A few weeks behind on this one, but I’m just getting settled back in. This was an unusual itinerary for me as I wouldn’t normally choose to taste at most of these venues, but I got married on this trip and had to make some accommodations. Most of the vineyards visited were either gifted by wine club member friends, comped by our hotels, or chosen to accommodate big groups that included people with varying interest in wine…Ranging from non-wine drinkers to bottle chuggers to enthusiast. Weddings are expensive so I tried to eliminate as many tasting fees as I could. I notated next to each tasting on how we arrived there. I don’t have super detailed notes on some of the tastings since we had so many people and a lot going on. Also didn’t take notes on some of the visits post wedding as we were more focused on sitting back and relaxing.
Day 1
Pride Mountain (Paid Tasting)
’19 Syrah – Very fruit forward, noticeable tannins, just a touch of smokiness. I prefer Syrah to be a little funky, which this was not. A Syrah for people that don’t like Syrah you could say.
’19 Vintner Select Merlot –This was a unanimous favorite for the group. Gripping Tannins, blue fruits, dark stone fruits, with a slight cocoa finish. Everyone said they thought this was a Cab. Way to big for me.
’19 Vintner Cabernet – Drank like the Merlot. Big, bold and ripe as can be.
’19 Cab Franc– Popping floral aromatics, red fruit, graphite, forest floor, peppery finish and tannins that weren’t overbearing. This was delightful and approachable now.
‘19 Reserve Claret –Black cherry, blue fruits, tobacco, young tannins, good acid balance. This one will be really nice in a decade. But $$$ for what you get.
We chose Pride for the beautiful views and typical, big bold Napa style wines that we figured would wow some of the casual wine drinkers. Hospitality is great here, they comped me and my wife’s tasting as a wedding gift. This was a great visit to take first time Napa visitors.
Ehlers (Partially comped by members/Paid Tasting)
We tasted here with a group of 16. They were extremely accommodating, which is why we chose to taste here. They changed winemakers in ’18 and her wines are starting to now be released. The stylistic change was very evident as we got to taste the offerings pre and post change. The new winemakers style is raw, full & powerful. I was disappointed. I preferred the more elegant wines of the past. The newer wines kind of all ran together. At $65, the Portrait Blend (50% Cab, 23% Cab Franc, 13% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot), was the best value. Strawberries, blackberries, dried violets, black licorice, with a beautiful color and some napa dust on the finish. I picked up a few of the ‘17s made by the old winemaker.
Day 2
Heyyy! Got married at The Harvest Inn. Beautiful venue. No hiccups and everything went smooth. We were able to pick 3 wines from a VERY small list to be served. Curated by yours truly – Schramsberg sparkling Rose, Trinchero Sav Blanc, and St. Supery Merlot. Unfortunately we weren’t able to bring our own wine, even just a few special bottles.
Day 3
V. Sattui (Comped by Harvest Inn)
Please don’t roast me. We met my wife’s family here for an outdoor picnic as they aren’t interested in wine. We had the opportunity to taste for free in the members cellar (LOL), since it was comped by the Harvest Inn. So we said why not, we can try a few and be in and out in 30 mins. Pretty uninspiring. The only wine I actually remember was a single vineyard Zin from fruit up on Howell Mountain. This was a comical visit. My highlight was the group next to us demanding to only taste sweet wines or they would cancel their membership. Lots of kids, dogs, and families here. The biggest win was the jar of smoky mustard I acquired from the gift shop. It’s damn good. I asked my wife to please never make me go there again, unless it was to re up on the mustard.
Here is where we split from the large groups and most of our wedding party had left.
Chappellet (Comped by Rancho Caymus Inn)
’20 Sangiacomo Chardonnay – Lemon/citrus, honeysuckle, meringue, tropical fruits. Not a huge fan of Napa Chard but this was a nice change of pace.
’18 Malbec – Lush Tannins, bright red fruits, Asian spices. A little too jammy for me.
’19 Cabernet Franc – This was around 80% Cabernet Franc with 20% varying Bordeaux varietals if I remember correctly and it showed. Black fruits, black tea, pencil shavings, green bell pepper. Concentrated with a really long finish, this was tasty. I took one home.
’19 Signature Cab –Classic high elevation Napa Cab: Cassis, vanilla, toasted oak, baking spices. This used to be nice QPR when it was $60ish. It’s now $90, big bummer 
.
’19 Pritchard Hill – This is a special wine. Complex and long. This is one you sit down and ponder. This one really filled the mid palate, which made me notice that quality was lacking in the wines we had tasted thus far. Long finish, concentrated but still bright. Big price and needs to be laid down though.
Everyone should visit Chappellet once just for the experience.
Day 4
Dakota Shy (Paid Tasting, genuinely interested in visiting here)
’20 Ten Napa Valley – Cabernet from the valley floor. My wife enjoyed this. Me not so much. The viscosity was a bit overwhelming and heavy.
