Josh
Raynolds on Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar reviewed
four
of my wines:
2007 Vergari Wines
Pinot Noir Marin County
Vivid red. Fresh red berries, cherry and spicecake on the nose, with a smoky
mineral undertone. Fresh, focused, gently sweet raspberry on entry, giving
way to deeper bitter cherry with air. Silky tannins add focus to the long,
sappy, increasingly spicy finish. This is balanced to age but there'd be no
crime in drinking it now. 90
points
2007 Vergari Wines
Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Bright ruby. Cinnamon, black raspberry and smoky herbs on the nose,
with a suave, slow-building florality. Sappy, penetrating red and dark berry
flavors are lifted by tangy minerality and pick up an exotic rose pastille
quality with aeration. Puts on weight in the glass and finishes with excellent
clarity and lingering spiciness. Give this one a couple more years of aging
or decant it. 91 points
2007 Vergari Wines
Pinot Noir Van der Kamp Vineyard Sonoma Mountain
Saturated red. Smoky blackberry and cherry preserve
scents are complicated by musky herb and licorice qualities.
Smooth, expansive dark fruit flavors are given a firm
edge by a touch of cherry skin and become spicier on
the back half. Opens slowly to offer sweeter, livelier
red fruit character and finishes with gentle tannic
grip and an echo of candied licorice. This deserves
a little more patience, or serve it with a rich red
meat dish. 90 points
2006 Vergari Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Opaque ruby. Musky aromas of cherry, sassafras, licorice, smoky Indian spices
and roasted herbs. Sweet, round and supple, with flavors of red- and blackcurrant
and candied flowers framed by pepper and spice notes and dusty tannins. Sweeter
on the finish, leaving behind sexy cola and vanilla notes. The fruit is covering
the structure now, making this wine drinkable today.
International
Wine Cellar

2007
Pinot Noir, Sangiacomo Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
A bright
streak of raspberry flavor punches through the initial
reduction,
shifting
the pungent
blackness
toward
tangy coastal scents of fresh berries and salt air. Decant
this for pan-roasted black cod. 91 points.

Vergari Wines 2006 Pinot Noir, Marin
County
Medium-light color, with very pretty and well-defined
floral cherry/berry and spice aromas. This had a beautifully
silky texture on the palate, good balance and long, clean
finish, very nice.
Comments: My
first experience with this producer, and this was one
of the best wines of the day for me.

Allen Meadows, in the Q4 edition of
Burghound, listed the 2006 Van der Kamp Pinot
Noir in
his California Pinot Noir Selections list:
A ripe, layered and impressively broad
nose that captures notes of red and blue fruit, briar,
underbrush
and herb, all of which can also be found
on the pure, clean, detailed and delicious medium-bodied
flavors that possess a dusty and mildly austere finish
where the supporting
structural elements are firmly in evidence.
Like the
2005 version, this will require a few years of cellar
time
first. 91 points

The
Pinot Report reviewed four Vergari Pinot Noir wines,
and rated each a Smart Buy!
2006 Vergari Wines Pinot Noir
Sangiacomo Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Medium ruby color; deep black cherry and earthy aromas;
rich, full and deep with earthy black cherry fruit, herbs
and mineral notes; rich texture, sweet oak; good structure
and balance; long finish. Full, rich Pinot packed with
flavor. Lots of layers here that really cry out for a
mushroom pasta dish. 94 points
2006 Vergari Wines Pinot Noir
Marin County
Medium ruby color; spicy cherry aromas with some herbal
notes; lush, deep red cherry and spice flavors; elegant,
silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish.
An elegant, silky Pinot that is really drinking well now.
92 points
2006 Vergari Wines Pinot Noir Van der
Kamp Vineyard, Sonoma Mountain
Medium ruby color; deep, red cherry aromas with herbal
and gamey notes; deep red cherry flavors; earthy, gamey
notes, sweet oak, good structure and balance; long finish.
This Pinot is truly distinctive in that it is truly representative
of one of the most distinctive vineyards in California.
Earthy, game flavors are a signature of the Van der Kamp
Vineyard. 92 points
2007 Vergari Wines Pinot Noir
Russian River Valley
Medium ruby color; rich, red cherry and smoky aromas;
ripe, rich bright red cherry flavors with spicy notes
and a bit of smoky oak; good structure and balance; long
finish. Bright and spicy, this Pinot is all about Russian
River red cherry! 91 points

The
Prince of Pinot recently sampled three Vergari Pinot Noir
wines:
I have met David Vergari on
several occasions and I am always impressed by his philosophy.
He says, “Wine is dynamic, going down many paths
on its way to becoming something unique. Often times I
help it along. Sometimes the best choice is to do nothing
and let the wine find its voice over time.”
2006
Vergari Van der Kamp Vineyard Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir
Heritage clones and Dijon 777. Low yields. Dark reddish
purple color. Beautiful aromatics that really draw you
in. Deep, dark fruits including black raspberries and
mu shu plum sauce. Full-bodied and mouth coating black
fruits with an earthy underpinning. Velvety tannins frame
the lush fruit perfectly and the dry finish lingers memorably.
The pedigree of this vineyard shows through in this excellent
wine.
Click
here for the full review.

