Prince of Wine » cabernet sauvignon

iPOW-Organic and Biodynamic Winemaking-Antonio Bravo of Emiliana, Chile

princeofwine — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:26:58 +0000

I attended a recent tasting in Los Angeles hosted by the global wine powerhouse Banfi Vintners to showcase the wines of Emiliana and meet its winemaker, Antonio Bravo. We have all heard about the great gems coming out of South America and especially Chile and Argentina over the last decade. So what is so special about this lineup? Well the story here is the commitment by Emiliana to produce organic and Biodynamic wines on a large scale which requires an intensive amount of capital, backing and a long term vision. You cannot just press a button one day and say we are going to be organic and biodynamic winery. The other part of the story is the wine quality. I was impressed with winemaker Antonio Bravo’s passion for this endeavour and the wines I tasted ranged from everyday $11 fresh and vibrant wines (Natura) to seriously complex $90 wines (G). To view the full wine range please visit www.banfivintners.com and click on Emiliana under the new world portfolio. For the rest please watch the video clip! (Pardon the lighting as it was inside a restaurant). Cheers and share the POW!

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

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Wine Review Short #30: Ballentine Vineyards, Napa, California-56 Years of love in the Vineyard!

princeofwine — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:56:55 +0000

An interview with Van and Betty Ballentine of Ballentine Vineyards at the Family Winemakers tasting event in Del Mar California. I was immensely impressed by the story of Van and Betty with their commitment to each other as well as to their wines. They poured the vino to the public for tasting with the gusto and the excitement of winemakers half their age. Here is their story (as told by Mr. and Mrs. Ballentine):

Betty’s grandfather, Libero Pocai arrived in California in 1884 at the age of 22. He left the small city of Lucca, Italy to make his fortune, with dreams of returning home. Before a small sum could be amassed, his father died, leaving him little reason to return to Italy. He fortunately met Maria Cristofani and soon they married. Maria was also the daughter of an Italian immigrant family. They planned to stay in San Francisco, while Libero found work in the wood and coal business. But Maria’s health suffered and the family doctor told Libero to get her to the country. On April 18th 1906, the catastrophic earthquake of San Francisco encouraged them to make their way to the upper end of Napa Valley, near Calistoga. Libero knew he was destined to plant a vineyard, make wine, and raise a family. He had the foresight or the unbelievable luck to purchase 60 acres of the best possible vineyard land in the Napa Valley. It was purchased from the T.H. Steele family. The early deed to the land recorded that payment was made in gold coins.

In many ways, the land was golden. The vineyard’s soil was identified as bale gravely loam. It was the timeless result of alluvial deposits having their origin in rhyolitic rocks. It was difficult backbreaking work to plant a vineyard in this rocky soil. The gravel constantly interfered with the farming implements. A team of horses tilled the vineyard. Luckily, the rewarding attribute of the soil is that it is well drained and outstandingly adapted to grape vines. Libero planted a variety of wine grapes: Zinfandel, Merlot, Charbono, Petite Sirah and Gamay. He acquired the 115th winery bond in the state. Today, there are over 5,600 bonded wineries in California.

Libero named his winery after his family, L. Pocai and Sons. The winery produced, at its peak, about 50,000 gallons. At the prestigious California State Fair, L.Pocai and Sons won a gold medal in 1951 for Claret, a gold medal in 1954 for Gamay and a bronze medal for Zinfandel in 1947. The state fair wine competition began in 1947 and ran until 1959. For its time, it was the only visible accolade a winery could hold.

