We're so excited to introduce you to our newest series, The Somm Set.

Each month we'll be sitting down with a guest sommelier and uncovering their guilty pleasures, cellar staples, and everything in between! Follow as they hand-select their favorites from our warehouse, giving you the inside scoop on cellar must-haves. We're kicking off this series with Master Sommelier Alexander LaPratt!

Read Our Full Interview With Alexander LaPratt On Our Blog
Alexander LaPratt on Champagne- The Region That Offers It All
Cote-Rotie's Best From MS Alexander LaPratt
MS Alexander LaPratt on Brunello- Life's Simple Pleasure
 

This week from Alexander LaPratt:

Terroir, that enigmatic everything that we know and love.

Let me ask you this: When we’re thinking of the most diverse wine regions in the world geologically, which ones pop into your mind? Are you thinking of Alsace France? Maybe McLaren Vale Australia? What if I told you to look a little closer to home- Napa Valley, California. That’s right, I said it! It’s had a turbulent and diverse geologic history filled with many events throughout it’s relatively short (for geology) lifespan of around 150 million years. Tectonic plates crashing, volcanoes erupting, rivers flooding, sea encroaching, erosion, and the list goes on. That’s a recipe that has created a region with over half of the world’s soil orders, which is more than any other wine region in the world. The valley itself is bookended by two majestic mountain ranges that couldn’t be more different from each other: The Vaca and the Mayacamas. Their different exposures, soil types, elevations, and temperatures all combine to help foster drastically different terroir. If only we could find a way to really pinpoint the different terroirs? Really get an idea of the various manifestations they would present in a top wine?

I know what you may be thinking: All Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon tastes the same. To that, I would reply Au contraire mon frere! What if I could share with you drastically different, terroir expressive Cabernets from around the valley that would change your mind? What if I said I not only could do that, but I could find all of this with one producer? Still don’t believe me? Want to try for yourself? Please do, try them, prove me wrong… but after tasting, it’s more likely that you’ll be looking at a famous wine region with a newfound admiration and pride.

Bond Estates is a project between Bill Harlan (of Harlan renown) and Bob Levy. The two of them worked together at Merryvale, and they were working with 60+ different vineyards to source their Cabernet. Bob started to identify sites that were just so unique and different in their expression that he began to single them out. After Merryvale was sold, they continued down this path of singling out what they refer to as the “Grand Cru” sites of Napa Valley.  Read more on Alexander's recommendations here.

Here are a few of my favorites from BOND: 
BOND Pluribus 2006  SOLD OUT
BOND Melbury 2014   SOLD OUT
BOND Quella 2012      SOLD OUT
BOND St. Eden 2007   SOLD OUT


Cheers!

Alexander LaPratt

Master Sommelier