Strala Vineyards(www.stralavineyards.com)
Founded by Jason and Laura Ray they concentrate on small production wines with vineyards managed by Jason. They have a good portfolio of good wines at reasonable prices and overall we were very happy with our tasting and recommend them to you. In honor of upcoming Veterans Day, the Vineyard gave me an additional Veterans discount and I thank the vineyard for recognizing Veterans.2018 Strala Brut Rose Napa Valley A favorite and I purchased 6 bottles for $60/Bt
I just don’t drink alcohol in the morning. Decades ago while attending a week-long bachelor party for a friend we would get up every morning and start drinking beer at 8 AM. I can assure you it never ended well and I learned my lesson. So suffice it to say when I was presented with a glass of sparkling Rose at 8 AM I was not really thrilled to start tasting that early. But I am glad I did. I was shocked at the quality of this Sparkler especially given the early hour. It was an outstanding sparkling Rose better than most that I have tasted in the past. It had a wonderful toasty fruity nose followed by a balanced flavor profile and a nice finish. There was nothing off in this wine and it was well made. It was one that made my favorites list
2019 Strala Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Purchased 6 bottles $35
Clark and I don’t buy nor drink many Sauvignon Blancs as we find them somewhat overdone with acid and harsh and just not our style. But we were very impressed with this one. There was a tart fruit smell on the nose but not overbearing and pleasant. What sold us was the acid was very well balanced with everything else and was not overwhelming as others we have had. There was a nice subdued tart lemon flavor as opposed to grapefruit that you usually see with Sauvignon blanc. This wine had a very good finish that was also pleasant. One of the few Sauvignon Blancs I have purchased.
2019 Strala ChardonnayNapa Valley $50
It’s not a bad wine but it didn’t make it onto my favorites list. There was a fair amount of oak on the nose that carried over to the flavor and was minimally bitter and “overoaked” but it was there. It is aged 40% French Oak but the American Oak seems to predominate. It just is not my style and I prefer other Chardonnays.
2017 Strala Pinot Noir Napa Valley $65
Comes from vineyards in Carneros. Very typical California Pinot with a predominant cherry fruit on the nose. Lots of cheery fruit taste also. I did not find it particularly complex or compelling as it clearly is a good example of a basic Napa Pinot and has no French Pinot characteristics.
2017 Proprietary Red Wine Napa Valley $55
The makeup is 40% Zinfandel, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, and 10% Petite Sirah, a unique blend. It turned out to be a pleasant complex wine. It had a lot of licorice flavor along with bacon fat that I really do not recall being in the flavor profile of many red wines. In my opinion, this would be a perfect wine with a BLT. I recommend it as a well-made wine with an interesting flavor profile.
2018 Strala Napa Valley Cabernet 100% Cabernet $85
Regrettably, I could not recommend this wine. I just didn’t like it. It is supposed to come from an area near Pritchard Hill which in my experience has nothing but outstanding Cabs, just no this one. It had a cough syrup smell and taste to it as well as no balance. You cannot win them all.
2018 Strala Reserve Cabernet $150
From the Sleeping Lady Vineyard located in the Upper Range of Pritchard Hill. It is an up-and-coming vineyard we heard a fair amount about. It was in fact much better than the regular Cab with a more complex nose and flavor profile and much better balanced. I did not buy any but it is a good wine.
2018 Montagna Pritchard Hill Cabernet Purchased 2 bottles $250
It is a tight young wine but impressive in its balance and finesse. I smelled lemon in the nose, quite unusual for a Cabernet. I really have not had any Pritchard Hill wines that I have not been very impressed with. I purchased a couple of bottles even at the high price as I felt the wine was worth it.
Ellman Family vineyards(elllmanfamilyvineyards.com)
The makeup is 40% Zinfandel, 30% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, and 10% Petite Sirah, a unique blend. It turned out to be a pleasant complex wine. It had a lot of licorice flavor along with bacon fat that I really do not recall being in the flavor profile of many red wines. In my opinion, this would be a perfect wine with a BLT. I recommend it as a well-made wine with an interesting flavor profile.
2018 Strala Napa Valley Cabernet 100% Cabernet $85
Regrettably, I could not recommend this wine. I just didn’t like it. It is supposed to come from an area near Pritchard Hill which in my experience has nothing but outstanding Cabs, just no this one. It had a cough syrup smell and taste to it as well as no balance. You cannot win them all.
2018 Strala Reserve Cabernet $150
From the Sleeping Lady Vineyard located in the Upper Range of Pritchard Hill. It is an up-and-coming vineyard we heard a fair amount about. It was in fact much better than the regular Cab with a more complex nose and flavor profile and much better balanced. I did not buy any but it is a good wine.
