Hello Everyone! We’re continuing to talk about our wine journey through California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys. After a great dinner at the Silverado Brewing Company with Casa Nuestra friends, we got up early to enjoy some of the amenities of the Wine Country Inn before heading out to start the day. Even though the day dawned cool and rainy, we decided to enjoy a soak in the Inn’s hot tub and enjoy a hearty breakfast before starting out on the wine trail. The Wine Country Inn serves up a fabulous breakfast buffet, complete with lots of homemade treats and a waffle-making machine, and it’s a great way to pad your belly before a day of wine tasting.
Our original plan for the day was to catch up with our friends Chuck and Leslie Parker and head to the Sonoma Coast. We had been very excited about this idea, neither of us having ever been to the coast, but the weather wasn’t cooperative. It had turned windy and rainy and it was likely that our potential view would be shrouded in fog – not to mention the gusty winds – so we decided to save the coast for another visit. Instead, we headed down the Silverado Trail to Clos du Val in search of a taste of their Primitivo. When we showed up at the parking lot in the driving rain, we initially thought that the winery was closed, but the sign said assured us they were indeed open, so we skipped across the lot to the door to the tasting room.
Clos du Val was founded in 1972 by Frenchman Bernard Portet, and its wine qualified to represent the United States in the famous Judgment of Paris in 1976. While we lived in Bermuda, we frequently purchased the Clos du Val Zinfandel and enjoyed it very much. We later discovered that the Zinfandel is available to the export market only. (We made this discovery while at wine tasting in Nantucket, during which we insisted to the guy pouring for Clos du Val that we loved their Zinfandel, while he insisted that they didn’t sell a Zin. He stared at us in disbelief (probably thinking we’d had a bit too much wine already), but then we all connected the dots and learned that it was only for export, and we all had a good laugh.) He then told us that Clos du Val was beginning to make a Primitivo, Zinfandel’s cousin, and that it would be available the following year. The relationship between Primitivo and Zinfandel is similar to that of Syrah and Shiraz. Same grapes; different interpretation by the winemaker, and Primitivo tends to be made on the drier side rather than fruitier. Before we left for California, Rachel contacted the winery to find out if the Primitivo would be available for tasting during our visit. It was not on the standard tasting menu, but we were advised to just ask for it when we arrived, and they would gladly pour us a taste.
We were greeted in the tasting room by a gentleman named Fred and proceeded to share a standard tasting (as we’ve mentioned before, we frequently share a tasting; Clos du Val also has a reserve tasting option). We made him aware of our quest for the Primitivo and he said that he would gladly pour us a sample at the right point in the tasting. Fred started us off with the Ariadne, a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc made in the French style of white Bordeaux with some subtle aging. The wine was bright and fresh, but more full and round than a typical unoaked Sauvignon Blanc. Bernard Portet is really a master of balance and the wine was perfect. Sometimes the combination of oak aging and the addition of Semillon can really fatten up a Sauvignon Blanc but this was far from the case. After some discussion, Fred insisted that we try the Chardonnay since we indicated that many are just too over-oaked and buttery for our tastes. The Clos du Val had much better balance, with crisp acidity to balance out the more tropical flavors, but the Ariadne was still our preferred style in white wine. Next came the Carneros Pinot Noir; again we had some discussion about our feelings of Pinot Noir (generally not a favorite of ours). Fred assured us that the Carneros Pinot Noir was different. He was right. On this trip, we began to explore more Pinot Noir from Carneros, and it seems to be more Burgundian in style, which we like. Pinot Noir requires a cooler climate than California has in many areas, but the Carneros region receives cooling breezes from the Pacific through San Pablo Bay, and so it is a region well suited to Pinot.
Fred also gave us some wine tasting tips. He explained that it takes three tastes of wine to fully get the flavor: the first cleanses your palate, the second gives you a good taste, and the third taste shows you everything that the wine has. We took that tip with us for the rest of the trip. Since we were having an interactive and engaging tasting, Fred suggested that we compare the Reserve Pinot to the Carneros Pinot. It’s always fun to do, and we often tend to land on the side of the non-Reserve. It’s not about price; it just happens. We really enjoyed the acidity in the non-Reserve Pinot Noir.
Fred was a font of information on many fronts, and it’s always great when we learn new things while tasting wine. Fred explained that the difference in the shape between a Bordeaux wine bottle (including Cabernet and Merlot) and a Burgundy (Pinot Noir) bottle is more than just stylistic – the shape of the bottle serves a purpose. The Bordeaux bottle has a distinct neck and a high shoulder, whereas a Burgundy bottle has a gently sloping shoulder. A Burgundian-style wine tends to have little to no sediment in the wine; conversely, the Bordeaux varietals generally do, and the bottle is shaped so that the shoulder will catch much of the sediment as the wine is poured.
Following the Pinot Noir came the much-awaited Primitivo. It was just as we had hoped: it had many of the flavors of Zinfandel but a drier wine. We also tried Clos du Val’s Merlot and Cabernet, which were excellent as usual. Fred then mentioned that Clos du Val had also made a Petit Verdot, and he gladly poured it for us. Petit Verdot is a Bordeaux grape varietal but it’s rarely made into a single varietal wine. We are always anxious to try it whenever we see it, and this one did not disappoint. Nothing at Clos du Val disappointed that day. We thanked Fred for sharing his knowledge and experience, purchased the elusive Primitivo and rare Petit Verdot, and headed back out into the rain.
The morning had only started, but we’d already had a great visit with Clos du Val, with some great wine and great company. We were looking forward to the rest of our day – rain or shine.
Drink what you like, like what you drink!
Rachel & Bryan Gavini
Rachel & Bryan Gavini
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