Paul Wagner commented that there was a time when Napa Valley Cabernet was defined by just two producers--Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyard (BV). The new executive director of the Rutherford Dust Society was speaking last week at a tasting that is now almost annual ritual—a preview of just-released (or, in some cases, not-yet-released) Cabernet Sauvignon from the Rutherford AVA.

The setting was an upstairs room at Rubicon Estate Winery. Rubicon—owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola—is the historic home of Inglenook, a great winery whose product and identity were debased by corporate ownership a few decades ago. Under Coppola’s stewardship, the property has returned to prominence under the Rubicon identity.
An appropriate setting for a tasting of great Rutherford Cabs.

BV, Rubicon’s across-the-road neighbor in Rutherford, has been a model of stability through the years. Current winemaker, Joel Aikin, succeeded the legenday winemaker Andre Tchelistchef, whose career with the winery began in 1938.

Aikin and Rubicon general manager Larry Stone were on hand to discuss their own wines and their views of the 2004 vintage in general. Also in attendance were some of the people responsible of the 23 other ’04 Cabernets we were to taste before lunch (Rutherford is now rife with wineries producing very high standard wines).

“Wine is a creation of soil and climate,” said Wagner. “Certainly, you need the grapes, but you need the attitude (too).” Rutherford wines may or may not be the best examples of Cabernet Sauvignon in all the world, but producers in this AVA believe that they are judged by that high standard and feel an obligation to perform at an exalted level.

Vineyardist Davie Pina gave a grower’s perspective on the vintage of 2004, which was not the easiest of years. Heat early in the season left many playing catch-up with watering programs and there was some uneven ripening. Ultimately many vineyards produced clusters of small berries, with a lot of sun exposure. The resultant wines are more tannic than those 2003.

Before each taster were thirteen glasses of samples, arranged in two arcs that barely fit onto a numbered paper place mat. This was not a competition, so we were not tasting “blind” (we had lists identifying the producer, the vineyard, the case production of each wine and the retail price). We were advised that we’d have about 20 minutes with this first flight—not a lot of time, but enough to draw impressions if we didn’t linger over any particular sample.

Seated at this long table were some very talented people. To my immediate left was Ronn Wiegand, wine consultant and publisher of Restaurant Wine. Ronn holds the rare dual distinction of Master Sommelier and Master of Wine designations. Across the table to the left was Ken Deis, who has been the winemaker at Flora Springs for 27 years. Across and to the right was Richard Betts, the Master Sommelier at Aspen’s famed Little Nell. The tasters brought different backgrounds and experiences, but all had tasted plenty of Cabernet Sauvignon in their time. Part of the appeal of tastings such as these is to find the perspective of colleagues. There is no absolute standard for perfection. But there are as many individual preferences as there are palates at tastings like this.
Flight One Winery     Wine     Cases     SRP     Release
Zahtila Vnyds     Beckstoffer Georges III.     560     $ 55     May ‘07
Provenence Vnyds     Rutherford Cab. Sauvignon     17,300     45     N/A
Martin Estate     Cabernet Sauvignon     300     70     N/A
Frank Fmy Vnyds      Rutherford Reserve     1,547     90/100     Dec 7 ‘07
Quintessa     Quintessa     8,000     125     May ’07
Trinchero Winery     Napa Res. Chicken Ranch Vnyd     3,000     30     July ’06
Raymond Vnyds     Rutherford Cab. Sauvignon     400     55     Jan ’08
Flora Springs Winery     Rutherford Hillside Res..     300     108     Oct. ’07
Pine Ridge Winery     Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon     4,153     48     Jan. ’07
Galleron Fmy Vnyds     Generation Series Rutherford     281     40     Apr 1 ’07
Sullivan Vineyards     Cabernet Sauv. Reserve     200     100     Sept ’07

Joel Aikin explained that our sequence of tasting began with wines from the southeast corner of the Rutherford appellation and more-or-less followed a northward route, then bent toward the northwestern corner. As he pointed out specific vineyards on a map, a question about the Rutherford Bench came up. The phrase came into use a decade or more ago but has fallen out of favor lately. “Would these vineyards west of Highway 29 near the Napa River be considered in the Rutherford Bench?” asked a taster. “Wasn’t this bench less the alluvial soil near the River, but more toward the hills east of Highway 29?” suggested another voice. Nobody in the room seemed to know who coined this phrase, The Rutherford Bench, but the consensus seemed to be that it was imprecise at best and maybe just a little contrived. Another variation on the theme was brought up when Andy Beckstoffer, president of the Rutherford Dust Society, was asked what he thought about the legality and propriety of that phrase, which now appears on somebody’s label. Beckstoffer, who owns substantial vineyard land but no winery, politely deflected a couple of inquires but when pressed further replied, “That’s why I’m a simple grower—I don’t have to deal with that crap.”

We milled around during a 15-minute break so that the next flight could be set up. Inevitably, the small talk included the “What was your favorite?” question. I found nothing wrong with any of the baker’s dozen, but my favorite was the Quintessa, an opinion shared by long-time St. Helena Star columnist George Starke
Flight Two Winery     Wine     Cases     SRP     Release
Hewitt Vnyd     Rutherford Cab Sauv     4,076     $ 75     

N/A
Tres Sabores     Rutherford Perspective     200     56     Feb. 12 ’07
Rubicon Estate     Cabernet Sauvignon     N/A     125     Mar. 15 ‘08
St. Clement Vnyds     Star Vnyd. Cab Sauv.     400     80     Aug. ’07
Monticello Vineyards     Tietjen Vnyd. Cab Sauv     185     58     Oct. ’07
Elyse Winery     Tietjen Cab Sauv.     412     80     Sept. 01 ’07
Peju Province     Res. Rutherford     1,300     105     N/A
Slaughterhouse Cellars     Rutherford Cab Sauv.     146     70.     May 15 ’07
John Robt. Eppler Wines     Rutherford Cab Sauv     128     65.     May 1 ’07
Sawyer Cellars     Cabernet Sauvignon     1,650     46.     May 8 ’07
Sequoia Grove Winery     Rutherford Bench Res     2,500     55     

Dec. 8 ’07
Beaulieu Vnyd.     George de Latour P. Res.     N/A     95.     N/A

These last 12 wines came from the more concentrated geographic area in the southwest of the appellation and it was suggested that they would be closer stylistically than those of the first flight. At least to my taste, this was not the case. A couple of them I didn’t like. One had an odd buttered toast component and another a yeasty aroma, though these issues might fade with more time in the bottle. Of course, there were many I did like. My favorite was the Georges de Latour from BV, which showed depth and power in a very harmonious package.

Larry Stone of the hosting Rubicon Estate described 2004 as a “massive vintage” with a concentration that boded well for long ageing. He observed that cooler weather during the 2003 growing season rendered that vintage “more of an intellectual one.”

So what’s the verdict on the 2004 Cabernets from Rutherford? I’ll concur with both Joel Aiken and Larry Stone who pronounce the vintage “balanced.”

Editor’s note: Planning a visit to Rutherford or other parts of the Napa Valley? Check out the Resource Directory of Taste California Travel. You’ll find links to hundreds of lodging and dining opportunities, as well as links to the websites of all the wineries.