by Richard Paul Hinkle

One of the difficulties of this job – eating and tasting (and occasionally drinking) – lies in removing one’s biases from the ultimate responsibility of judgment. The Raymonds offer up a prime example: I’ve known and admired Roy Jr. and Walt, as human beings, for more than thirty years. As such, I have to be careful when assessing their wines, because of that built-in prejudice. Separating the one from the other is a challenge, and not one to be taken lightly.
That said, it is fascinating to see how far the Raymonds have come. Remember, they are direct descendents of the brothers Beringer, who founded that winery more than a century ago. Roy and Walt worked at Beringer before they and their father, Roy Sr., founded their own eponymous winery more than three decades ago.
Roy Jr., who now handles sales and marketing, was then in charge of vineyard operations. What, I ask, have you learned over the last thirty years? “A lot, but not enough,” he modestly says with a laugh. Typical. “When we started here, much of the Napa Valley was still in cattle, prunes and hay. Grapes and wine were just starting to catch on. Viticulture was simple. Davis recommended AxR rootstock [later discovered to be highly vulnerable to the root louse phylloxera] and vine spacing was eight-by-twelve. We had no idea, then, that closer spacing, better canopy management, row orientation to the sun, and highly sophisticated matching of variety to soil type, slope and orientation could alter wine quality so dramatically.
“Heck, we had Chenin Blanc – then the most widely planted variety in the valley – and Johannisberg Riesling, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon all planted here on our Home Ranch. How silly was that!? Now, only the last three are planted here, and we’re going to be taking the Chardonnay out, because it’s just not well suited to this climate. Chardonnay does much better at our Jamison Canyon Vineyard [south, near the Napa County Airport]. That’s why we bought additional vineyard sites, to get the right varieties in the right places. And that’s why we’re still looking for good Cabernet Sauvignon locations here in the mid-valley. Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena. There’s not much available, and it’s expensive, but what else can you do?”
As to the actual farming, Roy suggests that “then” was macromanagement, and “now” is micromanagement. “Heck, we monitor cropping levels very closely, even to the point of the placement of the fruit clusters. Rows are planted north-south now, so that there is more even sunlight distribution to the canopy, and canopy management is a huge part of successful grape growing today. Not to mention moisture management. It’s getting down to a science, and every little thing we learn has a big impact on quality. The competition is so keen that you cannot leave anything to chance these days.”
As luck would have it, all that effort shows up in the wines that brother Walt oversees. Taste, for example, the crisp green apple and charming melon of the 2002 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ($12.50). Aside from the value, there’s structure enough for the pork medallion and subtlety enough for the buttered filet of sole. “We get most of the fruit for this wine from the eastern Napa Valley,” says Walt. “Chiles Valley, and over by Muskowite Corners.”
The Reserve Cabernet 2001 ($32.50) is so supple and juicy, yet is packed with black currant, cassis and blackberry juice. “Gentle pump-overs, using sprinklers, allows for fruit extraction without excessive tannins,” says Walt simply. As if it were that simple. Especially noteworthy is the St. Helena Reserve Cabernet 2001 ($45), with tight peppercorn, blackberry and green olive that is so tight and self-contained that you just know it’s going to need another five or ten years to completely unfold. But when it does, you’re going to want to be there.
Raymond Vineyard, 849 Zinfandel Lane, St. Helena CA 94574. Phone 1-800-525-2659. Tasting room open 10-4 daily. Tasting fee: $5 for Reserves, $10 for Limited Productions.