We dropped by HASR Wine Co for a private wine tasting led by Hawaii's 3rd Master Sommelier, Patrick Okubo. For $40 per person, it was quite a deal as nine wines were poured including all 3 of the individual vineyard selections from Diamond Creek's Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 vintage, 3 of Maggy Hawk's 2009 individual clone Pinot Noir, Reynolds Family's 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2008 Fourteen Meritage plus Clif Lede's 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. And with any of these wine tastings, you make new friends as wine makes EVERYONE convivial.
Patrick mentioned that Clif Lede made Sauvignon Blanc in the Bordeaux style adding a touch of Semillon and Muscadelle to the blend giving it a touch of oak. As he stated, Clif Lede produces Sauvignon Blanc in Napa Valley because 1), the climate is suited to Sauvignon Blanc and 2) he likes Sauvignon Blanc as planting Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley would fetch him 2 to 3 times the profit so he does it because he likes it, he's not doing it to make money. Delicious and richer on the palate than other New World Sauvignon Blanc.
Next up was the Maggy Hawk Pinots. Maggy Hawk just happens to be the high end label for La Crema (and I already have La Crema as one of my favorite under $20 wines) and they are all sourced from Anderson Valley which has the climate that Pinot Noir needs.. They bottle individual Pinot Noir clones from Dijon and Pommard. We started with the Jolie produced from Dijon clone 115. Perfume and earth on the nose, subtle but balanced with a good palate flow.
The Afleet was produced from Pommard clones which give it a pronounced tannic edge - this Pinot definitely needs time to settle but I believe in another 5 years it will have as much finesse as the Jolie.
The last Maggy Hawk was the Hawkster from clone 2a giving it the most recognizable nose and palate almost like a Russian River Pinot Noir. It was the fave of my three new friends (they looked like bankers) but unfortunately for them, HASR Wine Co was out of the Hawkster.
Next up was Reynolds Family's Fourteen which came from all 14 of Napa Valley's sub AVAs in 2008. They will do a second bottling of Fourteen but our sample was from the first bottling. When Fifteen appears in another 2 years or so, it will include grapes from the Calistoga AVA approved in 2009 (for the record, Napa Valley currently has 16 AVAs - Coombsville was approved in 2011). I uncorked my only bottle of Thirteen last year and at 10 years old, it seemed to be at peak so Fourteen should last at least another 5 or 6 years before peaking.
We also sampled the Reynolds Family 2009 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which I knew would be spectacular (since I previously sampled prior vintages) and it didn't disappoint. Loads of dark fruit but with enough acid and supple tannins to give it a great mouth feel and seamless flow.
Then the piece de resistance, the three Diamond Creek 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Volcanic Hill vineyard was first up. I didn't expect to get fruit and herb notes on the nose since this wine was so young but they already were present. Still young and a little tight but you know this is gonna be a killer wine in another 10... or 20 years.
Red Rock Terrace was next which gave a little more blueberry and stronger fruit notes on the nose but again, still very young needing more than the 4 hour decanting time it was given.
Finally we sampled the Gravelly Meadow which comes from the coolest vineyards. This bottle had the best balance of the three with earth and fruit in harmony but once again, it needed time. Lots of time. More time than I can invest at my age and at about $150 per bottle, I passed on all three Diamond Creeks.
I also brought a 2010 Herold Cabernet Sauvignon with me. Mark Herold originally started Merus as a garagista and when Wine Advocate annointed him with a 95 point score, his wines were really in demand. Unfortunately, after several vintages, his partnership with his spouse dissolved and the Foley Group eventually bought Merus. However, he did have a 5 year no-compete clause so for 5 years he produced Rhone and Spanish varietals. But 2010 marked the end of the no-compete clause so he once again is producing Cabernet Sauvignon.
But my bottle needed decanting. Like a day or two before consuming. TIGHT as can be only giving loads of mocha and coffee on the nose but nothing on the palate. Oh well, I shared it with other wine enthusiasts and that's all that matters.
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