It's always fun when the Napa Vintners association comes to New York -- the owners and winemakers take a break from pouring at consumer and press functions, and are able to relax a bit and talk about their wines.

I first met Shirley Roy a few years ago at a trade event ... and had been very entranced by her Bordeaux style wine. So I eagerly accepted the opportunity to taste the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and also the 2006 ROY Estate Proprietary Red Wine.

The winery is located on Soda Canyon Road in the Napa Valley. just south of Stags Leap. Renowned winemaker Helen Turley designed the vineyard, with 17 acres planted to Cabernet, Merlot, and Petite Verdot with what Shirley calls the "Turley signature" - a tightly spaced vineyard with competing rootstock to insure concentration of fruit.

These days, the winemaker is Philippe Melka, one of the current "it winemakers" in the Napa Valley. The Proprietary Red 06 is a very lush yet balanced style of Cabernet Sauvignon, with bright acidity and excellent long finish. Very good wine, yet I prefered the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, with its aromas of dried herbs, blueberry, violet, and chocloate and a very silky mouthfeel and long finish that is "drink now" yet can mature for many years.

Shirley created the winery with her husband over ten years ago, and today is at the helm. She has incredible enthusiasm and energy and the story of how she started her vineyards from scratch is fascinating. More updates soon!

J. Lohr is a California producer of many different varietals, and increasingly, many different vineyards. I had the good fortune recently to receive a case of 2008 wines and must say all are of exceptional quality for the price. 

If I had to choose my two favorites, they would be the Chardonnay and the 2007 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. These are incredibly well crafted wines. Below are notes on all the wines.

J. Lohr 2008 Merlot from Paso Robles:

This is an easy drinking style of wine that would pair perfectly with grilled salmon or pork, with very cleanly defined black fruit and bright elements of spearmint. Very well balanced and nearly naked in the sense the fruit is not overwhelmed by oak. Paso Robles has extreme temperature variations between night and day, responsible for the intense concentration of fruit here, and gravel well draining soils.

J. Lohr 2008 chardonnay Arroyo Vista

This is a delicious, traditional style chard with body, tropical fruit, and a long lingering finish - very rich and balanced and a good accompaniement to white fish, salads, and other fare.

J. Lohr 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles

Clean, balanced Cabernet Sauvignon with pure back fruit (blackberries)  ... a touch of sweetness makes it a good pairing for dishes such as pork, especially with a fruit marinade or sauce, roasted salmon with same, or brisket.

J. Lohr 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Vineyards

Blackberries, concentrated black fruit such as casis black plum blackberies ... very clean and even, very concentrated fruit from select vineyard and excellent example of incredible terroir and winemaking.

J. Lohr 2008 Petite Syrah

this is a classic California Petite Syrah with intense concentrated black and blue fruit, very smooth tannins, and a delightful way to accompany pork and braised short ribs.

"So how does it feel to be a winemaker ... and given special attention because of your sex? Or because of color ..." I  asked Ntsiki Biyela: South Africa Woman Winemaker of the Year. As I tasted through her wines, very impressed at the complexity of flavor and well balanced structure, I couldn't help but wonder if she was appreciative of the extra attention (that came along with awards and global media appearances, including CNN hours ago).

If I understood Ms. Biyela correctly, it was all part of the territory.

Ms.Biyela is here to promote her Stellekaya winery, whose wines are featured in select wine shops and South African wine bars here in New York, and also take part in the S. African wine tasting Tuesday. The name “STELLEKAYA” is a fusion of Latin and African words and means “Home of the Stars”. The owners have chosen to link the branding to astronomy and more specifically some of the 48 original constellations charted by Ptolemy.

Tonight's tasting was held at Sojourn, a trendy S. African restaurant here in New York. I had quickly skimmed reviews before zipping off, and most reviewers spoke of the incredible S. African wine list, great food, and "sexy ambiance." I didn't know quite what that meant but perhaps the red partition after the door had something to do with it. Or the candlelight. Or the fun "open seating" environment that set the stage for Ms. Biyela's wine dinner -- her wines would be accompanying a set menu created by SoJourn proprieter Stanton Du Toit.

Very cleverly, the three first wines were brought out on a wooden device, with little business sized cards propped up before each glass to explain the name and the composition. Blends are big with Ms. Biyela ... Hercules 06 was first, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. In Tuscany this would be called a 'super Tuscan' and not sure if it has a name in S. Africa, yet it was delicious, quite full bodied and complex. The middle wine was a single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon 05, ripe and succulent with notes of black current. Then on the extreme right was a Cape Cross 04, a very unique wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinotage (the cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault). This was one of the evening favorites until the main course wine of Orion, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. It was delicious and complex with bright notes of red fruit and deeper undertones. It was ready to drink now, yet seemed as if it could age ten more years.

Cuisine at Sojourn is fabulous -- and the wines from S. Africa are extremely well crafted. Perhaps the challenge for S. Africa is that fine winemakers are producing quality wines, yet awareness of these wines needs to be created. 

Stellekaya vineyards are situated on well drained slopes of decomposing sandstone and rich clays. Many of these
vineyards overlook False Bay with important sea breezes to lower to temperature. Production is made using the traditional “pigeage” /punch down method in open fermenters - punching down produces less aggressive tannins than pumping over. The fruit is cooled on arrival and a cold maceration is applied to ensure that the fruit
flavours are captured prior to fermentation taking place. The wines are pressed using a wooden basket press following by 100% maturation in French Oak Barriques specially chosen and designed to reduce the sense of aggressive tannins.