Libero had two sons, Frank and Henry. The boys took immense pride in helping their father in the vineyard and in the winery. They had little leisure time, but they were far from underprivileged. Both boys had a bicycle at a time when most families would have made one do. In 1910, their parents bought them their first car, to celebrate an exceptionally good harvest. Ironically enough, the next year a hard frost wiped out their entire crop. Henry never married but Frank married Anna Cavagnaro and together they had two daughters, Betty and Marie. Betty Pocai grew up in Calistoga and graduated from Calistoga High School. She went to Armstrong College, for an accounting degree. Back in Napa Valley, she worked for more than a decade at the Charles Krug Winery. Her father, Frank, and Uncle Henry continued to produce wines, until they retired in 1963 and closed their winery doors. Sadly, it was also the year that Maria Pocai passed away at the age of 94. The vineyards continued to produce grapes, which were in strong demand and sold to a shortlist of emerging Napa Valley wineries. The historic Pocai Ranch is the backbone of our Merlot program and the reserve wines called “Bg”.

Van Ballentine grew up in St. Helena. His father, John Ballentine emigrated in 1910 from his small farming estate in Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland to San Francisco. His family estate was called Deer Park and it left a lasting impression on him. He lived in San Francisco for a decade before he moved to Napa Valley. Van’s mother, Ellen Gerhardt, was born and educated in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She came to California in 1921 and lived in Yuba City and the San Francisco area. She came to St. Helena in 1924 where she married John J. Ballentine. They had two children, Van and Helen.

On September 5th 1922, during Prohibition, when it was an illegal act to produce and sell wine, John purchased 160 acres and an old stone winery. The winery was built in 1891, by Emil Leuenberger, who was married to the daughter of John Sutter. The winery was the original Sutter Home Winery and remained so until 1909, when they sold it to three Italian families for only $25.00 in gold. The new owners were never able to make a go of it and when Prohibition started in 1920, they totally neglected the property. With a twinkle in his Irishman’s eye, John saw the abandoned winery as his possible pot of gold. He felt that it was both an idyllic place to raise his family and his opportunity to resurrect the winery. All he needed to do was wait. Prohibition ended in 1933. John Ballentine was one of the first to apply for a winery bond and received number 3595. He named their estate Deer Park. Luckily the vineyards were still producing grapes and the first vintage of Ballentine wines was 1933.

Van was a young child, but he pitched in to help. Since he was the youngest in his family he often was chosen to clean out the wine tanks. As a small boy he could easily squeeze through the small manhole opening. He followed his father, quite literally in his footstep, planting vineyards, pruning vines and making wine. They produced Cabernet, Zinfandel, Claret, Riesling and Sauterne. By age 14, he came full circle and now he was driving his father to San Francisco and delivering Ballentine wines to quaint Italian restaurants and city nightclubs.

Van entered the Navy in 1945 and returned to Napa Valley after his tour of duty. He continued to work with his father, developing a deep love for wine making and working the land. John and Van shared the winemaking duties as well as the management of the vineyards.

1934 thru 1950 were reported to be the most difficult 16 years in the wine industry. In 1934 there were only sixty wineries in Napa Valley, mostly small operations like Ballentine’s Deer Park. In the next 16 years, wineries started up and folded. The 1940’s ended with four years of near drought conditions. Grape prices fluctuated wildly, fine bottles of wine were still priced under one dollar. Bulk wine was being sold for fifteen cents to thirty cents a gallon.

John Ballentine decided to retire as the winemaker in 1959 and Ballentine Winery at Deer Park closed its doors. In 1979, the winery was sold to David and Kinta Clark. Van owned another vineyard site, which was purchased in 1949, at the base of Howell Mountain on Crystal Springs Road. This site was originally planted to Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Sirah and Syrah. To date, Van has worked more than 60 vintages in Napa Valley. His family winery and vineyards have always been the core of his working life. He knows the vines as an architect knows his building. He also became a vineyard manager for Christian Brothers, managing all of their northern Napa properties from the late 50’s to the mid 60’s.

To date, Van has worked more than 60 vintages in Napa Valley.

Betty and Van met as children. Betty was in a piano recital at the Tucker Farm Center and she still remembers catching Van’s glances. They were both from Napa Valley, both winery kids. They attended different schools but they shared the same farming experience. They have been happily married for over 50 years. They have two sons, Frank and Bill, and four grandchildren.

