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I began writing this blog post earlier in the week but needed to put it on hold to attend the Wine Writer's Symposium at Meadowood to learn to be a better writer. Now I'm ready to move into the festivities surronding Premiere Napa Valley and that means non stop eating and tasting over the next three days.

 I can't let the day pass without mentioning the story behind the wine of Kelly Fleming. In my last post I discussed the Celia Masyczek portfolio of wines which I had been wanting to do with her for a long time. Among the highlights was my first taste of Kelly Fleming Cabernet Sauvignon. Personally for me this wine has taken on somewhat mythical proportions. Kelly Fleming is a real person married to a restauranteur I have become friends with over the years. That takes care of disclosure.

The winery and the brand is Kelly's personal project. I had the chance to sit down with her last month at her home overlooking the 12 acre organic Cabernet Vineyard, nestled in below the craggy Palisades of Calistoga and a stone's throw from neighboring Araujo. Somewhat shy and self-effacing, Fleming wants the story not to be about her about the property and Amigo Bob, the acknowledged organic consultant around advises her regarding universal practices for the site while Vineyard Manager Jim Barbour who had never worked with an organic site before is now being recognized by other organic growers.

See the review here

Living and working in Napa Valley does have its benefits and this thread is about one of them. Eight years ago I happened to meet Celia Masyczek while she was pouring Staglin Cabernet at a trade event in the valley. At that time she was winemaker there. I was impressed by the wine and maybe even a little more so by Celia who seemed to be one of the most seriously focused people in the room. She had coaxed out some beautifully balanced character from one of the tougest vintages in memory. Over the intervening years I had the chance to be part of all of her other projects and always eagerly anticipated her releases.

Shortly after joining Vinfolio, I ran into Celia on the way to a tasting and told her I would very much enjoy sitting down with her and taste through the portfolio of wines with her. She agreed that it sounded like a great idea, but we never seemed to be able to set a date with our busy schedules. 

 Finally the stars aligned for Celia and I to taste through her entire portfolio together on February 12. We got together in the Conference Room at Laird Family Estate where she makes most of her projects. She is now up to eight clients: 

Hollywood & Vine; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay
D R Stephens; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay
Rocca; Merlot, Syrah, cabernet Sauvignon
Keever; Cabernet Sauvignon
Cornerstone; Cabernet Sauvignon
Kelly Fleming; Cabernet Sauvignon
Husic; Cabernet Sauvignon
Scarecrow; Cabernet Sauvignon

We tasted a dozen finished wines and a variety of barrel samples from 2005 over a three hour period. During our tasting I asked Celia to talk about her influences, what she looks for in a project and how she approaches winemaking.

Looking at the lineup of wine before me, I am struck by how diverse the regional makeup is; every wine from a different area of the valley. Celia explains that she made a conscious decision - "Diversity by Design", to have only one client in any given appellation so that each wine is unique; she wants the vineyard to tell a story. One of the added advantages according to Celia is that she is not faced with all of her client's fruit ripening at the same time. With over 20 years of wine background and a dozen years owning her own consulting company, Masyczek is one of the most sought after consultants in the industry. With the recent addition of Robert Parker rating the 2003 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon that she made for Bret Lopez and Mimi DeBlasio 98 points; the highest score ever for a debut California wine, the rest of the wine world is finally learning what some of us have known for a long time, a Celia Masyczek wine is always special.

I discovered that we are lucky to have her in Napa Valley. During our conversation she mentioned that a friend she grew up with in Medford, Oregon had a job in the family vineyard outside of town. Celia thought at the time this friend's situation was the perfect thing for her to do as well. As fate would have after finishing college at Davis, Celia found her way to Napa and the friend is now creating salad dressing in Los Angeles.

The idea of working with different components which at some point will be completely different together apparently has been with her from the very beginning. I asked what she would do if she couldn't be a winemaker. She replied that it would likely be something in Food or Sensory Science. She told me a story how her mother was a fabulous baker and for Celia's 5th birthday she suggested to her mom that instead of playing pin the tail on the donkey she thought it would be more fun to have her guests blind-smell the kitchen spice cabinet.

