Just over a week ago, I paid a visit to White Rock Vineyards, one of the Napa Valley’s most historic estates and among the most talked-about victims of the wildfires that recently ravaged Napa and Sonoma wine country. Dating to 1870, White Rock is the site of some of the Napa Valley’s earliest vineyard plantings, and has been the Vandendriessche family home since Henri and Claire Vandendriessche bought it in 1977.
They lost quite a lot in the fires, including some of their back-vintage library, but ultimately, as they noted in an open letter to clients and friends, “neither the estate nor the vintage [was] lost and we continue to make wine every day.” As I learned firsthand, most of White Rock’s inventory is stored either off site or in a network of underground caves on the property—meaning this wine escaped the fires unscathed and, in the case of this 2014 “Claret,” utterly delicious and ready to drink or lay down. This Cabernet based Bordeaux-style blend is a perennial over-performer and one of our tried-and-true Napa Valley favorites at SommSelect, but today’s offer is especially significant, and not just because of everything that happened last fall; it is an exceptional vintage of this consistently exceptional wine, perfumed and elegant and as evocative of great Left Bank Bordeaux as Napa Valley Cabernet gets. As for its value-for-dollar, well, it is simply unmatched. A case of this for your cellar is perhaps the smartest California buy you’ll make this year. You like Dominus? Mayacamas? Dunn? Then this will be your new favorite Napa red at a fraction of the price. This is a wine to buy by the case (or two!) and drink over the next decade and beyond.
We have told the White Rock story many times before, but that story is essential to appreciating a brand that has—perhaps by choice—long flown under the radar. The property’s first incarnation as a wine estate was, as noted above, in the 1870s, when one “Dr. Pettingill” planted vines and constructed a cellar using white stone (hence the name) he quarried himself. Henri Vandendriessche, a native of Northern France, and his Napa-raised wife, Claire, purchased the somewhat rundown estate in 1977 and set about restoring it. It became their family home and the place they raised their two sons, Christopher and Michael, who now oversee winemaking and vineyard management, respectively. Parents and sons alike are vignerons (wine-growers) in the truest sense of that word, and their humble dimensions and hands-on approach create wines that are genuine treasures of the Napa Valley.
Located just above the Silverado Trail, in the shadow of Napa’s Atlas Peak, the White Rock vineyards extend from the more alluvial valley floor (where most of their Chardonnay is planted) up into hills comprised of volcanic material and bedrock. These hillside sites deliver small-berried, richly concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon, along with the supporting cast of “Bordeaux varieties” for the “Claret” blend, which takes its name from the traditional British moniker for French Bordeaux. Their farming methods were sustainable long before that was a “thing,” and while they haven’t pursued organic certification, they practice organic farming, and their natural practices are well-documented: “The estate has never been subjected to herbicides, pesticides, or fumigants,” they note on their website. “In the winter we plant ‘green manure’ crops such as bell beans, rye, and clover, which help to nurture the soil through the cold wet months.”
As always, the 2014 “Claret” is a Bordeaux-style blend driven by Cabernet Sauvignon (76%) that spent two years aging in 32% new French oak. It was bottled in July 2016 and released in August 2017, and the extra time it was given to integrate is evident in the glass: It’s a deep garnet red all the way to the rim, concentrated but nowhere near as inky as many Napa contemporaries. The aromas seamlessly meld fruit and earth, with notes of blackberry, cassis, and red currant complemented by tobacco, leather, underbrush, dried flowers, and a big dose of graphite and crushed gravel that will trick even expert blind-tasters into thinking they’ve got a Bordeaux on their hands. What is most striking here is the wine’s refinement, even at this young age: it is firmly structured but also perfumed and approachable, medium-plus in body and—if I can anthropomorphize here—regal in its bearing. Balance is what will give this wine a long life, not a massive tannic structure; I foresee it entering its peak around 2020 and continuing to evolve gracefully for a decade beyond that. That said, I’m not inclined to wait too long before enjoying another bottle; decant it about 30 minutes before serving in Bordeaux stems at 60-65 degrees. Pair it with something that shares its subtle sophistication and hint of woodsy smoke. What a gem of a wine and property—if this is your first White Rock experience, I guarantee it won’t be your last. Cheers!
