WHAT'S NEW
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
WHAT'S
NEW ARCHIVES
Click above to view our archives of articles before 2006