The other week I heard from Jeff Leve that original garagiste Jonathan Maltus (Le Dome, Les Asteries, Teyssier) was having a little get together of some Napa guests to try his new Napa venture… “World’s End.” I had heard in the grapevine he had sourced from Beckstoffer but knew almost nothing about the venture, and since I have liked his St. Emilion wines for some time but had never met him, I jumped at the chance. I’m glad I did.
The tasting was tonight at 750 Wines in St. Helena, and even though I am a bit zapped from a long day, I wanted to write this up tonight, for reasons that will follow. So please excuse any typos!
This is Jonathan (L) with David and Monica (R), just before the tasting started.
We tasted not just his new Napa wines, but also some 05 and 07 Bordeaux. Here is the whole lineup, including Le Dome.
I will post the notes on the Le Dome, Le Carre and Laforge another time so I can focus on the new stuff. Some basic impressions… The Napa wines come off as exactly what you would expect by a small production, modern garagiste St Emilion winemaker would make here, ripe, concentrated, long, with some elegance and good oak. They are not candied fruit at all, are all masculine in profile and built to last. Not an ounce of heat on any of the wines at all. And pricing is very good for what you are getting, as you will see.
First, “World’s End” is not just some tiny production wines, but a good sum of well-priced Napa blends that are very competitively priced and quite solid. Here is a pic of the three “Napa” wines, each made in 1500-2000 case blends and all just $40. These are all barrel samples as you can tell from the labels. The names of all the wines are from favorite rock songs growing up. Notice the labels seem “related” to his St. Emilion stablemates.
2009 World’s End “Little Sister” Merlot $40
It is so hard to find good Merlot in Napa at any price, but at $40, this was a nice standout. Black cherry, blackberry and an interesting green olive note. Sexy mouthfeel. Medium-full body, this is sourced from the southern part of Napa proper. A real surprise.
90-92pts
2009 World’s End “Against The Wind” Cab Franc $40
Given Le Dome is the heaviest Franc based St.Emilion out there, he had to give it a shot here. Medium-bodied, not quite as ripe as the Merlot, well structured, no herbaceous notes, red fruits, this could use maybe 3-4 years and might age a while to boot.
88-90pts
2009 World’s End “If Six Was Nine” Cabernet $40
Medium-full, black fruit in the nose, balance of voluptuousness and structure. There are a lot of Cabs not this good at nearly twice the price out there right now. Solid.
88-91pts
None of the wines above are on sale yet, but you have to like the pricing on these wines given who is making them (Jonathan and Neil Whyte fly out to make this back and forth while making their Bordeaux!) Also, given that 09 is adding weight after a year, I expect these might get better in between now and release. I think these could make a nice dent in the retail market and would be a really nice casual drinker.
The following 3 wines are the small production wines and they are from vintage 2008 and coming available in about…ummm… 10 hours? And might well be gone in about…well… however fast the 50-70 or so cases of each that are left will last.
2008 World’s End “Wavelength” Napa Valley Prop Red, $72
Sourced from southern Napa in the foothills, this is half Cab Franc, half Syrah. Easily, hands down the best Syrah/Bordeaux varietal blend I can remember. Sexy, smooth, medium-full body, with red fruits and spice kick. Can drink now and over the next 7-8 years, imo. 350 cases made, about 60 available. Don’t knock the Syrah part, it seems to work really well with the Franc!
93pts
2008 World’s End “Crossfire” Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Cab, Oakville, $90
This is Andy Beckstoffer’s up and coming Oakville vineyard sandwiched between Vine Hill and Dominus. Alpha Omega is also coming out with vineyard designate soon from this. Rich, voluptuous, blue and black fruit with a cigar note and some olive. Full-bodied, a little bigger than the To-Kalon. Combines power and elegance. Give 1-3 years and drink over the next decade plus. The group here really liked this one tonight. 500 cases made, maybe 70 available.
94pts
2008 World’s End “Good Times, Bad Times” Beckstoffer To-Kalon Cab, Oakville, $105
Note the price! Prototypical To-Kalon. Big dose of elegance on the full-bodied frame, with black fruit and chalky white minerality in the mouth. Rich, well structured with a nice dose of drying tannin on the long finish. Very smooth texture. Give 4-5 years and drink over the following dozen. 350 cases made, 55 available or so.
95pts
Given what new cultish Cabs come out at nowadays and given the scarcity and sources, these are really fair deals. $105 for To-Kalon?? That’s pretty sweet.
So what gives with availability? Jonathan says that 80-85% of these wines were quietly pre-sold over the last year to worldwide long-time buyers of Le Dome and his other wines. The small amounts that are left go on sale Friday the 4th. But he is not really building a mailing list yet! Doh! So he is giving some to a few retailers here and there in a couple of states, 750 Wines being one. He is accepting people signing up on his French website, but he was not sure he would check it until he got back to France next week… soooooo…
If you want any of the 3 wines above, I recommend you email 750 Wines and ask for it. It will be first come, first served I assume and I do not think they will last the weekend is my guess. Just email “david@750wines.com” and say how many you want and of what. I suggest you don’t cherry pick, as they are all really good for their price-points. I know 750 has a long email list that will get an email blast on this today or tomorrow, which is why I am writing this late tonight and not tomorrow after work.
Also, the prices I listed on the 3 wines are still the “pre-release” price he was giving to the buyers who scooped up the other 85%. I think he intends to go to a higher price starting Monday, although I doubt there will be much if any left by then. I do like the fact he has not maxed out all his prices right out of the gate. Even the full retail price he whispered to me is quite fair, so they are not rocketing up next year.
So if you have liked his Bordeaux wines and wondered what he could do in Napa, you are in for a treat. Enjoy!
PS- Thanks Jeff for turning me on to this!
they don’t sound that alluring to me. 