Bartholomew Park Winery

Our last day in Sonoma started with a visit to Bartholomew Park Winery. We were graciously greeted to the well appointed tasting bar. Our tasting experience was quite pleasant and we had a very knowledgeable server. The prices are reasonable for the quality of the wines. Off to the side of the tasting room is a nice museum with the winery's history.

This winery is the only one we found so far that will ship to our “ship here at your own risk” state. Many wineries will not go through the trouble because it takes an agreement with a distributor in our state.

For a modest tasting fee of $5.00, we were enjoyed the following flight:
2006 Sauvignon Blanc (San Lucas Vineyard) $20.00
2004 Merlot (Desnudos Vineyard) $32.00
2004 Estate Syrah $38.00
2005 Zinfandel (Sonoma Valley) $38.00
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Kasper Vineyard) $38.00
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Valley). $38.00

These wine are hand made, micro-lot, single vineyard wines, which is what we were targeting on this trip. One thing I noticed while we were there was the local customers popping in and out. That give me a good feeling, like going to our favorite Greek restaurant and we are the only ones speaking English. Hey if the locals are buying wine there, something must be going right. I think it is the staff, the wines and the pricing. In addition, they have tasting notes that include pH, acidity, vineyard details, and all kinds of wine geek information.

The flight above gave us a chance to taste not only vintages, but vineyards. If you want to taste the difference a year and a vineyard can make, put this winery on your short list.

Kasper Vineyard faces directly southwest towards the San Francisco Bay. Located on a west facing slope, 700 feet above the valley flour in the Mayacamas Mountains. This bathes the vineyard in morning fog and is somewhat cooler. The soil is alluvial, deriving its complex composition from the sloping mountain above. These conditions make for a slower ripening grape which adds character and complexity.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Bartholomew Park Winery

AVA: Sonoma Valley
Kasper Vineyard
Alcohol 13.8%
pH: 3.57
Acidity: 0.58g/100ml
Price: $38.00

Color: Ruby red
Intensity: Deep
Aromas and Flavors: Toasty, rose, spice, licorice, cherry, black plum skins, blueberry, allspice, mineral, green pepper, sage
Body: Full
Finish: Long

Summary: Very good value Cabernet, gently aged 15 months in French Tonnellerie Radoux barrels. The aromas and flavors came off in nice layers and just like a good book, it kept me captivated, waiting to see what would happen next.

Yup, we spent some of our coveted luggage space to bring back some of this winery's offerings.

Imagery Estate Winery

Ready for something different? Our friend Greg from Benziger Family Winery invited us to a tasting at their sister winery, Imagery Estate Winery. Imagery is a nice twist on the marriage of art and wine. Dedicated to limited-production, rare wines from uncommon varietials and vineyards of exceptional character, a trip to Imagery will give you a chance to sample the uncommon wines, pinot gris, barbera, tempranillo, mourverde just to name a few.

When you walk into the tasting room, you know you’re in for something different. A stroll by the gift shop will bring you to a large tasting bar where you will be warmly greeted and invited for a tasting. Greg, our friend from Benziger was working at Imagery. He presented us with an opportunity to taste five wines for $10.00. This is not something to shy away from. These wines are crafted in small lots of 200 to 600 cases each. The retail price on these wines range from $26 to $45 with the 2004 Pallas Estate (a Bordeaux blend) priced at $70.

Greg talked to us about the grape varietials that we were not familiar with and poured our choice. We were encouraged to look over the art collection and enjoy our wines. We decided to just kick back and enjoy without taking tasting notes.

The wines I sampled were:
2006 Moscato di Canelli. A white floral and fruity Moscato with flavors of apple and lime. Mildly sweet and medium bodied. This is a favorite in the hot Tuscan summer.

2004 Tempranillo, which is the Spanish grape. A nice rich, lush, dark fruit with a hint of mineral. I’ve had two tempranillo wines before. One I loved, one I called in the stunt palate. This wine was excellent!

2004 Barbera. Known for its acidity and soft tannins, smooth flavors of raspberry and cranberry with some dark cocoa. I wanted to give this Italian grape another try because of the success I had at Bonny Doon. This gave me a chance to see what a 100% Barbera is like. Not disappointing. A great change from Cabs, zins and merlots.

2004 Petite Sirah, a 500 case production. Greg informed me that the vineyard is located in Paso Robles. Another wonderful wine.

2003 Ash Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. Cedar, leather to cassis, blackberry. Great for now or eight years from now.

Put this winery on your short list, when you need a change. The art, the wine, the great values. We walked out with a bottle of the Double Gold Winner, 2003 Sunny Slope Cabernet Sauvignon. Be assured, when we pop this bad boy open, I’ll take better tasting notes!