Josh
Raynolds on Stephen Tanzer's International Wine
Cellar reviewed
three more
of my wines:
2006 Vergari Wines
Pinot Noir Marin County
Medium red with a bright rim. Sexy aromas of raspberry,
potpourri, smoky minerals and rose oil, with a subtle
undercurrent of blood orange. Fresh and nicely detailed,
offering sweet red berry flavors and a silky texture.
Fine-grained tannins add gentle grip to the long, sappy
finish. This elegant pinot has a lively quality that will
make it a good companion to lighter poultry preparations.
90 points
2006 Vergari Wines
Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Saturated red. Powerfully scented bouquet of black raspberry,
cherry compote, pipe tobacco and rose oil. Deep, round
and fleshy, with sweet red and dark berry preserve flavors
and good, smoky mineral bite. Rich but energetic, with
excellent finishing clarity and spicy persistence. This
is exotic and complex enough to drink right now.
91 points
2005 Vergari Wines
Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Ruby-red. Deep cherry and candied plum aromas are complicated
by smoky Indian spices, lavender and clove. Deep, palate-saturating
dark fruit flavors are framed by dusty tannins and given
a bitter edge by licorice and dark chocolate nuances.
A serious style of cabernet that I'd resist opening for
a few more years. 90 points
International
Wine Cellar

Vergari
Wines 2006 Pinot Noir, Marin
Bright and racy with lovely pure acidity and bright red
cherry;
fresh, nervy and delicious with lively structure and finesse;
balanced and charming. 91 points
Anthony Dias-Blue, Blue
Lifestyle

Best
100 Wines of the Year
2005 Pinot Noir, Van der Kamp
Vineyard 95 points
"An ambitious wine, this has the muscular
structure of a grand cru from the northern Côte
du Nuits It grows on rocky, volcanic soils 1200 feet up
Sonoma Mountain, a blend of heritage clones and 777, fruit
Vergari allows to ferment with native yeast. At first,
the wine is mostly extract, with the scent of the charred
edge of roast beef. Then, as the structure bears down
with all its weight, the fruit begins to push up from
beneath. It brings an opposing force of equal strength
and makes this a dynamic wine to watch as it ages.

Winemakers
Play With Fire... And Win
Tim Patterson talked with three winemaking
colleagues and I about some slightly unorthodox winemaking
techniques:
Vergari was a year behind La Follette at
UC Davis, and part of a generation of students who paid
attention to the science part but insisted on questioning
it. Many held down internships in other countries, bringing
back other viewpoints. Flirting with "heresy"
and mastering microbiology went hand in hand. "The
reason I went to Davis," he says, "was to understand
why things happen.
If you don't, you will run into something you don't understand
and probably make it worse."
Click here
to read the full article.

Sebastopol's
hilly new haven for Pinot Noir
John Winthrop Haeger, author of "North
American Pinot Noir", included this review in his
article on Sebastopol Hills:
2004 Vergari DuNah Vineyard Russian
River Valley Pinot Noir
Almost opaque; rhubarb and caramel with hints
of foresty underbrush on the nose; rustic and slightly
grippy on the palate;
interesting flavors of root beer, cola and black olive
tapenade; distinctive and engaging.
John Winthrop Haeger, author of "North American Pinot
Noir"
Click here
to read the full article.

Josh
Raynolds on Stephen Tanzer's Wine Cellar reviewed
one of my wines:
2005 Vergari Wines Pinot Noir
Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Vivid red. Intensely perfumed bouquet of fresh red and
dark berries, incense, dried flowers and baking spices.
Supple black raspberry, cherry-cola and musky herb flavors
display good breadth and depth, picking up a candied anise
quality on the back end. Finishes zesty and with very
good lift, repeating the cherry-cola note. Pretty sexy
stuff. 90
International
Wine Cellar

