I went to a charity tasting/auction last night where...to my
surprise...Todd Anderson was pouring his 2004 Ghost Horse Napa
Cabernet. Considering that at the next table was a wine called "Sassy
Bitch" I was a bit surprised. Ghost Horse is a wine made by the folks
who make Anderson's Conn Valley a longtime Napa wine family. I had
heard and read a lot about the wine and Todd Anderson (the wine sells
for huge sums of money) and was surprised to find Todd to be a pretty
down to earth fellow with a ton of patience. He poured a lot of wine
for a lot of folks who knew nothing about wine and even less about his
wine yet he took the time to explain vinification, site, clone, etc.
I found the wine a bit underwhelming at first. I guess when you read
about $500 wine you expect those huge, thick overblown monsters...this
wasn't one of those. The wine was well balanced with a nice Napa
blueberry, black cherry, cassis note. I noticed a real purity in the
fruit and the tannins were present but well balanced. Five minutes
later I could still taste the wine, and five minutes after that so it
was a looong finisher. Overall the wine was quite good but I'll save
value judgements fo $500 a bottle wines for the experts.

On 8/27/10 9:12 AM, Bi!! wrote:
> I went to a charity tasting/auction last night where...to my
> surprise...Todd Anderson was pouring his 2004 Ghost Horse Napa
> Cabernet. Considering that at the next table was a wine called "Sassy
> Bitch" I was a bit surprised. Ghost Horse is a wine made by the folks
> who make Anderson's Conn Valley a longtime Napa wine family. I had
> heard and read a lot about the wine and Todd Anderson (the wine sells
> for huge sums of money) and was surprised to find Todd to be a pretty
> down to earth fellow with a ton of patience. He poured a lot of wine
> for a lot of folks who knew nothing about wine and even less about his
> wine yet he took the time to explain vinification, site, clone, etc.
> I found the wine a bit underwhelming at first. I guess when you read
> about $500 wine you expect those huge, thick overblown monsters...this
> wasn't one of those. The wine was well balanced with a nice Napa
> blueberry, black cherry, cassis note. I noticed a real purity in the
> fruit and the tannins were present but well balanced. Five minutes
> later I could still taste the wine, and five minutes after that so it
> was a looong finisher. Overall the wine was quite good but I'll save
> value judgements fo $500 a bottle wines for the experts.

Thanks so much for this report, Bill! "The Todd" and Ghost Horse have
indeed been the subject of much speculation and snarky commentary (some
of which I think is deserved). Those few reports I've read of the
wines, which have been shrouded in mystery, are like your own: balanced,
not OTT and fairly ageworthy. Lucky you to get to taste one!

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Aug 27, 10:38*am, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On 8/27/10 9:12 AM, Bi!! wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I went to a charity tasting/auction last night where...to my
> > surprise...Todd Anderson was pouring his 2004 Ghost Horse Napa
> > Cabernet. *Considering that at the next table was a wine called "Sassy
> > Bitch" I was a bit surprised. *Ghost Horse is a wine made by the folks
> > who make Anderson's Conn Valley a longtime Napa wine family. *I had
> > heard and read a lot about the wine and Todd Anderson (the wine sells
> > for huge sums of money) and was surprised to find Todd to be a pretty
> > down to earth fellow with a ton of patience. *He poured a lot of wine
> > for a lot of folks who knew nothing about wine and even less about his
> > wine yet he took the time to explain vinification, site, clone, etc.
> > I found the wine a bit underwhelming at first. *I guess when you read
> > about $500 wine you expect those huge, thick overblown monsters...this
> > wasn't one of those. *The wine was well balanced with a nice Napa
> > blueberry, black cherry, cassis note. *I noticed a real purity in the
> > fruit and the tannins were present but well balanced. *Five minutes
> > later I could still taste the wine, and five minutes after that so it
> > was a looong finisher. *Overall the wine was quite good but I'll save
> > value judgements fo $500 a bottle wines for the experts.
>
> Thanks so much for this report, Bill! *"The Todd" and Ghost Horse have
> indeed been the subject of much speculation and snarky commentary (some
> of which I think is deserved). *Those few reports I've read of the
> wines, which have been shrouded in mystery, are like your own: balanced,
> not OTT and fairly ageworthy. *Lucky you to get to taste one!
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.cwdjr.net- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I must say however, I don't get the pricing thing at all. I guess
pricing is subjective, and as long as it sells, one can price their
own product at any price point regardless of value, quality, etc. To
be honest this was $50-$75 Cabernet, imho, good but not great so I tip
my hat to "The Todd" for pulling off a good one!

Just got a nice gift of some Ghost Horse 2007 and 2008. 3 bottles each year. Two etched ghost horse glasses.

I to met Todd at a charity dinner for Heartbright Org here in Charlotte. Pretty interesting guy. Like Conn Valley, but never tried Ghost Horse.