Her largest client is Hollywood & Vine, owned by Doug Barr and Bruce Orosz with about 2200 cases total and her smallest project; Keever, owned by Bill and Olga Keever; a recent VF 96 with a mere 230 cases of their 2004 vintage. The common thread among her clients is that they all have a good feel for the wine business, care about having their wine associated with top quality and are invested in a long term plan for success of their unique vineyard sites.

Will she stop now that she has added one new client for the 2005 vintage bringing her total to nine? "Well, there is still Stags Leap District and Diamond Mountain", she replied with a twinkle in her eye. If you happen to own a vineyard in either appellation and are in need of a one of the best winemakers around, let me know and I will give you her number.

A note about the tasting notes: All wines were tasted by Doug Wilder on February 12. Complete review notes with VF rating were transcribed. Tasting impressions are discussed fully. I reserve the right to only publish Vinfolio (VF) ratings upon commercial release of the wine


2006 Hollywood & Vine Chardonnay
A May 2007 release. Full malo-lactic fermentation in 40% new French oak. Sourced from Atlas Peak and includes the Weimar clone. The fruit forward style seems bright and juicy developing nice citrus. This wine was not filterd at the time of tasting.

2004 D R Stephens Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard, VF 93
Hints of butterscotch in nose with creamy lemon and toast showing excellent extraction on palate the toast is fully matched with the fruit. Nicely balanced good acidity on finish.

2002 Rocca Merlot Yountville, VF 91-92
A bit of herb and dark cherry in the nose. Polished and ripe on the palate lavender, cherry and blackberry become more expressive with air.

2003 Rocca Syrah Yountville, VF 89-90
Clove cinnamon in nose with hints of vanilla. Elegant on palate without real typical Syrah character.

2003 Rocca Cabernet Sauvignon Yountville, VF 90-91
Cherry and spice in nose with dark fruit underneath showing hints of fruit blossoms. The palate shows nice focus to the acid/fruit balance the finish has a sweet blackberry cobbler feel to it.

2003 Husic Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, VF 94
Very intense nose lavender super dark fruit hints of bittersweet chocolate and wild blackberry. The palate is extracrted with more berry anise and spice. Very polished on palate


2003 Kelly Fleming Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, VF 94
Dark intense nose showing some creamy black fruits and spice. Lush and polished on the palate the mouthfeel is balanced with nice acidity.

2003 Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, (not released)
Nicely polished with a bit of herb in the nose the acid keeps the wine nicely focused dark chocolate and ripe black fruit on finish.

2003 Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, (not released)
Mint, cherry, lavender and chocolate in the nose. Very big on palate. Needs time to settle down.

2004 Hollywood and Vine Cabernet Sauvignon (not released)
Bold and extracted nose with hints of coffee and black walnuts. The palate is smooth and polished with dark fruit intensity. Nice tannins on finish.

2004 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon, (not released)
Deeply polished nose showing cherry, creamy mocha and violet with hints of salt. The palate is dense and viscous with boldly focused spice, violet and blackberry

February is a good time to start looking at new wines coming down the road. Last week I spent an entire day in the field tasting new releases and barrels with Stewart Dorman and Jane Farrell of Adrian Fog, Greg Bjornstad of Bjornstad, Kenneth Juhasz of Auteur and Kent Humphrey of Eric Kent. These types of exercises puts me in the middle of where the winemaker works and gives an inside look into what to expect in the near future. I then spent an afternoon visiting with Vito Bialla, followed by Olga Keever sampling their excellent 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon featured this week in The Wilder Side of California. A pair of lucky Vinfolio clients had the pleasure of tagging along to Bialla and Keever for a rare "behind the scenes" look at what I do.

Here is a capsule of my visits and tasting:

Adrian Fog - Stewart Dorman, winemaker

2005 Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard, Anderson Valley. VF 92 $75.

This wine is just coming into release and shows the textbook AF rich cherry and slate qualities. Production is small at 560 cases. it is always a pleasure to see Stewart and Jane when we taste together in the cozy kitchen of their Healdsburg home.

