Crocker & Starr Wines, Organically Elegant
A historic vineyard, a chance encounter, and a shared vision of the wine that could be, Crocker & Starr of Napa Valley is celebrating 20 years of harvests in 2016. An artisan, small production, all estate wine portfolio reflects the excellent soils of the property. You’ll find the five Bordeaux varietals here, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, in addition to Sauvignon Blanc. Winemaker and co-owner Pam Starr shared her wines and her journey with wine writers over lunch at AOC in Los Angeles.
What started as a field trip and scouting expedition for Pam Starr, almost 20 years ago, led to a vineyard discovery that forged a partnership. In 1997, Starr, with a soil map in hand, found herself at the Crocker Vineyard in Napa Valley. A self-proclaimed “dirt connoisseur”, Starr, winemaker for Spottswoode Winery, recognized this St. Helena vineyard had the right stuff. After all, wine grapes had been grown on the property since 1872, under the Dowdell & Sons Winery, which produced brandy, wine, and hops in its heyday. Fast forward to 1971, when San Francisco businessman Charlie Crocker bought the estate and set about returning the property from fruit and nuts to wine grapes. Crocker loved Bordeaux wines, and replanted the estate with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Tinkering with winemaking and vineyard development for other wineries, Crocker recognized a kindred spirit in Starr at a fateful meeting two weeks after her field trip. Anxious to spread her wings across Napa’s winery landscape, Starr was enamored with a Cabernet Franc vineyard within Crocker’s estate, which sealed the deal, and their partnership was born.
Crocker & Starr has woven a tapestry of success, Crocker’s grapes with Starr’s winemaking expertise. Much has been done to improve the soils, with organic and sustainable farming practices at the top of the list, incorporating wildflowers that attract beneficial insects, bees, and lady bugs to keep the vines healthy. All vineyard work is done by hand, including harvest, which is done at night, to protect the berries from heat. Gentle vinification methods are used, with various techniques depending on the vintage. For Crocker & Starr, this is Old World winemaking with New World fruit. Released three years after the vintage year, the rich and dense red wines reflect the sense of place and care they receive.
Sauvignon Blanc was a late add to the roster of Bordeaux grape varietals grown on this 85 acre vineyard. Planted in 1998 on four sites from cooler lower valley and warmer upper valley vineyards, Starr has had great success with the wine, with the 2004 vintage coming in at #12 of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2006. Starr notes, “A lot of people have tried to copy the Crocker & Starr style of Sauvignon Blanc”. What she describes as “my guava limeade pure version of Sauvignon Blanc” has brought many “anti-Sauvignon Blanc people back to the Sauvignon Blanc table.” And although a lot of attention has been given to this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Starr says, “I don’t think anyone’s ever going to get famous on Sauvignon Blanc, but I believe we can bring fame to the grape by bringing great, delicious wine to the table.” The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is juicy and ripe, with tropical fruit aromas of guava and mango, pear, and lemon peel, refreshing in its acidity and minerality, it finishes long and round.
The grape varietal that really captured her heart is Cabernet Franc. Tasting Bordeaux barrel samples in the early 1980’s, Starr marveled at how delicious Cabernet Franc was on its own, and wondered why the Right Bank Chateaux were hiding it in their blends. She came away with a desire to make Cabernet Franc wines at home, and found a chance to fulfill that dream with Crocker. She made a Cabernet Franc that first year in 1997, and continued to improve the wines each year. Tasting through an evolution of vintages, the 2004, 2011, and 2013, you’re struck with how excellent the wine is as a straight varietal, with its powerful aromas of ripe blueberry, violets, and clove and cardamom spice. The 2004 Cabernet Franc, with its savory bouquet, good acidity, and integrated tannins, is a captivating wine, whose earthy notes on an extra long finish is fabulous for those who love a wine with some age on it. The 2011 Cabernet Franc, a challenging vintage across California, slowly reveals its charms. An elegant and complex wine, with aromas of ripe black raspberry, violet and rose flowers, nutmeg spice and tea, it’s powerful, yet lush and velvety. Balanced acidity rounds out the berry compote, cocoa powder, and baking spice flavors, with a nuanced, lingering finish of red fruit, leather, and earth, a really spectacular wine. The 2013 Cabernet Franc, in relation, is a young wine, with raspberry and blackberry fruit, tobacco, and spice. Starr notes that 2013 was “a very luxurious vintage”, a winemaker’s dream where everything goes right, producing textbook quality fruit. Powerful and balanced, this wine will age well for the next decade or two, improving upon its texture and depth in the glass.
