Tag Archives: Pahlmeyer

60 Second Wine Review — Odette SLD Cabernet Sauvignon

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Napa Valley

Published on June 17, 2019

A few quick thoughts on the 2016 Odette Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.

Odette SLD Cab

Note: This wine was tasted as a sample.

The Geekery

In 2012, the PlumpJack Group acquired 45 acres in the Stags Leap District from Dick Stelzner. Along with Nathan Fay, Stelzner pioneered Cabernet Sauvignon in the area.

In addition to Odette, the PlumpJack Group also own PlumpJack in Oakville and CADE on Howell Mountain. While each property has its own winemakers and style, they all consistently use screw caps for all their wines, even high-end reds.

At Odette, Jeff Owens, previously the assistant winemaker at CADE and a protege of Anthony Biagi, has been with the winery since the beginning. He helped design the new winery to meet LEED Gold specifications and oversees the sustainable and organic farming of the estate.

The 2016 Estate Cab is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot with 75 barrels (about 1875 cases) made.

The Wine

Very rich dark fruit in this Cab.

Medium-plus intensity nose. Ripe dark fruits–black plums, blackberries–and noticeable vanilla. With air, vivid floral notes come out–violets and lavender. Very perfumey.

On the palate, the richness of the dark fruit leads the way. Velvety and very ripe medium-plus tannins hold up the full-bodied fruit. Medium acidity gives some freshness and life to the floral notes, as well as suggest a subtle spiciness underneath. The fruit leads the long finish with creamy vanilla and chocolatey notes lingering.

The Verdict

The Odette wines were by far the most hedonistic and lavishly seductive wines that I tasted on my press tour of the Stags Leap District. They are definitely more velvet glove than an iron fist.

Is that seduction worth $150 a bottle? Depends.

Compared to many of its hedonistic peers that I’ve bought before such as Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red ($170), Bevan Wildfoote Vixen Block ($265), Alpha Omega Beckstoffer Georges III ($200) among others, it holds its own. And, truthfully, I would put the Odette closest to the Bevan–which makes sense given their SLD pedigree.

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60 Second Wine Review — Flowers Pinot noir

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Wine reviews

Published on June 22, 2018

A few quick thoughts on the 2013 Flowers Pinot noir from the Sonoma Coast.

The Geekery

Flowers Winery began in 1989 when Joan and Walt Flowers purchased a few hundred acres in the northern Sonoma Coast AVA only about 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The prevailing wisdom was that cold ocean winds would be too cool to properly ripen even Burgundian varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot noir but the Flowers started planting Camp Meeting Ridge Vineyard in 1991.

Over the next couple decades, Flowers would pioneer what would eventually be recognized as the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA in 2011. Today many notable wineries have joined Flowers in planting vineyards or sourcing fruit here–including Helenthal, Hirsch, Littorai, Martinelli, Marcassin, Pahlmeyer, Peter Michael, Siduri and Williams Selyem.

In 2009, Flowers Winery was acquired by Huneeus Vintners where it joined a portfolio that now includes Benton Lane, Faust, Illumination, Leviathan, Neyen, Quintessa, Primus, Ritual and Veramonte.

Since 2010 all of the estate vineyards of Flowers have been converted to either biodynamic or organic viticulture with the winery employing native yeast fermentation. The wine was aged 11 months in French oak barrels (25% new). Around 22,000 cases were produced.

The Wine

Medium-intensity nose. A mix of red fruit and floral notes that aren’t very defined. Feels like this wine has faded a bit.

This Pinot has an interesting rhubarb note.

The red fruits carried through on the palate and become more defined as cherry with an interesting, earthy rhubarb note. The floral notes disappear but are replaced with some black tea spice notes that I find appealing in many northern Willamette Pinots. Medium-plus acidity and soft medium tannins are well balanced. The moderate-length finish ends on earthy rhubarb.

The Verdict

While not dead at all, it definitely seems like this wine is on the tail-end of its life cycle and was probably delivering a lot more pleasure 2 to 3 years ago.

At around $45-50, it’s not a screaming value at all and, again, I would probably seek out newer vintages at that price.