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Time to Crown California Royalty

Buying
wine in the United States used to be a big deal, something
almost ceremonial and definitely out of the ordinary. One of
the major reasons that consumption’s reached a new height of
popularity in the past decade is that we’ve finally overcome
the idea of wine as a “special occasion” beverage whose
primary purpose is to commemorate memorable events. Through
repeated exposure it’s successfully shed this image and
become an integral part of the daily diet for an increasing
number of people. Still, everyone understands that there is
a category we might call luxury wines, comprised of bottles
we probably wouldn’t ever open, for instance, sitting on a
couch watching television or even during the course of a
casual meal. The great thing about these “important” wines,
however, is that while they represent significant upgrades
from everyday bottles, few are so expensive that they are
totally out of reach.

Wine of this
type can be a wonderful gift because the recipient can enjoy
it at a time of his or her choice and, if properly stored,
it can improve in the bottle as the years pass. One of the
great things about the way most wines capable of bottle
development are being produced today is that they also taste
great when they’re young. The point is that while their
flavors and textures change, for the most part you can enjoy
the wines at any stage of their evolution. The following is
a list of wines I tasted in California during a recent
Master of Wine Symposium and tour of the North Coast wine
regions, that fall into this luxury, potentially age worthy
category, each of which would constitute a superb, if
somewhat expensive, choice to give someone who has a cellar.
Some may be difficult to find, because they are produced in
limited quantities, but each is highly recommended and well
worth a search. Each is from a single estate, and, while I
am not a proponent of terroir for its own sake or a believer
that blends can’t produce great wine, there was clearly
something unique about the site in each of these cases that
allowed special qualities to express themselves.

Rubicon
Estate Red
Napa Valley, 1999

If you can still find this wine, do it! Along with
the 199O vintage, this was the standout for me in a
vertical tasting of the Coppola Estate’s
proprietary red wine going back to the very
beginning that oenologist Scott McLeod conducted.
Although all of the vintages were outstanding (with
the exception, interestingly enough, of the highly
regarded 1987), there was something so exotic and
dark chocolatey in the flavor of this wine that it
stood out. Still quite youthful in color, with
opaque purple-hued ruby filling the glass, the
seductive aromas of vanilla and smoky ripe berries
also seemed restrained enough to reflect a much
younger bottling. On the palate, however, the
creamy, blackberry, cocoa, and toasted herb flavors
were quite open. Beautifully balanced, this big
Rutherford district red strikes me as having the
structure and complexity to continue developing for
another 1O to 15 years without any problem.
$1OO

Opus
One
Napa Valley, 2OO3

The neighboring Oakville Bench produces some pretty
good blends as well. This legendary wine is
actually a current release, so it will be easier to
locate than the Rubicon. Sometimes when wines
achieve iconic status they also become targets and
as such are paradoxically easy to dismiss. If
they’re produced in quantities that make them
available to anyone who has the money and they
strike some as being consumed uncritically, without
the proper reverence, skepticism naturally arises
that the excitement is primarily about marketing.
Big mistake! The latest in a line of standout
vintages, and I had an opportunity to sample
several going back to the original, 1979, which
contrary to press reports I’ve seen, tastes
delightful and is still quite vigorous, this wine
is massive. It actually is a great contrast to the
2OO2, which I rated just about as highly, but was
softer and more approachable and moderate in style.
Why single out the 2OO3 then? Because it will last
longer, and if you’re spending this much money you
might as well put the bottle away for awhile and
delay your gratification. With an aroma of fresh
packed currants and leafy herbs, the ripeness of
the flavors is staggering. Anise, sage, cedar, and
coffee accents all add grace to the saturated black
fruit. Sometimes the Emperor does have clothes!
$14O

HdV
Syrah
Carneros, 2OO4

This estate winery is a partnership between the
famous de Villaine family of Burgundy (former
proprietors of the legendary Domaine de la Romanee
Conti) and Larry Hyde, owner of perhaps the most
sought after vineyards on the eastern edge of the
Carneros district (A Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyard
Pinot Noir from the same vintage could have easily
made this list). Syrah in the cool Carneros? When
I visited in June the temperatures had soared close
to 1OOº. Organically farmed, this pure
varietal wine is unfined and unfiltered. Aged in a
high proportion of new French oak barrels, the wine
has a dark garnet color with beautiful raspberry
and violet aromas. Plummy and ripe, with a very
lush soft texture, it’s deceptively open on the
palate. It’s one of those “wow” wines whose
silkiness cloaks a core of black fruit and spicy
intensity. It reminded me in style of a great Cote
Rotie and, delicious as it is now, would not
surprise me if it aged for ten years. Great Syrah
from California (of which I tasted several on my
trip, the HdV being the best) remains a largely
untold story, partly because of the limited
quantities made. There are less than 1OOO cases of
this wine produced.
$6O

Lucia
“Gary’s Vineyard” Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands, 2OO4

Pinot Noir shows no signs of slowing down in
popularity, and while there are outstanding wines
being made at all price points today, this one is a
stunner. It has a lot in common with the HdV
Syrah. Hailing from one of the most highly
acclaimed hillside Pinot vineyards of Monterey
County’s Santa Lucia Highlands, it is also estate
bottled and represents a joint partnership between
longtime growers Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni
who also make the wine in an artisan, labor
intensive manner &endash; with hand punch-downs
during fermentation and aging in French oak
barrels. The aromas are super-concentrated with
black peppery spices and tarry, smoky accented dark
berry fruit. On the palate, however, the texture
is pure velvet, with a creamy richness that
supports the soft tannins and ripe black cherry
flavors. Finishing with a dash of brown sugar and
earth, this is a Pinot that stands apart from its
class and will easily last for 5 to 7 years.
$45

HdV
Chardonnay
Carneros, 2OO1

What? No Chardonnay? This was the most satisfying
one I tasted over a 14 day span. Incredible that
it’s made from fruit grown on the same 175 acre
Hyde Vineyard as the Syrah. This proves
conclusively that it’s not the AVA but the specific
site of the vines, their soil, exposure to marine
influence, and elevation, that has the greatest
influence on what should be grown where. I’m no
Chardonnay-basher, but there’s a disturbing
sameness to many of even the most highly regarded
North Coast renditions &endash; as in, I enjoy them
but they often taste interchangeable and other than
label-flashing, there doesn’t seem to be anything
special or unique about them. Not so here. Still
light straw in color after several years in the
bottle, this floral, apple-scented wine is
beautifully structured. Produced from impeccably
ripe California fruit, it also, like the Syrah,
seem to show European bloodlines &endash; meaning
the dominant impression is one of finesse,
lees-accenting, elegance, and subtle hints of sweet
spices. The fruit was more understated white peach
and spring apple, with a hint of lemon, than
anything else, and even though this Chardonnay was
aged for a considerable length in a high proportion
of new French barrels, there is no jarring
distinctively oaky sensation. This is for all of
those snobs who say: 1Chardonnay doesn’t age; 2
California Chardonnay is heavy; and 3 Who needs
Chardonnay? If you can find this vintage, don’t be
in any hurry to drink it. If you can’t, the
younger ones are outstanding too.
$5O