The
May edition of Pinot Report featured two of my
wines:
"After years of experience working
with wineries on three different continents, David Vergari
started making wine on his own in 2003. He's working with
very interesting and unique vineyards including DuNah
in the newly added section of the Russian River Valley,
Sangiacomo in the Sonoma Coast and Van der Kamp on the
slopes of Sonoma Mountain. David's Pinots are focused,
balanced wines that greatly reflect the vineyard. He's
a producer to watch."
Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Sangiacomo Vineyard 2005
Medium-deep ruby color; deep, spicy, black cherry and
earthy aromas; rich and deep, earthy black cherry fruit,
spice and forest floor notes, sweet oak; great structure
and balance; long finish. Very deep and nuanced, this
Pinot has many layers of flavor and a very silky texture.
Score: 94
Pinot Noir Sonoma Mountain Van der Kamp 2005
Medium ruby color; earthy, red cherry aromas with gamey
notes; deep red cherry flavors with earthy, game and mushroom
notes, silky texture, sweet oak, good structure and balance;
long finish. This Pinot shows some really unique and interesting
earthy and gamey flavors that add complexity and make
this a terrific match for grilled meats. Score: 95

Wow
- what a great surprise I received the other day! Wine
& Spirits magazine recently profiled their picks
for the Top 108 Pinot Noir's of the year, and their list
includes two Vergari wines! The editors blind tasted 628
wines, and then recommended 108 wines in their April issue.
Their comments follow!
2005 Pinot Noir, Van der Kamp
Vineyard 95 points
"An ambitious wine, this has the muscular
structure of a grand cru from the northern Côte
du Nuits It grows on rocky, volcanic soils 1200 feet up
Sonoma Mountain, a blend of heritage clones and 777, fruit
Vergari allows to ferment with native yeast. At first,
the wine is mostly extract, with the scent of the charred
edge of roast beef. Then, as the structure bears down
with all its weight, the fruit begins to push up from
beneath. It brings an opposing force of equal strength
and makes this a dynamic wine to watch as it ages."
2005 Pinot Noir, Sangiocomo
Vineyard 93 points
"Dark in tone, this wine's flavors of pomegranate
and sour cherry yield a range of scents as complex as
a forest floor. The savory notes of conifer and mushroom
keep it baritone and gamey while higher notes of woodland
flowers and wild cherry add dimension and harmony. This
is focused and elegant , for braised duck."

Sometimes
there are people you encounter in life who, the minute
you meet them, you think "This guy has a story to
tell and I bet he tells it well." David Vergari is
that guy. He recently sat down with IntoWine
to share with us his evolution as a winemaker and, most
interestingly, the stories "behind the wine".
Click here
to read the interview.

"2006
Vergari Wines Corda Vineyard Marin County Pinot Noir Barrel
Sample
Wine industry veteran David Vergari crafts Pinot Noirs
from purchased grapes in Sonoma and Marin counties. He
brings years of winemaking experience in both Europe and
Australia as well as California to his label begun in
2003."
"This barrel sample is delicate
with nicely spiced red Pinot fruits. The texture is quite
silky and the finish, although a touch hot, is clean and
satisfying."

"After
a stumble with the wine service, we were quickly delivered
the star wine of the night, the 2004 Vergari "DuNah
Vineyards" Sonoma Coast Pinot. David Vergari makes
this light but heavenly Pinot from grapes he somehow managed
to talk Rick DuNah out of. Fans of DuNah's own wines would
love this treatment as well. While lighter in body than
most of the DuNah wines, it was in perfect form."
Click
here to read the complete blog entry.

"David
grew up in an Italian family where homemade wine was a
way of life. It wasn’t until he attended college
at U.C. Berkeley that he found out that white wine existed!
He went on to get an MBA, but by the late 1980s decided
he really wanted to pursue a career in winemaking. He
attended U.C. Davis from 1989 to 1991 with many of his
classmates who are distinguished winemakers today. After
graduating, he headed to Australia to work under James
Halliday at Coldstream Hills. I asked him how he happened
to chose that course and he replied, “Anyone dumb
enough to buy a ticket and work for peanuts could do it.”
It turned out to be the foundation of his practical wine
knowledge for he spent countless hours drinking wine from
Halliday’s 30,000 bottle cellar. He went on to gain
experience in Europe and then in California at Phelps
where he worked for 4 years. Finally, in 2003 he decided
to pursue the dream of most winemakers, his own label,
and started Vergari Wines."
"David’s wines reflect their
vineyard source and do not replicate a mirror-image style.
Winemaking is essentially by hand, with minimal movement
from crushing until bottling. A cold soak is followed
by fermentation with native yeast for both primary and
malolactic. The wines are barrel aged (1/3 each new, once-filled
and neutral barrels) on fine lees for approximately 11
months."
Click
here to read the complete article.

A modest man and good friend of Red Carpet
Wine, David Vergari is as genuine as they come.
Vergari wines are elegant yet highly concentrated; accessible
when young, yet structured for long life.
Red Carpet Wine - wine & spirits merchant