Archive for the ‘Red Wines’ Category

The Wines of HdV Vineyards

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

HdV Vineyards is a family venture between the Hyde Vineyard of Napa Valley (proprietors Laurence and Richard Hyde) and Aubert and Pamela de Villaine of Burgundy, France. The vineyards were originally purchased by Larry Hyde in 1979 and started transforming the Carneros soil into what is now known as the Hyde Vineyards.

Joining the venture in 2002 is winemaker; Stephane Vivier who being born and raised in France had his skills cultivated in the vineyards of Pommard, Meursault and Chassagne-Montrachet and continued his work both in New Zealand and the Sonoma Coast Appellation.

JV wines is proud to carry three wines of this great winery, HdV. The first and very renowned wine in our cellar collection is the 2006 HdV Syrah.  This wine has a dark ruby hue and shows beautiful red fruit on the nose. Beautiful Christmas spices (cloves, cinnamon, etc.) are balanced with a wonderful scent of vanilla.  Having soft tannins, the nose continues with more spices and flowers (roses to be exact).  Very similar to younger Cote Rotie’s from Burgundy, it has a wonderful restrained quality to it. This wine sells for $47.99 in our cellar and is also available on the JV website.

Another renowned wine in our cellar collection is the 2006 HdV Chardonnay. Made in a year of extreme flooding in the Napa Valley, this Chardonnay held up very well (grown in shallow soils with good drainage). The nose has intense aromas of ripe peach, apricot, tropical lyche and wet stone minerality. It has a broad and balanced mouth feel to the wine. Nice seafood pasta would be a nice match for this wine. This wine sells for $60.99 in our cellar collection.

The HdV de la Guerra Chardonnay has a very “Burgundian” style it. Aged in French oak, these are wines that show great minerality and crispness to them. Having small berries in the 2007 vintage, this helped magnify the brilliance of the fruit. With noses of pear, cinnamon, lime rind, honeydew and a touch of grapefruit, this is a beautifully balanced yet complex wine. Scallops or shellfish would be a nice pairing for this wine. This wine is offered to our guests for $42.99.

If we can be any help in the future, please let us know. Ask any wine consultant in our store or send any questions regarding purchases on the Internet. We are here to serve you.

Jon T. Finley

Wine Consultant

JV Wines and Spirits

Napa, CA

Posted in Red Wines, White Wines | No Comments »

The Wines of Walt and Joan Flowers

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

One of the many special wines we have at JV Wines and Spirits are the wines of Flowers winery. The most famous of these vineyards are those of the Pinot Noir grape (they also make a beautiful Chardonnay) and the one I’m reviewing for you today is the 2006 Andreen-Gale Pinot Noir.

Walt and Joan Flowers, two former nursery owners from Bucks County Pennsylvania (I lived there for three years), founded Flowers wines. Dreaming of owning a winery in California producing their favorite varietals, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, they purchased their 321 acre property in Sonoma in 1989. Today, they produce 15,000 cases from their two estate properties, Camp Meeting Ridge and Flowers Ranch. They also use select vineyards in the coolest regions of the Sonoma AVA, with their specific high standards to produce the finest wines.

The 2006 Andreen-Gale Pinot Noir is a wine with long supple tannins, a deep ruby color with aromas of strawberry, cherry, plums and other dark fruits. This is an elegant wine with hints of minerality, dried herbs and a beautiful floral nose of orange blossom. This is a pinot with nice acidity and has a balanced feel in the mouth.  It goes well with pork loin, veal, duck, pasta or some seafood (whitefish). As one of my favorites, it goes wonderfully paired with a nice Sonoma or French blue cheese.

Aged 17 months in French oak, the wine is gently pressed and put to barrel on full fermentation lees for ML. Cold soaked during pre-fermentation; Flowers used native yeast for the process. Grapes were collected from Camp Meeting Ridge, Frances Thompson and Sea View Ridge, which are some of the coolest regions along the Sonoma Coast.

This wine retails for $56.99 and is an excellent addition to a cellar (drink over the next 3 years) or one that you can enjoy this evening. Please ask any wine consultant to assist you during a visit to JV or you can purchase this fine wine through  JVWine.com. Flowers is one of the finest wines in California- it’s a good idea to make this fine wine a part of your life!

Jon T. Finley
Wine Consultant
JV Wines and Spirits
Napa, CA

To see many other great wines, visit our website!

Posted in Red Wines | No Comments »

The Wines of Aaron Pott

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Aaron Pott has been working on developing his own wines for many years. Owning a tiny vineyard (less than an acre) and developing several more acres, he is in the process of devising incredible Napa wines that stand out from the rest. These are hand crafted wines produced in very small quantities. His home on Mt. Veeder is called “Chateauneuf du Pott” after the legendary Rhone varietals of Southern France.

JV Wines and Spirits is proud to announce that Mr. Pott’s four varietals is one of a few select retailers to offer these magnificent wines. In this BLOG post, I will discuss my two favorites.

First, is the 2007 Pott Howell Mountain Cabernet, known as “St. Ralph the Liar.” This is 100% Howell Mountain fruit, almost all Cabernet Sauvignon with just a splash of Cabernet Franc. This is a classic Cabernet Sauvignon from the mountains without the heavy tannins that can come from Howell Mountain. Up front are the dark fruit noses that are well known-blackberry, currents and dark plums. The middle palate is very rich and balanced, which makes this a very integrated wine for being so young.

The next wine is my absolute favorite of all the varietals, the 2007 Pott Cabernet Franc. This is not an over-ripe Cabernet Franc with noses of green bell peeper or licorice on the nose.  Nice herbal tones and earthiness pervade this wine, grown in the Coombsville area in very small batches, this is a wine that stands wonderfully by itself. Since the beautiful acids do not overwhelm the wine, this is a wine that is drinkable now or will age beautifully over the next few years.

Both these wines are great to pair with food. Any nice red meat will go well with the 2007 Cabernet and the Cabernet Franc goes very nicely with roasted duck, lamb with mustard sauce or a nice pork loin. Both wines also are great by themselves or aging in your private cellar.

JV also has the Spring Mountain Cabernet and the Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville region. Please visit us at JV and let one of our Wine Consultants assist you. These wines are rare to find (many are running low) and JV is very proud to showcase them all.

Jon T. Finley

Wine Consultant

JV Wines and Spirits

Posted in Red Wines | 1 Comment »