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More the reason for multiple visits, I say, but also necessary to provide as complete a report as your humble correspondent could. The room is warmly furnished with a few tables and chairs set up front, and one is greeted with a long, expansive bar spanning the length of the room to your left, and huddled up against the wall to your right, all the wine offerings available for retail. The store is decorated with revolving art exhibits, as Piziali promotes not only the local art scene, but also several philanthropic organizations, including Kids With Cameras.org.
Unlike the previously reviewed collective tasting venues, Tasting on Main actually presents wines from producers who have open tasting rooms, although most are appointment-only. So while this is not as exclusive a presentation as one might think, it in no way diminishes the effectiveness and quality of its offerings. Instead of the time-consuming endeavor of making a dozen appointments and driving hither all over the valley, a single stop presents small, quality producers in a quiet setting with more one-on-one service. For the past 35 years, Robert Kelham has farmed a 61-acre vineyard in the Oakville appellation, usually selling grapes to the likes of Duckhorn and Cakebread. It was only after beginning construction on their own facility in 1997 that Robert, along with wife Susanna, and winemaker sons Hamilton and Ronald, began to make their own wine, starting off with only a Cabernet Reserve. Now there is also another Cabernet, a Merlot, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a soon-to-be released Chardonnay.
2002 Kelham Sauvignon Blanc – From the Oakville appellation: Produced from 33-year-old dry-farmed vines, this wine presented bright tropical aromas and an elegant grapefruit which didn’t prepare me for the creamier entry and floral mid-palate. A tease of tangerine titillated. $22.50 2000 Kelham Cabernet Sauvignon – Surprising herbal blueberry bouquet. Soft, silky mouth with a bright, layered fruit that includes cherry and cassis but does not prepare for the blackberry finish, coupled with a hint of chocolate. Velvety and elegant. $45.00 Another relative newbie to the winemaking world, Richard Partridge just opened his winery in 1998 and produces only vineyard-specific Chardonnay and Cabernet offerings. With Bob Egelhoff as their winemaker, one can easily predict a great future as Egelhoff is well known in the valley for his work with David Arthur, Amizetta, and Axios. With Egelhoff’s skill with Chardonnay, I was pleased that Piziali had the Partridge Chardonnay available for tasting, as just over 300 cases are produced, a considerably smaller amount than the 1,000 cases of Cabernet produced by Richard Partridge. 2003 Richard Partridge Chardonnay – Pale, golden color with a bounty of tropical fruit aromas which give way to citrus overtones of lemon and grapefruit. Dry entry and tart finish makes for an invigorating wine. $36.00 After making wine for the likes of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, St. Supery, and Guenoc, Bob Broman launched his own wine label in 1994, acquiring his grapes from some of the best sources the valley has, such as Beckstoffer and Nord, and producing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Being so intrigued with the Broman offerings, I contacted them in hopes of tasting their entire line-up. They are in the process of obtaining the necessary use permits so that they can start constructing their own winery on Deer Park Road. I do believe this is a winery to keep an eye on as I project great things in the future. 2002 Broman Cellars Sauvignon Blanc – Fermented in small bins of stainless steel, this wine saw no oak but surprised me with some rustic, creamy aromas. Pleased that there was not the traditional grassy bouquet, I was instead tantalized with gooseberry. The tangy entry was almost not there, but expanded into an explosive citrus with a bright, clean finish. $16.00.
