Jaffe Family Wines

Jaffe Family Wines (formerly Jaffe Estate) was founded by Gary and Pam Jaffe. Today their daughter, Vida Jaffe has assumed the role of President of Jaffe Family Wines and oversees their marketing and sales and winemaking. For many years the foundation of Jaffe Family Wines was a small vineyard was located just south of the town of St. Helena which provided all the grapes for their red wines. In 2020 the Jaffe’s sold their property to Sharon and Gary Lessing who use the property to produce a proprietary estate wine called CourVant.

Their original vineyard was located in the St. Helena Appellation almost on the border of the Rutherford Appellation. They purchased the estate in 1999 with vineyards that were already planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. For several years they sold the grapes to Corison Winery; in 2002 winemaker Cathy Corison made a small amount of Merlot from their vineyard but it was never sold commercially.

They hired the very talented and perhaps we should add ‘brilliant’ winemaker David DeSante; he produced their inaugural release from 2005 and a number of subsequent vintages. Their first vintage was produced at what was Cuvaison Winery in Calistoga, today the home of Fairwinds Estate. Today David is no longer making the Jaffe wines; following his departure, the wine was made by a top wine making team at a local winery in St. Helena and as of our latest update to this review, Philip Titus (Titus Vineyards, Chappellet) is their winemaker with assistance from Charles McKahn (McKahn Wines). Gary originally met Titus when he was staying in a house close to Chappellet on Pritchard Hill.

Gary having been born and raised in the Los Angeles area was first introduced to Napa Valley in 1980 through a friend who had business in the area. This initial trip soon turned into a few days, then a month, then a week and then a long-distance commute from Los Angeles. At the end of one year Gary realized that for the cost of his hotel each month, he would be better off moving to Napa Valley. Like many he was drawn by the beauty of this small valley and surrounding hills, and even more so by the collaborative rather than competitive efforts that area vintners show one another.

Special mention must be made about the small but impressive Jaffe observatory and rotating telescope the Jaffe’s built among their former vineyards. An observatory in the Los Angeles basin may not be the best idea because of all the lights and smog, but at night in dark Napa Valley vineyards it is a rather ideal location. For some time, this was the only privately owned observatory in Napa County; as expected, this was a popular resource for local school kids. However, Francis Ford Coppola built his own observatory high up in the Mayacamas mountains above his house and Rutherford. One can see this observatory if one knows exactly where to look while driving on Highway 29 through Rutherford. Gary remembers the first time he became interested in astronomy; he was 9 years old and had just visited the iconic Griffith Park Observatory above Los Angeles for a planetarium show. He was hooked from that point on, and astronomy has become a lifelong passion.

As he told us, “Astronomy is the one branch of science where amateurs can actually be involved in research”; researchers have called him on a number of occasions for his help. We have visited the property and observatory several times over the years; observatories have a definite limit to their usefulness during daylight hours. In any case Gary showed us how the auto tracking works; at night he can and has tracked the International Space Station flying 250 miles overhead. His telescope also has the ability to view the surface of the sun and download images directly to a computer.

After selling the property to the owners of CourAvant, Gary donated the original telescope.

After graduating the University of California Santa Barbara with a degree in philosophy Vida worked at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara as a mixologist. She was very good at her job but the long hours began to take their toll. An article in the Santa Barbara Independent described her cocktails as, “the epiphany of cocktails”. Her parents saw this article; one day Gary called and asked her if she wanted to take over the Jaffe wine brand. Timing was right, so she moved back to Napa Valley in June of 2022, just in time to organize grape sources and contracts for that year’s harvest.

She thinks her love of mixology may be rooted in a visit to Cakebread Cellars at age 3.5, the first winery her parents ever introduced her to. She vividly remembers this visit; she and other children that day were brought over to a large table with a number of dixie cups at eat seat filled with a diversity of grape juice. The children were instructed to make produce a blend of their favorite tasting juices.

Their red wines feature a unique label; knowing Gary’s passion for astronomy, on first glance one might think the colorful circles are planets, but taking into account the two names of their wines and upon further glance one will notice the circles are grapes. The color pattern is a representation of the grapes as they change from green to purple during veraison and ultimately ripening fully. And for a period of time, these labels were part of a wine label exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Select Wines
Regardless of winemaker, the Jaffe Estate wines have always been crafted in an elegant style with alcohols that are often lower than contemporary Napa Valley red wine bottlings. These are food friendly and balanced wines. Iconic winemaker André Tchelistcheff once stated, “once balanced, forever balanced”.

