When I was researching background materials for my recent column on the Sutter Home winery, I unearthed the tidbit that its owners, John and Mario Trinchero, moved to St. Helena in the Napa Valley in 1947 and presided over slow but steady growth to the extent that the next generation now owns more than 27 wineries including Angrove, Folie a Deux, Menage a Trois (Mon dieu – Francais!), Little Boomey, Montevina, Napa Cellars, Newman’s Own, Fre (nonalcoholic) and Sutter Home. As a reminder, the Trincheros’ experimenting with White Zinfandel at Sutter Home put the winery on the map for explosive growth back in 1975, and its growth continues as eager quaffers appreciate its ebullient color and easy, friendly taste at fair prices.
Recently, I sampled my way through their Napa Cellars winery and was quite impressed by the overall quality of their portfolio. My tasting notes follow, using my subjective “A”-“F” scoring scale:
1. Napa Cellars 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, $15.99 ($18 from the winery). Light straw color with light body. Faintly fruity, flowery nose with nice shimmering depth. In the mouth, it displayed medium depth and fruit with a good and bracing acid backbone. Nice clean finish. A
2. Napa Cellars 2009 Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $17.99 ($22 from the winery). Pale yellow color. Heavy body. Complex, toasty nose with nice display of depth along with notes of butterscotch and a kiss of oak. Nicely deep with a generous finish that calls for light salmon. A-
3. Napa Cellars 2008 Zinfandel, Napa Valley, $17.99 ($22 from the winery). Purple hue with heavy body. Intense berry and black cherry nose with beguiling depth. Nicely rich and fruity middle with wildly uninhibited tongue-tease. Lingering, long wild berry finish. A
4. Napa Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir, Napa Valley, $17.99 ($22 from the winery). Lighter brick-red color not unlike some Burgundies. Medium body. The nose had medium-to-intense notes of fruit with slightly candied suggestions. Medium body with pronounced deep fruit in the mouth, followed by an emphatic, pronounced finish. A-
5. Napa Cellars 2007 Merlot, Napa Valley, $17.99 ($22 from the winery). Dark ruby color with heavy body. The nose was intense and deep, promising a nice taste party. In the mouth, it was intensely fruity and full of fun, moving into a sublime finish. Nice! A
6. Napa Cellars 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stagecoach Vineyard, Napa Valley, $39.99 ($48 from the winery). Deep purple, almost black color, with extremely heavy body. Intense, almost medicinal notes of promising and deep fruit on the nose – a nasal symphony in the making. Deeply rich and fruity in the mouth with tons of emphatic fruit and teasing, lingering dances with violets. Extremely long finish begs for more, along with three cheers. A+
Today’s clear winner was the Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon, worth a hot pursuit in any of your favorite better wine retailers.
I was a tad baffled by the price difference between the suggested retail in Milwaukee versus buying from the winery. Being a relatively prudent and generationally tight Milwaukeean, I’d advise you to shop locally.
A final note: I’m getting a panoply of responses from alert readers who feel compelled to toss some edifying wine thoughts into our pressing business. The latest one mentioned that the earliest documented mention of wine took place 4,000 years ago, when a receipt on a Sumerian tablet recorded the purchase of jugs of wine. What a year that must’ve been!
Cheers, and congratulations to you, Joe Shirley, winemaker at Napa Cellars!
