Titus Vineyards: One of our Napa Valley Favorites!
We love Titus Vineyards!
We love it so much we make sure we make a return visit every time we get back to the Napa Valley. It’s one of those perfect storm experiences for us. We love the location. We love the facilities. We love the vibe. We really love their staff. Most of all we love Titus wines, which is obvious by the fact we hold more Titus wines in our cellars than from any other winery!
I don’t recall exactly how we initially came to know Titus wines, probably from their website, but I thank the gods, especially Bacchus, we did! Their 60 acres of heavenly Appellation St. Helena vineyards, just north of St. Helena on Silverado Trail, produces some marvelously enjoyable wines! Plus they do so at very attractive, Napa Valley wine, price points. YOU NEED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!
Second generation, family owned and farmed, the team at Titus is led by brothers Eric Titus and Phillip Corralo-Titus. You might also recognize Phillip’s name from his winemaking work up Pritchard Hill with Chappellet. Our most recent visit was hosted by the very knowledgeable, genial, and charming Michael Desilets, Titus’ tasting room manager.
TIP: If the weather is anywhere even close to nice, sit outdoors on the veranda! Their Matt Hollis designed winery is fabulous, but we tend to be partial to taking our wine outside whenever we are in Napa as you can sit overlooking their vineyards just a few steps away!
Following our own advice, we camped outside for our tasting in comfy chairs and beautiful late afternoon views as the sun lowered toward the Mayacamas Mountains beyond the Titus vineyards stretching before us.
TIP #2: Don’t miss the Marcona almonds if they are still offering them during tastings. They go great with Titus wines of all colors!
We appreciated the fact the staff had taken the time to look up our history so Michael knew we were all red fans and he set our tasting accordingly. We enjoyed each wine we tasted, but found our Titus loves were unchanged. We are still huge fans of their Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, their Petite Sirah, and their signature Lot 1. We couldn’t help but notice every group at Titus seemed to be having just as fine a time as we were.
My very favorite wine from the Titus team is their Petit Verdot so I asked Michael whether Titus had bottled a ’15 vintage and was told they have so little, due to the reduced size of the entire 2015 harvest across Napa Valley, it’s not being poured in the tasting room. He then added – gasp – they would most likely only be including only one bottle in the upcoming Titus Wine Club shipment. I thought I’d have a heart attack! ONE bottle! Only one bottle of my favorite!
Flashback to my first Titus visit: You see it was sitting at Titus that I had my very first taste of Petit Verdot as a single varietal wine. I remember I almost passed when it was offered. However, our hostess that day smiled knowingly and calmly said “Trust me! With the other Titus wines you’ve liked most, you really must try this one!” When she brought me the wine, she also came armed with the tasting notes. I only got as far as the words “This is a wine for the ages! Quite literally.” Then I took my first sip, was smitten, and I have remained a serious Petit Verdot fan ever since. I’ll never forget that 2012 vintage and I imagine neither will Titus. 2012 was their inaugural production year for Petit Verdot and they produced only 7 barrels, which they aged for 20 months in those barrels (100% French oak, 60% new). Note that Titus has been growing Petit Verdot for decades as they use it in their blending year in and year out.
Others in our family argue, most often good naturedly, that I am off kilter with my thinking the best Titus is the Petit Verdot as they all, to a person, swear the very best of Titus is their Lot 1. I do admit it’s a very close call!
We decided to order a half case of the 2014 Petite Sirah and the same of the 2015 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon we had tasted. Nicely, since we were flying, Titus arranged for our bottles to be shipped home for us.
We only pried ourselves away as we had dinner reservations down in Napa at the Hog Island Oyster Company or we might still be sitting on that veranda right now!