Bell Cellars - Secrets of the Cab Clones

I first came across Bell Cellars while on an early morning run in Yountville, Napa with my husband, Garrett. We love taking advantage of the flat, beautiful trail that runs alongside St. Helena Highway 29 . When we’re feeling curious, we’ll ventureoff the path which inevitably leads us to hidden wineries which never cease to surprise and delight me! We had to pause and take a peek when we discovered Bell - the exquisite pale stone winery, just south of downtown Yountville. The outside of the winery is beautifully erected to look like an Italian villa - the patio boasts a wood fired pizza oven, two bocce ball courts and outdoor patio seating that’s perfect for leisurely enjoying a picnic, a sunset with friends or a romantic glass of Bell’s sparkling wine. As we were investigating the premises, we came across Johanne Lefebre, Bell’s retail sales and hospitality manager, picking red roses to set out in the winery for the day. It was such a quaint, pleasant and intimate run-in, that we vowed come back to taste the wine! We returned to Bell a few months later, but we were using the gorgeous winery and surrounding vineyards for our engagement photo shoot with incredible photographer, Andre Niesing, and didn’t have time for a formal tour and tasting of the property.

Six months after our wedding, Garrett and I finally scheduled a private tour and tasting for 11:30 am and were pleased to find the inside of the winery is as well-designed and beautiful as the exterior. Inside the tasting room, soothing music filled the air and we were delighted to be welcomed by Johanne by name. We were basically the only folks in the winery - one of the perks of finding hidden treasures like this and the Reserve Room was set beautifully for our tasting. Johanne tailored a great private tour of the winery and tasting to us based on our schedule after welcoming us with a taste of unfiltered 2011 Sauvignon Blanc straight out of the tank, which already showed crisp green apple and citrus and a nice minerality on the palate. This tasting of Sauvignon Blanc was a great way to start the day as it cleansed our palate for the big red wines to come and also nodded at winemaker Anthony Bell’s Roots in South Africa.

After growing up in South Africa, Bell spent his teenage years working in Spain, France, and South Africa. In the US, Bell got his Masters degree in enology at U.C. Davis, and had a 15-year tenure at BV, became the general manager and raised the bar on BV's grape quality by conducting groundbreaking research into the differences and impact of clonal variations on Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s the Cab clonal research that makes Bell wines so special - they use only Clone 4, 6, 7 and 337. We looked at photos of each clone and I was shocked to find that Clone 6 has about a third of the berries that you’d see on a typical cluster of grapes making it appear almost sickly it’s so sparse. But therein lies the secret to the intense highly concentrated wines that Bell produces from 100% Clone 6, and the only winery in Napa that makes wine exclusively from this clone. The small amount of grapes on the cluster allows more nutrients to go into each grape, so while this produces a smaller yield, it produces much more intensely concentrated wines.

Bell Cellars grows Cabernet and Merlot on its estate winery in Yountville where its famous Cabs are produced and outsources the rest of its fruit from around the Napa and Sonoma Valley, getting the Clone 6 grape from just one vineyard that currently grows it - Baritelle, near the Mayacama Mountains. Bell used to source the Clone 6 from Beckstoffer Vineyards, but they no longer grow the clone. After our clone lesson, Johanne led us through a vertical tasting of a 2005 and 2010 Clone 6 Cabernet, and the difference was astounding. This is attributed mainly to the different soil and microclimate that each vineyard come from and creates two noticeably different wines.

We concluded our visit with a great tasting in the rarefied Reserve Room and if it hadn’t been my first stop of the day, I might have sat there all day. Tasting notes from my favorite Bell wines listed below. In summary, Yountville is one of the most famous towns in Napa with equally famous wineries. It can be daunting to decide where to taste. Visit Bell if you really enjoy any of the below in a winery visit - you won't be disappointed.

