(Robert Whitley’s Creators Syndicate Wine Talk column for this week.)
Family Winemakers of California is an organization of small wineries that takes to the road each year to showcase member wineries that otherwise might fly under the radar.
Many of these vintners run mom and pop operations that barely sell beyond the tasting room, while some are entrepreneurs who made it big in some other field and are now chasing the dream.
When Family Winemakers passes through my part of the world, I often have the opportunity to meet with a vintner or two and taste wines that are truly made from the heart. In fact, this was how I stumbled across the stunning wines of Sojourn Cellars, and some of the finest Pinot Noir California has to offer.
That was last year. This year’s discovery is the miniscule Hestan Vineyards of the Napa Valley, which produces between 4,000 and 5,000 cases of wine a year — all made at the Laird custom-crush facility by the winemakers Mark Herold and Jeff Gaffner.
The production is predominantly red, with grapes coming from 40-plus acres located in the rolling hills of southern Napa Valley. The property is planted to the five traditional Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot.
The winery is owned by Helen and Stanley Cheng, who have made a fortune selling pots and pans such as Farberware, Circulon, et al. They had been very involved with Napa’s Copia wine center, donating generously to Copia’s food and wine program when the center first opened. The winery name is a combination of their names: He(len)Stan(ley). The produced their first vintage in 2002.
My first exposure to a Hestan wine (there are different labels under the same roof) was the 2006 Stephanie Merlot, which retails for about $35. I tasted it almost a year ago, but I chose not to review it because of limited availability. Stephanie is the Cheng’s daughter, and her name graces one of the labels. Besides Hestan and Stephanie, the other label is Meyer, which is taken from the name of the Cheng’s cookware company.
The 2006 Stephanie Merlot struck me as one of the most impressive Merlots I had tasted in more than 20 years of evaluating Napa Valley wines professionally. Naturally, I wanted to know more about the wines of Hestan when the Family Winemakers made their rounds this year.
When I went through the entire lineup of the six wines presented, I found the 2007 Stephanie Merlot (94 points) to be every bit as memorable as the 2006. At the price, it is certainly one of the great wine steals of the Napa Valley. The wine that bowled me over, however, was the 2007 Stephanie Proprietary Red Wine ($60).
Probably best known for his own label, Saxon Brown, Gaffner made the Stephanie wines.
He’s a brilliant winemaker based in Sonoma, and he’s the man behind the Black Kite Pinot Noirs of Anderson Valley, which to my palate are as good as any Pinots made in the New World. Gaffner also worked under the legendary winemaker Dick Arrowood — together they launched the Bordeaux-style blend Cinq Cepages at Chateau St. Jean just a few decades ago.
Gaffner is well grounded in Bordeaux blends. The Stephanie Proprietary Red Wine (97 points) uses all five of the traditional Bordeaux grape varieties, but the emphasis in the 2007 is on Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. This wine is a masterpiece of balance and complexity. On the nose, it exhibits notes of cedar, spice, licorice and mocha. On the palate, the purity of fruit is stunning by revealing aromas of blueberry, black currant and blackberry in endless layers of flavor. The wine is dense and rich without being daunting, and the gentle backnote of wood smoke provides a wonderful savory accent. The wine finishes with long, persistent waves of flavor.
This is Napa Valley red wine at its finest. Though this wine is far from cheap, given the neighborhood and the extraordinary quality, it rates as a steal.
The 2007 Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon (94 points, $50) was another home run, though not as exotic and mind-blowing as the Proprietary Red Wine. The Cabernet offered a true Cabernet nose, which merely means there was a light herbal note that is typical of the grape variety, even when picked perfectly ripe. Aromas of cedar and spice are enticing, and on the palate, the wine delivers dark-fruited aromas and a meaty texture that is both delicious and compelling.
The Hestan 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (95 points, $100) is the winery’s flagship wine and is made to be cellared, at least long enough for the chewy tannins to integrate. This Cabernet exhibits wild, brambly berry fruit aromas, rustic tannins and complex notes of coffee, mocha and spice. In the mouth, it has the rough and tumble feel of a Napa Valley mountain cabernet, in stark contrast to the sleek style of the Stephanie wines.
The 2007 Meyer Cabernet Sauvignon (91 points, $45) is a classic Napa Valley Cab with rich dark fruit aromas, density on the palate, and persistence of flavor through the finish. It is Hestan’s "volume" wine in that more than 2,000 cases are produced, which is about half of the entire Hestan production.
A 2008 Hestan Chardonnay (88 points, $50) will please those who enjoy rich, oily, oak saturated Chards. I found this wine more appealing when first opened. But with time, air and as it warmed, the aromas of the wood began to dominate, which some will find attractive, though it isn’t my preferred style.
The wines of Hestan are produced in such limited quantities that they will be difficult to find, but they are available directly from the winery and can be purchased on their website at www.hestan.com.
They are well worth the extra effort to source.
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