SAINT HELENA STAR
Catherine Seda | Posted: Thursday, November 3, 2011

Star/NVV Panelists Like Hendry, B Cellars and Trinchero Reds

http://napavalleyregister.com/star/business/star-nvv-panelists-like-hendry-b-cellars-and-trinchero-reds/article_0791f51a-05ce-11e1-a87a-001cc4c03286.html

The Hendry family has been growing grapes on their Napa property since 1939 and their latest blend, from 2008, is a mix of petit verdot, malbec, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.

Top 3 red blends from 2008
The top three standouts were Hendry Red, a mix of five Bordeaux varieties from the Hendry Vineyard, $38; B Cellars, Blend 25, a mix of cabernet sauvignon and syrah, $55; and Trinchero Napa Valley Meritage, a Bordeaux-style red, made by winemaker Mario Monticelli, that is sourced from several different vineyards. It retails for $50.

Taking different grape varieties and bringing out the best characteristics of each for the blend, while not letting a particular grape stick out, is no easy task. The wine should be one harmonious sip that keeps you coming back for another taste, intrigued yet not distracted by something out of balance. But how much of each variety gives that right balance?

Cabernet sauvignon tends to add tannins and structure to a blend; merlot can add softness and often, red fruits. Cabernet franc tends towards cranberry flavors and good acidity, and petit verdot has a rich color and exotic spices. For whatever grape varieties are chosen, their characteristics need to work well together to produce a wine with balanced acidity, alcohol, tannins and general structure.

A great blend, therefore, really is a work of art. Yet in the 1950s, we started to hear calls for varietal wines — wines made from mostly one grape variety — with the belief that these varietally labeled wines would stand out as superior to the blended and generic wines being made at the time.

Today, the situation has righted itself, and some of the most regarded Napa Valley wines include blends. We accept that fine wines come as both varietals and those crafted from two or more varieties.

The St. Helena Star and Napa Valley Vintners Tasting Panel sat down on Oct. 20 to taste through 18 different Napa Valley red blends from the 2008 vintage, ranging in price from $20 to $96 a bottle. The main question that panelists looked to answer was: how are our Napa Valley winemakers faring when it comes to blending?

There was not a general consensus among the group. While panelist John Skupny of Lang & Reed had positive comments about some of the wines, he found a number of them “unfocused” and “manipulated,” and Eric Carpenter of Dean & DeLuca noted the “wood component was overwhelming in three-fourths of them.” Jim Sullivan of Castello di Amorosa stated that he enjoyed some of the wines — “they were round and full-bodied,” and Keith Hock of Schramsberg Cellars thought “a few really stood out as fruity, with an appealing structure.”

There were a number of wines that the panelists agreed were great wine blends. The top wine from each of three different flights are:

Hendry Red Blend, Napa Valley ($38). The owners have been farming the same Napa vineyard since 1939. This blend is quite a wine for the price and has 36 percent petit verdot, 21 percent malbec, 21 percent cabernet sauvignon, 11 percent merlot and 11 percent cabernet franc, with concentrated dark berry flavors and a tight structure.

B Cellars, Blend 25, Napa Valley ($55). The company was co-founded by Jim Borsack and Duffy Keys. Both have been in the luxury goods business in different capacities and they now put that dedication toward their B Cellars wines. Kirk Venge is the winemaker and Blend 25 has cabernet sauvignon and syrah. The wine has sweet vanilla and caramel aromas followed by concentrated red fruit flavors.

Trinchero Napa Valley Meritage, Napa Valley ($50). Trinchero started as a mom and pop operation, believe it or not. Mario and Mary Trinchero bought the abandoned Sutter Home winery and later created their Trinchero label for small production, estate-grown wines. This meritage is a blend of prime vineyard lots of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc. The wine has bright red fruit aromas and flavors.

Hunnicutt Winery’s Cutt Fearless Red ($38) is a creative blend of 38 percent syrah, 31 percent petite sirah and 31 percent zinfandel. With only 320 cases made and at this suggested retail price, this is a wine to seek out now.

With the Castello di Amorosa, La Castellana ($70), winemaker Brooks Painter does it once again. This wine is called a Super Tuscan by the winery and is a strawberry and cherry flavored blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangiovese.

Bounty Hunter Pursuit/Campfire ($44.95) introduces its wine on their website with “Campfire Roars Again!” How can we not buy a bottle, even if we drag a blanket out the back door to our picnic tables? Camping or not, this is one good wine.

And the Charles Krug/Peter Mondavi Family Reserve Generations ($50) is a taste of Napa Valley history. We should all be tasting wine from a winery that was established in 1861. The wine is a blend of 56 percent cabernet sauvignon, 31 percent merlot, 10 percent cabernet franc and 3 percent petit verdot.

(Catherine Seda is the St. Helena Star’s tasting panel writer and works for Balzac Communications & Marketing in Napa. She holds a diploma in wine and spirits from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and enjoys all things wine. Contact her at catseda@gmail.com. Only wines from Napa Valley Vintners member wineries are accepted and tasted. Not all wines submitted are chosen to be tasted as often there are more wines submitted than tasted. The wines are chosen by random. Many wineries offer local residents discounts on their wines through the Napa Neighbor program, visit napavintners.com/programs and click on Napa Neighbor to learn more.)

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http://napavalleyregister.com/star/business/star-nvv-panelists-like-hendry-b-cellars-and-trinchero-reds/article_0791f51a-05ce-11e1-a87a-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1ijDCuHxW

4.5 stars- Hendry 2007 Hendry Vineyard Red, Napa Valley

Hendry 2007 Hendry Vineyard Red
Bordeaux-style Red Blend (Napa Valley)
90 points

92 Points: Hendry (Proprietary) Red Wine

The 2007 Proprietary Red Wine has an unusual composition of 36% Petite Verdot, 21% Malbec, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc and 11% Merlot that clearly shows that Hendry marches to the beat of a different drummer. But it works. Dense ruby/purple-colored with notes of blackberries, cassis and licorice, it possesses good tannins, a narrowly focused mouthfeel but impressive purity and length. The sweetness of the fruit becomes more apparent with airing. This fascinating wine would be hard to peg in a blind tasting.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 12/23/10