Review: 2006 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay Reserve

As I've mentioned a bit lately, the Chards have been my most recent wine of choice. Robert Mondavi's '06 Chard Reserve is another yum-yum in my book.
ZinfanHubby & I had visited Mondavi for the first time back in May while in Napa for our anniversary. As members of another Constellation wine club (Ravenswood), we got to skip the crowded main tasting room and got the VIP treatment & tasting (& cheese!) in the back. We do not buy white wines often, much less Chardonnay, but this one was too good.
ZinfanGirl's first thought upon opening the bottle: hello, mellow yellow! I mean seriously, "honey" "straw" and even "golden" don't do this wine justice. Next up was the smell. I am instantly transported back to my younger days as Non-AlcoholicGirl, as this Chard smells exactly like Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. Maybe this wine was created with kids in mind: it has undertones of caramel apple... or is it kettle corn? Slightly creamy yet tart yet fruity. Yum. Keep out of the reach of kids, OK?

Hunting the Black Chicken, Part II

Wow, I am ZinfanSlacking! But I am determined to punch out the rest of the Black Chicken adventure before ZinfanHubby & I head to Paso Robles this weekend.

So, where were we? Ah yes, leaving Regusci winery...

Next stop: Robert Biale vineyards! ZinfanHubby is responsible for introducing me to this treasure. They are appointment-only, and make extraordinary wines. It's worth a visit just to hear the Black Chicken story (which ZinfanGirl knows, but also knows she will never give it the story-telling justice it deserves).

The party was already underway when Noah & I arrived. The wine was flowin' freely and the food was nothing short of delightful!

After filling our bellies with some of the delicious grub, I showed Noah around Biale's grounds. First was the barrel room:

I suspect the barrels in the foreground were put up to keep Black Chicken Society members from wandering back there...

In addition to big steel tanks, Biale has several wooden barrels. French Oak (I'm assuming it's chêne-- oak) I'd heard of but Hungarian?? Need to look into that one!

Noah was especially striken by the barrels that were literally seeping with the goodness. We tried to guess what wine(s) were in which barrels, how long they had been in there, etc., but never confirmed our guesses. There's always next time!

Aldo & Clementina Biale are the reason the Black Chicken exists. Aldo is now in his 90s! They were graciously signing the souvenier glasses and were such delights to chat with. ZinfanGirl's autographed Biale glass is proudly displayed in her "really frickin' awesome, could never be replaced" collection of glasses (from Porto, Champagne, etc).

And of course, we had to get a picture of ZinfanGirl & Noah:

You can't really tell, but my shirt says, "Zinfandel" and has the Robert Biale logo on the bottom right side. Yes, I did decide to wear the shirt, and I rocked it proudly!!!

OK, enough with the pictures already. Let's talk some wine!!!

Biale was pouring all of their wines, and while Noah indulged himself, ZinfanGirl was on driving duty and hence had to keep her tastings under control (for wine anyway. The food is another story). The most memorable stand-outs:

• 
  
  Pollo Bianco: The Pollo Bianco (white chicken) is the only white wine produced by Biale. It is about as good as a Sauvignon Blanc can get. It is always released in limited quantities, so ZinfanHubby & I snag as many as we can. It tastes and looks like summer, and I definitely suggest grabbing some if the opportunity ever arises.
  
  
  

• 
  
  Black Chicken: The darling of Biale vineyards, this zinfandel has just enough jam to give it that yum-yum mouth & fruity flavor, yet can easily stand up to spice and BBQ. If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life, it would probably be Black Chicken (or a Turley zin... nah, it would be Black Chicken).
  
  
  

• 
  
  Royal Punishers Petite Sirah: It seems unfair to ZinfanGirl that a winery as small as Biale can make a Petite Sirah just as well as they can make Zin. If you're in the mood for a dark, brooding wine, this is an excellent choice.
  
  
  

• 
  
  Stagecoach Zin: The Stagecoach grapes are grown at a higher elevation than Black Chicken. I suggest a side-by-side taste & compare to really note the subtle yet distinct differences in these two Zins.
  
  
  

• Party Line Zinfandel: Not to be confused with the Party Line Petite Sirah reviewed here. When ZinfanHubby & I visited Biale last May, there was talk that the new Party Line Zin may possibily be more delicious than the Black Chicken. Naturally, this was unacceptable-- nothing could be better than the Black Chicken, they exclaimed! While this wine is a delight, I think their fears were unfounded. Nothing tops Black Chicken!