2018 Montagna Pritchard Hill Cabernet Purchased 2 bottles $250
It is a tight young wine but impressive in its balance and finesse. I smelled lemon in the nose, quite unusual for a Cabernet. I really have not had any Pritchard Hill wines that I have not been very impressed with. I purchased a couple of bottles even at the high price as I felt the wine was worth it.
Ellman Family vineyards(elllmanfamilyvineyards.com)
A small family operation with exceptional wines and a commitment to great wines. They are a third-generation wine family believing in tradition and taking pride in cultivating a quality wine operation that has been in the family for almost three-quarters of a century. They started years ago as vintners in Napa Valley and their team includes winemaker Andy Erickson and manager Mike Wolf.
2018 Brothers Blend Cabernet Purchased 6 Bottles $95 93RP
Started out with a light spicy nose flavor. Very nice velvet mouthfeel. Lots of dark chocolate taste. Felt it would go well with a cheese course. Is 95% Cabernet and 4% Merlot? Have already drunk one bottle for dinner and went very well with a hamburger and fries.
2020 Caryn Renae Sauvingnon Blanc $65
My first thought was pizza, pizza, pizza. It seemed to smell initially like a nice pizza for some reason? There was a good pear flavor profile and a fair amount of residual sugar giving it some sweet taste. I felt it leaned toward being like a sweet Reisling character. It was a good wine but not the kind of Sauvignon blanc I would favor.
2014 Jemma(1.5L) Cabernet $350
Served from magnum to show how well these wines age. It did in fact show good aging. The nose was complex and smelled of a fine leather. The tannins were soft and velvety and the wine was well balanced. I felt it would continue to age and improve for at least 20 years.
2018 Jemma Cabernet $150
Onto its younger cousin, the 2018 again presented with a complex nose and flavor profile this time with cigar box primarily. Again a nice velvet mouthfeel and a good finish. Lots of young tannins but still smooth and well balanced. An excellent acid backbone makes it very food-friendly. As 2014 has demonstrated it will age and evolve in bottles for decades.
2018 The Estate Cabernet $195 94RP
A very young tight Cabernet. The nose was soft not much there but on the flavor, the tannin was very strong and had a licorice taste. It will have great aging potential. It had a nice finish. Made with 60% new French oak and 40% aged French oak-aged for 3 years. An interesting oak profile.
2018 Elaine Cabernet $250
To compare to the Estate Cabernet this one is 100% new French oak. You really couldn’t appreciate the oak much on this one as the alcohol imprint was high. It had 14.8% alcohol and you could smell it on the nose. The taste was a tight cigar flavor and my main comment was the wine was very very young. This family clearly is making age-worth wines so I would not be surprised if this one last 50-75 years without and problem.
Neiman Cellars Drew Neiman Winemaker
2018 Brothers Blend Cabernet Purchased 6 Bottles $95 93RP
Started out with a light spicy nose flavor. Very nice velvet mouthfeel. Lots of dark chocolate taste. Felt it would go well with a cheese course. Is 95% Cabernet and 4% Merlot? Have already drunk one bottle for dinner and went very well with a hamburger and fries.
2020 Caryn Renae Sauvingnon Blanc $65
My first thought was pizza, pizza, pizza. It seemed to smell initially like a nice pizza for some reason? There was a good pear flavor profile and a fair amount of residual sugar giving it some sweet taste. I felt it leaned toward being like a sweet Reisling character. It was a good wine but not the kind of Sauvignon blanc I would favor.
2014 Jemma(1.5L) Cabernet $350
Served from magnum to show how well these wines age. It did in fact show good aging. The nose was complex and smelled of a fine leather. The tannins were soft and velvety and the wine was well balanced. I felt it would continue to age and improve for at least 20 years.
2018 Jemma Cabernet $150
Onto its younger cousin, the 2018 again presented with a complex nose and flavor profile this time with cigar box primarily. Again a nice velvet mouthfeel and a good finish. Lots of young tannins but still smooth and well balanced. An excellent acid backbone makes it very food-friendly. As 2014 has demonstrated it will age and evolve in bottles for decades.
2018 The Estate Cabernet $195 94RP
A very young tight Cabernet. The nose was soft not much there but on the flavor, the tannin was very strong and had a licorice taste. It will have great aging potential. It had a nice finish. Made with 60% new French oak and 40% aged French oak-aged for 3 years. An interesting oak profile.
