2013 Bouchaine Pinot Blanc (Carneros). Quite complex-definitely the "apple" fruit, but a strong nutty element, amplified by well-tempered and balanced oak. Quite a nice white wine!
2009 Clos du Val "Three Graces" a cabernet-dominant blend. This still young wine was in a happy place right now. Made me pleased, as the 2012 vintage I had sampled the day before was surprisingly primary. Anyway, the classic balanced Clos Du Val earth, cassis fruit, a kiss of green (but not too much) lovely tannins still strongly present. Lovely, lovely wine. They have just brought on a new wine maker, so hopefully he will hew to this more classic style!
TASTING NOTES
Madonna Estate. This small family owned winery is tucked away off Highway 12 on the way to Sonoma. They have been making wine for 90 years! Not exactly off the beaten path, but...
Anyway...this is pretty much old school wine! A nice new discovery for me. I sampled the 2008 Due Ragazzi Reserve Pinot and was pleased to taste quite a lovely note of funkiness which complemented very well the earthy cherry Carneros fruit.The standard Estate Pinot (2012 vintage) also showed some lovely earthiness as well. Not Carneros cherry pop at all! The 2010 Rutherford Cabernet also showed some promise. Maybe because I am mentally primed to taste it, I did get that mythical "Rutherford Dust", but this was not over-extracted fruit bomb cabernet at all. Instead lovely cassis fruit is framed by the "dust", and the winemaker here is not afraid of delicious herbal notes (the estate cab from Carneros is distinctly green, as it should be!) Finally, they source grapes from the foothills to make a fresh, lively, frankly delicious Barbera that was very enjoyable. A friendly, low key place indeed. Only odd note is their niche is a special deal with bus tour operators from the Bay Area, so you may often share the tasting room with a lively crowd of Asian American 20-somethings.
Service is good and I am really impressed with the wines.