| Wednesday, September
1, 2004, wine writer and author, Karen MacNeil, and
Master Sommeliers, Ronn Weigand, Peter Marks, Tim
Gaiser and Gilles de Chambure, tasted five flights
of Spring Mountain District 1999, 2000, and 2001 Merlots
and Cabernet Sauvignons. The tasting was facilitated
by Paul Wagner.
PAUL WAGNER, Tasting Facilitator,
Instructor, Viticulture and Winery Technology Department,
Napa Valley College
“. . . the wines spoke
to the character of the soil and climate,
as well as the unique individuals who made them.”
MERLOT: The tasting group had
a very positive response to these wines. The wines
were described as very balanced and well-made, with
good fruit. The fruit character was primarily red
fruits with a bit of an herbal note, and the texture
of the wines were of special note: plush and balanced,
with an interesting stony, compact character on
the mid-palate.
CABERNET SAUVIGNON: These wines
were described as having deep, rich fruit, still
with a tendency to red rather than black fruit:
the best had notes of ripe red berries and cranberries.
The wines were elegant and supple, with great balance.
The texture had some chalky notes from the terroir,
but combined those with ripe, supple tannins and
elegance.
With both varietals the panel was very impressed
with the wines as a whole. They felt the winemaking
was of a high caliber, and that the wines spoke
to the character of the soil and climate, as well
as the unique individuals who made them.
KAREN MACNEIL, Wine and food writer,
author of the award-winning book The Wine Bible, Chairman
of the Professional Wine Studies Program at the Culinary
Institute of America at Greystone, host of a 13-part
public television series "Wine, Food, and Friends
with Karen MacNeil", and winner of the 2004 "Outstanding
Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year" award
granted by the James Beard Foundation.
“. . . these Spring
Mountain wines showed extremely graceful tannin
structures in other words, they were just about the
most supple,
— seamless, satiny mountain wines I've ever
tried.”
“In general, the Spring Mountain wines displayed
an uncommon amount of balance. In particular, one
associates mountain wines with slightly elevated
amounts of perceptible tannin (at least when the
wines are young). But these wines showed extremely
graceful tannin structures — in other words,
they were just about the most supple, seamless,
satiny mountain wines I've ever tried.
As for flavors, the wines displayed copious amounts
of red fruit (raspberry, dried cherry, sour cherry,
dried cranberry) and sweet pipe tobacco. But what
I appreciated most was the sense of minerality which
‘lifted’ the flavors and gave the wines
uniqueness. In particular this sense of minerality
is, I think, key. European wines are often viewed
as having a corner on the market of minerality and
California wines are often accused of missing out
on this sophisticated aspect of wine flavor. But
Spring Mntn had an enviable amount of minerality.
Was it the ancient soils? (My understanding is that
SM (Mayacamas Mountain range) is one of the oldest
of the NV mountains...). The vast diversity of soils?
I also found that the winemaking was — thankfully
— restrained. None of these wines seemed overextracted,
opulent to the point of obscenity, or so oaky that
other flavors were completely beside the point.
All in all, I was surprised and delighted by the
wines.”
RONN WEIGAND, Master Sommelier,
Master of Wine, Publisher, Restaurant Wine
“ It's not just the
Cabernets that have attracted my attention,
but also the Merlots, which are among the best from
Napa Valley."
PETER MARKS, Master Sommelier, General
Manager Copia
“I would say the Spring
Mountain wines are truly unique
and high in quality. Rich, but not too rich, well-balanced,
flavorful, complex wines with the ability to drink
well young and have
the capacity to age gracefully.”
“In looking back over my notes, what I saw
consistently in the aromas were dark red and black
fruits (cherry, plum, currants and occasionally
blackberry). I recall someone in the group saying
the wines had more red than black fruits, yet I
found a fairly even split between the red and black
types. Their intensity was very good and quite rich,
but not over the top.
