Folie à Deux – Madness for Two

It’s always great when you run into an old friend and if that old friend happens to be a wine it might be even better. Such is the case with us as we recently sampled the latest vintages of the wines of Folie à Deux. If your high school French is not totally fractured, it translates as madness for two.
The Deux comes from two psychiatric professionals, Eve and Larry Dismang, while the madness comes from the insanity of establishing of a winery. This all occurred in 1961, when land in the Napa Valley was still affordable and California wines were just coming of age. Their timing could not have been better. They made wines to their liking and apparently the public liked them too, because, since its inception, they have always been a sellout.
Today, the wines of Folie à Deux are considered among the best made in the Napa Valley and are an example of what can be produced by winemakers who really care and are not afraid to row against the tide.

Folie à Deux 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($28). This wine is not only a beautiful California cabernet sauvignon but also a contradiction of itself. While it glorifies the typical cabernet sauvignon flavor of cassis and big dark black berries, it does so by presenting these flavors in huge and almost undignified amounts. The Folie à Deux 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon will accompany any of the traditional meat dishes that are normally associated with the variety but it will also fit with beef dishes prepared with sweet sauces and contrary to its ancestral heritage, back yard barbecues.

Folie à Deux 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay ($18). Here is a wine that explodes with the flavors and aromas of green apples, pears and a suggestion of citrus in the background. There is also a very pleasant under flavor of oak, which, when combined with a near perfect acid level, result in a wine of classical dimensions. The finish exhibits the much sought after buttery feel in the mouth, the sign of a better chardonnay. The Folie à Deux 2009 Napa Valley Chardonnay is a truly California wine: big, flavorful and thoroughly enjoyable.

Folie à Deux 2008 Napa Valley Merlot ($17). Like the Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is a return to the wines styles of old; the same wines that brought the initial fame to the grape variety but with a California twist. The aromas of blackberries and summer fruits seem to fill the room when the cork is pulled and the wine poured. The berry aromas continue into the flavor where they merge with oak and vanilla. The finish of this wine is as fruity as is the flavor, with raspberries and blueberries being the most obvious. While the other merlot wines are getting to be commonplace, this wine is a refreshing change from the ordinary.

Folie à Deux 2008 Amador County Zinfandel ($18).. The aroma of this wine is alive with jammy red fruits and blackberries. The dominant flavor is raspberry, and there is plenty of that to be found in this zinfandel. Surrounding the raspberry are the flavors of black cherry and black currents. There is also just an element of oak to add further interest and complexity along with just the right amount of tannin to make sure that the wine will age well over the next few years.

Folie à Deux 2009 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($17). The signature fruit flavors really stand out in this offering from Folie à Deux. This wine adds new interest to a variety that has become humdrum in recent years. The traditional flavors and aromas of citrus and grass, with a hint of melon abound in this wine and are very obvious. They result in an attractive and interesting wine that is the perfect. accompaniment for seafood. If you have lost interest in sauvignon blanc in recent years, try the Folie à Deux 2009 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc; you will be pleasantly surprised.