Black Cordon Vineyards

Black Cordon was founded by the husband wife team of David and Karen Dunphy with their first vintage from 2007. Both are from Minnesota. David has been a self-admitted “wine geek” since the age of 18. He was introduced to Napa Valley in 1978 after hearing about the Judgment of Paris tasting held in Paris two years prior. While living in Minnesota he and Karen would visit Napa – often 2-3 times per year.

David recalls this period in Napa’s wine making history as a time when there were far fewer wineries in the valley and very few tasting rooms. He met and became friends with some of Napa’s old timers – Charlie Wagner at Caymus, Justin Meyer at Silver Oak and Cathy Corison when she was still at Etude (before starting her own winery). David remembers tasting with them at their homes or in their kitchens, reaching a level of tasting personalized with the owners far beyond what one typically finds at a tasting room these days.

After David and Karen married in Napa in 1987, they continued to visit each year until they purchased their first land in the valley in 2004.

Today David and Karen own 15 vineyard acres in Napa Valley. They have selectively purchased small vineyard sites ranging from mountain top to valley floor from Howell Mountain to Yountville to Coombsville. The three-acre vineyard next to their home sits on a hillside on the edge of Mt. Veeder and the Oak Knoll District. This part of Redwood Road along the “Dry Creek Corridor” as David calls it, is home to many small family-owned vineyards with a number of them making limited production wines commercially.

Despite being only an approximately 15 minute drive from downtown Napa, this is a little visited part of Napa Valley because there are no tasting rooms here; the few small wineries that are here are not open to the public.

The name Black Cordon came about somewhat accidentally. One day David mixed up his cordon trellising terms and announced to his family and vineyard guys they were going to trellis all their vineyards in a “black cordon” style – when in actuality this term refers to the color of the vines when they are wet.

In 2012 David and Karen took over all the vineyard management decisions. Vineyards have become their passion; they both work among the vines alongside their crew in each of the vineyards they own in the valley (some 15 planted acres).

Noted winemaker Paul Hobbs was the founding winemaker for Black Cordon; today Paul’s former lead winemaker for all of his California projects, Julian Gonzalez does all of the wine making work. David’s first meeting with Paul was by chance; David’s vineyard manager at the time had a meeting with Paul and invited David to join him at the Red Hen Cantina, a popular Mexican bar sandwiched between several hotels in north Napa.

David and Paul hit it off immediately, so David showed him a list of potential winemakers he was interested in hiring. Paul had worked with all the winemakers before and gave his feedback, but then stopped and said, “how about I make your wine”. David was taken back as the thought of Paul offering this had not crossed his mind. When asked why he was interested in making their wine, Paul told him it was because of two reasons – he liked David’s passion and strong interest in learning more about viticulture and that he missed working with a small producer.

Grapes are used from both their mountain & hillside vineyards to bring a complexity and intensity to the wine complemented by the valley fruit from their Yountville and Coombsville vineyards to “calm” as David says, “the structure and tannins of their hillside fruit”. They do not follow a wine making formula each year, instead they work with what mother nature gives them and make blending decisions accordingly.

Each section of their vineyard is harvested, vinified and aged separately in barrel up to two years. Temperature plays an important role in their fermentation and is determined by each vintage based on a variety of factors including thickness of skins. Only when they hold their blending sessions do they determine which vineyard blocks will be in the final blends.

David has access to quality Chardonnay in Sonoma County from the Russian River appellation as well as Sonoma Coast; he prefers Chardonnay grown close to the cooler coastline. A number of vintners were buying from the same vineyards and all making single vineyard Chardonnay. Instead of making a single vineyard designate, David decided to combine fruit from some of the best vineyards in these regions to make a chardonnay from multiple premium vineyards.

Paul pioneered a way to have the secondary fermentation (malolactic) occur at the same time as the primary alcoholic fermentation. Diacetyl (a compound created during the secondary fermentation that causes the perception of a buttery notes in a wine” is actually metabolized based on what occurs during these simultaneous fermentations (all native yeasts are used). In some cases, their Chardonnay fermentation moves along extremely slowly – up to 8 months.