Today, Ballentine owns 100 acres of vines spread among the Crystal Springs Vineyard at the base of Howell Mountain, Pocai Ranch between the Napa River and the Silverado Trail and the Home Vineyard at the winery. After selling their grapes for many years to wineries; Cabernet Sauvignon to Caymus, Cabernet Franc to Rombauer, Zinfandel to Rosenblum, Ravenswood and Mondavi, Van and Betty decided to revive the Ballentine brand that Van and his dad worked at for many years at Deer Park. They started by having their grapes custom crushed for a small production in 1992. In 1995, they built a winery, behind their 100-year-old farmhouse. They revived the original bonded winery number 3595 issued to his father, John Ballentine, in 1933 after prohibition ended. Ballentine Vineyards produces red wines, perfectly suited to the Northern Napa Valley climate and vineyards. Our production is less than 10,000 cases of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and with a future release of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc.

The 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a big brooding wine with multi faceted nuances of dark fruit, vanilla, cedarwood and forest floor acting in harmony with well integrated tannins and a long finish. POW 92. $60 Retail. For further information about Ballentine Vineyards pls click on www.ballentinevineyards.com

Technical Details of the Ballentine 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal Composition:
92% Cabernet Sauvignon
4% Cabernet Franc
4% Petit Verdot

Harvest Date:
October 5th, 2005

Barrel Aging:
23 months in French oak barrels; 50% new French oak

Finished Alcohol:
15.3%

Cases Produced:
540

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine

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Wine Review Short #29: Chateau Clarke- Merlot taste with a Cabernet underbelly!

princeofwine — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:53:07 +0000

This is the last interview of the 2006 Bordeaux vintage. Here I am chatting with Mr. Eric Fourault of Chateau Clarke, located in the Listrac area of the Médoc, Bordeaux on the left bank of the Gironde river. The origins of the estate date back to the 12th century when the Cistercian monks of the Vertheuil Abbey planted the first vines. In 1818 the knight Tobie Clarke purchased the primarily Limestone (with some clay) land that would permanently bear his name. By the time Baron Edmond de Rothschild bought the property in 1973 the vineyard was abandoned and neglected. A replanting process took place between 1974 and 1978 and the result was a grape growing area totaling 53 hectares (about 133 acres).

The 2006 vintage is comprised of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The prevalence of Merlot in this Listrac vintage reflects more of a right bank St Emilion than a left bank Cabernet Sauvignon prevalent wine. Aromas of black plums, cassis and cigar box lead to a palate of soft ripe fruit with underlying freshness and structure suitable for carrying itself for the long haul. A serious wine but without the pretense and the fuss of the more prestigious classified growth neighbors. Decant for over an hour prior to drinking. This wine will pair well with rosemary garnished pepper crusted grilled lamb chops, aged shropshire cheddar and semi dried black figs. A great bargain at average US retail of $23 (POW 90).

Technical tidbits:
Appellation : Listrac Médoc
Number of parcels : 45
Area planted : 53 ha
Production : 150 – 250 000 bottles per year

Grape varieties planted (percentage of area planted):
Cabernet Sauvignon : 48%
Merlot : 42%
Cabernet Franc : 8%
Petit Verdot : 2%
Type of soil : calcareous Eocene and calcareous clay
Harvesting : by machine/the entire crop is hand sorted prior to pressing; the entire crop is hand sorted on ground sheets
Vinification : traditional in thermoregulated stainless-steel vats – long maceration
Maturation : in new casks (60 – 100%) for 12 – 18 months
Pasting : With egg white