“The Casali” 6th Edition 2013, a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc blend, is a fantastic wine, redolent of black plum and exotic spice at first whiff. Dark berry compote, tobacco, and a savory note of beef jerky follow through on the palate, with silky tannins framing the dark chocolate and licorice finish. “The Casali” series of exclusive wine blends are crafted as a thank-you for wine club members. “Casali” is Italian for “farmhouse” but translates to party barn for Crocker & Starr members! The original brandy house on the property has been renovated and annointed “Casali”, or “House of Celebration”, a gathering spot where good friends and great wine come together.
The Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon “Stone Place”, made from 25-year-old vines, is what both partners feel is their crowning achievement. Napa Valley Cabs are renowned world-wide for their elegance, power, and finesse, and this wine provides the holy smokes moment of the tasting. Rich blackberry fruit, with rosemary, vanilla, and dark chocolate accents floating on a sea of smooth and complex tannins, this is a slightly mineral, concentrated wine whose finish resonates for a long time.
Starr is very proud of what she and Crocker have built, noting “I created a winery that has never had a cash infusion and is actually built by the public. My customers have built Crocker & Starr and I owe them a huge thanks.” Every year, Crocker & Starr throw an appreciation party for their Casali Wine Club members. In addition, she encourages people to come visit the estate, to see the magic for themselves. “We’ve created what I call ‘Touch the Vines, Taste the Wines’ so that people can experience why these wines are so distinctive. When you take them to a vineyard, they get to touch a plant, they get to understand how that plant becomes that wine, and you sit them down to a table that’s made from trees that have fallen on the property, and everything is organic. Organically elegant”.
A historic vineyard, a chance encounter, and a shared vision of the wine that could be, Crocker & Starr of Napa Valley is celebrating 20 years of harvests in 2016. An artisan, small production, all estate wine portfolio reflects the excellent soils of the property. You’ll find the five Bordeaux varietals here, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, in addition to Sauvignon Blanc. Winemaker and co-owner Pam Starr shared her wines and her journey with wine writers over lunch at AOC in Los Angeles.
What started as a field trip and scouting expedition for Pam Starr, almost 20 years ago, led to a vineyard discovery that forged a partnership. In 1997, Starr, with a soil map in hand, found herself at the Crocker Vineyard in Napa Valley. A self-proclaimed “dirt connoisseur”, Starr, winemaker for Spottswoode Winery, recognized this St. Helena vineyard had the right stuff. After all, wine grapes had been grown on the property since 1872, under the Dowdell & Sons Winery, which produced brandy, wine, and hops in its heyday. Fast forward to 1971, when San Francisco businessman Charlie Crocker bought the estate and set about returning the property from fruit and nuts to wine grapes. Crocker loved Bordeaux wines, and replanted the estate with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Tinkering with winemaking and vineyard development for other wineries, Crocker recognized a kindred spirit in Starr at a fateful meeting two weeks after her field trip. Anxious to spread her wings across Napa’s winery landscape, Starr was enamored with a Cabernet Franc vineyard within Crocker’s estate, which sealed the deal, and their partnership was born.
Crocker & Starr has woven a tapestry of success, Crocker’s grapes with Starr’s winemaking expertise. Much has been done to improve the soils, with organic and sustainable farming practices at the top of the list, incorporating wildflowers that attract beneficial insects, bees, and lady bugs to keep the vines healthy. All vineyard work is done by hand, including harvest, which is done at night, to protect the berries from heat. Gentle vinification methods are used, with various techniques depending on the vintage. For Crocker & Starr, this is Old World winemaking with New World fruit. Released three years after the vintage year, the rich and dense red wines reflect the sense of place and care they receive.
