Posted by Mark Marino on February 27, 2008
February 27, 2008
Wow, this is my 100th post of this blog, I started just nine months ago!
Ladera Vineyards is one of the well kept Napa Valley secrets, it is on top of the Vaca Mountains on White Cottage Road South in Angwin.
History has shown, and I have long adhered to the belief, that the best fruit comes from the hillsides. This, combined with the correct rootstock on most desirable clones means you have set the tone for a successful vineyard. The next important task is vineyard management and judging from the recent Ladera newsletter, they have that mastered!
It seems they have just completed the planting of Vineyard N, 5 1/2 acres of Cabernet on 101-14 and 3309-C rootstock with clone 6,7, and 191 grafted on top. I am not familiar with 191 but 6 is the lowest producing Cabernet clone with fabulous quality. It is the one that Anthony Bell tested at BV back in the 1980’s and came to the conclusion it produced the finest single clone Cabernet he had tasted.
In the last newsletter Pat Stotesbery wrote a wonderful piece on vineyard management titled “Don’t Touch me Again” referring to the number of times the vine is handled during a typical growing season! It is a great illustration on how and why great wine begins in the vineyard! It is not by accident but by careful planning starting with the planting and then the care of the vineyard year after year!
It starts with pruning in late winter, as late as possible to avoid disease which can hurt the newly pruned shoots if they remain wet. Then the maintenance of the trellis system, tying the vines to the wires with tape and any repair of posts. As the shoots begin to grow the suckering vines need to be thinned as well as volunteer lateral growth. On a cordon arm system they want only 2 shoots per bud site along the arm. An additional thinning may be required as the vines grow, to allow sun into the developing clusters and not let too much energy go to the canopy. At the same time, clusters from the level of the crop must be assessed to determine quantity, if too many, some fruit should be dropped. Then again at veraison, the under ripe fruit must be dropped and the fruit that is touching adjacent bunches must be thinned for the best fruit to ripen fully. Finally this year’s crop is ready to harvest! All told this requires seven passes through the vineyard! Some years more. It is a very labor intensive endeavor, but the result is fantastic wine! Thus it is an easy thing to say, great wine begins in the vineyard, absolutely true, but hard work to execute!
The new releases for Ladera are 2004 Lone Canyon Cabernet $65, 2005 Syrah $40, and 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet $39. They also have the 2004 Howell Mountain Cabernet $70 and 2006 Sav Blanc $25. Their Library wines are 1998 Lone Canyon Cabernet $65 (6 bottle limit) and 2002 Lone Canyon Cabernet $65 (6 bottle limit)
I think it is a bad idea to describe wines to others, as I have said in the past “The best way to evaluate is to go and taste “. They are by appointment, closed Sunday 707-965-2445
Ladera
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Posted by Mark Marino on February 24, 2008
February 24, 2008
The other day, after tasting the Honig Wine, I decided to drop in on my Friends at Cult Wine Central and taste what they happened to have open. Fridays are the day they change their tasting menu so they had even more wine open than usual!
Ozzie and Bryan greeted us in the room and we decided to taste the reds. My pick for the best value is the Vinum Red Dirt Red at $29. Wow! This is great and priced well. The 2002 Falcor Cabernet made by Ray Coursen of Elyse has nicely aged soft fruit, very smooth and balanced with a nice long finish – ready to drink! The 2003 Fife Cabernet was full of rich, dark berry flavors, both black and boysenberry! It was my favorite regardless of price and a great value at $50 ! Last, I tasted the 2003 Madrigal from up at the top of the valley. It had some smoky flavors that were very good, it was a real treat.
Paul Torres came out right at the end of the tasting and told us about the Ghost Block 2005, the company’s flagship. It is going to be released in about 6 weeks and most of it is already sold!
This vintage is a little different then the 2004 but still excellent. It is difficult to produce more than 2000 cases and although they have many more vineyards, they could not justify the additional fruit being added, as the quality was just not the same. This will leave a few people unhappy without wine but at the same time if they made more, the quality would suffer. So they have held the line and maintained the quality. Where in the past many have increased production to satisfy demand and lowered quality Paul has decided not to! In a world of profit driven mediocrity I salute Paul for his integrity!
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Posted by Mark Marino on February 23, 2008
February 23, 2008
I am always amazed at the people that read my blog! This week I was contacted by Stephanie Honig from Honig Winery. She had come across my blog while searching for articles on Honig. We exchanged emails and I decided to go over and check out what they are doing at the winery. The name Honig stands for honey in German hence the Bee in the middle of the H in their label.
Honig has been growing grapes since the 1960’s when the now owner Michael’s Grandfather Louis bought a prune ranch and decided to plant grapes. They only grow Sav Blanc and Cabernet. In the 1980’s they decided to make wine and now have two levels of Cabernet and Sav Blanc. The Sav Blancs are the Napa Valley version and the more specific single vineyard Rutherford version.
The Cabernet is a Napa Valley version. The Spring Mountain, Bartolucci Vineyard, a single vineyard Cabernet, is their Flagship.
The winery is a example of Michael’s vision of what a winery should be. He said he wanted a tasting room that was a reflection of his home, a family winery, with no tasting bar but a table to sit, taste and enjoy his wines. The tasting room is informal, there are no accessories to be purchased, with the exception of several wine books in which his dogs are featured or the winery mentioned. He said he wants his place to be about the wine and that is it, no consumer stuff.
Although the winery is not CCOP or certified organic, it is Solar. They use biodiesel in their tractors and they call their methods sustainable. They keep prices down to make their wine more approachable and they want their clients to feel at ease and not feel they are in an environment which is” snotty” by their exclusivity, as they feel much of the valley has gotten. Their Sav Blanc is $16 and the Rutherford $24. The Cabernet $40 and the Bartolucci $75. For the quality of their product I would agree these prices are very reasonable!
They also make a LH Sav Blanc which is very very good, $55 for a 375 ml. It is a dessert unto itself!
This is a place not to be missed!
850 Rutherford Crossroad, Rutherford Ca 94573 10-4 by Appointment, 707.963.5818 honigwine