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine
www.princeofwine.com

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2005 Old River Road Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon- Ponderosa Vineyard-Sierra Foothills-ORGANIC GRAPES

princeofwine — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:22:35 +0000

Another wine From the San Francisco based Magnanimus Wine Group that specializes in making wines sourced from sustainable, organic and biodynamic grapes: Located at 1900’ elevation along the Sierra Nevada Mountains’ western slopes, Ponderosa, Old River Road Cellars Vineyard has been CCOF-certified organic since 1993. This high elevation vineyard site yields organic grapes resulting in a well crafted garnet colored wine with aromas of dark cherry intertwined with earthy and spicy notes. On the palate the wine is medium bodied with bright acidity and forward tannins with compelling notes of dark fruits and earth and a medium finish. Comprised of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Cabernet Franc and is barrel-aged in new French oak for 8 months prior to blending and bottling. 2500 cases produced. Alcohol 13.5%

by volume.
For further information please visit Old River Road Cellars at http://www.magnanimuswines.com/

POW Score: 89

Walid Romaya
Prince of Wine
www.princeofwine.com

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Wine Review Short #6-2005 Barrak Brand Red (and Silhouette Wine Glass) – Santa Ynez Valley, California

princeofwine — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:40:58 +0000

WINE : 2005 Barrak Brand Red, Santa Ynez Valley, California

TASTING NOTES:

Made by Happy Canyon Vineyard of Santa Ynez Valley, this 2005 small production (200 cases) of Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon /Cabernet Franc blend is the namesake of the owners Tom and Laura Barrack who also happen to own through Colony Capital the venerable Chateau Lascombes, the classified 2nd growth from Margaux. So with Bordeaux on my mind (versus Sideway’s Pinot Noir country that Santa Ynez / Santa Barbara is famed for) I was impressed with a wine of medium garnet color with red fruit aromas interlaced with cedar box and oak notes. On the palate the Merlot part shines through with smooth action of red cherries, backed by a solid backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon based firm yet slightly harsh tannins that still has time to evolve. Overall the wine is in balance with fresh acidity that highlights the fruit. This wine is still young as Bordeaux style blends go so it is a very nice effort. Will continue to evolve and age well for a minimum of 3-5 years.

POW 90

Walid Romaya

Prince of Wine

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Wine Glasses

princeofwine — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:00:32 +0000

I was invited last year to a ‘wine tasting glasses’ event held in San Diego by the glass firm Riedel. Six wine glasses were placed on the table of varying types, most were of great quality and of shapes that corresponded to the type of wine being poured. So a more bulbous shape for Pinot Noir and a deeper but squarer shape for a Chardonnay and so on. In addition a 16oz plastic cup was placed next to the glasses as well as a ‘normal’ tasting glass which is off course not made by Riedel.

It did not take much to escape the fact that the event was to showcase the great quality of Riedel wine glasses and how much wine glasses taste different using the dizzying variety of shapes they produce. Regardless of the commercial and promotional aspect of the event, the point was made that wine deserves to be poured in the RIGHT SHAPED WINE GLASS AND IN THE RIGHT AMOUNT. A Reserve quality Cabernet Sauvignon (that name was not given as this was wine glass tasting not wine tasting)tasted bland and odorless in a plastic cup. In a regular and small universally shaped wine glass of the kind used by many restaurants, the wine showed hints of life and form but for the most part it lacked any depth. Once poured into a proper and larger glass with no more than a 1/3 rd of the glass filled in, the wine showed remarkable nose and character. It is as though the wine was completely different. Bottom line is it pains me greatly when I go to an event or go out for dinner at a restaurant and the glasses being used are inadequate and the wine is filled to the top. When the wine glass is too full, you cannot swirl the wine adequately to release the aromas and I have had many occasions when the swirling wine launches itself in a trajectory out of the glass! As for the Reidel team, wine glass making can get a bit too far when Mr. Riedel himself announced at the event that they polled Oregon Pinot Noir winemakers about the kind of glass that showcases the unique aspects of their wines and hence launched a glass just for the specific purpose of drinking Oregon Pinot Noir.

That is over the top and too much in the other extreme. Until you can discern the difference, I want you to assert your wine glass rights and insist that your wine is poured in the right glass and in the right amount.

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