Bacchus Does Sonapanoma |
|||||||||||||
"Don't worry - I've got two bottles of
every wine we put out this year for you guys except two and I'm working on those as we
speak." WINES
TASTED: Biale Snowden
Our group was a little quiet as we began our last full day of the tour. Yesterday’s events were a tough act to follow. We hadn’t gotten back to the hotel until 1:30 AM, and I hadn’t gotten to sleep until well after 2:30. Happily we were almost back to our full compliment of tasters, and even greeted a couple of new arrivals.
It was a long, but pleasant drive to Carneros. We arrived at Carneros Creek a little before most of the tasting room staff did, but Bill Bishop was waiting for us, greeted us cheerfully, and poured us a taste of their Chardonnay.
What followed was one of the most interesting and educational tasting experiences I have ever had. These folks did some oak experimentation with the 97 vintage, and their winemaker had graciously pulled eight samples for us, all from new barrels. All of the wine was from the same clone, but with different barrel producers, different oak, and different toast. The contrasts were significant and fascinating. Since only a small portion of the final blend will come from new barrels, this tasting gave us insight into the complexity and subtlety of the winemaker’s art. We then tasted through the current Pinot releases, and were then treated to a "mystery wine", which one of our tasters correctly identified as a 20 year old Pinot. While the aromatics were more interesting than the palate was satisfying, this was nevertheless a good lesson in the ageworthiness of these Pinots. Judson treated the group to a bottle of the 1995 Signature Reserve, which we poured, and enjoyed. Then, we headed east to the town of Napa to pick up our lunch, and make our next appointment.
It’s no secret that I am very fond of this family. I first became acquainted with Robert and Aldo at the second ZAP tasting, where they premiered their first vintage, the 1991. Since that time, I’ve made it a point to spend time with them whenever I can, and I have found Bob and his Dad to be two of the nicest people I have ever met – in or out of the wine industry. I’ve also gotten to know most of the rest of the family, both nuclear and extended, and have been privileged to talk with Nona (Bob’s 100+ year old grandmother) on more than one occasion. Dave Pramuk (marketing) is a great guy, Al Perry (winemaker) is soft-spoken and gracious, Wendy (Bob’s wife) is lovely and bright, Clementina (Aldo’s wife) treats everybody like one of the family ---- well, you get the picture. Today, we were hosted on the back deck of Aldo and Clementina’s home, which is surrounded by a small vineyard just north of downtown Napa. We munched on a selection of gourmet sandwiches, cheeses and olives, then were led through a tasting of older and new Biale zins.
Bob carefully explained what they were trying to achieve stylistically, and was quite candid about how the 1995 vintage fell short. As you might remember, there was long hangtime in 95, followed by a blisteringly hot Indian Summer. The grapes in Aldo’s Vineyard sugared up well, but they were unable to get picking crews into the vineyard for three days. By that time, the fruit was terribly overripe. The resultant wine was awkward, and was blended with some of the Old Crane Ranch in hopes of producing a more balanced wine. However, after bottling, the wine evolved in a direction that nobody anticipated, and some folks found it disappointing. Biale rebounded well with the 96 vintage, and after tasting samples from barrel, I think the 97 may be their most exciting vintage ever! Aldo arrived home while we were tasting, joined us, and added his comments on the wines. He and Clementina then delighted us with stories of their struggles to survive the leaner years for growers – back when Zinfandel was a less than stylish grape.
We lounged on the deck, basking in the sun, and
savored some of the most glorious Zinfandel being produced. Purchases were made, and it
was especially touching to see young Alexander signing bottles along with his dad and Grandpa Aldo. Hugs all around, and we
were on our way. Another extraordinary afternoon!! It was a long, slow and steep climb, and we would later learn that it took a toll on our bus. Awaiting us at the end of the road was Scott Snowden.
We were introduced to his brother Randy, and proceeded to hike the property, learning it’s history, and quite a bit about their viticultural practices.
Their dad acquired the property in 1955, and for years the fruit has gone to highly regarded Cabernet producers. The first vintage under the Snowden label was the 1993, and it was not released until after the 1997 was in barrel. Even though the second vintage is just now being offered, Snowden Cabernet has already achieved a strong following. They will continue to sell fruit to other producers, but plan to increase their own production as new plantings gain maturity. We motored back down the hill, then headed north to Scott’s home in St. Helena, and learned that the bus no longer had a fourth gear – it was third gear all the way, a slow but picturesque ride. Scott and his wife, Joanne Ortega Snowden, live in a lovely Victorian home in a quiet neighborhood in St. Helena. The property has been lovingly restored, included outbuildings, which also house Joanne’s studios. She is a talented fine artist, and has a successful design business that specializes in wine labels.
They most graciously invited us into their home, and provided us with breads, cheeses and olives. The 1993 and 1994 Cabernets were poured for us, and thoroughly enjoyed. We were the first group of any size to visit, and they seemed to be as delighted to have us as we were to be there. I’m still amazed that they opened their home to more than twenty total strangers. It was quite special. We were able to purchase some of the 93, and I was excited to be able to secure some of the inaugural vintage – and to be on the primary mailing list for future releases. We took more photos, expressed our appreciation, and headed back to Santa Rosa – v e r y s l o w l y . Fortunately we had a cell phone – we were going to be late for dinner
|