Indeed during dinner I remarked on how ready to drink these wines were, even though they were balanced enough to age for ten years. This quality might be responsible for the somewhat high mid-30's price -- French oak barriques and the care that is needed for good selection is quite expensive. Yet the wines are doing very well in Manhattan wine bars and wine shops. And according to the owners, Stellekaya is about producing a “hand made” wine in limited
quantity that will be appreciated by a small audience of discerning consumers who favour quality and character over price.

You can read more about Stellekaya wines here ...

Sometimes I get so caught up in my studies of the Old World I discover it has been months since I've sipped wine from the new world, especially California. Winemaker Gary Sitton of Blackstone Winery in Sonoma sent me some of his new releases ...

The Pinot Noir 2007 ($20) is rich and expressive on the nose of sharp red fruit on the absolute peak of ripeness. The fruit is ripe and red on the nose, and balanced on the palate with juicy red flavors that would pair well with salmon, pork, composed salads.

I really like the Merlot 2007 - very rich and complex, tasting more expensive than its $23 price tag. On the nose notes of spice and red fruit. On the palate, more ripe, red fruit and spice with a lingering finish of vanilla and licorice.

The Cabernet Sauvignon is a great steak wine ... ripe red and black fruit, vanilla, a balanced with with the kind of high acidity and pungent tannins needed to match a steak. Vineyards used in this wine include the Knights Valley, an up and coming region. ($20)

The Rubric 2007 (their finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from their best vineyards) is quite delicious ... rich concentration of fruit, good length, and fabulous structure.

Chardonnay Reserve 2007 - apple pie a la mode, vanilla, creme brulee -- the flavors that make up the standard California chard. $15

Winemaker Sitton remarks this is his third crush, and for the first time he is seeing in the wine the changes he's been making all these years in the vineyards and winery, which range from picking the fruit at the optimum time of physiological ripeness to changing the oak profile. Good going, Mr. Sitton.

Quick! Imagine you are presented with a "blind flight" of Sauvignon Blanc wine (or Chardonnay for that matter). Do you think you can pick out a wine from New York’s Long Island against wines from Sancerre or New Zealand? Assume that all wines have the same color, and for the most part, a similar aroma profile. Such a tasting would be particularly intriguing, as most people, even top wine writers, do not have the luxury of comparing a single varietal to its cousins around the world. And how does one recognize the characteristics of a Long Island wine anyway?

The above fantasy became reality recently when the Long Island Wine Council sponsored a seminar and blind tasting of its wines against others from top international regions. The result? Long Island wine can hold its own against the world’s most popular and expensive regions. Right now you may be wondering about the characteristics of Long Island varietals, which are a function of their terroir. One factor is the climate, which is very cool yet moderated by the bodies of water in the area. Vintage variation is considerable. And then there is the soil, which as in many old world countries is quite mineral in nature.

The Long Island Wine Blind Challenge began with a seminar, followed by five flights of a single varietal (each flight was four glasses each). Sitting around me were several of Manhattan’s – and the world’s – finest wine writers. Though some might say we are a jaded lot, truth be told we are passionate about wine, with a burning curiosity to discover factors responsible for what we smell and taste in the glass.

Long Island produces many grapes, but the key varietals are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay (both oaked and un-oaked), Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. Journalists tasted through five flights: Sauvignon Blanc, Un-Oaked Chardonnay, Oaked Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. When the names of the wines were revealed, I was pleased to see I had attached the correct regions to the wines (a testament to an exhaustive wine education). Yet the comparative tasting also underscored how incredibly well-crafted wines from Long Island are, both the white and the red.

Linda Lawry, Director of the International Wine Center, was the Emcee of the event, with speakers including Steve Bate, Executive Director of the Long Island Wine council, Larry Perrine, CEO/Partner of Channing Daughters Winery, and Kip Bedell, Founding Winemaker, Bedell Cellars.

Classification : St.-Emilion Grand Cru Classe
Area : About 12 acres
Aver. age of vines : 30 - 35 yrs
Blend : 70% Merlot ,20% Cab. Franc, 10% Cab.Sauv
Aver yields : 49 H.Liters/hect
Density of plantation : 6500 vines/hect
Aver. annual prod.:32000-35000 bottles

About the wine, the fermentations last 3 to 4 wks in temperature controlled concrete vats with temp. of 22-24 C at the beginning and 31-32 C at the end .wines are transferred to oak casks(35%-40% new) for aging. Approx. 25-35% yield is aged in 1 yr old barrels that have contained white wines(bought from other estates),the rest in 1 yr old barrels .Wines are fined and filtered with egg white.
The plateau of maturity is 3-9 yrs following the vintage.

According to the web site, this is 100% Merlot, and you can see the flavor profiles below. Since I'm more of a left bank Bordeaux drinker (Cab Sauvignon territory) I'm surprised that I like it. Interesting, also, to note how many of the "typical" flavors are reflected in this wine including blueberry ("blue fruit," in case you are ever facing an exam) and cocoa/chocolate to be sure. Also plum, spice (in a major way), caramel (if you really use your imagination), and prune (ditto). Also coffee and mint. Try printing this flavor table out and use it when you have your next Merlot.