2006 Rocca Family Vineyards Estate Merlot Grigsby Vineyard Yountville Napa Valley 750 ml

2006 Napa Valley Revisited:  “A Year Reminiscent of 2006”

In 1996, Mary Rocca purchased a 21-acre property situated in the northwest corner of the intersection of Yountville Cross Road and the Silverado Trail, barely a Mike Trout toss from the Stags Leap line. The soils were comprised of light clay loam, strewn with small river rocks. Drainage was excellent.

Grigsby Vineyard (named after Dr. Eric Grigsby, Rocca’s husband) proved to be magical for growing Bordeaux varieties. While summer days could be blistering hot, marine breezes and fog from San Pablo Bay tempered the July and August sun, allowing for the extended hang-time so critical for the making of world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

But as students of Grigsby Vineyard recall, it wasn’t until 2000 that Mary struck gold when she lured 100-point winemaker Celia Welch (Scarecrow, Cora, etc.) to Rocca. It wouldn’t be long before Welch made her first mark on the Stags Leap line, crafting lavish Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlots, drew raves from the local cognoscenti.

Ever since the movie “Sideways” all but decimated Merlot sales, most small Napa Valley estates have chosen to blend their Merlot into higher priced Cabernet Sauvignon or Proprietary Reds. But both Welch and Rocca refused to budge,  recognizing not on the superb concentration of the Grigsby Vineyard Merlot, but its age worthiness.  

In the Wine Advocate vintage report of December 2008, once again, Robert Parker provided remarkable insight into a 2006 Napa Valley vintage that gave birth to big, burly Bordeaux varieties that would take nearly a decade to come into their own.  Parker wrote:

“This vintage is reminiscent of 1996, a year of high tannin as well as considerable muscle and concentration…I think the top wines certainly have the richness to balance out their massive structure, but there style is more broodingly backward than we have seen in a number of years.”

If you’re fortunate enough to have done as we did, laying in cases of topnotch 2006s, you’re in for a treat.  Nearly every Napa Valley 2006 we’ve opened this year has shown beautifully, has finally shed its muscle-bound exterior, now showing off the massive black fruit concentration so aptly described by Parker.  Such is the case with Celia Welch’s perfectly aged 2006 Grigsby Vineyard Merlot — a powerful argument for why serious wine buyers should stop putting too much stock in Hollywood one-liners!

The 2006 Rocca Family Grigsby Vineyard Merlot remains perfectly youthful more than eight years after bottling. Opaque purple in color, infused with lavish aromas of dark plum, black cherry, tobacco and graphite.  Ultra-concentrated, dense and chewy texturally, the core offers up a mix of crushed black and black raspberry jam, finishing with soft, if present tannins. Just now hitting full stride, this is a magnificent effort from 100-point winemaker, Celia Welch.

Total production:  171 cases.  40 remain — all perfect stored since bottling.  91 points from Wine Spectator. $46 on release.  $19 today.  Shipping included on 6.