Barrel Tasting at Vincent Arroyo, Calistoga

Since I only had a couple of hours, my first stop was at the Vincent Arroyo Winery, a highly respected winery North of Calistoga, only a few miles from the Lake County line.  The winery was very low-key; tastings are in the barrel barn, on boards set up across the barrels.

So, once I showed that I liked and knew wine, Vincent asked his assistant to take me on a tasting tour of what was in the barrels, instead of just the three wines they had bottled.  She gave me tastes of a whole variety.

Now, Vincent Arroyo is one of a new class of boutique wineries who sell mostly futures (that is, wine bought while in the barrel) to subscribers instead of having any wide distribution in bottles.  For people like me, who value being able to give bottles of wine the recipient couldn't buy otherwise, it's a good concept, and it also saves the winery from paying a lot for climate-controlled storage.  Also, I find such wineries tend to be more distinctive than the larger ones, while being reasonably priced.

For those of you who have never done them before, here's how barrel tastings and futures work.  You go to the winery and they give you tastes out of the barrels using a glass tube. You taste the unfinished wine, which usually has 6 to 9 months left in the barrels to age, and try to imagine what it will taste like when finished and in the bottle.  Then you buy some "futures" by the case, which means bottles which will be shipped to you 6 to 10 months later, paying half immediately and half on shipping.  Normally I buy futures from David Coffaro in Sonoma, but I was impressed enough with Vincent Arroyo's wines to buy a mixed case.

Here's my comments on the wines I tasted:

• 2007 "Melange" Reserve: an excellent blend and a good, somewhat high-alcohol, table wine.  Excellent with food.  Also only $17.  I bought 7 futures.
• 2007 Sangiovese: lacked depth, and more importantly lacked the lactic acid booziness which indicates further development in the barrel.   Not recommended.
• 2007 Merlot: somewhat dry and acidic for a California Merlot, so more in the French style.  However, not a great deal of body, and probably won't age that well.  Bought one future.
• 2006 Petit Sirah Winemaker's Reserve: aged for three years in the barrel, this is a truly great wine.  So much depth and character I'd recommend drinking it by itself, without food as it would overwhelm most dishes.  Bought two futures, since it's rather expensive ($45).
• 2007 Port: typically of most California "ports", fortified with neutral spirits and only barrelled for 1 year.  Really more of a fortified wine than a port, but fine with a rich dessert.  Bought 1 future.

Oh, also Vincent Arroyo is known for inventing the Barrel-Rack Clamp to give the stacks of barrels more stability.  He did this because a collapsing rack of barrels put him in the hospital for 3 months a few years ago.