Ultimate California Wine Blog

Blackstone Winery is one that is prevalent in grocery stores — at least their black label has been oft-seen by yours truly. Because of it, I was not necessarily looking forward to the visit, thinking I would be subjected to sub-standard grocery store plonk. However, there is a significantly larger production going on with a different label: Gold instead of Black.

While the winery produces the standards; Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, etc., I made a point of requesting tastings on those varietals not often seen in California tasting rooms. Looking back over my notes, the overwhelming factor that kept appearing is the "like factor" in that the Riesling was like a Sauvignon Blanc, the Viognier was like a Chardonnay, and the Dolcetto was like a Sangiovese. And I only tasted a small sampling of the wines which made me wonder how many of them were like other wines…

2003 Riesling, Cole Ranch, Mendocino County – Bone dry, supremely clean and crisp with a rich, citrus entry and more like a Sauvignon Blanc in its heightened acidity. $16.00

2002 Viognier, Russian River Valley – Mostly lemon up front in the nose but then showing some more integrated green fig aromas. Tangy entry, mineral mid-palate, and strident, stripped finish. $26.00

2003 Dolcetto, North Coast – Light in body and akin to a Sangiovese in its thin, cinnamon candy entry. The wine expands to show smoke but has a barely discernable cranberry finish. $18.00

2002 Malbec, Lake County – Inky black red color with a robust, meaty nose. Chewy entrance that dries a bit on the mid-palate. Overall a balanced wine. $18.00

Blackstone Winery ~ 8450 Sonoma Highway ~ Kenwood ~ CA ~ 95452 ~ 707-833-1999

In working through the Cartlidge & Browne debacle on various chat lists, I made the acquaintance of a very nice young man, Geoff Williams, who advised me that the folks at C&B were very nice people… Turns out that he has firsthand knowledge as a sales representative for X Winery who uses the custom crush facilities at Cartlidge & Browne.

While hanging out with Elijah and Lamar at C&B, Geoff stopped by with a few barrel samples and invited me over to the X Winery facilities. This is how I ended up with a very unlikely, but decidedly great blog entry of a winery that I am (again!) ashamed to admit I knew nothing about. Amicus Cellars and X Winery is one of those new breed of wineries who produce great wine without the trappings of fake villa or castle through which to sell. Geoff took me to just one of their storage locations which is a few buildings away from the warehouse setting of C&B’s in the industrial center of American Canyon. Between their winemaking facilities, offices, and storage, their business is somewhat scattered all over Napa valley. The difference, by the way, between the two names is that the Amicus name is used for those wines produced exclusively by Napa-grown Bordeaux grapes while the X Winery wines are kept between a $10 to $25 price point and are made from grapes coming from as far south as Paso Robles or as far north as the Lake District.

Theirs is a winery that is not open to the public for tasting and what Geoff showed me is really nothing more than one of the storage facilities for a selection of their newfangled pieces of equipment. Reed Renaudin is the CEO and winemaker and is thoroughly committed to taking winemaking innovations further in an envelope-pushing philosophy. By using these new inventive techniques, the idea is that the highest quality wine can be produced at a greater value for the consumer. One of the humorous anecdotes was that Reed worked hard to produce a quality box wine, appropriately entitled X Box. Seems a certain software company in the Pacific Northwest took exception to the name and some redesigning of the winery’s packaging ensued — but not before the entire inventory was bought out said same company.

I have had my share of winery tours, seeing the old-world charm of those wineries hearkening back a hundred years or more to utilize techniques that are believed to instill a centuries-old quality in the wine. However, Renaudin incorporates futuristic-looking gadgets which, if I had a science degree, I’m sure I could explain. This unit, for example, is used with small, Arborio rice-sized plastic pellets to remove TCA (trichloroanisole) from wine. 

This is a filtration machine almost considered the Ferraris of filtration machines. Much debate has ensued about the filtering of wine and with a unit of this caliber, it is doubtful even the great Robert Parker would be able to detect if a wine has been through the filtration process. I was terribly impressed with the quality of the wines and am pleased that their website is friendly in helping customers all over the country find the wine, plus they can be ordered directly from the website.

