What's New
A Napa Merlot That's Still a Delicious Star
James Laube
Wine Spectator, Jan. 15, 2010
Paloma's 2001 Merlot is still the best Merlot I've tasted from California. Named our Wine of the Year in 2003, this remains a wonderfully delicious piece of work—ripe, rich, layered, complex and impeccably balanced. A friend uncorked a bottle for lunch the other day, which we enjoyed along with duck confit salad, and it is still showing beautifully.
What's remarkable about this vineyard in Napa Valley's Spring Mountain District is that it also made a great Cabernet and Syrah. When a vineyard can produce two or three noble wines, that validates its greatness and versatility. The owners, the Richards family, dropped those two wines to focus on Merlot, and I have mixed emotions about that.
As it stands, Paloma remains the greatest Merlot vineyard in California, and its wines can hold their own against the best Merlots grown anywhere. The 2001 is at a nice peak now and should hold another five to eight years. Still 95 points, non-blind, just as when I first rated it.
Wine Spectator.com
WINE SPECTATOR'S TOP 100 AT A GLANCE
PALOMA Ranks 65nd in the TOP 100
Harvey Steinman
Wine Spectator, Jan. 31, 2009
#65 - Paloma Merlot Napa Valley 2006 - 93 - $54 - California
The 2001 Paloma Merlot was Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 2003, and quality at the winery has never waivered, with this site high on Spring Mountain, 2,200 feet above Napa Valley, consistently producing rich and opulent wines. Sadly, Jim Richards passed away this year; his wife, Barbara, and son, Sheldon, now helm the estate vineyard. 2,776 cases made
The 2002 Paloma Merlot was #48 in the WS TOP 100 in 2004.
Merlot's Mixed Messages
Overall quality is high, but middle-range values are scarce among 2005 and 2006 releases from California
Tim Fish
Wine Spectator, Nov. 30, 2009
There are two clear choices with California Merlot right now. Splurge and buy the best, or search for reliable values. Unfortunately, Merlot's middle ground is tougher terrain, because too many Merlots in the $20 to $40 price range offer so-so quality.
That's my conclusion after blind-tasting 170 Merlots since my last report on the varietal (Nov. 30, 2008). On a statewide level, the 2005 and 2006 vintages comprise a mixed bag in terms of quality, and consumers must shop carefully. One thing, however, has become clear: In the race for Merlot dominance, Napa continues to pull away from Sonoma.
For proof, look no further than the 2006s now arriving on the shelves. I've given the Napa wine a preliminary rating of 92-94 on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, potentially making it Napa's best Merlot vintage ever. By comparison, the 2006 Sonoma Merlots received 84-86, although when it comes to value, Sonoma wins hands down.
There are a number of outstanding releases this year—all from Napa— although production for many of them is limited to just a few hundred cases. With an eye to availability, most of the wines i discuss in this report are produced on a larger scale—900 cases or more. And even some of those may be hard to find.
. . .
The outstanding Paloma Napa Valley 2006 (93, $54) is a fitting tribute to Jim Richards, who died earlier this year. Richards and his wife, Barbara, founded Paloma and blazed a trail for Merlot over the past decade, including the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 2003 for their 2001 Spring Mountain District. The 2006 is ripe and elegant, with fragrant currant, caramel and olive aromas.
. . .
California Merlot Struggles
Difficult weather delivers lean wines in 2003, but there are still plenty of ‘02s available
Tim Fish
Wine Spectator, Nov. 30, 2006
California Merlot remains a best-seller in the United States even though it rarely achieves greatness. That dichotomy leads to a lot of grumbling in some quarters, and the 2003 vintage gives Merlot skeptics more support, delivering wines that are lean and ordinary.
Among the nearly 70 2003 Merlots blind-tasted since our 1st report (“Napa’s Merlot Magic,” Oct. 15, 2005), only five wines rated an outstanding (90 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale). All five are perennial favorites, which only demonstrates that the varieties best producers are truly first-rate, capable of proving their mettle even in an off year. (For a complete list of all wines tasted for this report, see the alphabetical chart beginning on page 187 of this year’s buying guide.)
The two top-scoring 2003s are the Lewis Napa Valley (94 points, $56), which is rich and seductive yet powerful, with pure ripe currant, sage and black licorice fruit, and the Pride Claret Reserve Sonoma-Napa Counties (94, $120), a Merlot-dominated blend that’s complex and polished, serving up tiers of ripe currant, mineral and plum flavors.
