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When Napa's Bankers Become Bloggers
The blog post began like this: "Each year I take out my crystal ball, put on funny clothes and after my eyes roll into the back of my head for a sufficient amount of time, write Silicon Valley Bank's State of the Wine Industry Report and make some predictions."
For the most part, we pay little attention to blogs, essentially since it seems that the more you know about something, the less interested you are in a blog about that something. But when the founder of Silicon Valley Bank's Wine Division -- the largest lender to California's wineries -- publishes a post that essentially tells consumers to 'get ready to spend more for less,' we couldn't help but give it a once over.
In truth, little that McMillan said comes as much of a surprise. After the fourth straight short harvest -- 2011 being the shortest of all -- not only is the glut of the crisis years a distant memory, but wineries claim they have too little inventory to service demand. Hmmm. Sure, NYC restaurant business seems to be back on track. But, last we checked, retail sales are sluggish. Is McMillan's post wishful thinking from a banker who might be over-extended? Or is the banker-turned-blogger's take on the market really as it is?
Take it from a couple of guys who are pounding on doors every day in Napa Valley. Rob McMillan isn't whistling Dixie. At least for the near future, Napa Cabernet bargain hunters are either going to have to loosen their purse strings -- or move fast on improbable offers like this one.
The heart of Napa, the place where most of the blue chip Cabernet players call home, is where the valley narrows at the level of Oakville and St. Helena. In the superb book, "The Winemaker's Dance," a couple of geologists explained how, over time, the mountains crumbled, leaving a hard, dense, rocky substrata in St. Helena, a cobbled riverbed that would prove magical for the planting of blue chip Cabernet Sauvignon.
Top pedigree Cabernet Sauvignon from the new AVA of St. Helena -- given the spike in grape prices suggested by the banker -- now pushes $7500/ton, with top wines fetching low triple digits per bottle. You'd think the grape market inflation would stifle demand. On the contrary. There seem to be far more buyers than St. Helena Cabernet clusters to be had.
So, when we first tasted Ry Richards's St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon out of barrel, from the lavish, forward 2009 vintage that many out here are now comparing favorably with 2007, we had two questions for the brilliant young winemaker. For once, the first wasn't 'How much?' That came later. Instead, we asked, 'Where's the vineyard?' When we got the answer, one that spoke of a tiny 3-acre plot, just off Deer Park Road on the way up to Howell Mountain, farmed by famed viticulturalist Bryan Rahn, nothing about this fabulously opulent, silken 2009 powerhouse came as much of a surprise.
Richards's 2009 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon was drawn Rahn's brilliantly tended parcel, set on an old riverbed. The topsoil is red clay, loosely strewn with cobblestones. But dig down a meter and you'll learn exactly why St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon is what it is.
In the superb 2009 growing season, Rahn trimmed back the crop aggressively, barely eking out 7 tons off the entire rocky plot, every cluster of which was harvested before the early October rains. Of those seven tons, just two made it into this glorious 2009 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon.
Deep purple/black in color, with luscious aromas of blueberry preserves, crushed blackberries, and a healthy dash of new wood cedar (Half the French cooperage here was new.) Rich and blackberry voluptuous on the attack -- typical of so many wines of this RP-heralded harvest -- velour-like in texture, dense and chewy. Delicious out of the gate like all these marvelously forward 2009s, but don't be led astray by the lush forwardness. The tannins here are sneaky (after a couple hours of air, they peek out), making a compelling argument for 6-10 years in a cool cellar.
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Tasting Notes
2009 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena Napa Valley
"Deep purple in color with luscious aromas of blueberry preserves, crushed blackberries, and a healthy dash of new wood cedar. Voluptuous on the attack, packed with crushed blackberry preserves, marvelously supple and velour-like in texture, dense and chewy. Delicious out of the gate like all these marvelously forward 2009s, but don't be led astray by the all the primary fruit hedonism. The tannins here are sneaky and take an hour to show themselves, but after, they argue cogently for a 6-10 year rest in a cool cellar."
-- WineAccess Travel Log
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