lyndenhurst Cab, made as a more affordable introductory Cab (although still $70), was just not very good at all. Some of this may be due to the year – the 2011s we had on this trip were for the most part consistently bad, even from great wineries like Vineyard 29 (we tried the 2011 Cru, a wine I typically love, but you should avoid this vintage at all costs!). Finally, I moved to the 2010 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet. Aside from some strange outside sediment (possibly a bug) that found its way into my first glass and got me a fresh pour at the insistence of our guide, this was a very good wine. However, it wasn’t amazing, and it was a notch below the other wines we tried in that price range ($145) on the trip.

Aside from an hour tour without a splash of wine, my least favorite part of this one was the pricing structure. The tour cost $45/person, which would be credited toward a 6-bottle purchase of Spottswoode Estate Cabernet. $45 is a lot for only 3 wines, especially when only one of the three was a high-end wine. The tour was nice and informative, but this felt more like a moneymaking venture on the part of the winery than what I believe tours and tastings should be: marketing spend. I would have purchased a bottle or two if our tasting fee would have contributed to it, but given we would have had to spend ~$1,600 to recoup our two tasting fees, we left with nothing except some mild disappointment.

Overall, I’d skip this one. The tour is interesting if you want to walk, wineless, for an hour, but the wine was not great enough to justify the cost of the tour or the time spent when there are so many other great options in the area. If you want to drop $45 to try a high-end Cab, go to Opus One and enjoy a full glass of wine there, stop by Shafer for some amazing Hillside Select, or spend another $15 to take the barrel tasting tour and try 5x as many wines at Del Dotto.

Recommended wine: The Estate Cab is good, but probably not $145 good. Definitely avoid the Lyndenhurst, at least the 2011 vintage

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.00	TASTING ROOM	4.75
ATMOSPHERE	4.00	VALUE	3.75
OVERALL		4.13

Opus One (4.50)

http://www.opusonewinery.com/

Open: 10:00am-4:00pm, by appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2013

Directions:

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Tasting:

Can you believe I’ve never had Opus One? I couldn’t either, so I decided to remedy the situation on our latest visit to wine country. Opus One does things a shade differently – with only one wine, rather than a tour and splash of the wine, they simply invite you to the property (by appointment) and pour you a glass of the latest vintage for $40. That’s expensive for a 4 oz. (at most) pour, but it’s cheaper than shelling out $235 or more for a bottle.

We arrived at the distinct property and were escorted from the massive rotunda that greets visitors around to a tasting bar on the left side of the building. I was happy to see that we actually had a choice this day: we could have the current vintage (2010) for $40, or a pour of the 2007 Opus One for $50. Given my love of 2007 wines, the extra $10 was a no-brainer.

We chatted with the staff about cult wines and relayed our experience getting to taste Ghost Horse at Anderson’s Conn Valley. They were intensely interested – when you work in the world of $200+ bottles of wine, there’s limited opportunity to try your competition because so many of them are such small production (and 100% allocated). Since Ghost Horse is extremely limited (100 cases per year) and the most expensive wine on the planet -- Todd Anderson’s primary motivation for starting the project -- it all added up to a very captive audience.

Our experience and insider knowledge of Ghost Horse got us in good graces with the folks behind the Opus One tasting bar, and they insisted we try the 2010 Opus One in addition to our 2007. Our host poured us a healthy dose of the 2010 (on the house) in a separate glass so we could compare side-by-side. While the 2007 was drinking beautifully, the 2010 probably had more structure and in 3 years might be superior to my beloved 2007.

All in all, this was a nice chance to try a very expensive wine. And it was very good – not necessarily $235 good, but certainly worth $150/bottle. Given the scale and the amount they produce, it’s impressive that they can get enough top quality fruit and control production enough to make a wine this fine consistently. Kudos to Opus One for that. If you’ve never had the wine and you’re into Cabs / Bordeaux blends, it is worth the $40 to enjoy a glass of this Napa classic.

