Weekend Wine Expedition Stop 2; Bennett Lane Winery

Once our meetings were over, we grabbed a bite and Jeff deftly guided the WineExpedition RV thru Friday evening traffic in the bay area. It may have made more sense to stay in the city until traffic died down, but we had an appointment in the Napa Valley…

…and we weren’t gonna be late. Our friend Keith at Bennett Lane Winery had cleared his Friday night for us, and we were looking forward to seeing him.

So as the sun set on the Napa Valley (and let me tell you, the sunset is a thing to behold when you’re amongst the grapevines), the WineExpedition RV glided through Oakville, St. Helena and beyond with Calistoga as our final destination.

The last bit of gray in the sky was fading as we pulled into the winery. Keith greeted us with a handshake and gave us a tour of the facility.

Although the vineyard was dark, the barrel room was well-lit, cold and filled with barrells o’ wine. The tasting room was also well-lit, but much warmer and filled with bottles o’ wine! We were parched from our journey and ready for a taste.

I won’t give you all the details of the tasting (the WEBISODES will be up soon), I will say that the wines were fantastic, and I’ll give you a couple of highlights.

The flagship wine at Bennett Lane is their MAXIMUS red blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah). It’ always gotten accolades: the 2002 Maximus was named the Top Value Napa Valley Cabernet for the 2002 vintage by Wine Spectator’s James Laube and the 2003 Maximus scored a 90 Point rating from the Wine Spectator. The 2005 (which we tasted), was also awarded 90 Points by Wine Spectator and was named an “Outstanding Value”.

The wine is a beauty; a nose of dark cherries and plums with hints of chocolate. On the palate, blueberries join the fray and the tannins make it hang around your mouth for a beat before it’s time for a another taste. A good wine to drink with steak… or a good wine to drink after an RV ride from San Fransisco to Calistoga.

Keith also poured us a taste of their 2007 White Feasting Wine which is best described as Sauvignon Blanc with a KICK (it has some Chardonnay, but gets the kick from the 2% muscat that they slip in). It’s got orange on the nose (that’s the kick) and once it hit my mouth that orange was whirling around in the background while I got lots of creamy citrus and pears with a nice little mineral thing happening for good measure. A tangy treat for sure. This one scored a 90 in the Spectator too.

After our tasting, Keith had to hit the road, and it was time for the WE crew to hit the hay in preparation for our Saturday in Napa. Check in tomorrow for details on Stop #3 and keep your eye out for the Bennett Lane webisode coming soon…