Wining (NOT whining)!
On Saturday, my cousin, Lisa who lives in Walnut Creek, the Ski Boy and myself traveled up to Wine Country. We visited Cosentino, Sterling, Clos Pegase, and Duckhorn.
The Sterling wines were pretty pedestrian. But, the others were drop dead fabulous. And even the iffy Sterling wines were more than compensated for by the gorgeous Sterling Winery complete with a gondola ride.
Cosentino, an old favorite, was the first stop. We tasted a number of wines - all of which Peter and I are very familiar with. We're members of the Cosentino wine club and we are definitely awash in great Cosentino vino.
Next stop was Sterling. A gorgeous winery - perched up on top of a very steep hill. Tourist access by gondola only. The wines were really rather blah and in one case, worse than blah. But sitting out on the deck, surrounded by large lush pine trees was heavenly.
Our third winery was Clos Pegase, which is literally right across the road from Sterling. The Clos Pegase winery is starkly arresting - modern angular design and world class art everywhere. And the wines, the wines were definitely world class. Clos Pegase was a real discovery for us - we had not sampled their wines prior to this visit.
We indulged ourselves with the $25 high end sampling and it was worth every dime (and the glass was included). My tasting notes are below:
- 1994 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.
A fabulous big peppery nose. Tremendously good flavor. Tastes of green pepper, fruit and a hint vanilla. Still some tanins. This wine could set for at least five more years. Received a 90 from the Wine Spectator.
- 1998 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.
Not quite as big as the '94. But still very good - peppery nose with a little oak. The flavor is peppery and quite complex. Another wine to cellar. Received a 90 from Parker.
We were all a little looped after Clos Pegase. We had no idea where we would go to for our next and final stop. Completely serendiptously, we ran across Duckhorn. Lisa and I were extremely excited and swerved right into the parking lot. Duckhorn wines are so good and they make one of the two California Sauvignon Blancs that I actually like. Here are my very brief tasting notes from the Duck:
- 2002 Sauvignon Blanc.
Really crisp. Mineral and sulpher flavors with a fruit overlay. Good stuff
- 2001 Merlot.
Very nice nose. Still a lot of tanins. A little bit of jam.
- 2000 Paraduxx.
Great wine. Very strong. Very fruity blend. Nice and big.
6:21:06 PM 
|
|
Lisa and I, at Sterling Winery overlooking Napa Valley.
Peter and I, in front of one of the many sculptures at Clos Pegase. By this point in the game, I was pretty looped. The Clos Pegase wines were stunning.
Ooooh. A double entry - Wine of the Day and Bathroooms I Have Visited!
Fermentation Casks at Sterling.