Yikes! An entire week without blogging.....you know I'm doing some serious research when I don't have time to write about it.
This last Thursday, we settled in at the counter within Hartwell's cozy tasting salon. Although the interior was studded with antiques and oozed old-world charm, the views of the Stag's Leap District, with rolling hills of vineyards, were hard to ignore.
With Jona as our knowledgeable and affable guide, we tasted Hartwell's only white wine, the
2007 Sauvignon Blanc, and the following current-release red wines: the 2005 Misté Hills Cab, the 2005 Merlot, and the 2005 Reserve Cab.
The Misté Hills Cab was my favorite, and lived up to it's Stag's Leap District reputation as "an iron fist in a velvet glove". Powerful, intensely flavored, and well structured, this wine is unbelievably approachable with soft, supple tannins. The finish goes on and on, with intricate layers of dark chocolate, plum, forest floor,
and ripe berries.
With a small production of only about 3500 cases annually, it's only natural that Hartwell's facility is small and intimate. As we savored the last sip of the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon that Jona so kindly
opened for us, we took a quick walk through the production room, waved at the winemaker, and did a quick loop through the cave. I highly recommend the sit-down tastings (complete with cheese pairings), which are offered in a room very tastefully decorated within the cave.
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