Napa's Smallest Producers are also Worth Seeking Out

Part 1 of 3, reviews of cool, mostly unknown Napa wines

Look up the Napa County Micro-Winery Ordinance (March 2022), which defines a micro-winery as a producer of 201 to 5,000 gallons of wine annually (or from 85 to 2,100 cases), and you’ll find that only 2 of them, so far, may legally receive visitors. Still, there are many, many tiny producers here in Napa Valley that make (let’s say) less than 500 cases, and to be honest, they’re pretty good, too. Different than what you might expect.

To me, a Burgundy-phile, the ideal micro-winery is a little house, a little cave, a little vineyard, and 24 barrels of Chambolle-Musigny. If you are making two thousand cases of Beckstoffer’s To-Kalon and Dr. Crane wines selling for 300 dollars a bottle, that’s not a micro-winery. That’s a seven-million-dollar-a-year business. The County, for all the good that it does, really has difficulty determining what drives the wine business or what a winery business should look like. When everything was sold to wholesalers fifty years ago, the idea of DtC was unheard of and unnecessary to regulate. When wineries realized decades later that there were no profits left in wholesale and that survival meant engaging all the DtC, there was the County to all but stop them from growing, placing difficult-to-regulate, difficult-to-justify limits on visitation so as not to disturb the neighbors’ peace and tranquility. No need here to rehash or debate the two sides to this, one being, “This is a farming community, we make wine here, and sometimes we need trucks,” and the other being, “Napa was so much better before all the tourists came.” It almost doesn’t matter where you stand now because the hippies who bought their ranches between 1968 and 1976 closed the door behind them, leaving less and less room for smaller growers and producers but opportunities for their kids if they were willing.

I don’t think we’ll get to a point like they used to have in Europe, for example, where tiny growers brought their grapes to the cooperative in exchange for finished wine from last year. Wouldn’t that be quaint in Napa? But alas, the aforementioned door-closing hippies also got older and more protective and gave us the 1990 rules that made new wineries on parcels of no less than 10 acres. The aforesaid micro-wineries are also required to be on 10 acres. Now, I’m not an accountant, but if you own ten or more acres of contiguous plantable land in Napa, you’re probably doing okay or better. That certainly doesn’t make them bad people; just lucky to have either gotten here early or have a deeply held passion for producing good wine. There is a rumor going around that Napa is dominated by the ultra-wealthy and corporate interests. Maybe, but the artisans are still here, working hard, and working around regulations – so don’t think that they don’t exist. Some of them are quite good and deserve some attention.

More than most people, I know how very hard it is to sell wine, even when it’s from Napa, even though it got a 99 from Parker, and even though it’s beautifully packaged – can you imagine how hard it is to sell your micro-production that no one’s ever heard of? How do you get your name out there, and how do you find a following without the ability to conduct traditional DtC and with no chance whatsoever of decent wholesale representation? Well, I have written a new book about that, and it’s coming out very soon. You can buy it with this button below. You’d be doing me quite a favor if you did.

So much is written about, and so much attention is paid to the great “cult” producers of Napa, like Scarecrow, Tusk, Carter, and Screaming Eagle. And there are equally interesting projects driven by Philippe Melka, Thomas Brown, and Aaron Pott that always get a lot of ink and great scores. Let’s venture out into the unknown instead, at least for today. While you’re waiting for your Realm allocation to arrive, let me introduce you to some fantastic tiny producers of Napa Valley wine you might want to check out:

2022 Magna Carta Napa Valley Proprietary Red – From Oakville. Heavy glass bottle and handsome label on this wine. Luxuriously stylish and rich. Soft, black, and red plushy fruits are sweet and ripe, with really lovely aromatics. Tame alcohol, but a big and bold style, nonetheless. (~$120, https://magnacartacellars.com/ )

2022 Nemerever Cabernet Sauvignon Estate “Nemerever Vineyards” Oakville – A little paler color is a surprise. There is a wild, grassy, earthy, garrigue-y, fresh crushed black raspberry nose. This isn’t your Dad’s Cabernet. The nose is punk-rock, exciting, searching, almost screaming with wild fruits. In the mouth, zesty acidity, and searing tannins. Fresh strawberries, forest floor, blue clay, and blueberries. Vivacious, lingering finish. This slam-danced its way across the palate, then after some air, it calmed down some. I loved it. A bit of a throwback. (~$125, https://www.nemerever.com/ )

2021 Greater Fool (>Fool) “Paddington Down” Red Wine – Although the majority of this is from Sonoma, the minority from Napa, I include it out of interest. Bottled in what I imagine is the least expensive glass available, which is cool in my opinion, the >Fool is nevertheless handsomely dark and deep crimson colored. Aromatically, it is floral and a little exotic. It is way more interesting than I was expecting. Red fruits in the nose repeat on the palate, and the texture is smooth and very fine. Plenty of complexity here and plenty of definition. Who cares about the bottle? This is well worth the search, and the label is gorgeous. Also, look for their very refreshing white called “Elaborate Truths” with a co-fermented Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc blend, as well as a terrific rosé called “Toxic Positivity” with huge watermelon and strawberry flavors. (~$39 to $59 each, https://www.greaterfoolwine.com/our-wine )

2022 SOMMRAS Estate Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley – Just 8 barrels made. Melons, honeydew, and marzipan, with lemon-lime and a little touch of peach on the nose. Fat up front, soft, round profile with a sneaky acidity at the finish. A traditional French white Bordeaux style, if you will.

