Blackbird Vineyards Tasting – One Of A Kind

Blackbird Vineyards was the second stop on my first day of touring wineries in Napa Valley.  I visited in August when morning temperatures send you scrambling for a sweater, but by mid-morning you find yourself stripping it off.  As I arrived at Blackbird the sun was beaming warm and bright and the coolness of the open air barn was a welcome respite.  My oldest daughter LuLu, surprised me and arranged for this tasting as she is a member of Blackbird. She knows I am always on the lookout for small boutique wineries who offer interesting locations and tastings.  I am so pleased she did!

Also accompanying me was my friend Vickie, who writes The Wrangling Woman, a blog solely devoted to wine! Little did Matthew, our gracious host, know what he was in for with the three of us, all decked out and looking like triplets in our stripes!  Looks like we all received the dress-code  memo!

Blackbird, a former walnut orchard first planted with 5, 717 Merlot vines in 1997 is now considered an ultra superior label in its own right. Fittingly, the word ‘Merlot’ is French patois for ‘little blackbird’,  and you’ll notice them sailing across the labels. Ever since the inaugural release of the 2003 Merlot was awarded 98 points by Vinfolio, the winemaking team has been handcrafting exquisite wines, focusing on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Matthew met each of us with a lovely glass of chilled Dissonance, a cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, perfect for this warm August day.  Exuding aromas of crisp green apple, ripe stone fruit, citrus and acacia flower, I called it bright and spirited.  As part of the Bespoke Collection, Blackbird offers a curated selection of boutique wines and one-of-a-kind objets d’art, which we surveyed as we sipped our refreshing white wine.

Inside the shade of the barn we found a splendid setting for wine tasting.  Tasting at Blackbird is an immersion in art, wine and on this day some great music!  Can you guess which Beatles song is on the playlist?

All of the wines we tasted were poured from rock star vintage 2013 bottles.  After taking our seats at the extensive table we began with a taste of Arise, a classic Napa blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Richly layered with licorice, pipe tobacco, cherry and fig it yields a soft texture that can only come from exceptional fruit.  I remember deciphering luscious coffee as I tasted this ruby colored Merlot.  We all gave it high marks but knew we had a few more to taste. In the photo below you may notice the first, amber colored bottle shows the birds differently than the others.  Any idea why?

I won’t keep you guessing….the label of the Merlot has the birds sitting on various wires which on a musical scale would sound out the Beatles song, Blackbird singing in the dead of night!  Cool – yes?

Next in line was a wine named Illustration, a finely crafted Merlot that challenges the belief that Cabernet Sauvignon is the only age-worthy red wine in Napa.  Winemaker Aaron Plott notes that this wine is themes decadent of all the Blackbird offerings.  Aromas of dark fruits, chocolate, flowers, and licorice beckon a taste.  Illustration typifies the core of Blackbird wines.

Ready to taste what we anticipated to be next to last in the line up, Paramour melds Merlot and Cab Franc into a sensuous chemistry, with flavors of dark cherry, iron and herbs. An elegant wine destined to be enjoyed over the next decade or so.

We have now arrived at our last glass, Contrarian.  Only 40 barrels of this aromatic, elegant blend, now bottled will age thru the year 2029.  I’ll still be around enjoying a glass of wine then – I hope! I can tell you I enjoyed this wine on this day, so much so that I planned on purchasing a bottle to bring back to North Carolina, that is until Matthew surprised us with a taste of the Blackmail Cabernet Sauvignon.  Blackmail, first of all I love the name!  Only 2 barrels of this wine were made – how could I pass up the intenseness of this bold Cab with black fruits, floral notes and black truffle flavors?  I couldn’t!

As we enjoyed this surprise pour we made our way around the barn once again, out into the vineyards and into the farmhouse to pour over more of the art offered at Blackbird.  The Blackbird experience is one of a kind.  Next time you’re in Napa I urge you to stop by the tasting room on Main Street in downtown Napa.  Walk-in’s are welcome but Reservations  offer you a better chance of tasting these amazing wines.