Napa Vs. Bordeaux

K&L Wine Merchants in Hollywood had a killer tasting this Saturday that paired some great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with some equally great Bordeaux, and though I could not be in attendance, our friend Steve Greer from K & L was kind enough to share some of his thoughts on this sweet tasting…

Says Steve:

Today we paired 5 each of California Cabernet Sauvignon’s and Bordeaux. On the surface the tasting was meant to show how the varietal can differ between regions especially between two regions that are looked upon as the benchmark regions for Cabernet Sauvignon. But it turns out the tasting also reminded me of the two distinct styles of Napa Valley Cabernets, and of the two, which one is my favorite.

The wines that were paired up are as follows:

2007 Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon & 2005 Puygueraud Cotes de Francs
2005 Chateau Montelena Napa Cabernet & 2000 Coufran Haut-Medoc
2005 Anderson’s Conn Valley Cabernet & 2006 Kirwan Margaux
2005 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon & 2006 Lascombes Margaux
1995 Burgess Cellars & 1994 Leoville Barton St-Julien

There is so much to talk after tasting these wines but I will keep it to just a couple thoughts.

First, speaking about the Bordeaux wines it must be pointed out that 3 of the wines tasted had at least 50% Merlot in the blend. The Pugueraud is in the Cotes de Francs which sits just east of St. Emilion on the right bank where Merlot is king. The Coufran is in the northern portion of the Medoc just above St. Estephe. This portion of the Medoc is well-suited to Merlot. Finally the Lascombes is in Margaux but the 2006 saw 50% of Merlot in the final blend. As a result of the high percentage of Merlot, these Bordeaux selections would be fleshier in texture and show more red fruit. So at the end of the day, it isn’t an apples to apples comparison. Bordeaux reds are ultimately some sort of blend of five different grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec., while the Napa Cabernets are all at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The second thing to point out and what I think is more important is that there are two styles of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (or rather, California Cabernet Sauvignon). The first being the ripe, big “fruit bombs” style, the second being the “old-school style” of Napa Cabernet wines.

This second style is the kind of Cabernet that was produced twenty or thirty years ago and even up to the early 90’s. These wines are more structured in style with balance between fruit, tannins and acidity. So why the change from “old school” to “fruit bomb”?

The chief factor in achieving the structure and balance is the method of harvesting the grapes. The new prevailing wisdom is that grapes should reach physiological ripeness, which basically means the entire grape needs to be ripe, right down to the seeds. It requires a longer hang time for the grapes to reach this physiological ripeness which results in much higher sugar levels in the grapes. Higher sugar level means higher alcohol wines that taste solely of fruit, and sweet fruit at that. The wine loses the beautiful herbal, floral and vegetal aromas and flavors that the grape and Napa can provide. There’s nothing wrong with the new wisdom, but it’s good that there are winemakers that haven’t forgotten the other way of doing things, and we still have these elegant, balanced and graceful “old-school” Cabernets.

I am still a huge fan of Bordeaux but I love these “old-school” California Cabernets that we poured today, particularly the Anderson’s Conn Valley Cabernet. This also turned out to be the hit of the tasting. A father/son team, Gary and Todd Anderson, bought land in the Conn Valley which sits on the eastern side of a ridge running through Napa. The western side of this ridge is where Heitz and Joseph Phelps are planted. The eastern side of the ridge is where the Anderson’s planted vines and in 1988 released their first wine. This has always been one of my favorite Cabernets even if I can’t afford a lot of it. Beautiful red and black fruit but with layers of spice and mint, tobacco and herbs. This wine also has lots of structure with good acidity and tannins. This style is what I first started to drink when I got into wine: Whenever I have a glass it makes me think of great Bordeaux with a dash of California sunshine.

Says Neil: I love the concept of this tasting. It gives me lots of ideas for ‘friday night tastings at the house’. This is something any and all of us can do to just ‘check it out’:  Syrah vs. Petite Sirah, Napa vs. Sonoma, Chile vs. Argentina, whatever. Invite your favorite wine-drinking friends to the house, assign regions/varietals/whatever to each person, and tell everyone to bring a pen and pad o’ paper. And let the tasting begin! It’s great fun to compare and contrast and taste/drink wine all at the same time, and it’s educational too. Thanks Steve!