WTN: Sequoia Grove

Tasted the current Sequoiah Grove lineup during an utterly beautiful bicycle ride on Sunday. Quite enjoyable (notes are brief)

2005 Chardonnay (Carneros). Beautiful rich Chardonnay fruit, with a hint of balanced oak adding richness. For $30, this would be a lovely artisanal Napa Chard. For $20, it's a steal. I don't really like Chardonnay, but I liked this (and the 2004 as well).


2004 Syrah. Quite intense, black fruit Syrah. Delicious, not over-extracted, but some big fruit. Oak is balanced and not over the top. A hint of pepper and meat.

2004 Napa Valley Cabernet. This is the vast majority of their projection (probably 20K cases). American oak adds some of the expected astringent/dill notes. Quite a spicy wine, actually. But, you know, I still like it. I frankly like it better than some vanilla blanket wines I've had from much pricier producers.

2003 Rutherford Reserve Cab. This wine is just getting better and better as I taste it over the past 18 months. Definitely the mythical "Rutherford Dust." Good rich black fruit, with nicely done fine grained tannins and earthiness. The oak (French this time) is balanced. I don't think I've made a mistake in liking this wine, as I've tried it on at least three (if not four) occasions, and I like it more and more.

Mike Trujillo, the winemaker, has apparantly acquired the winery from its founders. A good sign for consistent good wines in the future?

Time to reshuffle my wine clubs. Sorry, Benziger Family, the Imagery wines have only been "decent." I like these consistently better.

Sadly, Sequoia Grove priced me out years ago.

True, but by Napa County standards, they are moderate. $45 for Reserve Rutherford cab seems downright cheap. Napa Valley in general is too pricey.

Brian, whilst you are here and as an aside, Fisher Vineyards Coach Insignia??
Saw a cab sauv today, any comments?

True, but by Napa County standards, they are moderate. $45 for Reserve Rutherford cab seems downright cheap. Napa Valley in general is too pricey.

Exactly.


If $45 bucks is considered Napa Valley average, then they can count me out....and permanently.



More's to pity.

I thought Sequoia Grove produced a nice Cabernet in 1998 which was considered a dicey vintage. On that basis I purchased a 1999 Sequoia Grove at a shop in San Diego. Maybe it's time to seek it out and open it. I agree that their prices are more reasonable than many in Napa.

Tasted the current Sequoiah Grove lineup during an utterly beautiful bicycle ride on Sunday. Quite enjoyable (notes are brief)
Mike Trujillo, the winemaker, has apparantly acquired the winery from its founders. A good sign for consistent good wines in the future?

Brian,
I don't believe that Mike is the sole owner these days. The Allen Family sold the wnry some yrs ago to Kobrand and I believe they still own it.
Mike is still (nominally) the winemaker, but devotes a lot of his time to KarlLawrence wines and consulting. The hands-on winemaker there these days is Molly Hill (no relation..but you gotta like that name) who is very/very good and a gem of a lady.
There has been a definite up-turn in the quality of the SequoiaGrove wines over the last few yrs, after some pretty lackluster wines for awhile.
Tom

Thanks for the clarification, Tom. I was repeating un-attributed statements from a wine shop owner who might not fully understand the ownership situation.

Should I search out the Karl Lawrence?

Bob: I have not yet had the pleasure of trying Fisher Insignia. I tend to hit (in Napa) wineries with open door tasting rooms, (spur of the moment, in some cases). I've read good things about it, though.

[Jenise]

Should I search out the Karl Lawrence?

Abso-f'ing-lutely. And our palates are very similar.