Not only is Spring Mountain Vineyards one of the most beautiful wine estates in Napa Valley (and California), it’s also a very reliable source of high end but moderate priced wines. The more than 340 hectares large estate climbs from 120 meters of altitude at the foot of Spring Mountain, just next to the town of St Helena, up to 480 meters, and the total planted surface is 91 hectares, divided into 132 different vineyard blocks, some of them on steep, terraced slopes.
A handful wines are made here, a very good, refreshing wine of Sauvignon Blanc with a splash of Sémillon, a surprisingly good Pinot Noir (!), two wines of Syrah and two wines of Cabernet Sauvignon (predominately). It’s the cabernets that are the star of the show. They both offer just everything one can wish for in a mountainside wine. There is density, power, depth, structure, minerality, freshness, finesse and elegance, and, which I see as a great thing, longevity.
The estate itself is old, at least parts of it, but the greatness is of more recent time. It’s owned by Swiss business man Jacob Safra, who bought it bit by bit from 1992 and onwards. I liked the wines already in the late 1990s, but the breakthrough came with the new winemaker Jac Cole in 2003 (all though David Ramey made their 2001 and 2002 vintages), and since then a great deal of the vineyards has been replanted.
The wines are made in a classic way, small stainless steel tank fermented with 15 days of skin contact, then transferred into French oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing. Just in time for the 2011 vintage, eight brand new Taransaud oak fermenters were installed in the cave, so I think we can see even more perfection in the wines in the vintages to come.
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon/ 92-93 p
This is an absolutely pure and lovely expression of the terroir of Spring Mountain! The cuvée this year is 97 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and just three percent of Cabernet Franc, and it was raised in 50 percent new French oak barrel for nearly two years. Although very young, it’s already quite complex, the dark and deeply concentrated but yet so elegant nose is not all about fruit (dark cherries and black currants), there’s also lovely notes of cedar, lead, gravel and minerality. On the palate, it’s rich, or rather intense, with a good density without being full bodied or fruit driven. The tannins are marked, but not aggressive, and they are backed up by a good acidity and a vital minerality that tickle the tongue. The alcohol is well balanced, there’s just a slightly warm touch in the end of the finish. It many sense, this is a very classic wine that will turn into what’s normally is described as Bordeaux like, but with a richer fruit.
I really enjoyed the 2005 vintage, but that’s a big and very tight one that still needs a lot of air before serving it. The 2007 vintage is a step up in elegance and complexity, so I prefer it. If opened young, you should decant it at least one hour before drinking it.
Drink it 2013-2027
2007 Elivette / 93-94 p
The Elivette is the finest and most intense selection here, it also priced higher, 125 dollar compared to 75 dollars for the regular cuvée. In this vintage, the cuvée of this top selection from Spring Mountain Vineyards consists of 84 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 12 percent of Cabernet Franc and four percent of Petit Verdot. Compared to most reserve wines in Napa Valley, there are no differences in the vinification, it’s the same type of fermentation and ageing in oak, it’s just a pure vineyard lot and barrel selection. The wines is quite a bit more intense, the concentration is more obvious, which adds the sensation of being a more silky and less structured wine, which is not the case. It’s just more of the good stuff to balance and in some way also coat the tannins. I’d give this wine even more air if serving it today, but I’d rather keep it a few more years from now. Drink it 2013-2027
Все явления отеков (в результате чрезмерной аккумуляции жидкости в тканях) когда-то считались потенциально угрожающими. В настоящее время врачи считают, что немногие отеки связаны с нормальным и необходимым (обязательным) ростом жидкости в организме во время беременности. Определенные отеки нижних конечностей без сопутствующих явлений; свидетельствующих о возникновении состояния предэкслампсии (см. ниже), считаются вполне нормальными.
Действительно, у 75 % женщин в период беременности развиваются такие отеки. Это особенно заметно в конце дня или после определенного периода стояния или сидения. Обычно они исчезают среди ночи, после нескольких часов, проведенных лежа.
Отеки приносят мелкие неприятности. Для того чтобы их уменьшить, когда ты садишься, старайся, чтобы ноги были выше, или ложись (преимущественно на левый бок), когда у тебя появляется такая возможность. Носи удобные сапоги или туфли. Избегай носков или чулок с резинкой вверху.
