While it’s always popular to point out the steals among the gold-medal winners at the Monterey Wine Competition, I would be remiss if I didn’t make note of the extraordinary loyalty to the spirit of competitiveness and excellence exhibited by a number of the wine world’s pretty faces from the Napa Valley.
Cakebread Cellars caught my eye by entering one wine, a 2005 Pinot Noir ($49) made from grapes grown in the Napa Valley’s Carneros region. One entry, and Bingo!, one gold medal for the cause!
Hess Collection Winery, the superb Cabernet house from high atop Mt. Veeder, also bagged a gold medal with its 2006 Mountain Cuvee ($35), a Bordeaux/Rhone blend that is among the finest wines of its type. Hess never shies from the competition, and always seems to hold its own.
Kudos in that regard also go to Grgich Hills Cellars, which is supremely confident in the quality of its wines and is never afraid to take its chances in a blind tasting. Grgich has been entering wine competitions for as long as I can remember. This year the 2004 Grgich Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($60) and the 2006 Napa Valley Fume Blanc ($28) took well-deserved golds.
And, of course, there is always V. Sattui, the Napa Valley’s best-kept secret only because all of its wines are sold exclusively at the winery. Sattui won gold with three 2005 Cabernets — Mt. Veeder ($38), Vittorio’s ($42) and Sattui Family ($22) — and its 2006 Los Carneros Chardonnay ($25).
The V. Sattui Vittorio’s Vineyard Cab was voted Best of Show red wine, for just a little icing on the cake.
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