Whites/Rosé
The inception of the Jaffe sparkling wine for Vida came when she realized that some people were having a hard time tasting red wines during early morning appointments. She wanted something lighter, fun and welcoming. And that also translated to the label including updating the color scheme for all their white wines. With Vida’s background in philosophy and Gary’s interest in astronomy, she named their sparkling wine Apeiron, a Greek word that refers to being unlimited or without boundaries. Its theory originates with the pre-Socratic philosopher, Anaximander who proposed eternal motion as the origin of the world. This idea ties in well with the constant motion of bubbles in a sparkling bottle once its opened.

The 2021 Jaffe Estate Apeiron Blanc de Noirs Napa Valley is 100% Pinot Noir; this wine is medium straw in color. The bouquet smells like bruised apples, apple cider, pear, and a light herbal note including citrus blossom. Its flavors somewhat mimic the bouquet; the spirited palate reveals notes of golden delicious apple, guava, white peaches and a mandarin orange finish. This wine is bright, balanced with a lively finish.

The 2022 Jaffe Estate Sangiacomo Vineyards, Carneros Sonoma County At First Blush Rosé of Pinot Noir is light copper in color. The nose is minerally with some flinty characteristics, citrus blossom, lemon zest, lime juice, rose petals and guava. The palate is bright, minerally and offers flavors of raspberry, wild strawberries and pomelo. Not a light nor lean rosé, rather it carries itself with some weight including a light and creamy viscosity. The finish is surprisingly lengthy with the fruit carrying on for some time. The acidity is bright but not bracing. Superbly balanced. Tasting this made us want to pair with a toasted bagel, salmon, capers and cream cheese. And Gary chose the name for this first ever bottling of a Jaffe Estate rosé. This was also the first bottle to read, “This wine was crafted by my family, to be loved by yours”.

Vida is the first to admit that she has never loved drinking Chardonnay. She was up against the clock to find a source for a white wine in 2022 (the first year she took the reins of Jaffe Estate). She loves Sauvignon Blanc but due to demand that year, she was not able to discover a source of Sauvignon Blanc grapes. However, Philip Titus told her that he had a source of 1.5 tons of Chardonnay. And she did want to add a white wine, so she relented with the caveat that it be styled after some of the great Burgundian Chardonnays, featuring acid, depth, complexity and texture without being flabby or weighty. And now she admits she no longer hates Chardonnay but instead has become somewhat of a Chardonnay snob.

The 2022 Jaffe Estate Sangiacamo Vineyards Chardonnay is deep gold in color; the bouquet is immediately engaging with aromas of honeysuckle, orchard fruits including nectarines and apricots, pineapple, mango and star jasmine. Oaky and or buttery? Not this wine – neither on the bouquet nor the palate. The fleshy and creamy but not viscous texture is balanced nicely by this wine’s bright acidity. The palate offers an intensity of flavor including Golden delicious apple, pear, nectarine, apricot, pineapple guava, and kiwi and lemongrass. The finish lingers brightly. This is a Chardonnay filled with energy which is not always the case with a California grown wine from this variety. This is the first bottling she saw through from start to finish, and as a result, will always be a special wine to her. Of the three barrels used for its 22 months of aging, one was new French oak and the other two were neutral.

One of Vida’s pet peeves from her days bartending was wine labels which would fall apart when left chilling in an ice bucket. Through MCC Wine & Spirits (a label solutions company), she discovered their Killer White™ wine label. It survives extensive time submerged in ice and water. And Vida made sure to fully test this; this label is now used for all of their white wines.

Reds
Jaffe Estate produces two red wines each year: Transformation, a Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and Metamorphosis, primarily a Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are representative of the source vineyards but are also styled after the types of wines the Jaffe’s enjoy drinking. 2019 was the last vintage of wine produced from their St. Helena property. No wine was produced in 2020 or 2021. The first non estate red wines are from the 2022 vintage with the vineyard sources being Sugarloaf, located in the rolling hills south east of the city of Napa and Attelas on Atlas Peak.

The 2018 Jaffe Estate Transformation, Proprietary Red Blend is deep ruby in color; the bouquet features a dark and savory aromatic core including scents of black plum, black cherry, sweaty leather, old cedar box, roasted herbs and white pepper. However, give it time to open and some of the savoriness dissipates revealing more fruit. Balanced across the palate, not one feature of this wine dominates but rather it’s a seamless interaction between fruit, acid and texture. Light to medium bodied, it offers flavors of cherry, raspberry and a bramble note. The tannins are lightly textured and linger softly along with flavors of red cherry and a slight woodsy/dark spice character.

The 2017 Jaffe Estate Metamorphosis is 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot. This bottling is deep ruby in the glass and offers ripe, opulent and sweetly fruited forward aromatics of blackberry jam, Santa Rosa plum, boysenberry, a mulberry preserve and deeper in the aromas, scents of bittersweet chocolate. If we were to categorize a wine’s bouquet as either an introvert or extrovert, this bottling would clearly be an extrovert. And as equally about the fruit as the bouquet is the palate; it features generous and ripe flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, mulberry and chocolate. The texture is fleshy with some noticeable tension between fruit and tannins. The medium structured and silty textured tannins are ripe and rounded. They are not course in their feel, but one can feel their density. This bottling is nearly 16% alcohol and a completely different style than the Jaffe Estate Transformation.

