Lucky Thirteen

Most of us aren't superstitious about the number thirteen. But even if you are, chances are you'd have overcome any fears to join Danny Baker tasting thirteen years of Napa Valley history—history that was "read" through the lens of Heitz's Napa "Trailside Vineyard." And if you had reservations about thirteen wines on the table, you could simply add your welcome wine (the classically-styled Heitz Chardonnay) to thirteen Cabs and count the total as fourteen.

Danny opened the evening with a conference call with David Heitz, winemaker since 1974 and son of the famed founder Joe Heitz. Southern Wine & Spirits representative, Bill Berry, interviewed David about the thirteen vintages, learning that the 1989 and much of the 1990 fruit was from pre-phylloxera vines—before the vineyards were ripped out and replanted.

Then the real fun began: tasting! It's impossible to report on thirteen years of seriously made Cab in a post of any reasonable length, but here are highlights from the vintages about which the tasters were mostly in agreement:

• 1989: Starting to show maturity, but opened up remarkably in the glass over two hours, showing more structure and complexity after two hours than upon opening.
• 1990: Gorgeous fruit in the nose. Some rated this #1 of the tasting after the first pass through the flight; a few continued to feel it was best after two hours.
• 1991: Huge, upon opening. It fell behind other vintages after being in the glass for some time, but some tasters believed this will continue to improve with age.
• 1993: Remarkable elegance and balance. Some maturity showing, but even after two hours this wine was a standout in the glass.
• 1995: Best of the night! This wine was almost universally acclaimed as the star of the evening and Heitz's own tasting notes call it "one of the best to date from Trailside."
• 1996: Ready now. With lots of silky mouthfeel and lusicious fruit, this vintage appears to be at its optimum drinkability.
• 1997: A strong contender for best of the night. Many tasters simply sighed, "Gorgeous," and kept this glass aside to compare to all the rest.
• 1999: With the 1995 and 1997, all were stellar wines. Hold the 1999. The tannins, while not overwhelming, give this Cab at least a decade more to improve.
• 2001: The "sleeper" over the evening—and this vintage is still available! Some ranked the 2001 in their top three overall. Rich chocolate overtones distinguished it from other vintages. Don't hesitate to drink now, but patient cellaring should be rewarded.

Tasting Napa's History

If you missed the Heitz Vertical Tasting on June 11, you missed the opportunity to taste an incredible slice of Napa history from 1989 to 2001. Vine & Grape knew this event would be a remarkable tasting. See this April 6, 2007, Vine & Grape post announcing the Heitz tasting.

Certified Sommelier Danny Baker opened The Loft at Soby's to ten very privileged guests—all of whom were immediately attracted to thirteen glasses at each place setting, along with a full-color package describing the Heitz family's 45 year history in Napa. Heitz lapel pins and corkscrews were among the additional gifts guests received.

As guests gathered, they chose from among Chef Rodney Friedank's carefully chosen starters (including three artisan cheeses perfectly matched to the crisp, very lightly-oaked Heitz Chardonnay). And most in attendance could hardly wait to try the venison tenderloin—the flavor and tenderness of which proved to be a showstopper.

But the main attraction at an event like this is inevitably the wine... and what wines these were: every vintage of Heitz "Trailside Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon from 1989-2001! See the post "Lucky Thirteen," if interested in tasting notes. And if you just can't bear to read about what you missed, see this post for upcoming events you won't want to miss!

Wine is Fun

Who says touring the world and tasting wines can't be fun? If further proof is necessary, we offer this photo of Danny Baker, Soby's long-time sommelier, taking a break with a friendly kangaroo during a tasting trip to Australia.

This long-sought photo was recently forwarded by a friend (well, at least it has been long-sought by those of us who had heard they story of Danny relaxing with a kangaroo!). Couldn't resist sharing it with readers of Vine & Grape.

Paso Picks

If you're a fan of Rhone blends, then Paso is your place. The absolute hit of the trip was SummerWood's GSM 2004 (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend). If you can find it, you won't be disappointed if you like rich, velvet-textured wines. Fabulous balance, despite deep extraction and 15%+ alcohol.

SummerWood's website isn't up-to-date, so the label you are seeing is not for the 2004 GSM. But here's a link so that you will have basic info on the winery.

I'm not generally a fan of the new overly ripe, high-alcohol wines. Attaining good balance is extraordinarily difficult. Manipulation is often necessary (e.g., acidification to get the wine back into balance). But the SummerWood 2004 GSM showed absolutely no flaws. Nothing stuck out; there was no alcohol on the nose, and nothing on the palate that would have indicated the wine was 15%+.

Other producers worth watching: Adelaida Cellars, Denner, Stolpman, and Saxum. And when in Paso, or at your favorite wine store, don't pass up the wines of Robert Haas and the Perrin Family (Chateau de Beaucastel). Their story is too long to tell here, but this link will take you to their site.

Paso Report

The gorgeous photo is some of the newest vineyard land in the Paso Robles area, belonging to a friend of mine. This vineyard sits west of Highway 101 in the hills, as you can see. Look at the stony soil, visible particularly around the posts for the trellis system. These vines are just reaching early maturity and I'm looking forward to trying some of the Cab produced here.

You may have read recently that a group of vintners submitted a proposal to divide the Paso Robles AVA into eleven new American Viticultural Areas. That's a good thing for all of us who love the area. The current Paso AVA is so large as to be almost meaningless. The climate and topography is different east and west of Highway 101, but also from north to south. See the comments in this excellent article in WineBusiness.com, if interested. The Westside (where this photo was made) has terroir suited to produce outstanding wines. But don't make the mistake of automatically ruling out flatter Eastside properties, where a lot of serious winemakers are doing a good job with appropriate varietals and vinification.