Nomadic Wines

Visits to Revana and Lewelling

With my 3-week old daughter in tow, we decided to drive up to Napa. My wife was happy to no longer be the designated driver and I was happy to visit wine country. Running a little late (a baby in tow will do that), we pulled up to Revana where fellow BB'er Alan Kurland was waiting with Todd, one the cellar workers and Tasting Room Manager.

First of all, Todd was a great host. Super enthusiastic and he clearly loved his job. He is new to the production side, but it seems like he has landed in a good place to learn. He had 375s of the 2003 and 2004 Revana Cabernet Sauvignon opened for us to try. The 2003 had a lot of black pepper on the nose which turned me off, but the palate was velvety and filled with red fruit. The finish was long and mouth-filling. In comparison, the 2004 had a lot more red fruit (raspberry) on the nose, with some minerality to round it out. The palate was just as silky but the fruit was brighter and the wine seemed more balanced. The finish didn't coat the mouth in the same way, but I still preferred this vintage. We talked a lot about Heidi Peterson-Barrett's other projects and the style of this wine within the portfolio. It was a fun visit and I wish Todd luck as he starts his own label (making wine with Syrah and Tempranillo).

Next, we made the 5 minute drive to Lewelling. David Wight was fantastic. We spent about two hours with him as we walked out to the vineyards (during a break in the rain) and tasted his 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon. (All of his 2004s are sold out and his 2003 Wight Vineyard is sold out.)

I don't think I have time to type out everything I learned from David. Here is a short version - the vineyards have been in the Lewelling family for five generations. They have about 80 acres of planted vineyards and another couple hundred unplantable acres. They sell off most of their grapes (like 90%) to producers like Caymus. For the 1200 cases they produce, about 2/3 goes into their basic Cab and the rest goes into a barrel selection for the Wight Vineyard Cab. That is about 800 cases of Cab and 400 cases of Wight Vineyard Cab. They use about 90% new oak, most of it French. I think David said something like, "90% of the oak is French because it is best, 10% is American because we are patriotic."

After talking about the family history, we walked out to the vineyard and David gave us a lesson in pruning. We learned about where to prune, how many shoots to leave, the relationships with the various trellis systems. He said that the rain was great and the warm weather had been concerning them... apparently some vineyards in Napa had seen bud break on their Chardonnay vines last week. This is concerning because once a bud breaks, it is not resistant to frost.

We also talked a little about grafting, because I never understood what actually happened. He showed where they graft on new varietals and the place where the vine connects to the rootstock. David also made the interesting point that he expects vines to produce fruit for 25-35 years... before they die due to disease or need to be replaced.

The 2003 Lewelling Cab was much darker in profile compared to the Revana wines. Dark cherries and some plums, along with the smokiness and a little bit of ashiness. I liked the fruit profile, but I would enjoy the wine with a little less oak/ashy flavor profile. Still, for $40, this is a well made wine and I purchased a couple bottles for a future steak dinner.

Thanks to David for a great educational visit, and good seeing you Alan.

Labels: Lewelling, Revana, wine

posted by nomadfromcincy @ 6:03 PM