The Traveling Grape

What a great treasure Del Dotto in Napa is. Easy to miss but not to be missed! At first glance I didn’t expect much. It was a typical September day in Napa; bright sunny perfect warm weather. As we walked in it went to cool and dark but not the “wine cave” I was expecting (at first glance that is). I had a tinge of disappointment as we were greeted with a glass of wine, tasting notes pamphlet and charged our fee of $40. (I will tell you now, all disappointing thoughts quickly vanished and the $40 is worth every cent). We were then escorted through the iron gates where we were introduced to Nick, our tour guide. It was a small intimate group and Nick was awesome. He was very informative, great down to earth social skills and very attentive.

Now I picked Del Dotto because I love destination wineries and especially those who specialize in red varietals. Last year they produced 117 cases, only one being a white per year. They don’t have the typical rules when it comes to how long to age in barrels. They listen to the wine letting it dictate when it is ready, anywhere between 18-24 months in either /both American and French oak. The Cabs and Pinot are always aged in new barrels each year.

The cave itself was beautiful. It was hand dug between 1882-1892 making it the 2nd oldest in Napa and earning their title of a Historical Landmark. As we made our first stop I glanced to my left down a narrow hall with barrels lined up on each site, all lit up with candles practically being the only light source giving it that intimate and special feeling. Before we made our way down the cave hall we stopped at a display of barrels where Nick proceeded to educate us on the difference between American and French barrels, the process in which barrels are made, the toast levels and how that affects the aroma and flavor of the wine. He also showed us how the new ‘grooved’ barrels can offer more flavor since they have 70% more surface area. This was my first lesson in barrels at a winery and I loved this part tremendously!

With a wine thief in hand, Nick led us down the cave. I didn’t realize what a treat I was in for with these wines but with our first stop he took a sample of their ’05 Caves Merlot, right from the barrel, which to my pleasure was 100% Merlot. Rich and deep and yummy big fruit on the nose, cherry on the palate and a hint of chocolate.

On to the ’07 Pinot Noir with mild earthly spice, making the second tasting another winner……and thus began my fondness for Dell Dotto. All in all we sampled over 12 wines and only 4 didn’t suit my palate…and the fun part, the wine we didn’t care for we just tossed on the ground anywhere we choose. What I really enjoyed and thought was a great way to educate the winnos, was mid-way during the tour we sampled two Cab’s from the same vintage and vineyard, the only difference being was the barrel it was being aged in. One was American Oak and the other French Oak. The nose and taste was completely different, the French Oak being my favorite.

The tour sadly ended (I could have stayed all day) with a plate of assorted cheese, crackers and chocolate along with a tasting of their Port. They have 3 and after 12+ wines I could not tell you which one is was or the specifics of the taste, but I do know this, I had seconds!

As mentioned earlier, Del Dotto is a destination winery only so you can’t buy it retail. The produce between 10,000 and 12,000 cases so they are fairly small. My advice, buy a case (or two) and have it shipped home.

I do also want to mention that they recently opened a new cave in St Helena which I have not visited yet but anxiously awaiting to. I have read that it reminds people of a small Medieval castle on the outside and the inside is quite sexy with modern but elegant architecture complete with marble floors & columns, chandeliers and music flowing. My dad was an architect so my appreciation of structures began early and I tend to have an admiration for the flamboyant.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 11:49 am and is filed under Napa Wineries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.