By Leslie Sbrocco–
Visiting Napa Valley is one of the pleasures of living in the Bay Area. The famous wine-growing region is home to more than 400 wineries and tasting rooms. One that has been a standout since its founding more than 40 years ago is Chimney Rock, located in the noted Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. I recently had a chance to taste their wine lineup and visit with winemaker Elizabeth Vianna.
Elizabeth ranks as one of Napa and California’s best winemakers devoted to crafting world-class wines from Bordeaux grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc. Her story of discovering wine reads like a book. She was a pre-med student at Vassar studying biology. After working in a New York hospital lab her intention was to attend medical school. That all changed after she tasted a magnificent Bordeaux. With a serious pivot, she left the medical field to head to California and get her master’s degree in enology at U.C. Davis.
Since then, she’s worked with star winemakers like Heidi Barrett and Celia Welch and has become a superstar herself. She joined Chimney Rock in 2002 and moved from Assistant Winemaker to Head Winemaker in 2005 and is now the winery’s General Manager, too. As she says, “Watching these vines year after year is the greatest gift.”
Chimney Rock was founded in 1980 by Hack and Stella Wilson. He was an American but lived in South Africa and was enamored with Cape Dutch architecture. The couple brought that love to life when they built the property in the same style in the early 1990s. Since 2004, the winery has been in the hands of the Terlato family, whose commitment to Chimney Rock is to showcase the quality of these exceptional wines. With a picturesque tasting room and multiple tasting and vineyard experience options, it’s one of Napa’s top spots to visit.
Wines to Try
The splurge-worthy wines of Chimney Rock express their birthplace with style. The Stags Leap District is tucked alongside Napa Valley’s eastern Vaca mountain range. The rocky outcroppings of the range, called the Palisades, help define Chimney Rock’s wines. As Vianna remarks, “With well drained volcanic soil, the Stags Leap District is the trifecta of geology, climate, and geography.”
Its unique location helps ripen the grapes with sunny days deepening each wine’s concentration. Coolness from the nearby San Pablo Bay, though, rolls in at night to keep the acidity in the grapes, making for the perfect balance of ripeness and brightness.
2016 Chimney Rock “Elevage Blanc” Napa Valley, California $50
An aged white wine that is the epitome of class in a glass. Rich and full-bodied, this ageworthy white opens with aromas of ripe apple and pear with a citrusy ping. In the mouth, it sports hints of vanilla, toast, and lemon cream. A Bordeaux-style blend that pays homage to the great whites of this famed French region, the Elevage Blanc is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and its lesser-known, copper-skinned relative, Sauvignon Gris. This is a beautiful, thought-provoking white to seek out.
2019 Chimney Rock “Elevage” Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California $110
When elegance meets intensity, you get a stunning red blend dubbed Elevage. An ideal marriage of structured Cabernet Sauvignon with supple Merlot and aromatic Petit Verdot, it has aromas of dark fruit, rose petals, and cocoa. Aged in Burgundy barrels, the red blend serves up polished tannins and succulent layers of fruit and spice. It’s a complex wine to put in your cellar or uncork tonight alongside a seared steak with blue cheese melted on top.
2019 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California $100
Combining grapes grown throughout the estate vineyards, this Cabernet is the winery’s flagship bottling. It captures the essence of the Stags Leap District, which is all about the balance of grace and power. Deep in color with luscious dark fruit aromas and palate-pleasing plushness underscored with vibrant freshness, this classic Cabernet Sauvignon is one of California’s best.
If you visit, I recommend the Vineyard Odyssey Tour where they offer a ride through the vineyards and a tasting of their distinctive single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons. Each one reflects the parcel of land where the vines are planted. For example, the 2018 Chimney Rock “Clone 7” Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a plot closest to the Palisades, which gives it savory elegance with a deep velvety texture. Compare that to the 2018 Chimney Rock “Ganymede Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, which is named for the winery’s signature fresco of this cupbearer to the Gods. The wine comes from the northernmost parcel of vineyards planted on the valley floor. It’s a lush and layered Cabernet Sauvignon with dark berry fruit notes and a sleek mouthfeel.
Author, speaker, wine consultant, and television host Leslie Sbrocco is known for her entertaining approach to wine and food. She has won multiple Emmy Awards for her work on PBS, which includes hosting the series “Check, Please! Bay Area” and “100 Days, Drinks, Dishes & Destinations.”
Published on September 9, 2021
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