Wines We’re Drinking Now

At a local restaurant the other evening, a friend invited some wine sales reps over to my table so I could sample their wares. One bottle stood out, and the wine it contained is one of the best I have tasted all year: White Rock Vineyards’ 2010 Laureate Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s from Napa Valley, and only 420 cases were produced. It’s 96 percent cabernet sauvignon and 2 percent each Merlot and petit verdot, aged two years in French oak. The color is a deep rich one, and I tasted raspberry and a touch of eucalyptus. I could drink this wine often, with grilled meats or good cheese. Henri and Claire Vandendriessche, who had come to America from France in 1960 so Henri could study at UC Berkeley, purchased the 64-acre Pettingill estate in 1977 and restored the property, including the vineyard, and began producing wines. They also constructed a 6,000-square-foot cave on the property, in which they cellar their wines. Henri and Claire’s sons, Christopher and Michael, now oversee the White Rock estate and business, assisted by their families. You can order the Laureate here.