My friends have a saying that there is “time” and then there is “Jenni time” (also known as “ish” time as in “I’ll be there around 1ish”). Well these wines were on Jenni time and I apologize for their tardiness but much like time spent with me (), these wines were worth the wait.  This month we feature the wines of York Creek Vineyards in Napa Valley with their Petite Verdot and Pinot Blanc, both very small production (45 cases produced for the Pinot Blanc and 39 cases for the Petite Verdot) and both a super treat.

York Creek Vineyards runs up and over the crest of the mountains to the west of the town of St. Helena, in a lush and beautiful area long known as “Spring Mountain.” Wine grapes have been grown here for more than one hundred years.  At least twenty-four tree species are native here; an extraordinary richness of flora perhaps unequaled anywhere in California’s Coast Range.  The property was named “York Creek Vineyards” in honor of the defining feature of the land, the wild and beautiful creek, which flows all year-undisturbed by the hand of man-for a mile and a half through thick forests and redwood groves. Their wine labels feature 24 of the native trees that flourish at York Creek. The trees on the label are their way of honoring and celebrating the gloriously wild areas at York Creek and the forests that far outnumber the vineyards which have provide joy and inspiration to the vineyard owners and those who came before them for centuries. 

   
2006 Pinot Blanc  

The Pinot Blanc is aged in French oak barrels, 50% new.  York Creek only has about 500 Pinot Blanc vines, which in a good year produce 2 or 3 barrels of finished wine. The grapes are crushed “whole cluster” in the press and ferment in French Oak, using the sur lie method.  It seems to be a fact that this variety lends itself to a little age. It is delightful and fruity when young, and then, with a little time, develops a deeper character.   With a light golden straw color the elegance and complexity of this wine is introduced within the nuance of the delicate hues. Baked yellow and green apple, under ripe nectarine, guava, banana, sugared lemon zest, pineapple, Bosque pear, honey, lily of the valley and a slight butterscotch note envelope the senses with delight. With a creamy texture and higher acids then many new world Pinot Blancs, this happy marriage of Alsatian and California style is a lovely testament to the variety with its lasting and dry finish. This a great food wine but certainly also pairs perfectly with friends and conversation on patio this spring.   
 

2003 Petit Verdot  

This wine is 100% Petit Verdot, giving the wine lover a chance to understand and appreciate this variety on its own, a variety so important as a small fraction of so many great Bordeaux wines. Petit Verdot is used in small quantities in many, perhaps most, great Bordeauxs.  This is a variety which most people have heard of, but hardly anyone knows in its pure form. That is why the owners of York Creek Vineyards decided to bottle just a few cases of 100% Petit Verdot each year, so that you can form your own opinion of this old and often underappreciated varietal.  If color were a clue…this would leave you clueless, its opaque, almost black color would leave you to think this wine was aggressive if not brutish but you would be wrong. It is elegant and layered and its intricacies are revealed more and more as it opens up to you. Dried thyme and dill, fruits of fig, black plum, brambleberry, and black cherry along with bittersweet dark chocolate, cedar bark, briar patch and underscores of violets, lavender, rosemary black pepper, nutmeg  and brown sugar baked pecans characterize this grabbing red wine. A perfect wine to have with any kind of grilled meat, especially something with a little char or just some good old Kansas City BBQ!