2004 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc – From the ES vineyard. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadet. Sweet muscat aroma of orange blossom. Tangy entry that is intensely bright with a crisp, lemony finish. $17.50

2004 Chardonnay – From Truchard vineyards. Astonishing opulent butter on the nose. Astonishing that the wine had NO ML. Mouth flavors of developed lemon meringue; that balance between a tangy lemon beginning with a heightened meringue-like creamy finish. Clean, clear, and fruit-forward. Barrel sample, but the 2003 offering is $17.50

2004 X Pinot – Barrel sample, not yet available for sale. Very enticing with exotic spice. Elegant fruit flavors with cranberry up front and integrated cardamom spice on the end. The 2003 bottling is priced at $22.50

2003 Red X – Roughly a blend of 50% Syrah and the rest components of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petite Sirah. At a production level of 7,200 cases, this wine makes up half of X Winery’s production. The initial aroma is intense jammy boysenberry and then shows deeper sage qualities. Balanced and smooth upon entry, the fruit flavors are more distinct up front with a well-integrated, herbal finish. $12.99

2003 Petite Sirah – From Paso Robles, this wine saw eighteen months in French oak. Dark purple in color, intense bouquet of blueberry liqueur that developed in sweet blueberry pie filling. Flavors that are deep and concentrated and decidedly blueberry, the way I like my Petite Sirahs. No price available.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon – With 20% Merlot, there is a soft herb aroma at first that darkens to show black fruit and a dark chocolate finish. The nose was a tad hot but the mouth feel is balanced and dark. $22.50

2002 Amicus Blend - 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Petite Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Malbec.  Tasting too fast to have gotten notes on this one. $38.00

2002 Amicus Cabernet Sauvignon – Only 160 cases made. 75% Yountville fruit and 25% Spring Mountain fruit. Intense jammy blackberry start with herbal depth. Soft, silky entry that explodes with dark, luscious black plum. Layers of smoke and a tease of earth that shows structure. $49.00

2004 Mt. Veeder Cabernet – Barrel sample, not yet available for sale. Classic Veeder with tobacco, leather and big cherry. Huge, massive entry that is slightly sweet. WOW entry that is already showing structure with a chewy finish. Not yet priced.

X Winery ~ No tasting facilities available ~ 707-204-9522

This is a first for me — I have entirely deleted the initial entry for Cartlidge & Browne and revisited the winery after an unpleasant experience occurred during my first visit. For those coming to this blog entry months (or years?) after the incident occurred, the greatly abbreviated version is that an elderly man working in the tasting room did something offensively inappropriate which I documented. I now regret that write-up and wish instead that I had gone directly to management privately with what transpired. However, in response to the complaint, the winery reacted swiftly, with compassion, and immense understanding. Elijah Selby, the Hospitality Director and Winery Relations wrote me an astonishing letter of apology which displayed superlative behavior and personal insight. She also accepted my heartfelt regret and apology about the situation and a great friendship was born out of an otherwise ugly situation.

Cartlidge & Browne is a considerably larger operation than one would imagine. As a negociant production facility, they purchase the bulk of their grapes of premiere as well as little-known vineyards from all over the state and have been making wine for over twenty-five years. Their own production is in the 140,000 case load, but they are a huge, thriving facility doing custom crush work for a number of additional wineries in the area.

Their winemaking facilities are located in a large warehouse in American Canyon, which is not exactly the jewel-bedecked, glamorous winery country that most folks think of when considering visiting Napa. It is a mostly industrial area that people drive through on their way to Napa from San Francisco and is known for housing that necessary part of the wine industry like barrel makers, label printers, and large shipping firms. But lying almost exactly in the center of the otherwise sleepy hamlet, off the main drag of Highway 29, are the signs for Greenfield Winery‘s tasting room. (Greenfield is a secondary label of Cartlidge & Browne’s and I am guessing, but have not had it confirmed, that it is simply easier to have signs directing passers-by to "Greenfield" than to a longer-named "Cartlidge & Browne."

Lamar is the manager of the tasting room which, because it is physically part of the warehouse, is decidedly chilly. On my first visit (where no wines were actually tasted), a lovely girl named Abigail began our conversation with a warning that if I had a sweatshirt to wear, it might be advisable to put on, for while it was almost ninety degrees outside, the building is kept at a chilly 55 degrees for the wine. However, Elijah (whom I regret I did not photograph) is already talking about expanding to the suite next door for a potential new tasting room which might ultimately be more comfortable for visitors.

