VJB Vineyards (4.38)

http://www.vjbcellars.com/

Open: 10am-5pm

Appt required? No

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012

Directions:

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Tasting:
The VJB tasting room lies along Hwy 12 in Kenwood north of downtown Sonoma. The tasting room sits off the highway behind another room, and the two share a courtyard. The stone building and red terracotta roof get you in an Italian mood, and upon entry you’re greeted by a long tasting bar and wide open space. I made my way in shortly after opening and was greeted by my host for the tasting, Sean. After talking through the different tasting options (the “Il Normale” tasting of current releases, or the “Il Grande” tasting of estate wines), I selected the Il Grande. Sean whipped out a lengthy list of wines and we got started.

Wine #1 was the 2011 Prosecco, which was a nice refreshing way to wake up my palate. We moved quickly to wine #2, the 2010 Gabriella Ranch Chardonnay. I got almost nothing up front on this wine – it tasted almost like water – but then it followed with a long lingering finish. Very interesting, but not exactly my style.

From here we moved into reds, starting with the 2009 Mendocino Barbera. This was sweet (but not "dessert wine sweet") and had notes of vanilla and berries. This was a “drink now” guzzler, but at $30 maybe a bit much for that type of wine. Next was the 2008 Rosso Family Blend, a mix of mostly Zinfandel and Syrah. I thought this was just okay. Things improved a bit with wine #5, the 2008 El Dorado Zinfandel. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the Barbera, but it was pretty good. The next wine made me quickly forget it, though. The 2009 Sonoma Valley Primitivo was my favorite of the visit. It was similar to the El Dorado Zin, but brighter and softer at the same time (and $2 more).

Six wines into the tasting, it was time for some Cabernet. We started with the 2008 Dante, a blend of 85% Cab and 15% Sangiovese. It was good, but after a few days in Napa, this was a notch below the Cabs I had been recently trying. The 2007 V’ Estate Cabernet was next. My note on this was that it was ready to drink after only 3 years in the bottle, something that didn’t impress me much. We ended the tasting with a bonus wine, the 2009 Nero d’Avola. This is a varietal you don’t see outside of Sicily very often and never in Napa or Sonoma. It was interesting, but not something that would be traveling home with me.

Over the course of the 9-wine tasting, Sean and I had a good conversation about wine and different producers both in Napa and Sonoma. He had some good recommendations and we shared common opinions about a lot of places. He made lonely old me feel welcome (this was one of my solo stops), and I like to think I kept him company a bit as he got the bar set up for the day. When we finished the tasting, I was tempted to take a bottle of Barbera or Primitivo with me, but I elected to just pay the $10 tasting fee (note: it is now already up to $15, but for 9 wines, I think that is still reasonable). Sean put a nice cherry on the top of a very friendly visit when he said, “You know what – I’ll take care of the tasting for you. We talked about a lot of good wine.” Thanks buddy!

VJB only sells their wine out of the tasting room and through their wine club. Most of the bottles we tried were between $25 and $30, with the lone outliers being the Cabs ($36 for the Dante and $46 for the V’) and the Nero d’Avola ($50). If you enjoy Italian-style wines or even if you’re just looking for a friendly atmosphere with some reasonably priced options in Kenwood, this is an above average stop.

Recommended wine: Nothing amazing, but several pretty good offerings. The Barbera and Primitivo were my favorites.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.00	TASTING ROOM	4.25
ATMOSPHERE	4.75	VALUE	4.50
OVERALL		4.38

Relic (4.56)

http://relicwines.com/

Open: By appointment

Appt required? Yes

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2013

Directions:

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Tasting:
When Stephanie and I visited wine country in April, we happened to have back-to-back tastings with a couple on Howell Mountain at O’Shaughnessy and Outpost. We chatted about hidden gems, and they glowingly recommended Relic. I’d never heard of them prior to that visit, but two other people we encountered on that trip also brought them up. Clearly this was a place I needed to try.

With limited information about tasting with them on their website (Where are they? When are they open? I don’t know!), I dropped Annette Summersett a note to get the scoop and see if she was available to meet us before we left. She didn’t have an opening in April, but when I came back in May, Relic was the first appointment I made.