The 2019 Jaffe Estate Transformation is the last vintage from their former St. Helena vineyard; this wine is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and is deep ruby in the glass. The bouquet is both floral and fruited including scents of lavender, rose petals, tobacco spice, sage, red cherry, dark raspberry. Dominated by red fruits on the palate, it offers flavors of red cherry, plum and currant. Juicy and mouth watering. Energetic acidity. Lingers dusty with dried sage and other dried herbs. Superbly balanced 5 years post vintage. The texture is chalky with polished tannins The Merlot adds structure to the bottling while the Cabernet Sauvignon adds the softness and elegance; these are the opposite characteristics one would normally expect from these two varieties. But this vineyard consistently produces these characteristics in both varieties each year. A dusty character lingers for some time, outpacing the fruit on the finish. The aromatics are well on the side of more restraint rather than some of the more hedonistic fruit forward Napa Valley bottlings, from valley floor sites.

The 2019 Jaffe Estate Metamorphosis is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot; this wine is deep ruby. The bouquet offers sweet dessert spices including caramel and toffee, sweet tobacco spice, espresso with fruit showing as dark raspberry and Santa Rosa plum, cherry and boysenberry. The red-fruited palate sports flavors of red cherry, plum, currant and cranberry. This wine is well-layered both in terms of texture and flavor but with a simultaneous restraint. The tannins are grainy, granular and exhibit a firm and long lasting grip which extends beyond the fruit on the finish. Lingers with a kiss of dried tobacco leaf and a dusty character. A savory showing. Pair with Texas style BBQ brisket.

The 2012 Jaffe Estate Transformation is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot. The bouquet shows sweet aromatics including of red cherry, toasted cedar and as the wine opens, an inviting floral nuance comes forth (rose petal). The aromatics are elegant and become even more so as it breathes. This bottling is very balanced and soft on the palate, showcasing a pleasing texture. The fairly smooth finish lingers with nicely integrated tannins. It drinks very well young. Quite approachable.

The 2006 Jaffe Estate Transformation is a beautiful and elegant wine, and while we sampled it merely 2 weeks after its release, it was already drinking nicely at such a young age. The bouquet initially opens with an earthy and dusty component which is well integrated with ripe fruit aromas, namely blackberry. As the bouquet continues to evolve in the glass, it opens further and reveals nuances of mocha. The mouth feel is plush and very well rounded with layers of fruit from the entry all the way to the finish. The rather delicate tannins are broadly distributed and like the body of this wine, are completely in balance. We would love to see where this wine is in say 5 years.

The 2005 Jaffe Estate Metamorphosis offers some noticeable earthy tones to the bouquet which over time opens to fruit aromas. The palate is driven by a rich core of fruit including plum, cherry and raspberry. The tannins are firmer than the 2006 bottling Transformation; with bright acidity and lively fruit, this wine will prove itself to also be quite age worthy. Jaffe does not submit their wines for ratings; however a few years after the brand was founded, Wine Enthusiast magazine tasted their inaugural 2005 Jaffe Estate Transformation and rated it 94 points

Hospitality
For a short while, select Jaffe Estate wines were available for tasting at the Feast it Forward tasting room in downtown Napa. However tastings are now hosted at a small winery on Howell Mountain where the Jaffe Estate wines are produced.

Visits are always hosted by Vida and usually Gary, and are relaxed, unscripted and in addition to the wines, are always served up with a vivid and engaging sense of humor. Visits typically start with a barrel sample, followed by a tasting of current release wines, ending with a glass of their refreshing Chardonnay.

Vida quickly admits one has to be, “mildly delusional” to be in this business as a small producer, but she says this from a good place and she clearly loves what she is doing and the learning curve that comes with the territory. And she looks at every crisis as an opportunity to excel, an ethos championed by her former employer, the Ritz Carlton. She has modernized the brand, while simultaneously has found her own identity.

Besides meeting interested wine enthusiasts, Vida enjoys the personal connection she makes with visitors. And she especially relishes and is further motivated when happy customers send her photographs of bottles during special celebrations or from their travels.

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The wines are sold direct to consumer through their wine club, with Brasswood Restaurant being the only retail location locally. For a premium brand focusing on hand crafted wines in the heart of Napa Valley they have kept their prices reasonable. Total production hovers at around 500 cases annually. Their mailing list is appropriately titled The Celestial Set. For more information, to schedule a tasting or to purchase wines, visit: www.jaffeestate.com

Original vineyard, St. Helena

Former observatory