X Winery (Napa Valley)

On our last full day in Napa, Joy and I began with a trek up to Rombauer Winery (which I will share more on later) before returning to downtown Napa for a lovely lunch at Grace's Table. After this our paths diverged. Joy set her sights on the antique shops and I sought out more wine to taste. First, I made the short walk across Second Street to X Winery.

1. The Wines

After a week of tasting wines that often cost $50+ a bottle, it was nice to find some more affordable ones. Not only were they reasonable, the five I tasted that day were very drinkable too. Especially good was the 2008 Napa Valley Truchard Vineyard Pinot Noir ($24.99), which was very smooth with lots of red fruit; the 2008 Red X North Coast ($14.99), a delicious blend of Syrah (55%), Tempranillo (23%), Grenache (14%), and Zinfandel (8%); and the 2007 X3 Tri-County California Cab ($17.99) that had lots of tasty fruit that especially carried through the mid-palate along with nicely balanced acidity & tannin.

Since they were so affordable, I brought the Red X and X3 Cab back to NYC. Since then, we opened the Red X to pair with assorted cheeses from Dobb's and Bishop, our Bronxville cheese shop. Everyone loved it and I cannot wait to get some more of this incredibly versatile and affordable wine. Tonight, the X3 really complimented the turkey shepherd's pie that Joy made. Not too weak nor overbearing. The balance of the wine really makes this wine enjoyable.

2. The Experience (or lack thereof)

Even though I really like their wines and plan on buying more, my experience in their tasting room was less than impressive. It wasn't particularly bad, just frustrating. They have a three-tiered tasting option, which enables you to pick 3 of 5 basic wines, then 2 of 3 more wines for a little more $, and 1 of 2 reserve wines for more $ (but no option to taste everything). If its incredibly busy, I understand getting the standard treatment. But when you're the only one in there, clearly very interested in tasting their wines (as evidenced by taking notes in your moleskin journal and pouring after each taste), and they are closing in about an hour, getting the standard treatment is disappointing. After visiting dozens and dozens of tasting rooms over the last several years, I have often experienced that extra touch, whether it be pouring wines not listed, pouring two glasses after we decide to share one, or kindly offering to revisit any of their wines. And more often than not, such generosity results in additional purchases. So it was a bit surreal for them to go through the trouble to explain how completely different their two cabs are and then leave me to decide which of them I would taste (since I only had 1 left of my second group). Who knows, perhaps I might have loved the other one and bought it too. In short, if you are running a tasting room, please don't be stingy to customers, especially if they are interested and the bottles are already open. On top of all this, I emailed their NY distributor over a week ago to find out where I can get their wines in NYC and haven't heard back yet.

Summary

If you come across the wines of X Winery, I would give them a try, especially if you see their incredibly versatile Red X.

David Hill Winery (Willamette Valley, OR)

While in Longview, WA this past weekend with Joy, my parents came down from Seattle to see her newly remodeled home and to join us for a day of wine tasting. We visited three wineries and ate at two fantastic restaruants, all of which I will discuss, but this posting is primarily concerned with David Hill Winery, located in Forest Grove, OR, just outside of Portland. I had yet to discover this winery, but upon the recommendation of our family friends who own a vineyard in Forest Grove, we made it a point to check it out. And it was certainly worth it!

First of all, the scenery doesn't get much better than the beautiful vineyards tucked amongst the hills outside of Portland. That said, it was no surprise to find them preparing for a wedding later that day at the winery. If you get a chance to visit them, make sure to follow NW David Hill Rd above the winery because there is a great pull-off where you can overlook the vineyards.

Now on to the wines! David Hill is no miser when it comes to wine. Rarely have I found a winery with 18 wines to taste that are all so delicious. And the cover the spectrum, so no matter what your personal preferences are, you're likely to find something to enjoy. Where do their grapes come from? Well, with the exception of their table white wine, all of their whites are estate grown, along with their Pinot Noir (since Pinot Noir, to my knowledge, is the only major red varietal that can tolerate the cold weather west of the Cascades). Currently their Tempranillo and reserve Merlot are sourced from southern OR, the table red from eastern WA, and the table white from the pacific NW.

WHITES
*2007 Estate Pinot Blanc ($15): beautiful floral and citrus nose, med/full body with a crisp finish. enjoyed the nose more than the taste.
*2007 Estate Gewürztraminer ($16): strong honeysuckle, very nice smooth finish
*2007 Estate Pinot Gris ($15): peach and citrus nose, nice acidity
*2007 Estate Semillon ($15): nutty and nice
*2006 Estate Reserve Chardonnay ($18): vanilla and butterscotch aromas come through, creamy, but not too heavy, quite tasty indeed!
*2008 Estate Riesling ($16): describing its nose, I wrote "oh my gosh!" just delicious smelling, the palate is complex and rather tart, personally I would prefer to smell this wine instead of drinking it
*2007 Estate Muscat ($15): an off-day muscat with a very floral nose, sweet and finish just falls off (in a way that I enjoyed), great wine ***Troy, make sure to try this and their muscat port***
*Farm House White ($10): a blend of Semillon, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Viognier, very tropical, hard to pass up a great wine at a great value

REDS
*2007 Estate Pinot Noir ($20): coffee and toast on nose, lots of tannin and acidity, little fruit, meh
*2006 Estate Barrel Select Pinot Noir ($28): better fruit, okay, but $28 okay, not so sure
*2006 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir ($38): great nose! wonderful fruit, complex, incredibly drinkable
*2006 Estate BlackJack Pinot Noir ($45): vines where planted in '65, nose has very nice cherry, vanilla, and earth, absolutely delicious!
*2006 Tempranillo ($24): plum and pepper on the nose with a smooth vanilla finish, nicely balanced tannin, sourced from southern OR
*2006 Reserve Merlot ($30): cherry and chocolate aromas, also from southern OR, love it!
*Farm House Red ($10): a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Barbera, Merlot and a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah sourced from eastern WA, very tasty and a great value, brought some back to NY

DESSERTS
*2006 Sweet Simplicity ($10/375ml): 68% Semillon & 32% Sylvaner, not too sweet with a light finish for a dessert wine, great wine for its price
*Estate Solera Tawny Port ($35/500ml): 100% Pinot Noir, palate is dominated by berries, vanilla, and wood, an absolutely great wine (Joy got a bottle and hopefully there will be some left when I come back!)
*2005 Estate Muscat Port ($21/375ml): a rare white port, apricots and cloves, very sugary, and delicious

SUMMARY: First off, David Hill makes great table wines that should not be passed over. While I enjoyed all of their whites, the Gewurt and Chardonnay really stood out. And when it comes to Pinot Noirs, I would strongly suggest either spending the money on the 2006 Reserve and/or the BlackJack, or looking elsewhere. At this point, I'm not convinced the other two are worth the price. It's also hard to beat $10 for a tasty desert wine. And don't forget to try both the ports!