Dan Dawson's Pick of the Week: Napa's White Rock Vineyards
By Dan Dawson
I pull into White Rock Vineyards to taste their recently released 2019 Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Claret, a Bordeaux-style red blend. I love to visit White Rock because it is only five minutes from Napa and easy to find, yet when you arrive it feels pleasantly remote. I’ve visited many times over the years. The last time I was here the 2019 grapes were coming into the winery. Much has happened since then. It felt good to sit down with Christopher Vandendriessche, winemaker and one of the many family owners, calmly taste through the 2019 White Rocks and be in the moment.
Before I get into the wines, however, a few impressions of White Rock: If you visit (and you should), you walk straight into a working winery. The grape crusher is tucked away on the side, waiting for the fall harvest. Barrels are drip-drying after an earlier power wash. A staff member is washing a van. Across the crush pad are the caves that hold hundreds of barrels of wine and tens of thousands of bottles. White Rock Estate vineyard is through the gate on the north side. If you want to feel as much as learn about how great wine is made, this is where you need to come.
Vandendriessche’s parents, Henri and Claire, bought the vineyard and winery in 1977 and went to work restoring it to pre-Prohibition acclaim. Young boys at the time, Christopher and his brother, Michael, are now winemaker and vineyard manager respectively, with another generation to follow in their footsteps should they choose. Henri and Claire are somewhat retired and live on the vineyard, having recently moved back in after the 2017 fire gutted their home. “It’s pretty much the same as it was before, except now they have HVAC,” Vandendriessche reports.
Wine Notes
The White Rock Chardonnay, Napa Valley 2019 ($45 at the winery) is delicious. It hits the perfect note of ripeness with understatement.
“As soon as the jalapeno pepper flavor goes away, I pick,” Vandendriessche says. You’ll taste pears, lemon crème brulee, apple butter and fresh pastry. White Rock has made low-malolactic Chardonnay since way before it was the “cool” thing to do. Its richness comes from a year of aging on its lees in neutral barrels and 2 ½ years of bottle aging before release. Fresh fruit and leesy richness are perfectly proportioned.
Speaking of perfectly proportioned, the winery has prided itself on such balance in their Claret since their beginning. White Rock Claret, Napa Valley 2019 ($65) is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot that tastes of deep-red raspberries, pomegranate and cherries with a pronounced savory side: sage, black tea, black olive and crushed bay leaves. As you would with a good book, movie, music or anything else that evolves from the soul, give yourself time to soak this wine in.
It comes as no surprise, I guess, that the White Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2019 ($65) is the king. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from hillside sections of the White Rock Vineyard. Like the Claret, it’s on the dark-red fruit spectrum but with even more depth of earthy “minerally” essence. It easily soaks up the one-third new French oak — a low percentage of new oak by estate Napa Cab standards. Earthy truffle, dried French herbs and dusty mocha flavors weave through this structured Cabernet that is truly best served after being in the cellar for five to 10 (or more) years. If you are looking for a 2019 birth-year wine for a good price, this is it.
White Rock Vineyards welcomes guests to visit by appointment. Cost is $75/person, which is waived with a three-bottle purchase. Picnics are welcome if you let them know in advance. They will provide a Fatted Calf charcuterie board to accompany your tasting with advance notice. Dogs and children are welcome, but it is a working winery, so keep your loved ones close by. White Rock Vineyards is at 1112 Loma Vista Drive, off Soda Canyon Road, north of Napa. Visit their website, www.WhiteRockVineyards.com, to learn more and make an appointment to visit.
Dan Dawson has been a Napa Valley wine merchant, sommelier and business owner since 1992. He is the owner of Outer Space Wines, a wine shop and wine bar in downtown Napa. You will find him there tasting and talking wine most days. Come in anytime to shop, taste and learn.
Today, May 19, Outer Space Wines launches its “Galactic Napa Cabernet Tasting” of four rare, highly rated Cabernets. Go to bit.ly/GalacticCabTasting for more information and to buy tickets. Use discount code Friday Night for $25 off your tasting.
Outer Space Wines: 974 Franklin Street, Napa. (707) 657-7401