Taste: First of all, decant this wine. It doesn't take long, but a good half hour to an hour really gets this wine going as it is a little tight out of the bottle—which is to be expected with reserve-quality fruit like this. Initially tight, the nose opens after a few minutes in the glass to reveal rich aromas of strawberry, raspberry, and a certain "smoky cola" character that turns into nutmeg and clove as the wine reveals itself. The palate is bursting with strawberry jam and red cherry but is well balanced against a framework of nice acidity and rich vanilla oak. A blend of Pommard (richer fruits and spices like strawberry jam, clove, and plum) and Swan (racier, brighter fruit like cherry and raspberry) clones gives this wine excellent complexity. It will continue to flesh out in the bottle over the next decade.
The grapes were picked late at night and hand-sorted before a gentle de-stemming and 8+ days of cold soak before being aged in oak for 8 months, using 40% new French cooperage (Remond, Demptos, François Frères), the rest all 1- to 3-year-old barrels.
Cameron Confidential: Last summer we were invited to visit one of the facilities in a recently formed marketing group for several wineries in the Napa/Sonoma area. We were shown about 10 wines, and suffice it to say we bought everything they put in front of us, ranging from Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnay all the way to Atlas Peak Cabernet and Alexander Valley Meritage. Everything we bought was finished bottling blend, simply excess wines above and beyond their anticipated sales projections, and all were ready to go right into the bottle. And into the bottle they went!
Staff Picks
Lot 125
2007 Napa Carneros Pinot Noir
- Vintage: 2007
- Appellation: Carneros
- Grape: Pinot Noir
- Alcohol by volume: 14.5%
- Production: 1,953 cases
- Drink/Hold: Now and through 2019
- Online availability: Sold out
Downloads
- Lot 125 8.5 x 11 (pdf)
- Lot 125 small notes (pdf)
- Lot 125 sell sheet 2 (pdf)
