Visitations & Snapshots - Sullivan Vineyards

We get all manner of winemakers, winery owners, national sales managers and regional reps stopping in fairly regularly to sample their wines with us in the hopes that we’ll have something nice to say about them and maybe sell some cases in the process.  It’s very rare indeed that we taste anything truly awful, so these visits are usually quite enjoyable experiences, although we really should start keeping some good cheese and crackers on hand for such occasions.  Still, we manage to get a pretty good read on most of what we try, even if our notes aren’t always full of flowery descriptors, and these are what are usually referred to by wine geeks as “snapshots.”  Our first in a series of reports on such concerns a recent visit we received from Sean Sullivan, General Manager and CEO of Sullivan Vineyards, located in Rutherford, California, smack dab in the dusty heart of Napa Valley.    

The quick story of Sullivan Vineyards is this: Sean’s father and mother, Jim (a successful graphic designer) and JoAnna Sullivan purchased property in Rutherford with the specific intent to make wine, and their first vintage was their 1981 BIG RED.  From that point, the wines continued to improve and gain more notice, earning accolades from the likes of the Wine Spectator (“…one of the top 50 wineries in the world…”), the Wall Street Journal (“...one of the top five wineries to visit in the Napa Valley…”) and yes, even the grand poobah himself, Robert Parker.  Philippe Langner makes the wines in collaboration with the Sullivan family, and while we didn’t get to spend a lot of time getting to know them, we very much liked what we tasted and had a very pleasant time chatting with Sean. (For a fleshed out picture of Sullivan Vineyards, visit the “Winery” page on their website.) 

Here’s what we tasted:

2004 Sullivan Vineyards Red Ink Napa Red Wine, 60% Merlot, 23% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.6% alc., $19.91: Exudes a pretty red fruit nose, with a perfect kiss of oak (it has to be perfect, or I’d be less than inclined to like it); well structured, yet accessible and quite attractive.

2004 Sullivan Vineyards Napa Merlot Rutherford Estate, 15.1% alc., $41.23: Deep, dark red and black fruit, with a subtle note of mahogany; very well structured, with good aging potential.  Sean rightly described this as “a Cab drinker’s Merlot.”

2004 Sullivan Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Estate, 14.2% alc., $49.91: Showing a lovely nose of black currant and mahogany, with deep flavors to match; very well structured, with a beautiful future ahead of it, yet already drinking very well.  Aged in 90% French oak, 50% new, with the remainder 2^nd and 3^rd year.  The “mahogany” character was consistent through the last three wines noted here, making a very nice style statement that I find particularly attractive.

2004 Sullivan Vineyards Napa Coeur de Vigne Rutherford, 49% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 15% alc., $80.91: What impresses me most about this wine is its beautifully refined character, which made it stand out from the previous three wines, as fine as they obviously are.  Very well structured, yet so well balanced, this is pure sex in a glass.

This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to try these wines and we like them a lot.  We recommend them without hesitation, not just in our capacities as retailers, but as serious wine lovers as well.  They exemplify the best that Napa Valley has to offer, with the emphasis on balance and classic fruit character, rather than excess ripeness and too much oak.  Now that they’re flying on our radar, we’ll be watching Sullivan Vineyards a lot more closely in the months and years to come.

Cheers,

The Winebuys Guy

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