Here lies a very interesting story… As a winery, Robert Keenan is an old stalwart, having been around since the early 1970s. Focusing on the three biggies (Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Merlot), he established a name for himself, yet I had heard stories that there was a general drop in quality in the 1990s. However, quality is more than on the upswing; I believe it has made a full rebound, quite possibly because of the skill of Nils Venge, consulting winemaker. 2002 Robert Keenan Chardonnay – Concentrated, with opulent pear aromas which just barely hide a hint of herbs; the first creamy taste balances with a perfect acidic mid-palate. The lack of any malolactic fermentation helps provide a zesty, exciting finish. $22.00. 2001 Robert Keenan Merlot – Dark ruby in color with a rapturous jammy nose. The darkness continues with hedonistic berries on entry and exotic spices tease and taunt with fabulous balance that keeps going. This wine is downright erotic. $29.00. Miura A bit of an enigma, the name “Miura” is actually a certain breed of bull used in Spanish bull fighting. So beloved is this breed, that Emmanuel Kemiji put the image on the back of his wine bottle. But the mystery continues with Kemiji himself. Internet investigations reveal that he is part owner of restaurant Gary Danko and a master sommelier. I was able to learn that Kemiji began producing wines in 1995 on the side. By 1999, he gave up his job as the Wine Director of the Ritz Carlton to continue producing wines under the Miura name, but with a business address in San Francisco, limited amounts of his wine are getting to stores such as this one. 2001 Miura Gary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – Stupendously rich nose. Deep plum with layers of cinnamon and clove beneath the soft fruit. A silky, soft entry blossoms and fills out, continuing into an even finish that is long, deep, and unabashedly supple. Sex in a glass. $52.50.
Nils Venge has quite a reputation in both the Napa valley and in the wine world in general. Besides the aforementioned Keenan, he is also the consulting winemaker at Plumpjack. Nils was also instrumental in the establishment Saddleback Cellars, but it was with his son, Kirk, that the family name finally ended up on a label of its own. His renown came while working at Groth where he became the first American winemaker to receive an illusive 100 points from noted wine critic Robert Parker for his 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. 2001 Venge Sangiovese – The first impression faked me out a bit with a Cabernet-like blackberry nose. I adored the astonishingly rich entry, which after much swishing, finally shows the characteristic of the varietal with some tight acidity. There was an underlying minerality which fills out, produces intense balanced flavors, and culminates in a spicy finish. $30.00. The Reynolds Family Winery lies on the Silverado Trail at the foot of the Stags Leap District appellation. The winery is known for ‘hand-made’ under many guises – from the dried, pressed flowers on handcrafted paper labels, to creating wine in small, manually punched-down bins (versus the classic pump-over method). This method of hand punch-downs is usually reserved for Pinot Noir, but is a practice on the rise for Cabernet Sauvignon. 2001 Reynolds Family Persistence – A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Hefty and chewy, the Syrah immediately asserted itself in the dark fruit bouquet. More dark berries coupled with a hint of chocolate produced an even and balanced wine with a velvety finish. $48.00. 2001 Reynolds Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Very dark garnet color, a broad wine with all the classic dark notes; blackberry, cherry, cocoa, tobacco, and oak. A nose that keeps going does not belie the great fruit-forward entry, which wanes a bit on the finish, demonstrating some cedar on the end. $45.00. In all, Tasting on Main will be a collective venue to keep one’s eye on. There are some exceptional, hard-to-find wines available and I believe Robert Piziali has the youth and exuberance to take this from a small, little-known establishment to a large, well-respected force in the St. Helena wine community. Previously from Carolyn Tillie: Cal Co-op Tasting Rooms: Vintners Collective CAROLYN TILLIE'S HOME PAGE AND MAIN INDEX © Carolyn Tillie - 2005 |
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© Carolyn Tillie
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Robert
Piziali (left) is young and energetic. Only last October, he was a
Gen-X’r Internet producer/venture capitalist, but with the crash of
dot-com industry, he looked for something else to entice him. Being an
avid wine lover, he could think of no better endeavor and thus,
One
of the recent art exhibits at Tasting on Main came directly from the
Kelham’s close affiliation with the great contemporary French
artist, Gerard Puvis, who creates
‘sculptures’ out of the wine foils from the necks of bottles. The themes
in Puvis’ artwork include dancing, celebratory figures who revel in
their bacchic joys or culinary excesses. The Kelhams commissioned Puvis
to create a new label for them which will only be available on limited
lots of 2002 Chardonnay and 2001 Cabernet. While the exhibit had just
been taken down from Tasting on Main’s walls, Piziali pulled out several
of the original pieces for me and I regret that I did not get an
opportunity to view all of them in person. Truly astonishing, I was
intrigued to learn from the Kelhams’ website that original prints will
be made available through them exclusively. Or I could just buy one of
the bottles with the labels on… 
