The barrel tasting at Auction Napa Valley, hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners, is a special opportunity to taste many remarkable wines, all while supporting many great charitable organizations. Last week, I wrote about the auction and promised to follow-up with a post about some of the specific wines. Here we go…

Each of the participating wineries donates 10 cases of wine — one for each of the 10 highest bidders on this day, for delivery in the future. There are 100 barrels to taste from and make a bid on for a case (12 bottles). The proceeds from the barrel auction go to charities in Napa Valley.

“100 barrels,” you say. “How can one taste all that in only four hours?” There is no doubt about it, in this setting, it is important to spit so as to not be affected by the alcohol. You can imagine that, after the sixth barrel (or so), everything would taste very similar and make it difficult to discern what is especially pleasing to your palate. In addition, it is very helpful to plan strategically what wines to taste. Previous to the event, I had mapped out wines that were favorites and many new ones to explore based on reputation, AVA, winemaker, and/or availability to taste. (Some of the offered wines do not have tasting rooms and may be highly allocated, so the auction provides a nice opportunity to try these). I had a list of 20+ identified wines and executed the plan flawlessly. 🙂

The predominate varietal being tasted was cabernet, and the predominate vintage was 2012. As you will recall, this was said to be one of the best growing years in recent history – producing quality crops and abundant yields. This made the challenge even bigger to really identify what to bid on – there was too much great wine to choose from. Keep in mind, there is also no guarantee that your bid will remain on the board. You have to monitor your bids as the event comes to a close to ensure you get a case, if that is what you want.

Luckily for me, I bid on three wines and ended up being among the 10 high bidders for all three cases. All will be coming home in the future, but not for a while — the release date for most of the wines at the barrel tasting is fall of 2015.

The first wine I secured is Gallica Cabernet. This is the wine of Rosemary Cakebread, a truly accomplished winemaker (look for a post on this winemaker in the future). The wine had great depth of flavor, big fruit, and loamy tannins which all combined for a soft, round mouth feel. This is an excellent wine to bring home and enjoy for many years to come – seeing how each bottle unfolds as it evolves over time. This is a wine that will age gracefully and provide pleasure with every bottle.

The next wine I secured is O’Shaughnessy Cabernet from Mt Veeder. O’Shaughnessy is crafted by the deft hand of Sean Capiaux. This is big, bold, mountain fruit with big tannins that are round and soft, adding to the structure and complexity of the wine. There were big flavors of blue and black fruit with a hint of clove. This is also a wine that is not readily available and usually highly allocated from the winery. This time, though – it will be resting quietly in my cellar – there at my beck and call.

Lastly, I was a successful bidder for a case of Mi Sueño, made by owner and winemaker Rolando Herrera. The name translates to “My Dream.” This is a rich wine with black cherry and black currant flavors along with toast notes. It has a big mouth feel and coats the palate with big, seductive fruit. Again, this is an excellent wine that will age and yield different nuances over time.

I am excited for all three wines to grace my cellar. Please be on the look-out for all of these wines coming to a store near you.

Enjoy!