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