2018 Elaine Cabernet $250
To compare to the Estate Cabernet this one is 100% new French oak. You really couldn’t appreciate the oak much on this one as the alcohol imprint was high. It had 14.8% alcohol and you could smell it on the nose. The taste was a tight cigar flavor and my main comment was the wine was very very young. This family clearly is making age-worth wines so I would not be surprised if this one last 50-75 years without and problem.
Neiman Cellars Drew Neiman Winemaker
It was one of the highlights of our trip to meet Drew Neiman. Somehow related to Leroy Neiman maybe, his main claim to fame is he was the assistant winemaker under John Konnsgarud for 12 years and for all intents and purposes was making the wines that Clark and I have loved for over a decade and had an extremely hard time buying any. What a joy to meet him and when we first tasted his 2016 chardonnay our first thought was wow, It’s the high-quality wine and style we love. Turns out his mentor John Konnsgaurd originally worked at Newton and “invented” Newton unoaked chardonnay. Drew also worked in the past at Wente Vineyards. He is a very gracious host and he also has a strong opinion on pairing his wines particularly with cheese so in addition to our wine tasting we had a cheese tasting also. He recommends Culture Cheese Magazine(https://culturecheesemag.com) as a great reference. If you are in NYC Drew recommends a visit to Murray’s Cheese( https://www.murrayscheese.com). You can contact Drew at drew@neimancellars.com.
2016 Neiman Chardonnay My favorite wine of the trip purchased 2 cases for $85/Bt
In a word spectacular and spiritual. Soft hints of on the nose and taste, perfect balance and acidity, a minimal hint of oak if at all. Lots of pear and lemon fruit. The alcohol is high but not noticeable and it dissipates. More than once winemakers told me if the grapes are good and the wine is balanced you will not notice the wine being too high in alcohol nor overoaked. Classic old-world style to me with plenty of terroir and mineral backbone. Just a class act wine. So good me and Robert purchased 6 cases together and begged to be included on his yearly allocation list. Drew paired it with Tom D’crayion cow cheese from Savoie. I also understood him to say the grapes for this wine come from the Hudson Vineyard where more than one winemaker makes Chardonnay, Kistler for one.
2016 Neiman Red Wine $150
This wine has 55% cabernet from Pritchard Hill and 45% Cabernet Franc. Grapes come from the Cauldwell Vineyard. The wine was young and tight but well balanced. If you like Cabernet Franc this would a wine for you.
2018 The Fallen Red Wine $175
Starts off with a spicy aromatic nose. 70% of the grapes come from Sleeping Lady Vineyard and 39% is Cabernet Franc from again the Cauldwell vineyard. It was a very balanced pleasant wine with great structure and balance. It was one wine that during the tasting I ended up drinking all of it it was so good.
2016 Neiman Syrah $65
Lots of fruit on the nose with hints of caramel as well in the taste. A tight young concentrated wine. All the grapes come from the Cauldwell vineyard. The wine paired beautifully with a goat gouda cheese. Will age well and tannins and acidity were perfectly balanced. A very good Syrah.
2016 Neiman Chardonnay My favorite wine of the trip purchased 2 cases for $85/Bt
In a word spectacular and spiritual. Soft hints of on the nose and taste, perfect balance and acidity, a minimal hint of oak if at all. Lots of pear and lemon fruit. The alcohol is high but not noticeable and it dissipates. More than once winemakers told me if the grapes are good and the wine is balanced you will not notice the wine being too high in alcohol nor overoaked. Classic old-world style to me with plenty of terroir and mineral backbone. Just a class act wine. So good me and Robert purchased 6 cases together and begged to be included on his yearly allocation list. Drew paired it with Tom D’crayion cow cheese from Savoie. I also understood him to say the grapes for this wine come from the Hudson Vineyard where more than one winemaker makes Chardonnay, Kistler for one.
2016 Neiman Red Wine $150
This wine has 55% cabernet from Pritchard Hill and 45% Cabernet Franc. Grapes come from the Cauldwell Vineyard. The wine was young and tight but well balanced. If you like Cabernet Franc this would a wine for you.
2018 The Fallen Red Wine $175
Starts off with a spicy aromatic nose. 70% of the grapes come from Sleeping Lady Vineyard and 39% is Cabernet Franc from again the Cauldwell vineyard. It was a very balanced pleasant wine with great structure and balance. It was one wine that during the tasting I ended up drinking all of it it was so good.
2016 Neiman Syrah $65
Lots of fruit on the nose with hints of caramel as well in the taste. A tight young concentrated wine. All the grapes come from the Cauldwell vineyard. The wine paired beautifully with a goat gouda cheese. Will age well and tannins and acidity were perfectly balanced. A very good Syrah.
No comments:
Post a Comment