Recommended wine: They only make one wine, but I'd recommend it. I think the 2010 is going to be very good.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	5.00	TASTING ROOM	4.75
ATMOSPHERE	4.50	VALUE	3.75
OVERALL		4.50

Realm (4.69)

http://www.realmcellars.com//

Open: By Appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2014

Directions:

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Tasting:
When my brother-in-law Bob let me know that Realm was now conducting tastings, I shared his excitement. We’d tried a Realm Cabernet at one of our first “Elite Cab Nights”, and it may have been the best of the bunch. The only question: would they pour everything?

The answer was a resounding yes. The tastings currently take place at Chateau Boswell (also a great cave tasting experience), where Realm makes their wine. We came by in the afternoon and tasted with Juan Mercado, one of the owners. Awaiting us at the outside picnic area were 6 delicious bottles: a Sauvignon Blanc and 5 delicious reds. Juan started us with the white, which was good, but we quickly moved on to reds. First up were the 3 Realm blends, all from 2011: The Tempest, The Falstaff, and The Bard. Each highlighted a different Bordeaux varietal in the blend. The Tempest (mostly Merlot) and The Bard (Cabernet) were both very solid, but I think my favorite was The Falstaff (Cabernet Franc).

We then turned to the two Cabernets he had available: the 2010 Farella Vineyard and the 2010 Dr. Crane Vineyard. The Farella was very good, and the Dr. Crane was great. Realm makes a 3rd Cabernet from the legendary To Kalon vineyard, and the only thing that would have improved the tasting at this point would have been the chance to try that.

I didn’t have to wait long. “Let’s go into the caves and try some To Kalon out of the barrel,” suggested Juan. Say no more!

In the Chateau Boswell caves, we did indeed get to sample the 2012 To Kalon in barrel, and it was delicious. We also tried some pre-release 2011 Farella Cab out of the bottle, and a sample of a new untitled reserve blend that they were working on. Just to put the icing on the cake, Juan found some 2010 To Kalon in bottle that was the best wine of them all.

We headed back outside to the collection of outdoor furniture where we started the tasting, and we found a few gents sitting in our spot. Juan introduced us: “Guys, meet Russell Bevan”. This was my first time encountering Russell, but he's fairly well-known in the Valley and makes his wines at Chateau Boswell as well. He was polishing off a Tecate, but asked if we’d be interested in trying a couple of his wines. Of course! He went back in the cave and came back with a 2012 Pinot Noir and a 2011 Bordeaux blend, the “EE”. We shot the shit with Russell, Juan, and Russell’s friend (along with Josh Peeples, owner of Chateau Boswell) while we sipped on Russell’s delicious fruit bomb of a Pinot and his well-made Bordeaux blend.

While not quite on par with our famous Ghost Horse tasting at Anderson’s Conn Valley, this was one of those unique experiences that we fell into that we’ll remember for a long time. Both Juan and Russell (and Josh, for that matter) were completely down-to-earth and unpretentious, and they’re just the type of folks I’m happy to use my wine budget to support. If you like Napa Cabernet, a tasting at Realm is a must.

Recommended wine: There wasn't a bad wine in the bunch and I'd recommend any of them, but the To Kalon is fantastic -- try it if you can get it.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.75	TASTING ROOM	4.75
ATMOSPHERE	5.00	VALUE	4.25
OVERALL		4.69

Fleury (4.44)

http://www.fleurywinery.com/

Open: By Appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2014

Directions:

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Tasting:

On Labor Day 2013 I had Fleury’s BDX for the first time, thanks to the generosity of our friends Derek and Becky Olson (http://www.livingnapacabulous.com). The next day I made an appointment to go visit the winery.

