Day 3 of the trip, Day 2 in Napa. Yesterday was really nice only having three tastings after the marathon on Saturday. Today is another laid back day with three more tastings, and our first visit to Bouchon (not the last visit).

Freemark Abbey 

We decided to start our second day in Napa at winery we are club members, Freemark Abbey. When we walked in, were really happy to see our wine educator would be Grace. Grace is the first person we met at Freemark Abbey and she helped us join the club. They have renovated the tasting room and it is beautiful. We truly enjoy these wines and find them to be priced fairly.  We had heard from Todd at Cliff Lede that we had to try the Viognier because it is delicious, and he was correct. We also enjoyed all of the reds we tried and bought some of them. This is a club we will keep! (We were rushed to leave to make our lunch reservation so did not get to spend as much time here as we wanted. This is why we rated the overall experience at a 4.)

2013 Los Carneros Dry Riesling ($25)     
2016 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($24)     
2015 Napa Valley Viognier ($32)     
2013 Merlot Bosche ($60)      (This is a very big Merlot and drinks like a cab.)
2013 Cabernet Franc ($60)     
2013 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon ($70)      (This is a big fruity cab with baking spices.)
2013 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ($75)      (This is a more velvety cab with more elegance than power.)
2013 Cabernet Bosche ($150)      (This is a huge cab that received a 98 from Robert Parker. It was opened the day before so had time to breath. It was still huge and drank beautifully.)

Bouchon (Lunch) 

We had to leave Freemark Abbey early to make our reservation at Bouchon. We had never eaten here before and were excited to try it. It was outstanding. Julie told Brendan, our waiter to surprise her. This is what he served her: Bibb lettuce salad, fresh and smoked salon rillettes, gnudi aux truffles (ricotta, Parmesan dumplings with Australian black truffles) and trout with almandine green beans. Walt and Julie shared everything except the trout. Walt had boudin Blanc avec des oeufs (white sausage with eggs) with the Australian black truffles on top. This was an extravagant but absolutely fabulous lunch. We decided the next trip we would have dinner here and eat all our other meals at fast food joints.

Elizabeth Spencer 

On our last trip to Napa, we visited Elizabeth Spencer and it was one of our favorite stops, so we had to visit again. We were so lucky to have Kathy serve us again. We love these wines and believe they are priced fairly. It was very busy during our visit and Kathy was unable to give us the same attention we received last trip so we would recommend you visit early in the day. We did join this club because they do not distribute the Pinot Blanc. We purchased the Pinot Blanc, ExS Syrah, and the Cabernet Franc.

2016 Chenin Blanc, Mendocino ($35)     
2016 Pinot Blanc, Mendocino ($35)     
2016 ExS Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, Block N ($35)     
2015 ExS Syrah, Sonoma Coast, Block Nine ($68)     
2014 Cabernet Franc, Calistoga ($90)      (Cabernet Franc is usually used as a blending grape, but this is a great example of this varietal.)
2014 ExS The Reverend, Napa Valley ($110)      This is a big and bold California Cab that can be cellared for many years.)
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Classic Cuvée, Napa Valley ($85)     / (The blend on this wine is why we split our vote. It’s 94% Cabernet Sauvignon with the other 6% being Merlot and Cab Franc. We rated it 4 bottles as a Cabernet, but since E-S calls it their Cuvée, we decided to rate it as that as well, 5 bottles. Even though this is a Cabernet, it drank more like a Boudreaux blend. It was silky and restrained.)
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder ($110)     

Inglenook 

Inglenook was a visit that we were really looking forward to. When you pull into Inglenook, you have to visit a gatehouse to get through the main gate. You drive down a tree-lined road. After parking, there are minimal signs telling you where to go for your tasting. The first place you notice is their bistro/bar. There is a sign pointing for you to continue. The next door has no sign, and when you go through the door, it looks like a museum, and there was no one to tell us if that was the correct place. After walking back to the bistro we were told that we were in the correct place. So, back we went. There was still no one there to greet us. When someone finally arrived, she was surly and generally unpleasant to talk to. She took us back to our table for our tasting. At this point, we were ready to leave before our tasting and give them a 1 bottle, but we persevered. Kenton was our Sommelier. He was a little distracted because his ex-girlfriend showed up, and there was another couple that he obviously knew.

As we started tasting, it became obvious that Kenton really knew what he was talking about. He had a wealth of knowledge and was really good at explaining the history of the winery. When we asked about tasting the Syrah (which they were not tasting), he called the bistro and went down to get the bottle for our tasting. We were there for almost 2 hours, including being an hour past their closing time. No one said anything about us being there that late. This is why we decided to give the overall tasting 3 bottles.

2015 Blancaneaux: Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne ($65)      (Too pricey though the taste was nice)
2014 Edizione Pennino Zinfandel: Zinfandel, Primitivo, Petite Sirah ($48)     
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot ($75)     
2013 Rubicon, Cabernet Sauvignon ($68)     
2014  Reserve Syrah ($62)    

Fumé 

Fumé is one of our favorite restaurants in Napa. Julie found it on OpenTable three visits ago, and we have gone every trip sense. This is a place that’s not easy to get to. It’s in a neighborhood just north of Napa, and generally visited by locals. We started with our favorite thing on the menu, the onion rings (“Best in the Valley”), and they live up to the hype. Julie got the Caesar Salad and the Cabernet Braised Short Rib Risotto. Walt got the Cajun Spiced Rock Shrimp Fettuccini. Our wine was a Gundlach-Bunschu Gewurztraminer (a prelude to the next day).