Select Wines
Black Cordon
The 2012 Black Cordon Russian River Reserve Chardonnay was carefully and slowly whole cluster pressed – the wine was barrel fermented in 50% new French oak barrels. This wine shows golden straw color in the glass with notes of pineapple and orange blossom on the bouquet. It is rounded and soft texturally with wonderful balance on the palate. The finish is lively with pleasing lingering flavors of citrus.

David describes their 2010 Black Cordon Cabernet Sauvignon as a long-lived vintage; we can see why after trying this wine. It is a dark wine; the nose draws one in with its “dessert in a glass” characteristics including baking spices, cherry pie, and floral scents (violets) and hints of dark chocolate as the wine breathes. This wine has excellent depth and structure and still drinks young despite being 4.5 years old at the time of our tasting. The oak is integrated well – fruit tannins show boldly and are long lasting.

The 2012 Black Cordon Cabernet Sauvignon is dark purple in the glass and soon reveals elegant floral notes on the bouquet as well as cinnamon spice, blueberry and mocha . The bouquet is as complex as on the palate. It is surprisingly soft initially on the palate but then words such as density, complexity and richness of flavor quickly come to mind when describing the body of this wine. It features both black and blue fruits, a cedar box component, coffee grinds and chewy dense tannins (not harsh) which linger for quite some time.

The 2012 Black Cordon Reserve Cru Cabernet Sauvignon is a barrel selection (3 barrels). Unlike the other reds we tried this is a single vineyard, single varietal bottling from their Coombsville Vineyard. The dark fruit showing on the bouquet continues on the palate with generous layers of mouth filling fruit including black currant, black licorice and dark cherry. “Stuffed” is a word David mentioned to us when describing this wine. It is dense and well extracted like the younger vintage we tried. The tannins are earthy and slightly chalky. The intensity of flavors lingers, and when you think its about finished, it continues even longer showcasing both flavor and texture.

Sixteen by Twenty
Black Cordon also produces another label called Sixteen by Twenty; both are companion labels as both were started at the same time without any intent of creating a ‘second label’. The name Sixteen by Twenty refers to the most common canvas size used by artists. This size generally is accepted as an ideal dimension for providing the perfect balance. Making the segue to growing grapes and wine making, David chose this name to represent the same type of balance he strives to create among each vine in the vineyard as well as in the winery.

The focus of these wines is to keep production very small and to have the flexibility to take advantage of sourcing from a number of vineyards from year to year both in Napa and Sonoma. Each year they strive to produce excellent quality wines that are priced reasonably.

David remembers their first commercial vintage was only 15 cases. Out of more than 1,150 Napa Valley based wineries or producers we have visited with; this is the smallest commercial vintage we can recall. Once this particular wine had some bottle age, he and Karen put all 15 cases in their truck and drove around the valley in the hopes of selling some. Upon arriving at the Wine Garage wine shop in Calistoga (today home to Tank Garage Winery), they were pleasantly surprised when the owner purchased a significant amount of their total production – he took 6 cases. The next year they produced 56 cases and have grown since.

The focus on Sixteen by Twenty is on a Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 2013 Sixteen by Twenty Chardonnay sourced from the Sonoma Coast initially shows fresh aromas in the glass including white peach, citrus blossom and more notes of lime as the wine breathes. On the palate the wine is clean and crisp with very good acidity with notes of red apple, a lingering tartness, vanilla and subtle notes of citrus. The flavors are light on the palate yet there is a slight nuance of weight (without viscosity). One sip begs one more, and that is always a sign of a very well-made wine.

The 2012 Sixteen by Twenty Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 4% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. The nose is inviting showing darker fruits, forest floor notes, blackberry and a black liqueur – and a dusty component. This is an elegant bouquet. The wine is dark in the glass. The core of the palate is darker fruit offering a noticeable intensity of flavor. The tannins are dusty, slightly chalky and are well integrated in the wine.

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Between both Black Cordon and Sixteen by Twenty Wines, their production is usually around 3000 cases annually. Each wine is typically only several hundred cases. As of the time of this review, they are selectively distributed in 17 states and parts of Japan. Their wines have been well regarded in the market with word of mouth helping drive sales. For more information and to purchase wines (each bottling is sold exclusively in a 6 or 12 pack), visit: www.blackcordon.com