This blog is based on the Spirits of New Mexico radio show that aired on March 26, 2022. We do on-air tasting of one or two wines to illustrate what is available in a particular wine region, or as a contrast of what influence a wine region has on a grape or blend. We also contrast wine styles as in the current blog. We use suitable glasses for the type of wine and do a double-decant of red wines to insure they have opened sufficiently for accurate judging.
Some would say the history of Napa Valley began in 1976. That was when an upstart band of passionate California winemakers announced their presence on French soil. Now the term Napa Cab is synonymous with Napa Valley. While Napa Chard is not as recognized a term there is no doubt great Chardonnay comes from Napa as well. The heritage soils of Napa lend prestige to any wine grape a winemaker chooses to grow.
All the same there are lots and lots of Napa Cabs out there so that will be our focus. The nature of these wines changes depending on where the grapes are grown. Very much like French Premier and Grand Cru subregions, Napa is divided into various valley and mountain subregions that add dollars to the cost of a bottle just by putting Rutherford or Diamond Mountain on a Cabernet Sauvignon’s label.
There are now 16 sub-AVAs within Napa AVA (est. 1981) that uniquely define its wines. An experienced Napa Cab lover can usually discern the different between a Howell Mtn. wine and one from Rutherford. And even in the broad valley of Napa, that these mountains enclose, there are definable differences between a St. Helena and Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon as I learned at Raymond Vineyards.
Napa Valley:
- Napa Valley is 30 miles long and 1-5 miles wide, producing 4% of California’s wines
- Where else but Napa would Inglenook, built by Finnish sea captain Gustave Niebaum over 120 years ago, now be Coppola-Niebaum and run by a moviemaker.
- Robert Mondavi; modern day founder and supporter of Napa
- Napa Cab is a single term for the richest, most complex Cabs in the world
- Napa begins at San Pablo Bay and ends at a volcano, Mount St Helena
The first grapes were planted in the 1850s. Charge Krug is credited as a principal Napa pioneer, founding his winery in 1861. The Mondavi family revived the Krug estate in the 1940s. In between those two events were phylloxera infestations and Prohibition. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that Napa generated a lot of interest, but then in 1976 a blind tasting of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay took top honors from the best red Bordeaux and white Burgundy wines.
France was in shock as the movie, Bottle Shock depicted, although presumably it was the color change of the Chateau Montelena wine from which the title came.
Napa Terroir
Napa Valley is sandwiched in between the western Mayacamas Mountains and the Vaca Range to the east. Five of the sub-AVAs are mountain districts and eleven are valley districts. Starting at the south end of the valley, one enters via Highway 29, which skirts San Pablo Bay on its way north through the towns of Napa, St. Helena and Calistoga before branching out to Clear Lake going north or Healdsburg in Sonoma, going west. Map courtesy of Napa Valley Passport.
The first stop is Los Carneros (est. 1983), a wine region shared with Sonoma County and known for their rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Next is the city of Napa, one of my favorite cities in California wine country, with some of the best restaurants, wine tasting rooms and beautiful views and buildings, rivaled only by the town of Sonoma.
To the east of the city is Coombsville (est. 2011), part of which overlooks the valley from the Vaca foothills. Since most visitors shoot up 29 they miss this very charming area that produces great Cabs. To the east of it is Wild Horse Valley (est. 1988) with elevations of 600 to 1900 feet making it an upland valley. Returning to the town of Napa, one can precede north on highway 29 or head east to the Silverado Trail, which is a more picturesque and less traveled road. On the valley floor, reading from South to North are the following:
- Oak Knoll – 2004, warmest area, wide variety of grapes
- Yountville – est. 1999, known for Cabernet Sauvignon
- Stags Leap – est. 1989, to the east of Yountville had top Cab 1976 Judgment of Paris
- Oakville – est. 1993, known for Cabernet Sauvignon
- Rutherford – est. 1993, known for Cabernet Sauvignon
- Helena – est. 1995, known for Cabernet Sauvignon
- Calistoga – est. 2009, known for Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, spas and mud baths. After seeing a man drown in a mud bath in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), I had no desire to try one.
- Chiles Valley – est. 1999 an upland valley east of Howell Mountain known for Zinfandel.
Napa Mountain districts
Some of the best Napa Cabs come from the mountain districts and are priced accordingly.
- Atlas Peak – est. 1992, to the east of Stags Leap and known for Cabs and Merlot
- Spring Mountain – est. 1993, to the west above St. Helena is also known for Cabs and Merlot
- Diamond Mountain – est. 2001, north of Spring Mountain, known for Cabs
- Howell Mountain – est. 1983, a large area east of Calistoga and St. Helena also known for Cabs
- Mt. Veeder – est. 1990, west of Oak Knoll in Mayacamas Mountains does briary Cabs.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted grape in the world. It was supplanted by Merlot by in the 1990s. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape, with a total of 341,000 hectares under vine worldwide. It is possible the influence of Sideways in 2004 might have affected this change.
The grape’s true origins were discovered in 1996 with the use of DNA typing at the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology, by a team led by Dr. Carole Meredith. The DNA evidence determined that Cabernet Sauvignon was the offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc and was most likely a chance crossing that occurred in the 17th century.
Cabernet Sauvignon tends to make full-bodied wines with high tannins and noticeable acidity that contributes to the wine’s aging potential. In cooler climates, it tends to produce wines with blackcurrant notes sometimes with green bell pepper notes, mint and cedar which are more pronounced with age. In more moderate climates the blackcurrant notes often add black cherry and black olive notes. In very hot climates the flavors can veer towards the over-ripe and “jammy” side.
