Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Right Stuff

There's a special sub-strate - to my mind - of exceptional wines from Napa and surrounding regions that are less than $50 a bottle and should by current standards cost twice that. (Remember Cotton Harrell's Puddle-jump from the novel, Nose? Well, this ain't that place or that wine, but there are similarities.)                                                             
       Volker Eisele Family Estate is located in Chiles Valley, high above the Napa River but tributary to it. At the south end of Pope Valley, a world apart from Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. Up here cabernet sauvignon is dealt with in a manner more reminiscent of the Medoc: distinctive California fruit but not with such intensity that you have to wipe off your face with a towel, classic structure well suited to food and to aging, great lingering finish and a commendably low (real) 13.8 per cent alcohol. This in my opinion is the way the best Napa V cabs are headed. This one's still affordable but probably not for long.                                                                                                        

To order my novel, Nose, click on:  

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