• Small, intimate tour and tasting as opposed to large, crowded tasting room
• Enjoying a picnic outside on the veranda
• Playing bocce ball with a glass of vino and a slice of pizza in hand
• Leisurely tasting in a luxurious Reserve Room of luscious Bourdeaux-style red wines
• Tasting out of a tank - yes, a tank, not a barrel.
• Friendly staff that will tailor your visit to your preferences
• Have a group and want to plan a special tailored event at the winery

2005 Cabernet Clone 6 - Beckstoffer Vineyards
This unique wine has a nose full of sun-ripened tomato, red bell pepper and fresh cut herbs. On the palate, it shows dark concentrated flavors of black cherry, mulberry, current with undertones of chocolate, coffee, and pepper. This classic Bordeaux style wine has hints of damp earth and mushroom with supple tannins and a lengthy finish that reminds you of a walk in Autumn dusk.

2010 Cabernet Clone 6 - Baritelle VineyardsThis wine, though young, already displays tannins that are smooth and supple. On the nose, aromas of cassis and blueberry abound. On the palate, a burst of blackberry, dark cherry, mocha and vanilla combine to make a silky, polished wine with Cedar notes and concentrated flavors. This wine tastes like a fresh baked blackberry pie fresh out of the oven ready to be served with vanilla ice cream on a summer day.

2010 George Latour Claret
The Claret has multiple layers of fruit derived from the five grapes used in the blend. The wine shows blackberry flavors of the Merlot, floral notes from the Syrah and a rich, cocoa finish from the Cabernet Sauvignon. The addition of the Syrah to this wine makes this wine approachable at an earlier age, while still having enough layered tannins to allow it to age for several years.

2008 Canterbury Syrah
This deep purple-ruby wine has the spicy fruit aromas expected in a syrah with a rich and elegant mouth feel. The vanilla from the oak is balanced with the big red fruit flavor to yield an appealing wine that is bright and complex and can be enjoyed now with food or aged for many years.

2007 Masa Ranch Petite Syrah
This deep purple wine is rich with black currants, spiced plums, and black pepper. It is a jammy wine with complex secondary flavors of herbs, toasted almond and and leather with enough supple tannin to allow it to age beautifully for years. This would be a deicious wine paired with winter stews, lamb and game.

Ruby Port

This port was served with the perfect pairing - a piec of dark dove chocolate. It’s actually produced from some of the classic Portuguese varieties from Lodi, CA and aged in small oak barrels for approximately 40 months. Deep ruby in color with rich fruit aromas, this wine has a rich, luscious mouth feel and soft, elegant tannins. The fruit concentration balances well with the alcohol and grape acidity to yield an appealing, elegant wine, bright on the palate, with great depth and concentration.

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Bugay Winery - A Little Slice of Tuscan Heaven

My first experience with Bugay wine was at a dinner at A16, one of San Francisco’s trendy Italian eateries that always has a wait list, even on Mondays. My friend, Jackie, mentioned that she had a bottle of wine she thought I’d like to try and A16 was the perfect place to take it for a spin. Sometimes you can’t judge a book by a cover (or a wine by it’s bottle), but my first sip of Bugay Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was just as smooth, rich, and elegant as the gold-embossed bottle with the medallion-shaped Bugay logo designed to resemble the beautiful pottery of Tuscany. The wine paired beautifully with our rabbit and pizza, but could also hold its own with any steak, lamb or gamey meat with its silky tannins and balanced structure.

Jackie brought me several more bottles of Bugay wine to taste and with each velvety bottle, I grew more intrigued to visit the winery. Our joint July birthdays proved the perfect excuse to visit Bugay Winery at last. John Bugay, owner and vitner, was gracious and generous enough to allow an intimate group of our friends to come visit and enjoy the private pool, terrace and wines of the Bugay Estate Winery and Villa for the day. As we ascended the narrow, winding road up the Mayacama Mountains to the winery, I wondered how people even venture here-It’s not exactly off St Helena Highway or the Silverado Trail. It turns out Bugay is still pretty much a word-of-mouth venue despite it’s growing ratings (It's Empress Wine Bordeaux blend received 90 points from Wine Enthusiast) and distribution across the country. But they welcome tastings by appointment and are now a private and sought after venue for, events and photo shoots. When we finally entered the gates opening to the large circular driveway, our expectations soared. Bugay Winery appears every bit a big, amber Italian villa, with gorgeous wooden front doors (nearly twice my height) and lush landscaping. The interior is not a disappointment either, with elegant furnishing, cherished bottles of wine that each tell a story, and keepsakes and pieces imported from Europe that allude to John Bugay’s earlier wine studies and ventures abroad there.