Если отеки приносят тебе большие неудобства, избегай стягивающих колготок. Есть несколько типов колготок, предназначенных для беременных (с большим допуском вверху), а лучше всего проконсультируйся с врачом и попроси каких-нибудь рекомендаций специально для себя. Покупая, выбирай размер, основываясь на своем весе до беременности. Стягивающие колготки одевай утром, когда еще нет отеков.
Помоги своему организму в устранении вредных веществ, выпивая не менее 8-10 250 граммовых стаканов жидкости в день. Звучит это парадоксально, но выпивание 4,5 литров воды ежедневно помогает многим женщинам избежать скопления чрезмерного количества жидкости в организме. Но не пей больше чем 2 стакана сразу и не наполняй стаканы доверху, чтобы осталось место еще для II других компонентов твоей диеты. Хотя в настоящее время не считается, что необходимо ограничивать соль во время правильной беременности (можно ограничить ер употребление женщинами с высоким давлением), однако ее излишек может увеличить задержание жидкости в организме.
Если твои руки и/или лицо стали отечными или отек удерживается дольше 24 часов, сообщи об этом своему врачу. (Такие отеки могут ничего не обозначать, но если они сопровождаются внезапным увеличением твоего веса, высоким давлением и если появляется белок в моче, это может сигнализировать о состоянии предэкслампсии - высокое давление, вызванное чрезмерной массой тела).
Peter Michael Winery now produces four pinots, with Le Moulin Rouge of fruit bought from the Pisoni Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands, as the first made (1997). The demand for pinots was one reason for them to add a few more pinots to the program, but the main reason was of course the love of Pinot Noir as a grape variety. In 2007 they started to buy grapes from the Reuling Vineyard close to Forestville in Russian River Valley (which is also classified as Sonoma Coast fruit). In this second vintage, the grapes are also sourced from that vineyard, but from 2009 they will only use fruit from their estate Seaview Vineyard far out in Sonoma Coast. With 2009 vintage, another two pinots was added to the wine list, the Clos du Ciel from the southernmost block in the vineyard with the least coastal climatic influence, and the Ma Danseuse, from the coldest block in the same vineyard.
All these wines are made in the same way, with totally destemmed grapes, four to five days of cold soak and then fermented with the indigenous yeast in small open top fermenters of stainless steel. During the fermentation and post maceration, pigeage is utilized twice a day. The wine is then transferred into 228 liter French oak barrels from Damy and Louis Latour, around 50 percent new, for malolactic fermentation and elevage during 15 months. Alcohol levels are around 14.0 to 14.5 percent.
2008 Le Caprice / 91 p
As always with the pinots from Peter Michael Winery, this one has a quite deep cherry red color with nuances of purple, but with a slightly paler rim. On the nose, it offers a youthful, pure and intense fruit aroma, quite ripe, still fresh and lively. At first it's a bit closed, but with just 5-10 minutes in the glass, it starts to open up. However, it doesn't have the finest and most seductive notes, and no floral qualities, this is much more about sweet cherries and ripe wild raspberries, and it's delicious. Even though winemaker Nick Morlet uses 50 percent new French oak for the elevage, the oak is very well integrated, almost totally absorbed by the fruit. However, I find a slight trace of smokiness on the nose, but by no means at a level that substantially impaired the scent. I'm quite convinced that it derives from the smoke from the bush fires that haunted the Mendocino wine growers during some weeks in August. The smoke was pushed out to the sea from southern Mendocino, but was sucked back into the coastline of Sonoma. In some coastal vineyards, one may find small traces of smoke taint, and I guess this is what I find here. On the palate, it's medium bodied, lively and fresh and of course fruit forward and almost sweetish. Tannins are fine, ripe and silky, alcohol notable but not too strong. Again, the oak stands in the shadow of the fruit, and there's just a small spiciness from it that adds some complexity. At this stage, I find the wine to be too young to really show complexity, at least the finish is quite closed. It didn't really open up in the glass during the 30 minutes I had it, and even though it's a lovely and quite charming, but quite rich wine, it doesn't have the fragrance of a great pinot. I'd keep it for a year or two, and serve it at 15 degrees Celsius. Drink it 2013-2018
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