The day after the Wine Blogger Conference, Thea, Lynn, and I went out to terrorize Napa. No, really, we’re a bit loud and talkative when you get us in a group. I’m sure Christophe regretted agreeing to do a tour and tasting with us at Titus!
We arrived, albeit in the case of Lynn and I, slightly late, just after noon. You wonder how I couldn’t make it to a noon appointment on time? Well, let’s just say the one lane road I took from Healdsburg over to Napa didn’t help much!
I found a bird's nest!
Before we tasted anything, we took a long stroll through the vineyards, tasting the second growth, checking out all the vines, and generally enjoying the lovely weather. Christophe graciously gave us the background of Titus and the family behind it, and discussed the recently completed harvest and crush.
Christophe tells us about Titus
Baby vine!
Next, it was onto the wine! Titus doesn’t have an official tasting room, so we were lucky enough to settle in among the giant rosemary bushes and olive trees to taste at a picnic table just on the side of the vineyard. I love the slow pace of tastings outside a tasting room, and of having the folks who are talking to you about the wine sitting there and tasting right along with you.
2006 Napa Zinfandel: $27. 15% alcohol by volume. Cracked pepper, blackberry, blueberry, tobacco, mint, black cherry, all spice/baking spice, sage, tobacco, licorice, dark chocolate, vanilla, cherry, tart. Very restrained Zin, no pie or jam on this one.
2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon: $41. 14.7% alcohol by volume. Black fruit, leather, red berries, raspberries, vanilla, tannic, anise, blackberries, spicy, earth, smooths out beautifully as you swirl, black cherries, roses, violets, quite fruity.
2005 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: $60. 14.5% alcohol by volume. Big fruit, black cherry, violets, vanilla, coffee, cocoa, dusty chocolate, mocha, chocolate malt, leather, spicy, big blackberries, caramelized berries, dark raspberries, fruit is mostly on the front of the palate, lots of time left on this one. I bought one to take home.
2006 Petite Sirah: $36. 14.8% alcohol by volume. Black as night. Smoky, toast, blueberry, brown sugar, a hint of meat, white pepper, tinge of raspberries, caramel, tannic. I took two home.
2005 Red Wine Lot 1: $60. 14.5% alcohol by volume. 65% Petite Sirah, 30% Petite Verdot, 5% Zinfandel. Baked apple, cinnamon, baking spice, blackberry, blueberry pie filling, caramelized brown sugar, smooth, delicious fruit. I bought one to take home.
Overall, I was very impressed with all the wines here. I also loved visiting Titus. This is another one I hope to take Matt to on our next trip out West!
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
Interesting post, it’s nice that you feature really small wineries…the big ones do just fine on their own.
I try to focus a lot on the small family places as the one of the reasons I started the blog was because I couldn’t find any info on the wine I was drinking from small family wineries!