Setting sun while driving down the road...

It's pretty damn hard, especially with the taste of these beautiful wines still finishing, not to have a huge smile on your face headed down the road in beautiful Napa...
No pictures of Ehler's Estate, but a really special 05 100% Cab Franc, that was maybe the best I had the chance to taste on this trip and an amazing 05 1886 Reserve Cab that was so luscious and long finishing, I was blown away.

Hartwell

After tasting some really pretty Pinots over at Baldacci, the 05 takes the cake btw, I got in over at Hartwell, where, thanks to friends much more influencial than myself, I was once again, lucky enough, to be able to get a private tasting, tour of the caves, and a barrel sample. The great tasting room staff over at Baldacci even begged me to bring them back a taste!
Their 05 Hartwell Miste Hill Cab may've been my favorite, Even over their 04 Cab Reserve at $115/btl. Andy Erickson and Benoit Touquette, the winemakers, are rocking it over there. With collective experience over at Staglin, Spottswode, Dalle Valle, Screaming Eagle, and Andy's Favia, these guys are a who's who of Napa. They've also got Monsieur Rolland to come in and consult. A real rock star team.
The property over in the second picture is the late Robert Mondavi's personal Estate, you can just make out his tennis courts. Down there in the last shot, is Benoit walking the vines. The 05 Cab Reserve, from barrel, is looking like it'll be yet another stunner from these guys. If you can land some of the 05 Miste Hill at around $60/ btl, it's an absolute steal!

The scene of the crime

Having now established myself in Yountville for the night, I went outside to make a phone call and get a bit of air when I met up with some ladies loking for some bar called Pancha's. Apparently it was up the block somewhere. I'd never heard of it, much less been there before, but being a gentleman, I didn't think it right for these ladies to wander off into the night alone, so I bravely escorted them. Outside the joint, (Pancha's, as I've come to learn) as we stopped for them to do some last minute primping I reminded them that they were to be on their best behavior, as there were only four of them, and I was slightly uncomfortable not rolling with my standard entourage of five. From behind a white pick up truck came a roar of laughter, as some ponytailed local came around and held the door open for us to walk in.
Right inside Pancha's, was a guy from the Girard tasting room who came over to say hey, and bought me a beer. Then while he was getting it, some couple I'd met outside Rombauer ( She was on the phone trying to negotiate some b-day delivery of flowers she wasn't there to receive and I'd overheard she didn't have a pen, so I'd offered her pen and paper) came over to thank me again and see if they couldn't buy me a drink. (The "buying Hooper a drink" stars were sure lined up that Friday evening) So in the midst of all this newfound popularity, these ladies I'd come in with didn't believe I wasn't from Napa. I told them I was visiting from Brooklyn and had just met these people the same way I'd met them, but they didn't buy it. Just then, the Ponytailed guy from behind the truck, who turned out to be the owner of the bar, pointed at me and shouted out from behind the bar, "That guy gets a drink on the house!"
It was a funny night, complete with a pick up truck ride from the owner, to drop the ladies off at their hotel, whereupon I got completely lost and had to wander around Yountville until I finally found Hanne's place.
(Note to self, next time you leave an unknown house, even just to make a phone call, you may end up on a two o clock pick up truck ride through Yountville, so write down the address)
Oh yeah, and then some other random photos from the other night I went back to Pancha's to wind down. Sometimes you have to take a break from tasting wine.

Ah Yes, Dinner at Bouchon

After a long day of tasting, it was time to go to dinner. Seeing as there wasn't a chance in hell I was getting into Keller's French Laundry, I figured I'd head over to his other Yountville Resto, Bouchon. Being on a budget, It was just to be an app. and glass of wine at the bar. So, Canard salee et confit it was to be. Luck being what it is, and the roll I've been on so far, I sat next to a woman travelling from Hawaii on business, and got into a discussion about my trip so far. She liked the whole New Orleans part, and decided, not only to pick up my tab, but to have James bring me over a menu, so we could order entrees and have a proper dinner. Gigot d'agneau pour moi (That's Leg of Lamb to you suckers back home qui ne parles pas francais) I was also nominated of course, to select the wine we'd be having with our main course, of course. (05 St. Cosme Gigondas) Dinner is not complete, Hanne (my dear hostess) felt, without a pot de creme, and a snifter of '76 Bas Armagnac in honor of my prestigious birth year.
In addition to all of this, fortune smiles on me once again, Hanne, being in town for two weeks, has a rental house up the block in Yountville with a spare room for me to crash. And that's how my two days in Napa turned into five.

