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Press Club  www.pressclubsf.com
20 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco CA 94103
(415) 744-5000

Has an open, trendy feel with an interesting assortment of antipasti and cheese plates, the good part. The wines are also highly priced for a taste and most surprisingly they don’t offer flights from the wineries. How exactly is this like a tasting room? I thought the point of visiting a winery was to spend some time getting to know their wines. This will turn out to be an expensive venture here.

It took me a little while to accept this deception and just move forward, but I finally did.
Here are the three wines I decided to muster up the cash for and try, in order tasted:

90+  2008 Mount Eden Estate Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mtns)  $55

    13.5%alc
Excellent minerality, black cherry fruit and supporting acidity. Very lively and aromatic with an extra burst of fruit in the mouth. Youthful acidity is a little intense in the finish, but this should resolve nicely in the next 2-4 years. Similar to the '06 in weight with a little more fruit.

87+  2007 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel (Calistoga)  $30

    14.6%alc
Blackberry and black cherry fruit with a eucalyptus herbal component. A heavyweight with excellent concentration, but shows some heat and is slightly candied and cough syrupy. Still a little young and fierce. Needs 2-4 years. Stylistically, I'd prefer less ripeness and more forestal complexity, similar to what I've found in the best vintages of this wine. Nonetheless, a very solid Zinfandel that is worth the price.

89+(?)  2006 Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Cruz Mtns)  $48

    13.9%alc
Deep purple garnet with dry cassis fruit, black pepper, some Santa Cruz minerality and a slight eucalyptus component. A light heavyweight with a backward, tannic structure, but shows a silky texture in the mouth. Medoc-like. Needs 4-6 years to soften and allow the fruit to emerge.

Note the prices above are retail per bottle.
FYI, here are examples of their prices for taste/glass/bottle:
For the wines above, $7/$29/$116, $6/$14/$30 and $9/$22/$90, respectively.
For the Montelena Estate Cab: $27/$67/$220, Yikes! (Retail $135, so not as bad as it seems)
The price relationship between a taste and a glass was also illogical and somewhat annoying.
Buying by the bottle is definitely the way to go here for price, as is typical at most restaurants and winebars.

You’d think that big name wineries would be afraid of tarnishing their respectable images by appearing with their flags unfurled in this setting. Mount Eden in particular was a surprise, as they're relatively small and this is their only tasting room, none offered at the winery. At least their rep, Anatoli, was knowledgable, which is more than I can say for most of the others. Just another chic, yuppie wine bar, oh well.

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