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Napa Valley Wine
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Napa White Wines
Chardonnay: see Napa ChardonnayRieslingThe grand grape of the Rhine and Mosel sees far more sun and feels far more heat in Napa than it does in the climate that created it, resulting in wines of a ripe flavor and alcoholic heft unthinkable in the homeland. Dry, or just off, Napa Valley Riesling at its best balances exactly the way it should for all kinds of summery eating - all the better if outdoors in the kind of weather that made the wine. To achieve balance and flavor in Riesling, Napa wine makers are usually especially careful to keep the residual sugar at 1 percent, give or take. Trefethen, untouched by oak and the driest of the lot, is as crisply refreshing as Napa Valley Riesling gets, more because of style than source. Napa's genuinely memorable Rieslings, rare birds, have come from Spring Mountain. Vineyards on these woody slopes give the varietal wine tones of some tart, wild, unnameable berry when it is young, and allow it to keep this smack of fruit as it ages in bottle. Freemark Abbey's "Edelwein" is one of the last survivors of a vogue for botrytis-sweetened Rieslings that began in the mid1970s and lasted for about a decade. Like many others from the North Coast it tastes of Riesling but feels more like a Sauternes. Grapes come from a small planting near the Napa River at Rutherford. The other ongoing player in that game is Joseph Phelps, using riverside vineyards east of St Helena. Both produce botyrized wines only in highly favorable vintages.
Buying Guide: Top Napa Rieslings
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Sauvignon BlancSauvignon Blanc takes on several shadings in the Napa Valley, starting in the cooler and especially the foggier areas with a flavor not unlike the juices of long-stalked spring meadow grasses, and progressing, as skies grow clearer and warmer, through tastes of sweet, fresh herbs to outright melon. Yet even the most understated Sauvignon hangs onto the family features no matter how heavy the oak frame. As in other districts, the trick in Napa is to keep Sauvignon from tasting overgrassy by making it ripen grapes instead of growing new leaves all the way to harvest. The first line of defense is to keep the variety out of rich, slow-draining soils. The next is to use multiple arms so that the crop will be large enough to tax the leaves' capacities. But yet everywhere in the valley, it does that neatest of all balancing acts: it tastes indelibly of what it is, yet is quiet about it. Silverado Vineyards achieves the perfect example of the juicy spring grasses flavor from its vineyards just at Yountville's south side. Although Robert Mondavi's and Grgich Hills' Fume Blancs both come from several sources, enough are at Yountville and farther south to give the wines flavors typical of the cooler end of the valley. Mondavi uses a much bolder approach to oak than the others do, but not to the detriment of varietal flavors which win out with ease. Flora Springs gets its "Soliloquy" from particular blocks close to the river, flanking Oakville Cross Road; rather than leaning one way or the other it somehow manages to capture suggestions of both the herbaceous and fruity sides of the variety. Frog's Leap with a delicately balanced wine and Spottswoode with a bigger, bolder one, manage to rouse thoughts of herb and melon all at once. Buying Guide: Best of the Best Napa Sauvignon Blancs
Buying Guide: Best Napa Sauvignon Blanc Under 20$
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