2021 SOMMRAS Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak – Just 4 barrels made, that’s less than a hundred cases. The charming label is a little over the top, but that’s cool. Excellent color. The nose is aggressive, to say the least – a cacophony of mushrooms, spices, green and pink peppercorns, soft, ripe black plums and plum skins, musky blackberry pie, tree bark, forest aromas, and wild, brambly, garrigue or chaparral on a hot day aroma. In the mouth, the flavors are tamer, statelier – a stand of blackberries, Santa Rosa plums, cassis, and currants, and then there’s a currant-like acidity, too. Pencil shavings, road tar, and bay laurel round it out. Heady. It’s intellectually stimulating and reflective of the terroir – a little bit of Napa’s wild side coming out. It drinks like Atlas Peak looks. Try this wine. But also get in your time machine and try their 2022 Estate Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, which reminded me of a Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars wine from somewhere between 1979 and 1983. Or their 2022 Estate “Tuscan”, which is just four barrels of Cab and Sangiovese blended, heavy on the Cab. It’s an easy drinker for pasta night, with a lot of wild Napa character. This is a winery to watch. (From ~$145 to $275 each, https://sommras.com/ )

2021 Firetree Vineyards “Bunny Hills” Los Carneros Chardonnay – I had three vintages of this. The ’21 is absolutely outstanding aromatically. Deep green apple and acorns. Conifer, pine, butter, and light toast. Elegant attack, stealthy, but just starting to show its maturity. The ’22 is completely different – fresh, bright, and more apricot, red delicious apples, apple skins, white bread crust, and lemon pie. In the mouth, I wish it was a touch longer, but there’s a nice red apple, citrus, lemon leaves, and those acorns again. Finally, the ’23 has a really good nose – lemon-lime, spice, fresh acidity, bay laurel leaves, and conifer. Medium-bodied and subtle on the attack, mouth-watering too. A good facsimile of Pouilly-Fuisse. (each ~$49, https://firetreevineyards.com/product/detail/21BHCH/ )

2021 Anarchist Wine Co. “Prodigal” Merlot Napa Valley – Weighing in at 14.5%, it’s medium deep crimson to garnet color and natural looking. Fresh-cut strawberries and other fun red fruits dominate the nose. Cheerful, fresh, with a brisk acidity, and really easy to drink and enjoy. Not everything has to be Petrus, and next time there’s a concert near their very cool tasting room in the Meritage, I’ll grab one of these to enjoy with the show and hang out with them. (~$52, https://www.anarchistwineco.com/product/2019-Prodigal-Merlot )

2021 Kale Carneros (Napa Carneros) Syrah “Hyde Vineyard” – With just one barrel made, how does this even make it to the bottle? From one of the coolest winemakers around, this Syrah has a fine color, subtle, calm, relaxed nose of laurel, violets, dusty roses, and ground beef, while in the mouth it’s medium-full, with fresh cut wood, red raspberries, blackberry, slate, bricks, mineral, leaves and a hint of herbs de Provence. Elegant and stylish wine that should be my house wine, if only any of it existed. Also, try his 2021 “McGah Vineyard, Napa Heritage,” Rutherford sourced. 80% Grenache/20% Mourvèdre. Just 7 barrels and 2 puncheons made, it’s obviously akin to a nice ripe Cotes-du-Rhone, with garrigue, herbs, fresh strawberries, earth, bricks, and a hint of quinine. The tannins are soft, and there’s a fresh fruity finish. (~$75 or so for these, https://www.kalewines.com/collection#/wines )

2022 Watermark “Corilan Vineyard” Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – From a 3-acre estate, the young vines were just planted in 2020 at an elevation of 2200 feet. Is this only the second leaf from these vines? Wow. 4% of this is Malbec. The color is perfect. The nose is lifted, bright, fresh, and cheerfully youthful, totally delightful. Here’s fresh cut, freshly hewn wood, green earth, red bricks, bright and expansive red and black fruits, cherries, berries, pie crust, and zippy, zesty acidity. The finish is clad in iron, but not gruff. Like a child wearing armor. The promise of this site is amazing, to say the least. I totally finished this bottle with dinner. Bravo. (~$98, https://www.watermarkwine.com/product-page/2022-estate-grown-watermark-cabernet-howell-mountain)

2021 Panek Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Ooo, look out. This is made by Thomas Rivers Brown, and you can tell that immediately. Great intensity in the color and in the nose. Powerfully dark, black cherry-dominated fruits, with black and red plum and cassis in the nose. Massive intensity, full attack, medium-full palate, with developed mid-palate replete with blackberries, crème de cassis, minerals, vanilla oak notes, and zingy fresh acidity. Stunning wine. A killer. (Not sure of the price, but around $170, I would guess, https://www.panekvineyards.com/wines )

Next week: Part 2 includes Battuello Vineyards, Sequum, Spoto, and Tate, plus others. The Part 3 article features the best tiny winery and winemaker I promise you’ve never heard of, but you definitely will. Fantastic stuff.