There are three labels produced by Cartlidge & Browne’s winemaker, Paul Moser (who has been with the firm an astonishing quarter of a century); the Cartlidge & Browne label, Greenfield, and Stratford, which is primarily made for exporting to the United Kingdom but is available for purchase in the tasting room. A new product in the line-up came about through a painting which owner, Tony Cartlidge, saw and purchased in New York. The painting was purchased and THEN a wine was developed to match the artwork! Rabid Red was made as the winery’s first blend wine and the entire packaging model with the insane-looking dog’s head has been a tremendous success with Gen-Xers. However, the product inside the crazy bottle is astonishingly great for its price point of $15.00. Having been given an early taste of the 2004 vintage, it is easy to see why the winery has made the decision to double and potentially triple its production. Overall, Cartlidge & Browne is all about making tremendously affordable wines at a consistently high quality. Bottle prices start as little as $2.99 and top out at a whopping $20.00. I did not have the price list in front of me when I did my tasting and seriously thought the price range was four and five times higher than they actually are (and perhaps they should be!) I have blogged other wineries who produce products in this price range that did not have anywhere near the consistency and quality I found in Cartlidge & Browne and I am pleased to have found such a wide variety of wines that I can now personally start buying.

2004 Cartlidge & Browne Sauvignon Blanc – Bright notes of tropical fruit and spicy pineapple with a hint of kiwi. A swirl produces darker green apple tones. Very crisp with a tangy mid-palate. $9.92

2004 Cartlidge & Browne Chardonnay – Astonishing aroma of lemon meringue with deeper layers of mango. Silky entry is easy and well-balanced with a tangy, heightened lemony finish. $9.92

2004 Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir – Intense fresh raspberry and cherry bouquet with a depth of dark cinnamon. Spicy entry is smooth and shows well-sculpted depth. $9.92

NV Greenfield Sunset Cuvee – 70% Chardonnay and 30% Muscat Canelli. Sweet, enticing nose of exotic floral and citrus aromas. A touch of sweetness on the tongue produces a clean citrusy taste that is simply, easy, and fun. $4.17

2001 Cartlidge & Browne Merlot – Dusty floral bouquet. Predominately black plum flavors in a smooth mouthfeel with a slightly peppery finish. $5.00

2003 Rabid Red – 47% Cabernet Sauvignon (from Monterey), 31% Syrah (from the Sierras), 19% Zinfandel (Napa), and 3% Viognier (Lodi). Spicy, enticing nose with black plum and blackberry tones. Very easy and smooth mouth entry that blossoms to show rich, easy-to-drink daily wine. $15.00

2004 Rabid Red – To be released in September… 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Petite Sirah, 18% Syrah, 17% Tempranillo, 15 Grenache, and 1% Zinfandel. Deep, dark inky color with opulent blueberry bouquet. Blackberry liqueur shows on the initial, smooth taste that displays continuing and enticing all the way to a developed, fabulous finish. My new favorite wine for the price. $15.00

2003 Manzanita Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon – Perfumey with dark cherry qualities. Light bodied Cab that is easy to drink. $7.00

2001 Stratford, Knights Valley – Dark plum tones show immediately but subside to develop layers of green bell pepper (barely) and woodsy qualities finishing in eucalyptus tones. Sharp, tight entry blossoms into dark cherry. Needs time. $9.00

2002 Cartlidge & Browne Syrah – Initial herbal qualities on the front back down to display meaty black, jammy fruit. Heightened acid on the entry is nice and chewy showing well-balanced, spicy, well-integrated fruit. $9.92

Cartlidge & Browne Winery / Greenfield Winery ~ 205 Jim Oswald Way, Ste. B ~ American Canyon ~ CA 94503 ~ 707-552-5199

Milat is another small family-owned winery which lies on the main stretch of Highway 29 in Napa. One of the immediate draws is that it is one of the few tasting rooms that stays open late, until 6:00 p.m. What is little known about Milat is that the family has been growing and supplying grapes to winemakers from their 22-acre ranch since 1949.

Although they only produce under 4,000 cases of wine, they do so under two labels; the Milat label and another called Pine Station. The Pine Station label are those grapes that are not worthy of the single-varietal blending and make up a few of the blends produced under the Pine Station moniker.

The tasting room is small and relatively unadorned. Sometimes there is something nice about a no-nonsense approach to what a tasting room is for; one goes to taste wine and the need for t-shirts and decorations and jewelry is secondary. The bloke pouring wine the day I was there was a member of the extended family – a nephew or something, but was extremely engaging and gregarious. A great time was had by all.