The use of oak during fermentation, the size and type of oak barrels for aging all have an impact on the flavors generated. The grape does take well to oak with vanilla and spice contributing to it overall flavor profile. One important winemaker choice is to decide between a blend or a single varietal. The so-called Bordeaux blend adds Merlot and Cabernet franc and possibly Petit Verdot and Malbec.
Napa Cabs tend to be 100% varietal with sometimes 5% or more Merlot added. Napa Valley and Napa Mountain Cabs have distinctive differences as do the various sub-AVAs on the valley floor.
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon on the cheap: Costco and Trader Joe’s
A year and a half ago we sampled two classic Napa Cabs:
- Freemark Abbey 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – $40
- Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Fay 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – $150
What with inflation jacking up prices for all sorts of things from oil to wine and food I decided we needed some relief. That meant trying some less expensive wines at Trader Joe’s that were still bona fide Napa Cab. The one caveat is that guessing the provenance of these wines requires some sleuthing expertise along with our palates.
What we are tasting: Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve 2019 Meritage, Napa Valley, 14.5 % ABV, $12.99
I was hoping to find a TJ Platinum reserve Atlas Peak or Diamond Mountain to contrast fruit from different subregions, but not even the Knight’s Valley was available. Nonetheless this Grand reserve I did get a high rating from Jon Thorsen; the Reverse Wine Snob so I went with it.
Meritage is a term used to describe Bordeaux-style red and white wines made by members of the Meritage Alliance. The wines must be made from at least two of the permitted grape varieties in the red or white wine categories, with no single variety making up more than 90 percent of the final blend. For a red wine this would be Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot or Malbec.
Jon’s comments: As is typically the case with these wines, there’s really no info on the label except that it was vinted and bottled by JBA Cellars and that it has 14.5% Alcohol.
Trader Joe’s has a nice history of putting out some quality Napa Meritage, especially at the Grand Reserve level, and we loved this one when we first found it last year. Thus we were very happy to find that, unlike many of the TJ’s labels; it keeps the same lot designation and producer for 2019.
The 2019 Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Napa Valley Meritage Lot 86 begins with lots of ripe dark berry fruit, plenty of vanilla, plus licorice, spice and a little coffee. It’s quite an oaky aroma but quite good too.
Tasting the wine reveals tons of vanilla-soaked, ripe and juicy fruit. There’s certainly no shortage of flavor in this one; in fact, it’s almost a bit over the top. It’s also really delicious.
It ends dry, long and slightly chewy with lingering tart fruit plus vanilla, chocolate and baking spice on the finish. Just as good as the 2018, this gets a Bulk Buy designation. At this price, stock up if you see it!
What we are tasting: Faust 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon 14.9 ABV, $50 to $55
We are not making a pact with the devil just so we can try this wine. On the other hand selling your soul has probably never tasted so good. Rated the number one restaurant wine in 2020; isn’t this at least worth a peek? You can always have your fingers crossed when you trade soul for wine. The Faust website makes it clear this was a Faustian bargain.
Winemaker Notes: The core of Faust comes from our Coombsville Estate as well as from our vineyards in Rutherford and Oakville. This wine jumps out of the glass with aromas of fresh black cherry and plum. Layers of savory cherry compote, earth, cedar and graphite are rounded out by a long finish with hints of dark chocolate, balanced acidity and minerality.
Coombsville AVA 2011:
Thanks to its proximity to the San Pablo Bay, along with its undulating hillsides and varied sun exposure, their Coombsville estate vineyard is in one of the coolest growing regions in the Napa Valley. Both the newest in Napa Valley and the furthest south, Coombsville benefits from ancient volcanic soils, marine breezes coming off the nearby San Pablo Bay, as well as a long and cool growing season due to its location in the valley.
Located just east of the town of Napa, close to the bay, Coombsville is a physically cooler region. In the early days, many thought it was too cold to grow cabernet there, considering it to be primarily chardonnay country, but some visionaries planted anyway. Besides being the last-to-ripen vines in Napa, the soil profiles are very different given it’s closer to the Vaca Mountain range, so there is a lot of eroded volcanic soil, which means, lots of minerals in the soil.
In Napa Valley you get more red fruit, more spice. The tannins can be a bit more rustic. Down in Coombsville you get more intense color, a blue-black fruit profile. A brighter acidity and minerality in the wines. Coombsville is just very unique.
James Suckling: Very attractive aromas of blackcurrants, black olives and dark leather with some cedar. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins and a refined, polished finish. Shows finesse and focus. Grows on the palate. Really delicious now, but will improve with age. Drink or hold. 94 points
Wine Enthusiast: Blended with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, this full-bodied, highly expressive red is made from Coombsville estate grapes as well as grapes from sites in Rutherford and Oakville. It presents concentrated, burly black-fruit notes tempered by savory clove, espresso, leather and toasted oak. 92 points
Wine Spectator: Distinctive, with sweet bay leaf, sassafras and a sanguine note all taking the lead, while a core of gently mulled red currant and blackberry fruit follows. Shows a nice herbaceous/brambly energy through the finish. Drink now through 2028. 91 points
Analysis
While I’d give the edge to the Faust Cab, I was impressed with the intensity and flavors of the TJ Cab as well. Let’s see, I can get four bottles of the Meritage or one of the Faust. I think of going back to Trader Joe’s. Although the TJ wine is a Meritage, no information is provided on the grapes or percentages used, which can hint at what flavor profile a wine will have. Then again, that might only be a concern of we wine geeks!
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