The Peter Mondavi family and Charles Krug Winery have much to celebrate in 2014. The winery has completed an ambitious renovation of both their vineyards and winery as well as the Redwood Cellar tasting room originally built in 1872. Owner Peter Mondavi Sr. will celebrate his 100th birthday this year and the Charles Krug Winery spring release wines from the 2011 vintage represent both the 150th Anniversary harvest and the inaugural release of the Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
We recently participated in an online tasting and discussion of the Charles Krug Winery spring release wines organized by Charles Communications Associates. We received four sample wines before the tasting and participated in the tasting via Brandlive®. Peter Mondavi Jr. and winemaker Stacy Clark lead the discussion. You can view the discussion for all of the amusing family details provided by Peter and the winemaking insights from Stacy. In the meantime here are the highlights of the tasting, the wines of course.
2013 Charles Krug Limited Release Estate Sauvignon Blanc — aromas of dry hay, peaches and lime zest are followed by tropical fruit and citrus flavors. There is plenty of acidity for a juicy finish along with a bit of roundness in the mouth, a really pleasing combination. ABV 13.6%. SRP $35. Natural cork closure. 325 cases produced.
This Sauvignon Blanc is a labor of love. The vineyard was planted in 2005 on the winery property. Stacy has the opportunity to identify special rows and portions of rows within the vineyard, ones with more rocky, gravelly soil that produce smaller clusters of small berries, for this special bottling.
Once in the winery the grapes are lightly crushed and left for a couple of hours of skin contact before being pressed. After settling, the juice goes to stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Fermentation takes place in several batches, some with only native yeast fermentation, others with yeasts selected specifically to develop the aromas characteristic of Sauvignon Blanc.
The wine remains in stainless steel, aging on the lees, until bottling in April. Sur lie aging slightly decreases the overtly floral aromas and gives the wine a bit of texture and roundness. By comparison the Charles Krug St Helena Sauvignon Blanc is cool fermented without sur lie aging and exhibits more floral aromas without the added texture.
This is the third vintage of the Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc. One more point of interest …the unique bottle. Stacy chose this “bowling pin bottle”, made in France, to highlight this special wine.
2011 Charles Krug Napa Valley Merlot — medium ruby in the glass with aromas of dark fruit with a suggestion of mint in the background. Bright red fruit flavors combine with a bit of tobacco and moderate well-integrated tannins. This wine has plenty of flavor and structure, but is not overly ripe. A flavorful, leaner style. ABV 14%. SRP $25. Natural cork closure.
2011 was Stacy’s first vintage with Charles Krug Winery, and a difficult vintage in terms of weather. Winter was wetter than normal and the growing season was cool with late spring rains. Harvest was late, early September rather than mid-August, and yielded a 30% smaller crop than usual. Fruit was harvested at about 24.5º Brix
Merlot is planted over 400 acres of Krug vineyards in Carneros, St. Helena and Yountville largely in clay-based soils. The goal every year is to make the best Merlot possible, accordingly the blend varies year-to-year. The 2011 blend is 84% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petite Sirah, 3% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot. Aging is 18 months in French and American oak barrels, about 40% new oak.
Both Stacy and Peter Jr. describe the 2011 vintage Merlot as an old world style. To my palate that is accurate, but this wine is by no means lacking in flavor. There is plenty of red fruit flavor, complexity and texture.
The alcohol level in the 2011 vintage is a full 1% lower than usual. Don’t look for this as a trend in winemaking at Krug, the lower alcohol is reflective of the vintage. Though it must be said, Peter Mondavi Sr. is a proponent of lower alcohol wines, and he and Stacy have had numerous conversations on the topic.
The 1861 date along the right side of the Merlot label which commemorates the date Charles Krug Winery was established and the 150th harvest for the winery.
2011 Charles Krug Family Reserve Generations — dark fruit aromas with a hint of jalapeño. Complex dark fruit flavors, tobacco, earth and hints of jalapeño combine with moderate tannins and nice acidity. The finish is fairly long with flavor and tannins. ABV 13.9%. SRP $50. Natural cork closure.
This Reserve wine is made from select fruit, in fact the selection process begins this time of year in the vineyard where ideal rows are identified and managed for the Reserve Cabernet program. Fruit from these blocks is brought into the winery in small lug boxes, hand sorted and fermented in small fermenters.
Aging is in 100% French oak barrels for 20 months and the blending process involves a barrel selection from among these special lots of wine. The blend for the 2011 vintage is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot.
The first vintage of the Generations blend was made in 1991 by Peter’s brother Marc who was the Krug winemaker at the time. It happened without planning, when Marc was offered 5 tons of Cabernet Franc by a friend. Just by chance Krug’s best Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon was being harvested as well. Marc co-fermented 5 tons of Cab Franc, 5 tons of Merlot and 10 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon.
When Peter Sr. returned from a marketing trip a few days later and noticed the fermentation tank labeled Bordeaux blend, he made some inquiries. Marc had some explaining to do and Peter Sr. was not happy with what he heard. At the time producing blended wines was not the focus of winemaking at Krug. Peter Sr. actually banished Marc from the winery for a bit.
Fun fact: that 1991 vintage was bottled in plain bottles, without a capsule and unbranded corks. Only the vintage date appeared on the corks. At the time of bottling the Mondavi family was not certain what the fate of the wine would be.
In the end though, the blend tasted really good and was bottled under the Charles Krug Vineyard label. Generations, the name was suggested by a cellar worker at the winery to acknowledge the multiple generations of the Mondavi family involved in the winery, is made by the winery to this day. The blend has been extended beyond the three varieties used in the first vintage, and co-fermentation is no longer used due to the difficulty in picking all varieties optimally at the same time.
2011 Charles Krug Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon — dark plum and delicate floral aromas are followed by dark plum and blackberry flavors with just a hint of green pepper lending complexity. Tannins are significant, but not out of balance. This exhibits the most complexity and texture of the group. I can only imagine how interesting this wine will become with some time in the bottle. ABV 13.7%. SRP $75. Natural Cork Closure. 500 case production.
Stacy’s goal through blending (95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec) is to produce a wine with a slightly softer version of those famous Howell Mountain tannins, so that it is approachable for a wide spectrum of wine drinkers. Aging takes place in new French oak for 19 months.
This inaugural release of the Family Reserve Howell Mountain Cabernet is harvested from Krug’s Howell Mountain vineyard. The 60-acre property located at the end of Cold Springs Road, was purchased in 2000 and the vineyard planted in 2007. Only 23 acres were developed due to restrictions on the development of steeper portions of the land.
The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and a small amount of Petit Verdot. The terrain is rolling hills with a large variation in soil type and exposure. Its location at 1600 ft above sea level means the vineyard is above the fog line. Temperatures warm earlier in the day when the valley floor is covered in fog. But the elevation also means temperatures fall quickly late in the day and overnight.
Stacy is particularly excited about this parcel because of the diversity of soil types and exposures. Grapes from the Howell Mountain vineyard are used in this bottling as well as the winery’s Limited Release Cold Springs Cabernet Sauvignon (you can taste it at the Krug tasting room) which features Howell Mountain’s famous tannins more prominently.
Thank you to Charles Communications Associates for organizing the tasting and sending the tasting samples. Thanks as well to Peter Mondavi Jr. and Stacy Clark for painting such a vivid picture of the history of Charles Krug Winery, the Mondavi Family in Napa and winemaking at the winery. Peter told many amusing stories about his famous family and Stacy gave us lots of insight into her winemaking style. With renovation of the original Charles Krug Winery complete, visiting the property is a must when in the Napa Valley.
Cheers!
