Whether Nick Goldschmidt is making a $10 Malbec in Argentina or a $100 Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, the wine promises to be luscious, flavorful and silky. It’s a mark of consistency for a winemaker in demand in seven different countries and who also crafts his own labels in California, Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.
Goldschmidt Vineyards is the signature label for the Healdsburg winery he co-owns with his wife Yolyn. The focus is single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from distinctive locations – the top two sites being Game Ranch in Oakville (Napa Valley) and Yeoman in Alexander Valley (Sonoma). Wines bearing these site labels are pricey – $85 a bottle. Longer aged “Plus” versions (aged 43 months) bearing deeper concentrations and complexity, fetch up to $125 each.
But consumers don’t have to go broke to experience Nick’s viticultural prowess. GV’s portfolio offers nearly a dozen California wines recognized for quality and value. They include Cabernet-based Yardstick ($21.99); Fidelity ($12.99), a Zinfandel-Petit Sirah blend; Singing Tree Chardonnay ($13.99); and three wines named for each of the Goldschmidt’s daughters – Chelsea Merlot, Hilary Cabernet, and Katherine Cabernet (prices range from $15.99 to $19.99).
Nick’s philosophy is simple: Let the grapes express themselves. Translation: The less the winemaker has to do in the production facility the better.
Here are several Goldschmidt wines tasted recently that live up to expectations:
Game Ranch Plus 2013, ($124.99) – I met Nick a year ago and purchased this 100 percent Cabernet blockbuster at a special $99 cost. Recently, it became the centerpiece for a grilled N.Y sirloin steak dinner party. It was exceptional. The power and finesse came through with intense blackberry, plum and spice flavors, plush tannins and a long, drawn-out finish. Only 3,564 bottles were produced. Wegman’s in Burlington still has a couple.
Yardstick “Ruth’s Reach” 2016, $21.99 – Nick says this small vineyard Cabernet “offers the signature taste of Napa Valley without the baseline Napa Valley price” – hence, the name “Yardstick.” Believe me, there’s no skimping on GV’s lush, flavorful core of black cherry fruit and smoothness in this nicely layered wine. A touch of mocha spices up the finish. Pay less, get more is my motto.
Chelsea Goldschmidt “Dry Creek” Merlot, $19.99 – I drank the 2015 vintage that Wine Spectator lavished with a 90-point rating while the 2016 earned 88 points. But why quibble over a fraction? Plenty of beguiling notes penetrate the palate here – blueberry jam, cherry cola, black pepper spices – accentuated by a cabretta glove texture. A Merlot that glows.
Katherine Goldschmidt “Crazy Creek” Cabernet Sauvignon, $16.99 – I chose “Katherine” over “Hilary” for no other reason than the vineyard’s eccentric name. Crazy Creek is located in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley and boasts older vines that produce broader wines. Katherine’s got a nice vanilla cherry edge to it that reminded me of sitting at Brigham’s lunch counter drinking a creamy cherry cola frappe. A fab Cab for the price.
Fidelity Red Wine, $12.99 – We broke this out on pizza night and it excelled with a tomato meat pie. An easy drinking, every day budget buster. It’s a ripe, fruity marriage of Zinfandel’s full-bodied, chocolatety raspberry and Petite Sirah’s supple plumminess. I imagine it would be wedding bells for burgers too.
Singing Tree Chardonnay, $12.99 – Beautiful Russian River Valley fruit forms the frame of this creamy, apple-orchard flavored Chardonnay spiked with a lemon twist finish. Delicious. Beware, higher pricing on this upward-trending wine.
Send comments to: jim@grapefullyyours.live
Note to readers: This column was updated May 23, 2019 to correct an error. Nick Goldschmidt’s Yeoman vineyard is located in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. My apologies to the winemaker and my readers.
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