Of all of the places in the world I’ve visited, one of my favorite places is still Napa Valley, California. Unlike most of their French counterparts in say Bordeaux for example, most wineries here in California Wine Country welcome non-collectors, non-critics and those with simply curious palettes.
But there is always a downside…And here it’s that tasting rooms can often be somewhat commercial and often very busy, leading to a somewhat hurried and less than satisfying experience.
Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
I have to admit that I am a sucker for a good mystery, especially when it relates to wine and where the fruit is sourced. It’s always exciting to find a wine that is relatively inexpensive yet made with fruit from well pedigreed growers or producers that charge considerably more for their wines. Take the Pine Ridge Encantado Red Blend I recently reviewed for example.
I feel like these opportunities are few and far between in the wine world. As a consumer we usually have a good idea where the fruit used to make the wine was sourced (particularly when estate grown), or we have little to no idea (the winery sources their fruit from various growers). But with the Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, it is rumored that the fruit was sourced from declassified Harlan Estate lots!
Pine Ridge Encantado Red Blend Napa Valley 2010
I recently received an e-mail from Wines Til Sold Out touting a heavily discounted wine under what appeared to be a second label from an esteemed Napa Valley producer, only it wasn’t.
According to WTSO, an online discount wine retailer, the wine being offered was not a second label but the same juice and basically the same wine from one of Napa’s premier Silverado Trail wineries. This clever marketing tactic piqued my interest.
Ardente Winery Cabernet Sauvingon ‘Grande Riserva’ 1997
Today I am excited for two reasons: This is my first post and I am drinking a 1997 Napa Cabernet. I thought to myself,”How better to inaugurate this blog than to open a Cabernet Sauvingon from one of Napa’s best vintages?”
The Vintage
Considered legendary by most, and overrated by some, Napa Valley’s 1997 vintage is certainly a memorable one. Many Napa cult Cabernet’s command significant premiums for the 1997 vintage versus other vintages. According to Napa Valley Vintner’s, which publishes a vintage recap on the growing conditions and the success of the harvest, “A temperate summer with moderate, steady temperatures allowed the fruit to reach optimum maturity with good hang time for the full development of character and flavors.”