We had heard from our friends that the tasting experience at Fleury was a bit odd, so we knew we were in for something different when we arrived. After finding a shady spot for the car, we entered the large barnlike structure that served as winery, cellar, and tasting room. A small 4-person tasting bar stood straight ahead, a checkout station to the left, and the barrels stacked to the ceiling filled most of the rest of the room. We were greeted and led around the small tasting setup to find two bizarre tasting spots. In one, low couches with pillows formed a 'U' shape around a low-profile center table; in the other, a large boardroom-style table was flanked by six plush red leather chairs on rollers. For both spots, fabric was draped from a center point over the tables to create a Middle Eastern-style canopy over the table. A large group occupied the "sofa" tent, and so our meager group of 2 took seats around the boardroom table in our separate canopy. We hung out for a few minutes until our host (none other than owner Brian Fleury) finished his conversation with the large group in the adjacent canopy.

Brian came by to say hi, asked how we knew about Fleury (at which point I told him, honestly, that BDX was the best wine I’d had this year), and he got us started on the tasting with the 2011 Chardonnay. I thought this was a solid offering, until Brian came by a short time later and poured their 2012 Viognier. Although we drink red wine 95% of the time, I suspected a bottle of this complex white would be finding its way home with us.

I should pause at this point to note that another small group came in, and Brian decided he’d handle that tasting as well, even though he was mostly consumed by the large group next to us. This spread him even more thinly throughout the room, and so the tasting felt more like a casual trip to a Middle Eastern-themed bar (with really great wine) than an interactive tasting. Brian would pour the wine, tell us what it was, ask a single question or make one quip, and then sprint away to one of the other groups. He was a gregarious, interesting guy – I would have liked the chance to pick his brain a bit more.

That aside, the good news is that the wines continued to be excellent. We transitioned to reds with a great fruit-forward 2010 Pinot Noir that I’d enjoy just popping and drinking on its own. We then tried 3 big reds: the 2009 “F in Red”, 2007 Lauren Bryce Cabernet, and the 2009 Rocket Juice. All were solid, with the Lauren Bryce Cab emerging as my favorite (with the Rocket Juice close behind). That closed out the “Featured Wine Tasting” portion of the menu, but we weren’t anywhere close to being done.

I commented to Brian that we needed to come back and see him when he wasn’t stretched so thin. I laughed while I said it, but I think he felt bad. He noted (accurately) that we could probably hear most of what he was saying next door, and said he’d make it up to us. He grabbed a bottle of the 2009 BDX – the aforementioned delicious Bordeaux blend named for the 3-letter airport code for Bordeaux, France. Brian mentioned that the bottle had been opened the previous morning but thought it was still tasting good, and he poured me a healthy sample. We enjoyed that for a bit, and then he came by with more wines. The 2009 Passione Reserve Blend followed the BDX, and it was excellent. I told him I thought I liked it even better than the BDX, which prompted him to open a new bottle of BDX so I could confirm if that was still the case after it hadn’t been open 24 hours (it was, but barely). He closed out our marathon with our 10th wine, the Fleury 2009 Howell Mountain Cabernet which was also great.

The big reserve wines here were all amazing, but they weren’t cheap, ranging from $150 for the Passione up to $210 for the BDX. Having tasted a lot of big, expensive Napa reds on my most recent trip, I think the prices were in-line with the quality. Top to bottom, the wines we tried were GREAT. My only knock on the experience has to do with Brian spreading himself too thin (there were other employees there that likely could have conducted parts of the tasting, but I think Brian likes to make sure he does them himself), and I’d definitely like to find a time to revisit when they’re not so busy. Overall, these were some of the better wines I’ve had in the valley and definitely worth a visit.

Recommended wine: As mentioned, there wasn't a bad one in the bunch, which means it will come down to your preference and pocketbook. For me, the Passione was the standout. I liked it slightly more than the BDX, and at $60 less, it made that decision easier.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	5.00	TASTING ROOM	4.25
ATMOSPHERE	4.50	VALUE	4.00
OVERALL		4.44