As I get going in writing about all of these tastings it has become quickly clear that it will take more than 2 parts to write all of this down. So I dedicate Part 2 to Dave Del Dotto alone. Dave the master himself took us into the barrel room and showcased his greatest wines. There is no question Dave is obsessed and passionate about making the greatest wines possible and combining them with an elegant and wonderful lifestyle matched with the best food. It is a delight to hear Dave's stories about his wines told in his opulently designed and decorated caves. It just does not get any better.
2019 Piazza Reserve Cabernet
There is lots of fruit on the nose that I described as Welch's fruit juice. The wine was young and the tannins were moderate. I also noted the tannins were soft. Overall the wine was balanced and had a nice moderate finish. To me an excellent well made wine.
2019 St Helena U Stave Cabernet Block 2
This is the sister of the same grapes in another barrel and what separates the two is this one has 100% American Oak and its sister has 100% French Oak, In this wine, the nose was a little less pronounced and what I would call “tight” but there was plenty of fruit expression. To me, the tannins were not well developed and were bitter. I didn’t think this was one of Dave’s better-balanced wines. I am biased in that I don’t particularly like American Oak so I did consider that but overall I have had much better wines from Dave.
2019 St. Helena Treuilterrior Cabernet
The sister to one above is made with French Oak. A much better wine in my estimation. Nice fairly complex nose with lots of spice and fruit. The tannins were again young and again bitter but less than the American oak one. Overall it was better than the American Oak one but again I have seen better but I suspect this one will age out the tannins better.
2020 Vineyard 887 Cabernet
It is unknown if this wine will be released but it tells a story and serves as a good example of judging wines. This wine came from an area affected by the recent fires in wine country. Every winemaker is deathly afraid that the fire and smoke ruined their grapes and they won’t be able to make wine. Some winemakers actually destroyed the grapes on that assumption. Dave decided to do a little experiment and went ahead and made wine from the “fire grapes” to see what might happen and he might yet release this wine. Tasting out of the barrel is was a great wine. Balanced, fruity, and no hint of smoke or fire damage. There are multiple factors that will determine if a fire damages a particular vineyard so congratulations to Dave for waiting and we will see what happens. One problem is even if he makes and releases the wine it will have no resale value and future buyers will only remember it was from a “fire” year and therefore tainted somehow.
2019 Oakville Taransard French Oak Cabernet
This cab was made in 100% French oak from a specific barrel maker from France. It had a nice complex spicy nose and the body, tannins, acid were smooth with a velvet mouthfeel and nice overall balance. I could detect bunches of spice and more specifically cedar.
2019 Oakville U-Stave American Oak Cabernet
OK, here we go again with the sister analogy. This wine is from the same grapes as the Taransard Oak Cab but again made with 100% American Oak. For whatever reason, this American Oak Cab from Dave was much better with better balance and complexity of flavor. Lots of fruit-forward in the nose and taste and young but again very smooth and pleasing. In this wine, I detected a nice bit of cinnamon present.
2019 “The Beast” Cabernet purchased single cluster magnum 1.5L $900 A favorite
Dave Del Dotto’s most famous wines. I have lost track of how many have achieved 100 point status but plenty. 2019 should prove to be no exception. It is a blend of all of Dave's best wines. It is extremely well balanced with lots of fruit and smooth tannin. A nice complex canopy of tastes including cinnamon and cigar. A great wine.
2019 Howell Moutain Cabernet purchased 3 bottles $250 per bottle
A nice sweet fruity nose again made with 100% French Oak. Though young the tannins are soft and well balanced with acid. A nice smooth mouthfeel and a smooth nice long finish. I have always preferred Mountain Cabs to the valley ones and I do feel Dave makes some of the best Mountain Cabs and I recommend them.
2019 Villa Del Lago Cabernet near Pritchard Mountain or Hill near Colgin Vineyards Purchased 3 bottles $350 per bottle A favorite
It may be due to my bias regarding liking Mountain cabs generally and Pritchard Hill cabs specifically but this wine was the greatest one I personally have tasted at Del Dotto. It is a stunner. A truly wonderful velvet mouth feel with balanced fruit, acid, and taste. Almost a spiritual wine and perfectly made from a technical aspect.
2019 Rose Sparkling Wine Piazza Del Dotto purchased 27 bottles for $52 per bottle
I have lost track of how many bottles of this sparkler I have purchased and I continue to buy and drink it in high numbers. It is a well-balanced sparkler with lots of fruit and toast on the nose and a great flavor profile with pear, apple, and fruit. The finish is long. It rates as a favorite.
2019 Chardonnay Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast purchased 3 bottles for $85 per bottle
The Fort Ross-Seaview area is actually pretty much on the Pacific Coast adjacent to the Sonoma area. There have been quite a few new Chardonnay's from the area and so far I have liked them all. I particularly like Dave's Chardonnay's including this one as they are well balanced with a good fruit profile in the nose and taste of apple and pear. This one had some Granny Smith Apple flavor to me. The oak is well balanced and the finish is prolonged. I recommend it.
Overall a great barrel tasting at Del Dotto led by the master himself in his opulent and magnificent caves. I highly recommend it be on your bucket list when visiting Napa. Other than his American Oak wines which in of themselves are good his wines continue to be outstanding and worth the time, effort, and price to obtain and drink them. I certainly purchased my fair share there. Dave told us an interesting story where a lover of his wines and buyer stayed at the vineyard almost an entire day attempting to purchase every bottle of wine in Dave’s inventory. Dave couldn’t get rid of the guy who would not take no for an answer. He sold him a large selection of wines but as Dave told him he had to have enough wine around to sell to his other buyers and it really would not be fair to sell one person all of his wine.
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