Because the woman at Keenan couldn’t wait to be rid of me, I arrived early for my 1pm appointment. Luckily, Annette was ready for me and just finishing opening up the bottles we would taste. Relic conducts tastings in one of the vintage mobile homes parked on the Behrens Family property. My thought mirrored what Bob Thomas wrote in his barlinwine.com review of Behrens: why cram into an old crappy mobile home when the weather is perfect and the view off the side of the mountain is amazing? In retrospect, I should have asked Annette if she would mind tasting outside at one of the picnic tables, but instead we stuck with the inside tasting.

The tasting started with one of Relic's Kashaya Pinot Noir. This Sonoma Coast Pinot was a wine I thought was well made but not one that necessarily eclipsed its competition from the same area in my cellar. After that, though, things were awesome. I sampled the Ritual, a blend primarily made up of Mourvedre (47%) that was smooth, perfectly balanced, and delicious. The 2009 Old Vines Petite Sirah was really good, and we closed the tasting with the Artefact, a fantastic Cabernet that for the vintage I tried (2009) contained a healthy dose (19%) of Cab Franc for the first time. While I liked the Pinot, I thought all three of the other wines were excellent.

Up to this point, I hadn’t seen a price sheet, so I curbed my enthusiasm. After hoping earlier in the day that Fisher would be a great bargain location and instead finding myself disappointed when everything was approaching or in the triple digits, I prepared myself for the same at Relic. Instead, all wines were well under $100, and I thought all of the wines were great bargains. The Artefact was fantastic for a $75 Cab, the Petite Sirah ($52) was far superior to other Petites I’d had on this trip and in line or below the prices charged by its inferior competition. I thought The Ritual was a steal for $48. A case was clearly coming home with me.

When you factor in the quality, value, and atmosphere, Relic was a great find. I wasn’t thrilled with the mobile home setting, but that’s literally the only knock I had. Annette did reveal that they are building a tasting room in Napa that should be open within the year. Once they move in there, Relic would score out as well as almost any other winery I've visited. Very highly recommended.

Recommended wine: Everything! Really not a bad wine in the bunch, other than a so-so Pinot Noir. Everything else is recommended.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.75	TASTING ROOM	3.50
ATMOSPHERE	5.00	VALUE	5.00
OVERALL		4.56

Jessup Cellars (4.25)

http://jessupcellars.com/

Open: 10am-6pm

Appt required? No

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

Directions:

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Tasting:
The Jessup Cellars tasting room is tucked away on the north end of Yountville. I’d passed it several times, but I finally found my way in this past May. Jessup has a late closing time (6pm), so this can be an ideal end-of-day stop before a delicious dinner at Redd, Bottega, Ad Hoc, or any of the other excellent Yountville restaurants.

I entered the tasting room to find myself among a large group of 8, all of whom were distributors for HP and visiting from Mexico. Despite a crowded tasting bar (it probably fit a maximum of 10), the folks at Jessup were extremely accommodating and found me a spot at the end of the bar.

I started my tasting with the 2010 Chardonnay. This was a very solid wine, with a surprisingly nice long finish for a Chardonnay. We moved from there quickly into reds with the 2008 Merlot. I was not a fan and dumped almost all of my glass. The 2009 Zinfandel was next, a wine I thought was pretty good but not amazing, followed by another miss with the 2008 Cabernet. Lastly, I tried the 2008 “Table For Four”. This flagship blend typically includes Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a little Petite Sirah in an interesting twist. I found it to be quite good, although not quite worth the $79 asking price.

The posted tasting fee was $20, refundable with purchase, and so it was worth my while to pick up a bottle. I went with the Chardonnay. At $38 a bottle, I think (like most of the Jessup wines) it was a bit overpriced, but at net $18 it was worth it.

Romeo!

I didn’t get to learn much about Jessup Cellars because of the large group, but they were attentive and helpful during the tasting nevertheless. As I was getting ready to leave, there was a special surprise appearance by none other than Romeo, a giant teddy bear of a dog typically on full-time greeter duties at the Hope & Grace tasting room down the street. The folks at Jessup (in particular one of the girls who may or may not have been dating Matt, Romeo’s owner) were watching him for a bit for an undisclosed reason.

Overall, the atmosphere at Jessup is friendly and accommodating, although I think the wines are overpriced. The 6pm closing time is convenient if you’re having an early dinner in Yountville, but despite the friendly atmosphere, the $20 tasting fee for so-so wines would give me pause before stopping in again.

Recommended wine: I liked the Carneros Chardonnay quite a bit.

Ratings (out of 5):

WINE	4.00	TASTING ROOM	4.25
ATMOSPHERE	4.75	VALUE	4.00
OVERALL		4.25