Bob, Zeke, and their groupies

Bob and Zeke over at Jessup Cellars run a hell of a tasting as well. Bob was kind enough to pour over the map with me and help me figure out which places I really needed to go. He was also the sort of gentleman that pours you some of the 02 Cab they have under the counter while doing it. Beauty Merlots, Zins and Cabs, the 02 Howell Mountain Fruit Cab was my Favorite. Nothing shabby about the 03 by the way, it was just the 02 that grabbed me.

James Cole

Teeny tiny production, a miniscule 775 cases annually. They do a Chardonnay, a Malbec, a Cab, AND, never had this before, a Pinot Noir Ice Wine from a property up in Canada, made in Acacia barrels. Beautiful wines, balancing acidity, fruit, and complexity. A really nice job. Skip, who led us on our tour is a pro, and a showman. Playing, projected on the back wall in the dark barrel room was Casablanca. Best movie ever, he said. Funny, I said, that doesn't look like The Graduate. Anyhow the back barrel room was a wine makers dream, one single row of barrels, no giant metal racks to deal with, not stack upon stack of barrels. I think I know some guys that would've loved it!

Darioush

Definitely the most opulent of the tasting rooms I visited, Darioush is modeled on a Persian Palace. I hadn't had a chance to taste their wines before, and was really pleasantly surprised. Of special note, a super floral, white peach, luscious honeyed Viognier, and an outrageously complex and dark Syrah. Real stand outs. I hope they'll consider blending a little of their Viognier with their Syrah to make a mammouth, New World masterpiece.

Cult Wine Central

Not too far up the room is Cult Wine Central, a small cooperative tasting room for some hot small producers. Ren and his wife, Marilyn, whose family go way back in California (Marilyn's Napa roots to the 1800's, Ren's fam to Cali around the time of the revolutionary war) have a stake in the Cult Wine Central shop, and Ren was kind enough to sign off on a business card for me to comp my tasting over there.... KILLER. 04 Jones Family, 04 Pahlmeyer, 01 Volker Eisele, 05 Showket, 04 Madrigal. Richard over at Cult Wine Central was just great. Super nice and informative, we went through some fantastic juice!

Paradigm!

Nestled right by Harlan and Bond, Paradigm is one of my favorite, reasonably priced Napa Cabs ever since the amazing 02 vintage. Ren Harris was nice enough to take me out for a quick vineyard walk where we discussed his interesting trellacing style and canopy management as well as his soil program. Soft spoken, and a real love for the land and the vines he reminded me of the Guru. Next a shot of their packed to the rafters barrel room, and the road to their tasting room. I personally love the no wineries this road sign. Ren told me in advance when giving me directions, when you pass the No wineries this road sign, you're getting close.
Oh yeah, did I mention Heidi Barrett is their winemaker?

Best Burger Stand

Taylor's refresher, burger joint to the stars. This place is great. There are three or four of them that I know of, there's an old school looking drive through on 29, and a neat kind of 50's meets minimalist cafeteria in the Ferry Building on the end of Market St. in San Fran. Great grilled food, and a great teeny wine selection too. Feel like getting a free sip of the Dalle Valle, the Neal or the Chappellet? Just tell a few jokes to this guy, who runs the beer and wine!

Up on Spring Mountain

Up by Pride, I had to pull over a couple of times to check out the vineyards up there. Really amazing how the landscape and temperature changes as you drive up Spring Mountain Road, after a turn or two, suddenly big redwoods and pines start popping up and the temperature and air totally changes.

Feeding a goat

Here I am feeding a goat at Casa Nuestra. Small teeny artisanal vineyard with some fun wines, in particular their red field blend which was really interesting. You usually need an appointment but the nice ladies there were kind enough to pour for me anyway.

Mountains

These shots are from up Howell Mountain, looking across Napa Valley at Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain districts. Now I feel like I have a real understanding of whatit is to come from these locations.

Barrel room at Neal Family Vineyards

Carved into the local Volcanic rock, these are the caves for Neal, which is still, as always, one of my favorite, Lesser-expensive Cali cabs. Gove, the wine maker there, is killing it. But do us all a favor, and don't tell everybody, like I just did.

Trials and tribulatons of getting to Pride

Down to one lane and going through small Sequoia groves. Notice the Napa co. on the marker. All a part of the death-defying travels I entail in the quest. P.S. Entirely worth it. Pride ROCKS! That one you can tell everybody, I can't afford it anyway. Keep the Neal a secret though.