I also noted a slight earthiness in most of the
wines. More of a mineral or rock-like earth character
as opposed to dusty/loamy earth note common in Oakville/Rutherford/Stags
Leap. Finally, in at least half the wines I found
a hint of herbs. I don't mean this in the negative
sense such as herbal/vegetative, but rich, sweet,
fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme and slight pine.
This herb note was subtle and offered a beautiful
contrast and complexity to the rich fruit character,
and I find it very appealing. May be due to the
cooler climate of this appellation compared to other
Napa AVAs.
On the palate, across the board the wines were
almost all impeccably balanced. A few wines reached
high levels of ripeness and have obvious "hot"
notes from their alcohol, but I was generally surprised
not to find more of them. I loved the good levels
of soft/well-integrated tannins that seemed perfectly
matched to the level of fruit to allow for 10+ years
of aging. I noticed that I rarely commented upon
the acid levels, which to me means the wines were
exceptionally well balanced in acid/pH. Oak levels
were generally very good, with not too many over-oaked
Cabs. Overall, most of the wines had good, rich
flavors and medium-full body, and were not big,
huge, super concentrated, alcoholic, inky monsters.
These favorable notes could be highly correlated
to the quality of the vintage, and I'm sure this
is certainly the case. But in tasting the few non-2001
wines and from past experience, I would say the
Spring Mountain wines are truly unique and high
in quality. Rich, but not too rich, well-balanced,
flavorful, complex wines with the ability to drink
well young and have the capacity to age gracefully.”
TIM GAISER, Master Sommelier
“Common denominators
such as a red-fruit/cranberry character,
naturally high acidity, and a pronounced chalky earthy
quality in the
mid-palate were readily apparent in most, if not all,
of the wines. After the tasting one could only conclude
that wines from the Spring Mountain
appellation do have a very recognizable “stamp”
of identity.”
“Terroir is not the first word that comes
to mind with Napa Cabernet. However, a recent tasting
of 22 top quality Cabernet and Merlot wines from
the Spring Mountain appellation demonstrated more
than a handful of unifying characteristics. Common
denominators such as a red-fruit/cranberry character,
naturally high acidity, and a pronounced chalky
earthy quality in the mid-palate were readily apparent
in most, if not all, of the wines.
After the tasting one could only conclude that
wines from the Spring Mountain appellation do have
a very recognizable “stamp” of identity.”
GILLES DE CHAMBURE, Master Sommelier,
Senior Wine Educator, Robert Mondavi
“The Spring Mountain
tasting did highlight a commonality
of character in the wines and also showed the diversity
of individual style and personalities that makes wine
a
reflection of Man and Nature. The overall quality
of the wines
was at a very high standard, highlighting the commitment
and dedication to viticulture of this "mountain"
community.”
“Thank you for inviting me to Spring Mountain
growers tasting last week. Please pass on my congratulations
to the vintners, for a valiant cause in their effort
to search for and define the uniqueness of their
location.
The tasting did highlight a commonality of character
in the wines and also showed the diversity of individual
style and personalities that makes wine a reflection
of Man and Nature. The overall quality of the wines
was at a very high standard, highlighting the commitment
and dedication to viticulture of this "mountain"
community.
All the Merlots showed a beautiful ripe fruit character
and aromatic lift, balanced with a freshness and
elegance that combined character and finesse with
drinkability. Merlot seems to do extremely well
on this mostly east / morning light side of the
Napa valley and the cooling evening and night temperatures
give the wines a freshness and acidity to balance
the ripe character of the fruit. Altitude and hillside
vineyards may also help in naturally lowering yields,
to give these wines personality, character and a
sense of place.
The theme of ripe fruit and overall quality of
the winemaking was echoed on the Cabernet Sauvignon
flights. The rich ripe fruit qualities (red cherries
and plum) and especially the suppleness of the tannin
gave wines of elegance and finesse (versus power
extraction and alcohol). The balance between the
suppleness of texture surrounding the rich concentrated
core of fruit gave wines approachable early on with
still a great ageing potential, it seems that 2001
was a great year for Spring Mountain.”
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