Wine of the Month December 2008
                                 Kristian Story Wines
                              Soiree (Meritage), 2006
                                   Napa Valley, California
                      
        
                   


Readers of this site probably remember all the enthusiasm we had back in our March 2006 posting for the Sauvage 2003 Cabernet from winemaker Kristian Story.  At that time, the Sauvage cab was bottled under the St. Helena Winery brand, which is Kristian's father's company.  The 2003 reperesented Kristian's first wine, and it was phenomenal.  Since then, Kristian has branched out to create a small portfolio of wines under his own "Kristian Story Wines" label.  Most of his wines are produced from estate grapes grown on his father's vineyard.  Since we hadn't reviewed anything from Kristian for a while, we were happy to review the new wines created under his own label.  All of the wines were excellent, and all distinctly different.  We tasted a 2005 cab, a 2006 cab, a 2006 meritage (Bordeaux blend), and a 2006 cab-zin blend, which ups the quality of the ultra-popular Orin Swift Prisoner.

The wine that stole the show from my perspective was the Kristian Story 2006 Soiree.  The wine is immediately enjoyable without need for cellaring or decanting, although efforts to do so will be richly rewarded.  Although my palate tends to dislike young cabs (and cab blends) in favor of those with a few years of bottle age, Mr. Story did an outstanding job of producing a wine which is instantly gratifying in it's youth.

The 2006 Kristian Story Soiree is a Napa Valley Meritage (meaning a Bordeaux style blend).  The wine is a blend of 45% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 8% petite sirah, and 2% petit verdot.  The grapes are from the family estate vineyard of Peter Story, Kristian's father.  The wine was fermented with French yeasts, and aged for 18 months in new Fench Oak barrels.  The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.  I have had many California meritage wines over the years, but not many add peitie sirah to the blend.  Although most pure Petite Sirah's are too tannic for my tastes, the addition of 8% petite sirah to the blend adds some nice structure and good old fashioned "oomph" to the final blend without overpowering the velvety merlot and the rich cabernet.  The wine has a huge bouquet of blackberry, rich currant, and a hint of espresso.  The dark fruits carry on to the palate along with plum and a touch of mocha.  The finish is like velvet, but long and beautiful.  It's hard to imagine the wine getting much better, but I suspect it will continue to improve with another year or so of bottle age.

I score this wine 4.5 stars.  It has not been officially released to retailers or restaurants, but can be ordered directly from the winery web site (KristianStory.com).  Retail is $45.  I suggest interested readers order the wine quickly, as there are only 287 cases produced.

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Although I found the Soiree to be the "belle of the ball" for the new Kristian Story wines, the rest of the portfolio merits attention.  Brief scores are listed below.

2006 Kristian Story Wines Rhapsodie Cabernet Sauvignon:  A really big, really juicy cabernet.  This one packs a lot of youthful tannin, and needs a couple years in the cellar.  Plenty of jammy fruit like the meritage, but a little more earthy and a lot more robust.  A great wine to pair with a hearty steak.  The winemaker suggests cellaring until 2010, and I would agree.  It should be a blockbuster at that time.  Only 396 cases produced.  Like the Soiree, the wine is scheduled for official release in the spring, but can be purchased on a pre-order basis from the winery (KristianStory.com).  4 stars, retail $69.

2005 Seduire.  Officially, the wine was produced back when Kristian was making wines under his father's St. Helena Winery label.  It is a lot like the Rhapsodie, but with another year of bottle age.  The wine is not yet at it's peak, and probably should be laid down until later this year.  It was still a little tannic after the cork was first pulled, but softened up with some decanting.  This wine will reward drinkers who can cellar for a few years.  Like the Rhapsodie, the wine is best enjoyed with a juicy steak or other hearty fare.  4 stars, retail $60.

2005 Vanite:  This was the most interesting wine in the bunch.  I believe this was the only wine in the line-up not made from estate grapes.  The wine is not part of the Kristian Story Wines brand, but was made by Kristian through a custom crush operation that he started.  The blend was 32% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 32% zinfandel, and 4% petite verdot.  The wine seemed to show a different facet with each sip and swirl.  The wine started out very cabernet-like, with a rich blackberry nose and just a hint of exotic spice.  As the wine opened up, it took on more zinfandel characteristics, becoming a little more spicey and briary.  Later still, chocolate notes and a touch of menthol made it onto the palate.  Just shy of 4 stars for this one.  Drinkers who love the wildly popular zinfandel blend called "the Prisoner" from Orin Swift should try this one.  It's much better.  Price and availabilty not yet available.

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