Butcher Boy Blog

I really can't believe that I have never made it down to Napa during this time of year. It is simply amazing to see everything at bud break. What starts now as a tiny little green bud popping out of a minuscule stem will soon be full blown grapes, then crushed and fermented into a lovely drink.

This was very apparent at the Duckhorn "Home" Vineyard. Our tour guide, Jim, has spent most of his life working wineries, from the fields through production and onto sales. It was nice to get the insight of someone so well rounded in the business. Duckhorn specializes in Cab and Merlot but the tasting starts with the best Napa Sauvignon Blanc I have had.

I was awe struck at the barrel room where they have each and every barrel painstakingly marked to indicate the grape, vineyard, harvest date, and even the "block" of land that it came from. In each lot they may use up to 15 different barrel types. By this I mean that a particular batch of juice might be barreled in medium toasted French oak, medium toasted plus head water formed French oak, and the list goes on. What this means for the winemaker is an almost endless supply of flavor combinations to choose from when blending the perfect bottle.

One winemaking activity that I have yet to see is that crucial moment when the winemaker and his team sit down to a table full of these "base" wines. Now I hear that they taste like sour grapes/lemon peel so it's probably not the most enjoyable experience taste wise. But, to sit down with a group of talented oenophiles and "red the future" of the wine would be a once in a lifetime experience.

The mobile bottling line they use is a neat concept. A 60 foot or so trailer with a full on production line allows them to tote it to their different properties as needed. They were packing up 06 Merlot while we watched, a team of around 8 people filled pallets in minutes.

At the tasting table we were greeted with what I see to be an appropriate glass for tasting, stem big enough for my whole hand and the bowl large enough to get my nose fully committed for a big whiff. The tasting started with the amazing Goldeneye Pinot that we tried at Paraduxx on Sunday, then onto their infamous Merlot.

Of course, when you visit a winery known for Merlot and that is the second wine you taste, you know the rest HAVE to be amazing. And of course, they lived up to the task of impressing a table full of wannabe wine snobs. Their 04 Howell Mountain "Red Wine", a name that reminisces of inferior bottles, is simply stunning with a ton of fruit, good balance and a nice cherry like finish.

Now I have to say that this amazing glass was simply pushed aside by the wonder of 2005 Estate Cabernet. Right up there with the best I have tasted from Napa, an unforgettable example of the perfect Napa cab. And then, as we were on our way, they had to through out another curveball- the 05 Patzimaro Cab, another single vineyard example. At this point it would be hard to say which wine stood out the most but the Estate Cab and Howell Mountain are on the list to pick up.

I had a hard time planning the rest of the day after such a show stopper, but I am glad that we tasted Duckhorn with a fresh palette.

Stay tuned for more from the Butchers' Gone Wino Excursion 2009