2004 Milat Chenin Blanc – A blend of 73% Chenin Blanc, 25% Chardonnay, and 2% unknown. With 1.5% residual sugar, the clear bright offering showed a hint of sweet white melon. The slightly effervescent mouth entry was generally pleasant and would be fine on a hot afternoon. $18.00

2004 Pine Station Rosé – A very odd blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay, this rosé is made with Epernay yeast which gives it a slightly fizzy mouthfeel. The aromas were of fresh, bright currant and cranberry. Simple and easy without too much sugar, but little outstanding flavor and no finish. $9.00

2002 Pine Station Red – 44% Cabernet, 29% Merlot, and 27% Zinfandel. Dominate wood aromas of oak, cedar, and pine, then some exotic Moroccan spice presents itself in the back of the nose. A tad to woody for my tastes. Flavors include black fruit, cumin, coriander, and a distinctly sage finish. Medium bodied. $18.00

2002 Zinfandel – Intense ripe red cherry layered with light spice. Fresh and smooth, a medium-bodied zinfandel with some clove on the end. $23.00

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon – Initial aroma of green bell pepper then dark herbs. After a swirl or two, black plum and oak present themselves. A tad harsh on the mouth entry. The dark fruit seems a bit thin and pale on the end. $36.00

2001 Zivior, Port-style – 95% Zinfandel and 5% Towiga Vaciona. An odd port in that it seemed a cross between a ruby and tawny, trying to determine what it wanted to be. the were dusty floral tones with a hint of nuts. The mouth entry was viscous and sweet with some depth, but not enough to entice me. $25.00/375ml

Milat ~ 1091 St. Helena Highway South ~ St. Helena ~ CA ~ 94574 ~ 707-963-0168

Here again is a blog installment about which I feel a tad guilty because it is a somewhat half-assed installment in actually documenting a winery. Well, perhaps not entirely half-assed, but my reasons for going to Chalk Hill Vineyards and Estates was not entirely to review it as a winery, but to attend their now-famous auction event, Imagine which raises funds for children’s charities. I will be writing the entire event up for another publication, so it will only be briefly mentioned here.

The Chalk Hill estate lies on a massively sprawling chunk of over 1,200 acres off a series of small dirt roads in Healdsburg. It not only includes vineyards and winemaking facilities, but is also known as an equestrian center as part of the passion of its owners, Peggy and Fred Furth. Arriving at the estate, I was driven in a tourist van past what I was told was the winery area (hence, the far-away picture).

The Imagine fundraiser was held in a building that is actually an indoor riding facility, used mostly used for dressage. Here, however, the dirt floor was covered and the party set for approximately 500 people; on one end of this open-aired, vaulted structure, a was stage set for the performance by the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Carlo Ponti, Jr. (Sophia’s little boy), and the other end, a stage set with an impressive audio-visual equipment to be utilized for the afternoon’s auction. This festivities were an afternoon gala which closely rivals the famous Napa Valley Auction in its celebrity watching, but also notable for the culinary offerings by Chalk Hill in-house chef, Didier Ageorges.

I mention food only in passing as the luncheon was coordinated for service of only three of Chalk Hill’s eleven wines. I would love an opportunity to taste their entire line-up as some interesting varietals are being bottled; besides the standard Cab/Merlot/Chard triumvirate, Chalk Hill’s wines include a rarely-seen Carmenere, a Petite Verdot, a Malbec, and a Semillon (just to name a few). There is always a distinct advantage to tasting wines when well-paired with food, so I will add in a few additional photographs of the amazing hors d’oeuvres that were served, partly because they are so pretty and partly because they were so exceptional.

2001 Pinot Gris – Golden straw color with a faint hint of grass and floral notes in the pale wine. A swirl produced brighter clean lemon with some white melon. The acidity was distinct with a pleasant sharp tang and a supple, clean finish. It paired especially well with the Lobster and Ginger Tempura as well as the Golden Trout Caviar on Blini.

2003 Sauvignon Blanc, Russian River Valley – Well-integrated bouquet of cat piss and grass. (This is a good cat-piss wine, trust me! It is not meant in a derogatory fashion.) Tangy upon mouth entry but blossoms into velvet and cream with a little tongue warmth. Slightly mineral in the mid-palate, showing depth and balance. I especially liked this wine with the Tuna Tartare and Pickled Seaweed on Toasts.

1998 Verité – An unknown blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, although the label indicated it was 62% Sonoma and 38% Napa grapes. With a wine of slight age, this was a fabulous example of depth and complexity, at first displaying elegant wild mushrooms and earthiness layered with fresh cranberry, cassis, and blueberry. As it opened, the intensely rich jammy nose produced some mineral tones and sweet black licorice. The mouth feel was viscous and smooth, bringing forth the dark fruit but also a bit of candied berry on the back palate. Long, detailed finish that changed and developed.

No prices were available on the wines. A future visit to Chalk Hill is on my radar and must be by appointment only.

Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards and Winery ~ 10300 Chalk Hill Road ~ Healdsburg ~ Sonoma County ~ CA ~ 95448 ~ 707-838-4306