Just a notch below is the Pahlmeyer Napa Valley 2003 (90, $90), which is appealing for its supple midpalate, firm finish and broad display of fruit, and the Paloma Spring Mountain District 2003 (90, $51), a balanced, rich and vibrant red.
More telling, perhaps, than the limited number of outstanding bottlings in 2003 is the fact, that, although 31 wines merited a rating of very good (85 to 89 points), the rest—about half of the 2003s in this report—rated less than 84 points, indicating only good or mediocre quality.
Luckily, for fans of the variety, there are plenty of 2002 still on the market and some 2004s are starting to arrive. 2002 was a top year for Merlot, particularly in Napa (89 points), while the 2004 vintage (not rated yet) is showing promise, chiefly Napa as well.
One outstanding 2002 is the Luna Napa Valley (91, $32), a fleshy and harmonious wine that shows black cherry and herbs. Also recommended are the Switchback Ridge Peterson Family Vineyard (91, $50), a ripe, plush wine with vivid wild berry and raspberry flavors, and the Rocca Yountville (90, $34), appealing for its mocha-laced oak and core of spicy black cherry fruit.
Among the 2004s, the early stars are Paloma (93, $54), a supple and graceful wine with deep flavors of plum, dusty berry and mineral, and the Shafer Napa Valley (92, $45), which is ripe and juicy, with wild berry fruit and toasty oak shadings.
As for the mediocre showings of 2003 Merlots, the explanation lies in the climatic extremes of the vintage. Merlot is a notoriously difficult grape to grow. The fruit is thin-skinned—therefore more easily damaged than tougher grapes such as Cabernet—and is highly vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather, which the erratic 2003 vintage offered in spades. “I hope I never see another 2003,” says Tom Burgess of Burgess Cellars, whose Merlot Napa Valley 2003 (88, $22) is among the vintage’s better wines.
It was a Jekyll-and-Hyde growing season. April was excessively cold and soggy, and cool spells alternated with heat spikes throughout the summer months. A violent storm hit the North Coast in early September, followed by a prolonged heat wave that reached 107° F in some areas. Only the arrival of a dry and moderate weather in October staved off disaster, but in the end, Merlot had taken a hard hit.
“With all the rain and the heat, there was poor grape set in Merlot,” says winemaker Erik Olsen of Clos du Bois. “They were just scraggly little grape clusters.” The winery’s Merlot Sonoma County 2003 (87, $18) is both a good value and widely available.
When the heat wave hit in September, winemakers were forced to make a difficult decision. Many of the grapes were not yet physiologically ripe, but sugar levels, which are measured in degrees Brix, suddenly soared. “It drove up the Brix even though true ripeness wasn’t going along for the ride,” Olsen says.
Some winemakers and growers decided to pick, while others took a risk and waited, hoping the heat would pass and the fall rains wouldn’t begin. Neither decision appeared to be a recipe for success—Burgess picked early while Olsen waited out the weather—but the heat may partially explain why so many 2003 Merlots show distinctive notes of roasted herbs.
That’s the thing about Merlot—it’s a tricky grape. A handful of California winemakers producing it on a small scale have figured out how to succeed year after year, but too many of their colleagues continue to struggle with inconsistency.
Sommeliers Sample Spring Mountain Harvest
Sean Razee, wine director, the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Colorado
Sante Magazine 2006
For 13 sommeliers and wine buyers from across the country, the First Annual Spring Mountain District Association's "Touch the Terroir" event, held October 16 to 18 in the prestigious Napa Valley appellation, proved to be an opportunity to experience harvest and crush through the winemakers' eyes. The idea was to allow participants to work side by side with winemakers and grape growers during the daily harvesting and winemaking agendas.
Each morning the visitors were divided into small groups and taken to a winery to work with a winemaker. Each participant was housed on a host property; for some the morning commute was a short walk from the vineyard house to the cuverie, while for others it was a quick trip down Spring Mountain Road to their morning host winery. Time was spent either walking the vineyards and tasting grapes for physiological ripeness (the time when grape seeds begin to turn brown and skin tannins begin o soften and sweeten) or assisting with punch-downs, pump-overs, lees stirring, and finishing. Of course, a bit of tank or barrel tasting was thrown in for good measure.