Bjornstad - Greg Bjornstad, winemaker

2005 Chardonnay Porter Bass Vineyard, VF 93 $50. (March)
2005 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard, VF 93 $50.
2005 Pinot Noir Van der kamp Vineyard, VF 93 $50. (March)

Greg Bjornstad is back after leaving Tandem and his individual talents are highlighted here. Each of the wines excells in its pure interpretation of the varietal and source. Production between 75 and 150 cases

Auteur - Kenneth Juhasz, winemaker

As barrels, the 2006 was not rated at this time. Impressions only

2006 Pinot Noir Sonoma Stage Vineyard, Sonoma Coast; candied cherries, lavender, java
2006 Pinot Noir Manchester Ridge, Mendocino Coast: very rich palate, a beautiful powerhouse
2006 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard, Willamette Valley: a bit backward currently, austere
2006 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard, Willamette Valley: plum, cherries, exceptional impact even now

Upcoming release - preliminary notes
2005 Pinot Noir Hyland Vineyard, Willamette Valley VF 92++ $TBD Brilliant bright raspberry and pink peppercorn. excellent extraction, violet, pepper and beautiful acidity. production on Auteur wines is between 100 and 300 cases

Eric Kent - Kent Humphrey, winemaker

I learned of Eric Kent through a friend of mine, and Kent makes his wine in the same facility as Auteur. I was intrigued by the care he and his wife put into the selection of the artists featured on their labels. Every one is different. The style of the Chardonnay is something I would describe as "Rombauer for grownups"

2005 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast; VF 92 full malolactic, anise infused pineapple with toast and mineral notes
2005 Chardonnay Russian River Valley; VF 92 pretty nose, pineapple and gunpowder with excellent acidity
2004 Syrah Dry Stack Vineyard, Bennett Valley; VF 93 a very trendy spot for Syrah these days. Nice berry, chocolate, creamy smooth

Bialla - Craig MacLean, winemaker

The second vintage of Bialla takes up where the first left off

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley; VF 93 $93. (see The Wilder Side of California, Issue 90) 180 cases


Keever - Celia Masyczek, winemaker

The third vintage form Bill and Olga Keever's jewel box property.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley; VF 96 $68. (see The Wilder Side of California, issue 90) 230 cases

is this the best from Celia since 2003 Scarecrow?

I will be attending a day long symposium and tasting of Pinot Noir this Saturday in San Francisco. I look forward to sharing my impressions with you in free run juice.

Over the past few years going to ZAP (the inaugural wine festival of the new year) has become a marathon task with much fewer surprises than just about any other event i participate in. The reason I go is clearly to identify the best of the new producers so that I can bring them to your attention as soon as it is practical. The sun was out bright last Saturday when I arrived at the tasting and I began my exercise in the smaller pavilion (ZAP takes up two parallel structures on the SF waterfront) It didn't take long for me to recognize that virtually every wine in the building was like an ice cube. it seems most everyone had left their wines in the building overnight so they didn't need to load in during the morning rush. I soon tired of having to warm every single wine in my hands and within an hour I had moved to the other building. Here I found the wines seemed significantly riper and easier to discern. possibly the warmth of the sun on this building which has an exposed flank to the east received substantially more sun. Whatever it was it made a world of difference.

The top wine of the day for me was the 2004 Valdez Zinfandel Rockpile which was recently reviewed by Vinfolio. The smooth richness was perfectly accented with bright red fruits with underlying dark fruit structure.

Other bright spots with no surprise were

2004 Bella from Scott Adams, I just found 4 cases of the previously sold out 2004 Belle Canyon bottling I had scored VF 97.
2004 Tres Sabores from Julie Johnson
2005 Gamba Moratto from Gus Gamba
2005 Selby Bobcat
2004 Elyse Eaglepoint
2005 Jus Soli Foppiano

I will be at work this week getting all of these wines available. Sadly most everything else I tried was not what i was looking for and seemed to fall into a quite narrow range of high alcohol and tight flavor profiles. There didn't seem to be the attendence for the trade portion I have experienced in the past, and it is possible that there is some concern over the high alcohols. To me if the wine has balance, the alcohol is a bit less of a concern, sometimes to the point of it being a non-issue. Several salespeople were trying the spin about "ageable Zin" but I have always recommended it be consumed much younger than Cabernet Sauvignons.

Look for a Vinfolio favorite Zinfandel offer soon!