’20 – Tasty. Black fruits, cedar, vanilla. BIG chocolate finish. Great mouthfeel. Tasty
Briefly spoke with Tom Garret, super nice dude. Payton, our awesome guide, was kind enough climb over some barrels and snag me a barrel sample of the ’21 Oakville Cabernet Franc after I told him I’m a Cab Franc fan. Holy heck, this is going to be really good.
Matthiasson
I love Matthiasson. It’s the only wine club I belong to. We actually got engaged at their property.
’21 Rose – Interesting GSM blend with Barbera & Couinoise. Juicy peaches, minerals, light salinity. Buy this and crush it on the porch or by the pool. You’ll thank me
’20 White Wine – Sav Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, Semillon, Tocai Friulano. Tropical fruits present from the sav blanc, but a ton of ocean minerality from the Ribolla Gialla. Great mouthfeel. Easy drinker asking for raw oysters.
’20 Refosco – Extremely lean. Easy drinker. Not my favorite offering of their limited production wines.
’15 Oak Knoll Cabernet – This is delicious. Red fruits, black currant, baking spices. Medium body with a long finish. Contradicting by being lean, yet complex. Still fresh and bright. Old school Napa cab.
I was telling our host I had happened upon a ’14 Hen Merlot at a local liquor store and sat on it for a few years. Opened it recently and it was corked! So sad (They made the ’14 and then resumed production in ’18 I believe, which is the current release). I looked in my bag of purchases when leaving and there was a ’14 Merlot. He had gone into storage and found one for me on the house, it wasn’t even offered to be able to purchase. I was floored. Matthiasson is a must visit for me while in town.
Robert Craig (Comped by RC)
Had a small snafu with their booking system when trying to visit last year. It let me book on a day they weren’t open and I found out last minute. So they comped this visit. Really nice staff and hospitality. The wines were too big for me, but it also could have been the overall fatigue. My palate was failing by the time we visited and these are wines are massive mountain fruit cabs made in a very intentional style. I should stop drinking Martini’s at lunch on days we’re tasting.
Day 5
Schramsberg (Comped by Member)
’18 Brut Rose – Melon rind, raspberry, cherry, with a creamy finish. Not bad
’18 Querencia Rose – Strawberry explosion, peach, with an odd but alluring chalky minerality. This is pretty tasty actually.
’19 Blanc de Blanc – Green apple, lemon zest, A lot of zip. Overwhelming, ripping acid that’s unbalanced.
’18 Blanc de Noir – Honey, lemon, & peach on the front and mid. Toasty, fresh baked dough on the finish. Probably best QPR of the bunch for $40.
’13 J Schram Blanc – Great aromatics. Tropical fruits, lemon curd, toasted graham cracker, brioche. Would be super versatile food wise, could take you through an entire meal. Definitely can tell this one is head and shoulders above their rest. It’s their flagship offering. $130, woof.
Cave tour is fun and worth doing once. Great place to take first time visitors and morning tastings.
Tamber Bey (Comped by Member)
This was a cool experience. The wines, not so much. It’s basically a giant equestrian center. I would equate Tamber Bey to Cakebread with horses. Part of the stables allow the horses to come up to the fences that surround the tasting courtyard, so we were able to interact with the horses that chose to. Our host was one of the main horse caretakers She was more knowledgeable on the horses than the wine, ha.
We did not get to try their flagship estate wine, Oakville Cabernet.
Accommodations: Harvest Inn – Vineyard views just a few feet from the patio and they took good care of us as they knew we were staying there for our wedding. The restaurant on site, Harvest Table, is excellent. They also catered the wedding. I could only afford 2 nights here since we had a 2 story bungalow to be able to fit all the women in the wedding party that wanted to get ready together.
Rancho Caymus Inn – Small boutique hotel with a nice pool area, 24 rooms I think. Quite a bit of value if you want to utilize some of their winery partners (Chapellet, AO, BV, etc). Felt like we had the place to ourselves most of the time. Seemed like an older crowd, so it was empty during the day while people were tasting and had the pool and hot tub to ourselves in the evening/night
Food On This Trip:
We did a couple dinners at AirBnbs with our wedding party, so we ate out significantly less this trip and at more casual places.
Harvest Table – 4 course prix fixe menu for $60. Classic farm to table style. Well worth it. They also made short ribs with a red wine reduction as an option for our wedding and those got demolished.
The Shuckery – We had to go to Sonoma County to get our marriage license since Napa only distributes to local residents. Located in Petaluma and it was phenomenal. Oysters were fresh and shucked correctly. All 3 or 4 plates we got were excellent. Probably the highlight culinary wise.
Brasswood Bar + Kitchen – The Flannery dry aged ribeye with red wine jus was spectacular. My wife’s duck Bolognese left a bit to be desired.
Gott’s – An institution and classic. Have to make a stop here for lunch.
Hog Island Oyster in Oxbow – Hit or miss
Giugnis – Absolute banger sandwiches in the deli. This is a must do in St. Helena for a quick and easy lunch.
TLDR; a really nice trip with good friends and family on an intinerary I necessarily wouldn’t select.
