A long time ago, the art director of a magazine told us if you want to name a company, make sure the name says exactly what the company is and/or does. We have found that to be a great truth.
The name Napa Cellars on a bottle of wine lays it right on the line with nothing left to the imagination.
Napa Cellars has always been a vineyard that has aimed for the highest quality point that their grapes can achieve, and have spared no expense to do so. They also haven't allowed the current economic downturn to affect their quality or pricing structure.
Napa Cellars 2010 Merlot ($22)This is one of the most interesting merlot wines we have tasted in a long time.
The Napa Cellars 2010 Merlot explodes into a fiesta of berry flavors and aromas in the glass. The aroma of this wine is so heavy with fruit that it gives the impression of being sweet, when it's actually dry. The wine also displays the aromas of toasty baking spices, vanilla, malt and ripe plums, mixed berry compote with blueberry, blackberry and cherry notes and a slight amount of oak in the background. It then finishes with hints of dark chocolate and toffee that linger in the mouth. The tannins - the component of red wine that produces the dry sensation in the cheeks - are held in check and combine with the rest of the elements in the wine to produce a velvety mouth feel.
We found this to be an excellent wine that can accompany a broad spectrum of meat and pasta dishes with red sauce, and it should not be relegated solely to be served with heavy red meats.
Napa Cellars 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon ($26)This cabernet sauvignon has been made from grapes grown in the various sections of the Napa Valley, an area that produces the finest cabernet sauvignon grapes in California. Some of the grapes came from the famed Rutherford Bench, where grapes are noted for the dusty, mineral element they impart to the wine.
2010 was a cool growing year, which is the best condition for cabernet sauvignon grapes.
This wine displays an intense plum and summer berry aroma wrapped in the haunting background of the Rutherford Bench. As the aroma opens, one can detect vanilla, oak and spice. The flavor concentrates on mineral-laced black fruits, cinnamon and tobacco. The tannins are restrained and modestly soft, so it can still be bottle-aged. The finish, too, is cherry-based with the signature Rutherford minerals still in evidence.
Napa Cellars 2011 Chardonnay ($22)A fine growing season has endowed this chardonnay with bold fruit flavors and aromas, as well as the traditional creamy texture.
The most obvious aroma is that of Fuji apples, intermingling with Bosc pear, which carries over to the flavor and merges with lemon, hints of pineapple and vanilla. The mineral element imparted on grapes grown in the Napa Valley becomes very obvious with the first sip and helps to amplify and enhance the fruit flavor of this wine.
This wine, too, is well balanced and very easy to drink.
Napa Cellars 2011 Zinfandel ($22) This is a full-bodied, subdued zinfandel with the usual pronounced strawberry flavor and aroma held tightly in check.
The wine presents a totally new view of the zinfandel.
It offers an aroma prominently featuring coffee, chocolate, plum and blackberry. The flavor of this wine mirrors the aroma, with the addition of a berry jam element. The finish, which is exceptionally long, also reflects the cherry and berry flavors.
This is a zinfandel of a different turn and it definitely deserves your attention.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and helps manage ArticlesOnWine.com with his wife, Sheila. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.[[In-content Ad]]