After lunch in the vineyard or the barrel chai, the small groups were escorted to another host winery to witness the finishing of the crush of the morning's harvests and the monitoring of newly fermenting tanks of grape juice to determine proper fermentation temperatures and yeast strength.
The easy evening conversation usually turned to family vineyard owners and second-generation winemakers who related stories of the "early days" on Spring Mountain. So often it is the stories and insights into a winery, a vineyard, or its family that sommeliers relate to their guests when selling a wine, and that is exactly was "Touch the Terroir" was able to impart.
California Merlot Struggles
Difficult weather delivers lean wines in 2003, but there are still plenty of ‘02s available
by Tim Fish
Wine Spectator, Nov. 30, 2006
California Merlot remains a best-seller in the United States even though it rarely achieves greatness. That dichotomy leads to a lot of grumbling in some quarters, and the 2003 vintage gives Merlot skeptics more support, delivering wines that are lean and ordinary.
Among the nearly 70 2003 Merlots blind-tasted since our 1st report (“Napa’s Merlot Magic,” Oct. 15, 2005), only five wines rated an outstanding (90 points or higher on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale). All five are perennial favorites, which only demonstrates that the varieties best producers are truly first-rate, capable of proving their mettle even in an off year. (For a complete list of all wines tasted for this report, see the alphabetical chart beginning on page 187 of this year’s buying guide.)
The two top-scoring 2003s are the Lewis Napa Valley (94 points, $56), which is rich and seductive yet powerful, with pure ripe currant, sage and black licorice fruit, and the Pride Claret Reserve Sonoma-Napa Counties (94, $120), a Merlot-dominated blend that’s complex and polished, serving up tiers of ripe currant, mineral and plum flavors.
Just a notch below is the Pahlmeyer Napa Valley 2003 (90, $90), which is appealing for its supple midpalate, firm finish and broad display of fruit, and the Paloma Spring Mountain District 2003 (90, $51), a balanced, rich and vibrant red.
More telling, perhaps, than the limited number of outstanding bottlings in 2003 is the fact, that, although 31 wines merited a rating of very good (85 to 89 points), the rest—about half of the 2003s in this report—rated less than 84 points, indicating only good or mediocre quality.
Luckily, for fans of the variety, there are plenty of 2002 still on the market and some 2004s are starting to arrive. 2002 was a top year for Merlot, particularly in Napa (89 points), while the 2004 vintage (not rated yet) is showing promise, chiefly Napa as well.
One outstanding 2002 is the Luna Napa Valley (91, $32), a fleshy and harmonious wine that shows black cherry and herbs. Also recommended are the Switchback Ridge Peterson Family Vineyard (91, $50), a ripe, plush wine with vivid wild berry and raspberry flavors, and the Rocca Yountville (90, $34), appealing for its mocha-laced oak and core of spicy black cherry fruit.
Among the 2004s, the early stars are Paloma (93, $54), a supple and graceful wine with deep flavors of plum, dusty berry and mineral, and the Shafer Napa Valley (92, $45), which is ripe and juicy, with wild berry fruit and toasty oak shadings.
As for the mediocre showings of 2003 Merlots, the explanation lies in the climatic extremes of the vintage. Merlot is a notoriously difficult grape to grow. The fruit is thin-skinned—therefore more easily damaged than tougher grapes such as Cabernet—and is highly vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather, which the erratic 2003 vintage offered in spades. “I hope I never see another 2003,” says Tom Burgess of Burgess Cellars, whose Merlot Napa Valley 2003 (88, $22) is among the vintage’s better wines.
It was a Jekyll-and-Hyde growing season. April was excessively cold and soggy, and cool spells alternated with heat spikes throughout the summer months. A violent storm hit the North Coast in early September, followed by a prolonged heat wave that reached 107° F in some areas. Only the arrival of a dry and moderate weather in October staved off disaster, but in the end, Merlot had taken a hard hit.
“With all the rain and the heat, there was poor grape set in Merlot,” says winemaker Erik Olsen of Clos du Bois. “They were just scraggly little grape clusters.” The winery’s Merlot Sonoma County 2003 (87, $18) is both a good value and widely available.
