My first time with this producer. Helen Keplinger, winemaker, travelled through the south of France, and fell in love with the wine and food of the region. She returned to Napa and sought out vineyards that would produce the style of wine she had come to love.
The 2008 Caldera from El Dorado County consists of Mourvedre, Grenache, and Counoise. This probably needs more time in the cellar. The first night, there was an annoying acidic note at the end that blurred the fruit and earth that I noticed at first. Corked it and put it back in the fridge for the next night, and it was a much nicer wine. The fruit was brighter, there was black pepper and a meaty note that I missed the night before, and gone was the searing acidity. I think it has good potential, and if I owned any more of this, I would stick it in the cellar for a couple of years. I have a few wines from other vineyards, and I think I will do just that.