Sauvignon Blanc was a late add to the roster of Bordeaux grape varietals grown on this 85 acre vineyard. Planted in 1998 on four sites from cooler lower valley and warmer upper valley vineyards, Starr has had great success with the wine, with the 2004 vintage coming in at #12 of Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2006. Starr notes, “A lot of people have tried to copy the Crocker & Starr style of Sauvignon Blanc”. What she describes as “my guava limeade pure version of Sauvignon Blanc” has brought many “anti-Sauvignon Blanc people back to the Sauvignon Blanc table.” And although a lot of attention has been given to this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Starr says, “I don’t think anyone’s ever going to get famous on Sauvignon Blanc, but I believe we can bring fame to the grape by bringing great, delicious wine to the table.” The 2015 Sauvignon Blanc is juicy and ripe, with tropical fruit aromas of guava and mango, pear, and lemon peel, refreshing in its acidity and minerality, it finishes long and round.
The grape varietal that really captured her heart is Cabernet Franc. Tasting Bordeaux barrel samples in the early 1980’s, Starr marveled at how delicious Cabernet Franc was on its own, and wondered why the Right Bank Chateaux were hiding it in their blends. She came away with a desire to make Cabernet Franc wines at home, and found a chance to fulfill that dream with Crocker. She made a Cabernet Franc that first year in 1997, and continued to improve the wines each year. Tasting through an evolution of vintages, the 2004, 2011, and 2013, you’re struck with how excellent the wine is as a straight varietal, with its powerful aromas of ripe blueberry, violets, and clove and cardamom spice. The 2004 Cabernet Franc, with its savory bouquet, good acidity, and integrated tannins, is a captivating wine, whose earthy notes on an extra long finish is fabulous for those who love a wine with some age on it. The 2011 Cabernet Franc, a challenging vintage across California, slowly reveals its charms. An elegant and complex wine, with aromas of ripe black raspberry, violet and rose flowers, nutmeg spice and tea, it’s powerful, yet lush and velvety. Balanced acidity rounds out the berry compote, cocoa powder, and baking spice flavors, with a nuanced, lingering finish of red fruit, leather, and earth, a really spectacular wine. The 2013 Cabernet Franc, in relation, is a young wine, with raspberry and blackberry fruit, tobacco, and spice. Starr notes that 2013 was “a very luxurious vintage”, a winemaker’s dream where everything goes right, producing textbook quality fruit. Powerful and balanced, this wine will age well for the next decade or two, improving upon its texture and depth in the glass.
“The Casali” 6th Edition 2013, a Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc blend, is a fantastic wine, redolent of black plum and exotic spice at first whiff. Dark berry compote, tobacco, and a savory note of beef jerky follow through on the palate, with silky tannins framing the dark chocolate and licorice finish. “The Casali” series of exclusive wine blends are crafted as a thank-you for wine club members. “Casali” is Italian for “farmhouse” but translates to party barn for Crocker & Starr members! The original brandy house on the property has been renovated and annointed “Casali”, or “House of Celebration”, a gathering spot where good friends and great wine come together.
The Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon “Stone Place”, made from 25-year-old vines, is what both partners feel is their crowning achievement. Napa Valley Cabs are renowned world-wide for their elegance, power, and finesse, and this wine provides the holy smokes moment of the tasting. Rich blackberry fruit, with rosemary, vanilla, and dark chocolate accents floating on a sea of smooth and complex tannins, this is a slightly mineral, concentrated wine whose finish resonates for a long time.
Starr is very proud of what she and Crocker have built, noting “I created a winery that has never had a cash infusion and is actually built by the public. My customers have built Crocker & Starr and I owe them a huge thanks.” Every year, Crocker & Starr throw an appreciation party for their Casali Wine Club members. In addition, she encourages people to come visit the estate, to see the magic for themselves. “We’ve created what I call ‘Touch the Vines, Taste the Wines’ so that people can experience why these wines are so distinctive. When you take them to a vineyard, they get to touch a plant, they get to understand how that plant becomes that wine, and you sit them down to a table that’s made from trees that have fallen on the property, and everything is organic. Organically elegant”.
