By Simon Roberts
Dan Bailey joined us Friday evening for our annual Jones Family Tasting. We feasted on Lamb Chops, Tenderloin and Super Dave’s now-famous Smoked Gouda Scalloped Potatoes which paired perfectly with a great line up of newer and older vintages from Jones Family Vineyards. From the beginning, the family was focused on producing the best wine they could from their 10-acre estate in northern Napa Valley, hiring Heidi Barrett as winemaker and David Abreu as vineyard manager. In 2008, Thomas Rivers Brown took over as winemaker. First tasted was the aromatic, zesty, dry 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. The oak influence was more notable on the palate which gave it a rounder, fleshier mouth feel. We followed it with the 2009 Jones ‘The Sisters’ Cabernet Sauvignon which offers a tremendous value for the money. This cuvee is the by-product of a rigorous barrel selection that goes with choosing the wine that will be bottled as Jones Estate Cabernet. The grapes are from the same vineyard sites, treated to the same expensive French oak barrels, are made by the same winemaker; essentially, a high-quality juice that just doesn’t elevate the quality of the Estate wine so are bottled as The Sisters. Packed with black raspberries, black cherries, plums, vanilla spice and sporting a supple, smooth palate, this is a hedonistic little brother to the Estate Cabernet. This was followed by 2005 Jones Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon which had a scorched earth, cedar, smoky coffee, tobacco, blackcurrant notes and a palate that had a firmer texture, well structured, a vibrant acidity, and a long minerally finish. As the night progressed, I started liking this wine more and more. The 2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, from half bottles, was poured next. Lush and rich with cassis, blackberries and blackcurrant and hints of mocha, espresso beans and green tobacco. This was TRB’s first complete vintage with the winery and the generous fruit and softer tannins were markedly different from the firmer structure of Heidi Barrett’s 2005. This was followed by the 2009 Estate Cabernet which was impressive right out of the bottle. This was showy, singing with ripe black fruits, licorice, bittersweet chocolate, plums, and blueberries. Harmonious and balanced and really seamless on the palate. Persistent finish. This and the 2005 were my favorites of the Estate Cabernets for very different reasons. There was a special treat waiting in the wing for the strong willed… a 1996 Estate Cabernet, Jones Family Vineyard’s inaugural vintage. This was elegant and refined with savory notes of underbrush, tobacco, graphite, plums and spice. I think this is in prime drinking window right now.
As usual, this great wine dinner was followed by an awesome after-party. In this case, a Burgundy extravaganza. Well, Dan’s other passion is Burgundy so now it is a Graileys tradition when he comes for his annual jaunt, we are partaking in a Burgund feast! I knew I had to come out of the gate strong so, from my personal stash, I opened a 1997 Lalou Bize-Leroy D’Auvenay Auxey-Duresses Les Clous. “This really is a crazy bottle of Chardonnay,” Dan commented, sharing that he’s never tasted anything like it. I have been lucky enough to taste a few of Leroy’s whites and they never cease to amaze. Flinty yet creamy, fleshy yet focused, balanced yet wild, the wine changes with every sip, this was a great start and it is an exceptional wine tasting experience. Next Dan and I perused the cellar and he spotted a 1982 Camille Giroud Mazis Chambertin, not a great vintage but what the hell, let’s give it a shot. Yee haw !!The Camille was smoking good showing an abundance of well balanced fruit and the tell tale sous bois flavors; this musty, dirty little wine got better over the night. Two for two so far!
As the night progressed,we chatted about the wines he is importing and it read like the who’s-who of Burgundy; Comte de Vogue, J.F Mugnier, Comte Liger-Belair and Camille Giroud among others. I’ve had a few bottles of the 1990 Comte De Vogue Musigny sitting in the cellar for while now. It had very mixed reviews from the pundits, when it’s on it is supposed to be superb but there are quite a few negative reviews and some reports of bottle variation. I guess, it’s time to find out. I always find it informative and interesting tasting with a Burgundy importer. That’s what is so cool about this business, you are always learning. This bottle is in perfect shape, the cork came out in great condition, a quick whiff revealed a nice spicy nuance and an even quicker first sip was promising, but it just did not go anywhere. There was nothing technically flawed about the wine. Rather, it was just kind of meh.
We left it alone in the cellar to come back to later, hoping it just needed some air. Admittedly, for me, it’s like hoping against all hope because from my experience you can smell a good one right away. Maybe not taste a good one straight away but usually the nose is there. I digress. Dan’s last choice was a 1996 Trapet Chapelle Chambertin. Dan knows his stuff, I will give him that. This was a very sound pick out of a rather large list of goodies he was looking at. The 96 Trapet had everything in place with subtle nose of rusty fruits, nice mouth feel and a finish that lingered. Unfortunately, the 1990 Musigny continued to decline. But three out of four isn’t bad for an evening of Burgundy. Then again, the 1990 not showing was still a real bummer!