A Visit to Napa Valleys St Supery

When I was in Napa in January our last tasting of the day was at St. Supery, a winery I haven't been to since 2002.  (picture above) Boy have we all changed both me,  the winery, the wines and the photography.

The winery has just gone through some renovations and it looks beautiful.  I love the bright open feeling!  We didn't taste in the tasting room.  We had made reservations and were escorted upstairs by Louis.  He was our man for the tasting.

 We tasted all reds here because Diane arranged the tasting with Emma and Diane only does Red. I might have to work on her to change that.(I did bring home some Sauvignon Blanc)  But the selections were wonderful and all was accompanied by a pairing plate.

We began our tasting with Louis teaching us how to taste effectively and then a discussion on Malbec began which was the first wine in the tasting rotation paired with Beemster XO Gouda on a Crostini Cracker. This was a nice "pizza" wine as we discussed in the video. Flavors of blackberry and plum were present on the palate with a hint of mocha.


2007 Rutherford Estate Merlot paired very well with the Fromage D'Affinois Rosemary Cracker garnished with a lightly sauteed pecan.  The rosemary was a nice match with the Merlot.  I found the Merlot earthy, with flavors of cherry licorice and hint of mushrooms.

2008 Rutherford Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - This cab they had paired with sliced Salami and Parmesan on a toasted baguette topped with Dijon mustard-Cassis Syrup-Butter. Flavors of blackberry with a hint of raspberry and licorice towards the finish. Nice pairing with the Salami

Goat Chese on a toasted Baguette with Sun-Dried Potato bits was paired with the next  wine a 2007 Napa Valley Estate Cabernet Franc.  I love Cabernet Franc and this had some nice dark fruit and a nice spice on the finish.

The last wine was the 2007 Napa Valley Petit Verdot paired iwth Taleggio Cheese on Fig Jam with sliced Coppa on a cracker. Petit Verdot can be kind of a powerful intense wine.  I think of it as bully grape.  This is also a "purple teeth" wine.  Lots of dark berry and plum on this intense wine.  Had a hint of licorice and cassis too.  I brought home a bottle of this and am going to compare it to our Hudson Valley Petit Verdot.  They are priced the same, but from different ends of the country.  Stay tuned.

Thank you Emma for arranging a great tasting.  Looking forward to visiting again and this time bringing Paul.