When the heat wave hit in September, winemakers were forced to make a difficult decision. Many of the grapes were not yet physiologically ripe, but sugar levels, which are measured in degrees Brix, suddenly soared. “It drove up the Brix even though true ripeness wasn’t going along for the ride,” Olsen says.
Some winemakers and growers decided to pick, while others took a risk and waited, hoping the heat would pass and the fall rains wouldn’t begin. Neither decision appeared to be a recipe for success—Burgess picked early while Olsen waited out the weather—but the heat may partially explain why so many 2003 Merlots show distinctive notes of roasted herbs.
That’s the thing about Merlot—it’s a tricky grape. A handful of California winemakers producing it on a small scale have figured out how to succeed year after year, but too many of their colleagues continue to struggle with inconsistency.
FOOD & WINE
By Richard Nalley
American Wine Awards,October 2006
. . . at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, October 3, 2006 . . .
When F & W debuted the American Wine Awards nine years ago, the wine scene was very different. Few in the industry used terms like “natural winemaking” and painstaking vineyard work.” However, this year’s winners, chosen by a panel of judges, share this emphasis on the grape.
Best Wines Over $20
$51
MERLOT
2003 PALOMA
The owners of this Napa winery gave retirement a new and very active meaning when they purchased 15 acres of vineyards near the top of Spring Mountain in 1983 and began producing some of the best Merlots made in California. Unfortunately, they produced only 1,900 cases of this voluptuous wine.
Paloma edit: For those of you who know us and have visited the vineyard and winery, you will know that we purchased 20 acres in 1983, cleared, and planted 15 acres between 1984 to 1987. We sold grapes until 1994 when we began making small quantities of wine at our friend and neighbor, Pride Family Wines. Finally, in 2000 we built our own winery and now produce an average of 2000 cases. Poor spring weather in 2004 and 2005 harvests resulted in just over 1200 cases, while the 2006 will result in approximately 3000 cases.
Other 2006 Awards:
Best New Winery: Sea Smoke
Best Importer: Eric Solomon
Best Wines Under $20:
• 2004 Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc, $18
• 2004 Saintsbury Garnet Carneros Pinot Noir, $17
• 2004 Nelms Road Merlot, $19
• 2004 Red Car Boxcar Syrah, $20
• 2003 Twenty Rows Cabernet Sauvignon, $20
• 2004 Plungerhead, Zinfandel $16
• 2004 Saintsbury Chardonnay Carneros, $20
Best Wines Over $20
• 2005 Cliff Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc, $24
• 2003 Etude Heirloom Pinot Noir, $80
• 2003 Paloma Merlot, $51
• 2003 Behrens & Hitchcock Chien Lunatique Syrah, $60
• 2003 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon, $180
• 2003 Hendry Block 7 Zinfandel, $29
• 2003 Ramey Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, $56
Winemaker of the year: Bob Levy
Vintage California
Wine country always has something new to experence
by David Armstrong
Alaska Airlines, March, 2006
Before I met her, my wife, Georgina, lived in the heart of wine country, on a winding mountain road high above the Napa Valley. We now live near San Franscisco, about an hour's drive from wine country, and return to that region whenever we can, guided by her knowledge of the land, the people, the food, and of course, the wine. . . .
. . .
For a memorable introduction to wine, you can't get any more personable than Paloma Vineyard, a 15-acre premium winemaking operation owned by Barbara and jim Richards, who have just one full-time employee. As we drove up Spring Mountain Road on our way to Pride Mountain, a hale-looking older couple waved to us from the vineyards, where they were doing their own pruning by hand. This couple proves to be the Richards, as we discover when we stop by later. To the Richards' great surprise, in 2003 the Wine Spectator chose Paloma's 2001 Merlot as "Wine of the Year," sparking a demand that instantly exhausted their supply. Two rainy winters had further reduced Paloma's output, but its limited stock is well worth seeking out. We barrel-taste a toothsome, unfinished 2004 merlot that puts to rest all those merlot jokes in the movie Sideways. Standing in the kitchen of the Richards' mountainside home, catching whiffs of smoke from their wood-burning, we savor the lingering taste of this promising wine while watching the clouds over the Napa Valley put on an ever-changing show.
I don't know if I'll ever have another moment of wine satori quite as memorable as this, but I'm ready to keep going back to California wine country in hopes of finding it.
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