The last winery stop on our recent trip to Sonoma and Napa Valleys was one of our best. We were heading back to San Francisco later in the afternoon for an early flight the next morning, but had time to visit Paradigm Winery in Oakville. On the west side of highway 29, the vineyards at Paradigm surround the winery buildings. This contiguous, 55 acre piece of land has 50 of those planted to vine, with the majority being Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel are also cultivated and wines are made from these three varietals as well.
When you arrive you’ll find a charming terrace on the side of the building, with heaters positioned above you to provide warmth in the cooler seasons. As you look west the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains are right there. On this day the clouds which had provided rain for the previous two days were giving way, and as the sun broke through, the vista became
View from the Terrace
nothing short of glorious. It is beautiful, peaceful and a place we could have lingered in for hours, or days for that matter. There’s just something comforting about this place.
Part of that comes from the people who own Paradigm, Ren and Marilyn Harris. Ren was our tour guide, spending several hours with us as we walked through the winery, the vineyards and then the wines themselves. They have known each other since high school, and purchased the current vineyards in 1975. Ten years later they pulled the original vines and replanted to the current mix of grapes. The first estate vintage was in 1991 from the new vines. Over time they continuously monitor the vines and pull and replant as needed. There was section right outside the winery on the east side which had just been replanted due to the beginnings of disease. A close working relationship with UC Davis helps them stay on top of everything.
The time we spent with Ren was fascinating, as he has seen just about everything related to the Napa wine industry for the past 58 harvests. The first harvest he worked was in 1964. In between then and now he has been in the middle of evolving labor relations, vineyard zoning laws and everything else that impacted the valley.
Inside the Barrel Room
He is a walking history book of Napa Valley, having worked with the people who shaped what it is today. He planted the Joseph Phelps vineyard in the 1970’s. He worked with Andy Beckstoffer. His vineyard is right down the road from Mondavi and the To Kalon Vineyard. Today Paradigm is surrounded by names such as Quintessa, Harlan, Opus One, Heitz Martha’s Vineyard and Dominus. Somehow, after all that and in the middle of all this, all you feel when sitting at the tasting table is peace. Ren is a man who has done more than most dream of, and is far from done. He is at the winery almost every day, and he and Marilyn were about to leave for New York to pour their wines at Carnegie Hall. Yet he spends a hour or two chatting about the valley and his wines with people he met only minutes ago. There is no pretention here and it is a wonderful thing.
Heidi Barrett is the winemaker, and has been since their inaugural vintage in 1991. She uses a light hand with the world class fruit, letting the vineyards shine. Heidi has previously worked at Screaming Eagle, Dalle Valle and Grace, among others. She knows what to do with world class wine grapes.
We did manage to fit some wine tasting into the visit, while enjoying the idyllic surroundings. Here are our notes:
2019 Paradigm Merlot – the Merlot vines at Paradigm were originally from cuttings brought over from Chateau
Pétrus in the 70’s. That is some kind of pedigree as Pétrus, from Pomerol on the right bank of Bordeaux, is one of the world’s most sought after and expensive wines. In late fall the Merlot vine leaves were a beautiful, faded garnet red. The 2019 vintage itself is a medium ruby color, with a nose of red and black fruit. Cherry and plum flavors of remarkable purity support a rich palate. There’s a touch of anise and other spice as well. It is full bodied, with medium+ tannins that are very approachable and integrating nicely. This is elegant, balanced, not overwrought and simply gorgeous. 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. $68
2018 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon – medium dark ruby in color, this had a nose full of berry fruit and a
touch of tobacco. The juice is full bodied but refined, with a focused fruit core. That core flows through the mid-palate right to the end. A pretty wine, also elegant and refined but firm and substantial at the same time. It finishes long, and has a very long life ahead of it. This is sold out at this point, although we managed to grab a 3-pack before that happened. It is still available as part of a holiday 2-pack, along with the Merlot, on their website. Beautiful wine. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon – This is a little darker than the 2018 version. Some cherry joins the berry fruit, as well as spice. It is mouth coating, full bodied and rich, with great balance and length. There is a constant theme here, which is laser focused fruit, protected and nurtured into classic wines. It might sound repetitive, but it’s consistently there. $104, less for wine club members. Great Cabernet Sauvignon here, surrounded by wineries and vineyards that ask for, and easily get, much higher prices. 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
2019 Paradigm Cabernet Franc – this is only available for wine club members. It is a medium ruby in color,
with berry fruit and lots of plum on the palate. Some spice joins in, but there are no green notes here at all. This is all about ripe fruit and tannins. Layered and rich, elegant as all of them are, and impeccably made. 85% Cabernet Franc with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Retail is $92.
2019 Paradigm Zinfandel – another wine only available to wine club members, this is a big wine full of ripe raspberry and cherry, along with spices. It has firm tannins and bright acid to keep everything in balance. A long finish caps off a delicious and significant wine. It’s 15.2% alcohol, but doesn’t hit you over the head with that. 100% Zinfandel and $71.
Paradigm makes about 6500 cases a year, and sells all of it. They do also sell some of their Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to several high profile Napa producers. That list of neighbors we mentioned earlier is part of a who’s who in Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. I doubt they are happy that Ren and Marilyn sell their world class wines for the very reasonable prices they charge, but it is what it is. It’s also a great thing for people like you and me, as you can get wines of the same caliber as those $300 to $600 bottles for a fraction of the price.
As noted above, several of the wines are only available to club members. We had mentioned in our article on Canard Vineyard
(which you can read here) how that was the only wine club we have ever joined, to be sure we could get their wines in the future. This is now officially the second. We did get a shipment this past fall after visiting, but recently signed up for the club to ensure those come twice a year, and we get to grab the club only offerings. They also have a six bottle vertical of either the Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot available to members on their web site, and we do love a good vertical!
You can learn more about Paradigm on their website at: https://paradigmwinery.com/.
If you are visiting Napa Valley then Paradigm Winery should be at the top of your visit list. We certainly are looking forward to the next chance we have to drop in and sample a little bit of wine heaven.
To see the previous article from our Sonoma and Napa series click here. To go back to the beginning, click here.
A votre santé!
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