Noah & I walked away with almost 2 cases of goodness, full bellies, and souvenier glasses (one autographed). ZinfanGirl is proud to have initiated another ZinfanFriend into the world of wine, and is looking forward to returning to Biale very soon!
And if you absolutely must know how Black Chicken got its name, please see http://www.robertbialevineyards.com/blackchicken.html

Squawk squawk!!!

-ZinfanGirl

Hunting the Black Chicken, Part I

Hello fellow wine lovers. I have eschewed the urge to go play outside in the sun so that I may give you my rundown of last weekend's trek to Napa. I have lots to tell you about, so please forgive me for cutting this entry into a couple of separate chunks. Part I here will tell you about our day leading up to the BBQ. Part II will conclude with the Biale party itself. Kapeesh? Good.

Friday night/early Saturday morning was something else for the Bay Area. Thunder & lightning shook our city by the bay with a storm far more powerful than any other in ZinfanGirl's memory (remember, she did grow up here). Alas, the rain did not last, and the Napa trip was still on.

ZinfanHubby was unable to accompany me due to a prior engagement, and it was no difficult task to find someone else to take his place. Our dear friend Noah had never been wine tasting before, and ZinfanGirl had every intention to make his intro to the wine world a memorable one. So Saturday morning, just before noon, we crossed two bridges and got on the yellow brick road of Napa wineries, Hwy 29.

The Biale members BBQ didn't start until 1, so we decided to check out a couple of other wineries. I resisted the urge to pop into Stag's Leap Cellars as ZinfanGirl makes it a point to try new things. However, while we were in the Stag's Leap district, we decided to find ourselves some yummy juice, and picked a winery at random...

I had definitely heard of Chimney Rock Winery but was not familiar with their wines. Noah & I sampled the New Release flight:

• 2007 Elevage Blanc: meritage-style, quite Bordeaux-y, lots of Sauvignon Blanc.
• 2008 Rosé of Cabernet Franc: a very nice rosé, and by nice, I mean dry. Noah nabbed a bottle of this. This is definitely a summer wine, and has a lovely watermelon hue.
• 2006 Cab Sauvignon: It was nice, but nothing special (I'm spoiled when it comes to Cabs-- blame all those tastings at Stag's Leap). It didn't seem as rich & velvety as other Stag's Leap Cabs I've had.
• 2006 Elevage: Another Bordeaux style blend, Chimney Rock's golden child. However, the fact that this was served after the Cab only reaffirmed in my mind that their Cab isn't really all that.

Overall, we enjoyed Chimney Rock but nothing really jumped out as being amazing. The staff was pleasant but not entirely personable; I will give them the benefit of the doubt (the tasting room was a bit crowded that day). The grounds are nice, but ZinfanGirl is partial to wineries with inviting grass/picnic areas. And... well how do I say this diplomatically? Don't go to Chimney Rock planning to buy wines unless you've got a few hundred bucks. This place ain't cheap.
Some pics from Chimney Rock's Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards:

Our next stop was a winery neither of us had heard of. "Hey, what about that one?" my co-pilot asked? So, after completing a U-turn of questionable legality, in we went. Welcome to  Regusci Winery

When we arrived, we were greeted by one of the Regusci residents:

Regusci was packed as well, and we were helped by a friendly Aussie gentleman. We relied heavily on the universal sign language of, "Give me a pour, please!" (a motion resembling tilting a wine glass towards one's mouth, only said wine glass is either imaginery or empty). And then came the wines:

• 
  
  Merlot Rosé: This was the first time ZinfanGirl had tried a Merlot rosé. There was quite a bit of talk about Merlot in this winery, I'm thinking it's the Regusci darling.
  
  
  
• 
  
  2006 Merlot: I'm not the hugest Merlot fan, nor do I drink it often, but I must say this one was quite nice. But I remembered exactly why Merlot is considered the red-headed stepchild of the red varietals: there is nothing very special about it. It wants to be loved, and if there is a Merlot to be loved, this one would be up there.
  
  
  
• 
  
  2006 Cabernet Sauvignon: "See?!?" I told Noah, "Cabs are almost always served last!" Again, I felt validated in my initial review of Chimney Rock's Cab. While definitely not a Cask 23, Regusci's Cabernet definitely had that heavy, tannic, velvet goodness that one can only get from a good, strong Cab. It sucked the moisture right off my tongue. It was delicious, but still not enough to sway ZinfanGirl from her wine of choice.
  
  
  

Regusci also sold olive oil, and Noah & I had spotted some olive trees on the grounds (at least, they looked like olive trees). The olive oil was yummy too, but I can't justify spending $20-something on a dinky bottle of olive oil!

OK, dear fans, I will continue with the Hunting of the Black Chicken another time. Cheers!