With my three big wine competitions — Monterey, San Diego and Critics Challenge — now squarely in my rear-view mirror for another season, I’ve been able to return to my regular tasting schedule. Not only have I whittled down the pile of samples that awaited me, I am pleased to report that I came across a number of superb wines.
Even better, they are wines from producers I’ve long admired for their tenacious embrace of quality.
There were a few superb wines from Merry Edwards, for example. I first met Merry nearly two decades ago. She was pursuing Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley with a passion, but she also had quite a good reputation for the Cabs and Chardonnays she made while the winemaker at Mount Eden Vineyards, in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Merry’s Pinots these days are some of the boldest and most age-worthy produced in California, and very much in the style of a premier cru or grand cru Burgundy, with plenty of tannin and earthy complexities. They aren’t cheap, but few wines this good are.
I also took note of two lovely Napa Valley reds from Joseph Phelps, whose red meritage ‘Insignia’ is perhaps America’s finest red wine. I’ve known Joe since the early years and always marveled at his willingness to push the envelope despite the fact his wines were already being heaped with praise. Phelps has kept up with the times, which is evident in its polished 2005 Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
You don’t have to shell out $200 or more for Insignia a taste of Phelps’ greatness. You can spend far less and enjoy a bottle of what Joe likes to call ‘good old Napa Valley Cabernet.’ Amen to that.
And then there’s Bonny Doon’s Randall Grahm. He takes the prize for innovation and willful neglect of his personal financial health. I mean that in only the best way, for Grahm has been willing to walk out on a limb time and time in his career to make wines no one else finds fashionable. He affectionately calls them ‘ugly ducklings.’
So today I commend to you two of Bonny Doon’s Ca’ del Solo whites, one made from the Spanish grape variety Albarino, and a dry Muscat that knocked my socks off.
You can find my comments on all of these wines in our Reviews section. These reviews were published prior to this week, so you must type the name of the producer in the “Search” tool and select Robert Whitley as the reviewer from the pull-down menu. Great wines from fabulous producers dedicated to quality more than most. You deserve no less!
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