Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016 - 48

TOP 100 WINERIES 2016

RXXXXXXXX
EGIONAL

Nickel & Nickel

Xxxxxxx
Darice Spinelli
Xxxxxx

Pepper Bridge
Founded: 1997
Founded:
XXXX
Winemaker:
Darice Spinelli
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Viticulturist:
Aaron Fishleder
XXXXXXXXXBeth
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Owners:
Nickel, Erik Nickel,
Acres
owned: XXX
Dirk
Hampson,
Larry Maguire &
Cases
produced: XXXXXX
GI Partners
Estateowned:
grown: 247
100%
Acres
Importer:
Xxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxx,cases
XX
Annual
production:
33,000
Website:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Estate
grown:
40%
Location: Oakville, CA
Website: nickelandnickel.com

The partners behind Far Niente created Nickel & Nickel in 1997 to explore sitespecific Napa cabernet. The winery now makes 15 single-vineyard wines from
across Napa Valley; the 2013s are a textbook tour of the region's terroir.
Lucky '13: Shortly after her 2013 cabernets started fermenting, Nickel
& Nickel winemaker Darice Spinelli noticed something peculiar:
"Three days in, I was like: I've never seen color like this." She's since
puzzled over why 2013 is such a unique and compelling vintage, and
still isn't sure she has the answers. Certainly the drought played a
role in terms of growing structured, intense fruit, but she points out
that 2012 and 2014 were very dry years as well, and don't have quite
the same "extra dimension" that she finds in the 2013s. "If we knew
how to do it, we would try to do it again!" she says.
A Gentle Hand: The 2013 vintage may have been superb in Napa Valley, but it didn't come without challenges. It was an extremely tannic
vintage, and Spinelli took a gentle, conservative route, draining off
the skins earlier than normal, and using fewer open-top fermenters,
which she finds extract more tannins from the grape skins. Her careful hand resulted in a stellar, classic set of Nickel & Nickel cabernets:
wines that allow the natural richness of Napa Valley fruit and the
characteristics of the individual vineyards to show through.
Place Matters: If you've never quite understood the significance of place in Napa Valley wine, line up four of Nickel
& Nickel 2013s from the heart of the valley and taste from
south to north. You'll notice that State Ranch, closest to
San Pablo Bay, is firm and dark, with a hint of green
herb. Further north, Martin Stelling, from a benchland
site in Oakville, lasts on a succulent cassis flavor and
fine tannins. C. C. Ranch in Rutherford shows some
warmer tones in its red and black fruit, its gravelly red
raspberry flavor powerful and toothsome. And Dragonfly, in torrid St. Helena, is a simple pleasure, a luscious,
sunny, approachable cabernet that's ready to drink.
-L.S.

TOP-SCORING WINES

XXXXXXXX
E STATE

Founded: 1998
Founded:
XXXX
Winemaker:
Jean-François Pellet
Owner/winemaker/viticulturist:
Viticulturists: Tom Walliser (Pepper
XXXXXXXXX
Bridge)
andXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sadie Drury (Seven Hills)
Acres owned:
Owners:
Norm XXX
McKibben,
Cases
produced:
Jean-François
PelletXXXXXX
and Ray Goff
Estate
grown: 450
100%
Acres owned:
Importer:
Xxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxxx,
XX
Annual
production:
6,000
cases
Website:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Estate
grown:
100%

Jean-François
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Pellet

Location: Walla Walla, WA
Website: pepperbridgevineyards.com

Pepper Bridge Winery-a partnership between three Walla Walla families,
the Pellets, the McKibbens and the Goffs-has been coaxing its wines toward
elegance thanks to the work of its primary growers and its winemaker, JeanFrançois Pellet.
From the Ground Up: Pepper Bridge Winery works with two vineyards
that supported much of Walla Walla's Bordeaux variety production
for decades: Pepper Bridge Vineyard, established in 1991, and Seven
Hills, where the oldest blocks were planted in 1981. As these vineyards have matured, the viticulture teams have been working to add
nutrients and water-holding capacity to the fine silt and loess-based
soils. Winemaker Jean-François Pellet feels that compost has made
the vines more resilient in the face of ever-warmer vintages, and the
wines have improved as a result. His impression squares up with our
own tastings: Once notably gripping and tannic, Pepper Bridge wines
are now more vibrant, acid-driven and nimble.
The Pepper Bridge (Vineyard) Makeover: The brand's Pepper Bridge
Vineyard blend has always been compact in structure, needing years
of bottle age or, at minimum, vigorous decanting. In 2013, the pleasures are no longer delayed. Malbec provides the aromatics in violet
spice, cabernet a hint of tannic brawn, but merlot (50 percent of the blend) is what seems to account for the wine's
overall supple texture and red-fruited elegance, handling
a warm vintage with vitality and charm.
One Octave Lower: Partner Norm McKibben has been at
the forefront of vineyard development in Walla Walla
for two decades, and his winery is naturally first in
line for new fruit sources. Octave, planted in 2007,
is playing an increasing role in the winery's blends.
Located above Seven Hills, the site's fruit character is defined by the wind that whips over the vineyard's shallow, basalt-studded soils. While the 2013
Walla Walla Cabernet is mostly from Pepper Bridge
and Seven Hills, it seems to have a structural element
that's different from the usual rich fruit of those two
sites-a firm, thick-skinned grip that one might connect to the Octave fruit in the blend. -P.J.C.

TOP-SCORING WINES

XX '13
93
'XX Rutherford
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx
C.C. Ranch
Xxxxx
Cabernet
$XX (XX/XX)
Sauvignon $110 (10/16)

XX '13
93
'XX Walla
Xxxxxxxx
Walla
Xxxxxxx
Valley Xxxxx
Cabernet
$XXSauvignon
(XX/XX) $60 (10/16)

XX '13
93
'XX Oakville
XxxxxxxxMartin
Xxxxxxx
Stelling
XxxxxVyd.
$XXCab.
(XX/XX)
Sauvignon $160 (10/16)

XX '12
91
'XX Walla
Xxxxxxxx
Walla
Xxxxxxx
Valley Xxxxx
Cabernet
$XXSauvignon
(XX/XX) $60 (4/16)

XX '13
92
'XX St.
Xxxxxxxx
HelenaXxxxxxx
DragonflXxxxx
y Vyd.$XX
Cabernet
(XX/XX)Sauvignon $130 (10/16)

XX '13
91
'XX Walla
Xxxxxxxx
Walla
Xxxxxxx
Valley Xxxxx
Pepper$XX
Bridge
(XX/XX)
Vineyard $60 (10/16)

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2017

http://www.nickelandnickel.com http://www.pepperbridgevineyards.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2016