I took a quick trip out to San Francisco for a DoubleClick meeting in
Napa Oct 16-Oct19. I visited Shane and Vicki Holland and their adorable
little man Ian. Just a few pics since I left my charger at home :-(.
But I did manage to get a few cute pics of Ian and a nice view of the Golden Gate Bridge. In addition to getting a lovely head/chest infection, the DoubleClick meetings were enjoyable – notable for the fabulous dinner at Cakebread Cellars. I spent more on wine I shipped back home than I probably should have. But hey – how often can I get my hands on a reserve wine a winery I love doesn’t retail anywhere but at their own vineyard.

Technorati Tags: san francisco, golden gate bridge, napa, cakebread cellars, crissy field

Cakebread waxes on about the wines I purchased below. Not sure if I can wait 7-10 years for that reserve Cabernet, but it might be worth it!

2004 Sauvignon Blanc
Our 2004 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a near-textbook rendition of the variety’s most appealing characteristics. Our 2004 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a near-textbook rendition of the variety’s most appealing characteristics. Fresh, brisk aromas of lime, kiwi, grapefruit, gooseberry and hay introduce a medium-to-full-bodied palate of impressive weight, balance and intensity. The wine’s vibrant citrus, guava and melon flavors benefit from a firm underpinning of acidity and a refreshing minerality that asserts itself in the finish, providing structure and counterpoint to the wine’s rich fruit. This classic Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc will provide great drinking pleasure over the next 2-3 years, on its own or with a wide range of seafood, poultry, and salad dishes.

2003 Chardonnay Reserve
Our 2003 Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay opens with aromas of sweet butter and oak spice, followed by waves of fresh, spiced-apple, pear and melon fruit scents. On the palate, the wine reveals a rich, mouth-filling texture with ripe, fleshy, apple-y flavors balanced by bright acidity and a refreshing minerality, with savory oak and subtle yeast tones enhancing the long, rich finish. The grapes were night-harvested and whole-cluster pressed to yield fresh, pure juice. After cold-settling in tank for 36 hours, the preponderance of the must (unfermented grape juice) was inoculated with several cultured yeast strains that accentuate the fruitiness and enhance the texture of Chardonnay. The balance was fermented with native yeast strains, which foster greater wine complexity and impart a pleasing mineral tone. All the juice fermented in French oak barrels, with roughly 20% undergoing a secondary, malolactic fermentation to enhance mouth-feel and develop a slight butteriness. Aging on the primary yeast lees for 14 months in barrel, with periodic stirring, added a silky texture and subtle yeasty richness to the wine’s intense varietal fruit flavors. After racking off the lees, the wine was bottled in December, 2004.

2003 Pinot Noir, Carneros Napa Valley
Our 2003 Carneros Pinot Noir displays complex, beguiling aromas of smoky black cherry and fig fruit with intriguing floral and Asian spice tones. In the mouth, the flavors are juicy and mouth-filling, with a pleasing tea-like spiciness in the long, rich finish. Delicious now, this lovely Pinot Noir will develop further complexity with several years’ additional bottle age. Gentle handling of the fruit, moderate fermentation temperatures, and minimal manipulation of the wine during barrel aging are the hallmarks of our approach to Pinot Noir. In 2003, our Carneros fruit was de-stemmed but not crushed, then cold soaked at 500 F. for 72 hours. This helps extract color and flavor from the grapes before alcoholic fermentation begins, leading to more stable color in the wine. We then inoculated the must with a cultured yeast, controlling temperatures to ensure a slow, active fermentation. Small open- and closed-top tanks were used to facilitate both the traditional Burgundian method of punching down the cap, and the more conventional pump-over technique. After fermentation, the wines macerated on the skins for several weeks, checked daily for color and softening of tannins. They were then drained from the tanks, inoculated for malolactic fermentation and put into French oak barrels, 52% new, where they aged undisturbed for 14 months before being removed for final blending and bottling.

2002 Benchland Select, Cabernet Sauvignon
Our 2002 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon displays a complex, seductive aroma of ripe blackberry and plum fruit augmented by scents of tar, coffee and sweet oak. On the palate, the wine is full-textured and lush, with rich plum, black fig and cocoa flavors supported by smooth tannins. Boasting excellent structure and balance, this delicious Napa Valley Cabernet is delightful to drink now, but will handsomely repay another 7-10 years of cellaring. The grapes for our Napa Valley Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon, which in 2002 was blended with 14% Malbec, come from vineyards in Oakville and Rutherford that lie on Napa’s western benchlands, with 50% issuing from Cakebread Cellars’ estate vineyards. The eastern exposures of these gently sloping, well-shaded hillside vineyards allow the grapes to mature at a slow, even pace, which results in wines with optimal color, fragrance and flavor intensity. In 2002, we harvested the fruit at full ripeness between September 16th and October 8th.

2004 Napa Valley Chardonnay
Our 2004 Napa Valley Chardonnay offers fresh, lovely pear and ripe Granny Smith apple aromas with supporting mineral, baked bread and baking spice scents. Full and richly textured on the palate, the citrusy crisp, spiced-apple and pear flavors are enriched by yeast and toasty oak tones that extend into a very long, rich, minerally finish. Our Chardonnay fruit was 100% whole-cluster-pressed to minimize astringency from the skins. Pressing the fruit cold assures even lower extraction of astringent compounds, which also increases the long term aging potential in white wines. Three quarters of the juice was barrel fermented in 35% new French oak barrels at 50-55º F, a slow, cool fermentation that fostered a perfect balance of ripe fruit, yeast, natural acidity and toasty oak. The remaining portion was fermented in stainless steel tanks, with those lots transferred to barrel once fermentation completed. While barrel fermentation promotes complexity and richness, tank fermentation maximizes fruit intensity. Partial malolactic fermentation, primarily of the higher acid lots, further enhanced the harmony of these elements. During nine months of barrel aging, the wines were frequently hand stirred to promote the integration of fruit, yeast, acid and oak, resulting in a beautifully balanced Chardonnay of elegant richness.