Due to the nature of the visit (birthday festivities), we spent the majority of the day outdoors on the Bugay premises enjoying a fine spread of wine country picnic fare, drank up Bugay Long Stemmed Rose, and the sunshine. While I could focus on the Bugay Wines themselves, I’d like to emphasize what makes this property so special as a venue: The wines come with abeautiful environment in which to enjoy them that truly transports you to the Italian countryside. The pool terrace is adorned with potted orange and meyer lemon trees, has its own pool house, which would be ideal as a dressing room forweddings or photo shoots or as a private guest house (complete with a personal kitchen). Just off the pool patio area is an expansive lawn - perfect for private events - a bocce court, and a rose garden with a terrace overlooking the entire Sonoma valley. From the pool, depending on your vantage point, you either have a panoramic view of the valley surrounded by pine trees, or a view of the gorgeous Tuscan villa - both make this the quintessential location for a breathtaking private event (I personally would love to buy the place out for a weekend get-away as it rivals any resort in the area)!

The final treat was a special private tasting of the Bugay Wine collection hosted by John Bugay himself, who is just as fun to meet as his wines are to drink. John was gracious in answering our many questions as he carefully poured generous tastes of each varietal. You can tell he is a true perfectionist who is passionate about his winemaking craft by the care he puts into his winemaking practices which are more similar to the French style than typical Napa vitner style. "Bugay" in Russian is equivalent to giving a "high five", which is exactly what these wines deserve! Bugay wine varietals and tasting notes below:

The Empress 2007: 90 Points from Wine Enthusiast
75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 8% Petit Verdot.

This saturated black-purple, Bordeaux blend gives off rich aromas of cassis, chocolate, and blackberry. It’s aged 21 months in ‘Reserve’ French Oak Barrels, giving it layers of nutmeg, vanilla and baked black fruit. Silky and refined, this velvety wine is thoroughly integrated and opulent.

Bugay Cabernet “Incline One Nine” 2007
This darkly pigmented wine has rich aromatics of dark chocolate, black cherry, baking spices, plum and blackberry leading to a massive, opulent mouth feel and just enough tannins to allow this beautiful wine to age as well as remain approachable in its youth.

Bugay Cabernet Sauvignon - “Les Rocheuses” 2007
100% Bugay Cabernet Sauvignon fruit rom the south-facing slope of the Mayacama Mountains, it’s rich and complex, with layers of ripe red cherries, currant, and smooth caramel. 21 months in “reserve” French Oak Barrels lend notes of cedar wood, and a subtle hint of roasted herbs. Finishes broad and long, with substantial fine tannins and a lingering note of espresso.

Zinfandel 2007: 88% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah

This wine is rich and spicy with dark plum and blackberry flavors that are balanced and not overly ripe. Hints of smoked meat and exotic spices make this a perfect example of the essence of the Sonoma mountainside Zinfandel.

Cabernet Franc 2006: 100% Cabernet Franc
This delicious wine is smooth and integrated with remarkable complexity for a wine comprised of 100% Cabernet Franc. It displays great full bodied flavors of black raspberry, cherry, plum, and blueberry with a long, smooth finish with hints of vanilla and tobacco.

2009 Long Stemmed Rose - 99% Syrah, 1% Mourvedre
This is a really fun and lively summer wine, with a beautiful bottle to match. It’s brilliantly pink like a rose, and slightly effervescent on the palette. Crisp, bright, strawberry flavors, ruby grapefuit, and raspberries are delightful on the palette. The use of Bandol yeast in the winemaking process imparts a delicious Provencal nuance to this wine.

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