Arzuaga Ribera del Duero Reserva 2016

My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petite Sirah, 8% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah .

What started as an homage to Stephan Asseo of L'Aventure Winery and his Bordeaux roots quickly became an obsession. Stretching wide across the Westside Hills of Paso Robles is clay soil amazingly similar to those found in Napa and Bordeaux. Today, these special sites are farmed meticulously by the farmers who have become My Favorite Neighbors. With their dedication to the land, we are able to craft a world class wine without any shortcuts or compromises. Welcome to the Neighborhood.

Review:

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is similarly deep purple/ruby-hued and has slightly more red fruits with lots of black raspberry, cassis, toasted spice, unsmoked tobacco, and incense aromas and flavors. It almost has a Margaux-like perfume and is medium to full-bodied, seamless, and wonderfully balanced on the palate. Some chalky minerality comes through with time in the glass, and it has plenty of tannins and a great finish. It’s not an over-the-top blockbuster and impresses just as much for its elegance as its richness.  -Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points

Michel Rolland, Pomerol vintner and consultant to many of the world's top wineries, teamed with Washington State wine visionary Allen Shoup to produce this limited release wine.

With its intense color and inviting aromas of dark berries, licorice, baking spice and a hint of smoke, the Pedestal is a bold wine that leaves a lasting impression. Dark fruit flavors integrated with sweetness from the barrel and richness from the tannins come together seamlessly, lingering across a structured mid-palate and lengthy finish.

Winemaking: Hand-harvested grapes were double-sorted to remove green material that might impart harsh tannins, then most of the lots were cold soaked to build richness and flavor before undergoing whole-berry fermentation in 55L upright French wood tanks. This, combined with gentle pump-overs throughout fermentation, enhanced the wine’s color, texture and mouthfeel. The finished wine was aged 22 months in 85% new French oak barrels.

Review:

"The 2016 Pedestal from Michel Rolland checks in as a blend of 75% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot that spent 22 months in 85% new French oak. It has a rocking bouquet of smoked black fruits, espresso, chocolate, and tobacco that gives way to a full-bodied, plump, incredibly sexy red that does everything right. It's one serious mouthful of Merlot and should keep for 10-12 years." - Jeb Dunnuck (April 2019), 95 pts

"The 2016 Pedestal Merlot has a precise nose of dusty plum, red flowers and soft oak tones with an elegant aroma of pencil lead fluttering about. The medium to full-bodied palate is clean and correct, with plush dark red fruit, dusty tannins, purple flowers and soft oak spices of vanilla, cardamom and nutmeg. The wine ends with a long, thoughtful, well-balanced finish that delivers complexity and pleasure simultaneously. Michel Rolland made this beauty of a bottle. - Anthony Mueller"
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Issue #246, December 2019), 94 pts

Argot Mosaic Syrah  is made from 87% Syrah, 13% Grenache (10 years old)

An impressively rich, intensely flavored wine with significant body and structure. A Syrah that hearkens to the wild, spice-driven Syrahs of the Southern Rhone.

Review:

"Refined and stylish, featuring a complex core wrapped in multilayered blackberry and blueberry flavors, laced with bitter chocolate, black licorice and smoky meat notes. Drink now through 2030.- Tim FISH"
- Wine Spectator Insider (January 15th 2020), 93 PTS

El Cismatico Garnacha is made from 100% Garnacha.

The wine is produced from 3 single vineyards - El Mimbreral, Piedra Blanca, Cerro Merino - situated between 850 to 900 meters high. These parcels share the same geological characteristics of pebble stones, red clay, marl and limestone which impart a precise and floral profile to the Garnacha grape that has achieved a balanced acidity and a low pH.

El Cismatico offers an intense ruby red in color. The nose is still very youthful, deep and complex with aromas changing every minute. Its starts out with notes of roasted meat, beets, wild red fruit, cloves, pepper. Little by little, as the wine opens the nose displays touches of crushed violets, pencil lead, black cherry and a light touch of mountain herbs. Fine, elegant and bold, the ripe fruit is exquisitely balanced by fresh acidity achieved from growing Garnacha at altitude. The tannin is firm but polished with an extremely long finish. Drinking 2022 and onwards for many years.

El Cismático is only released when the correct raw material has been achieved to make an Old Vine Garnacha with the capacity to age gracefully for years in bottle, gaining complexity along the way. The objective is to produce a wine that has the capacity to age quite happily for up to 30 years.

Minius Godello is made from 100 percent Godello.

Minius is a wine with a very live yellow color with green reflections. Highlighted on the nose are the citrus and floral aromas, along with white fruits notes and herbs like fennel. It is soft and elegant in mouth that together with the acidity gives a fresh and persistent finish.

Strict and careful grape selection in the vineyard and winery before destemming. Cold maceration at 10ºC during 3-4 hours. Presing. Alcoholic fermentation begins at 16,5 ºC in stainless steel under an automatic temperature control. Stabilization of the wine in isotermic tanks, filtering and bottling. Resting in the bottle during 30 days prior distribution.

Pairs with apperitives, rices, grilled seafood, white fish in sauce, cheeses, poultries

Jada Sawbones is made from Paso Robles 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Syrah, 14% Petit Verdot.

A seamless fusion of the best Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah lots from Jada Estate Vineyard. Currants, blackberries, pencil shavings, and clove meet ripe strawberry, chocolate and fresh minerality. Full-bodied with balanced tannin and a persistently fruity finish, the wine is supported by plenty of acidity.

SAWBONES is slang for a surgeon and doctor. Jada's founder and owner, Jack Messina, was a cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon for over 40 years so when Josh and the winemaker at the time were going back and forth about a new wine to showcase their Cab & Syrah programs, Josh decided on this tribute to his father to represent the many years of love and devotion Jack has given to ountless patients and families throughout his long career.

In 2017 they combined multiple small-lot fermentations of Syrah and a co-fermentation of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The Cabernet Sauvignon is from clone 337 only, chosen to compliment the Syrah in this blend with dark and aromatic fruit, higher acidity, and deep color. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot co-fermentation spent 9 days in tank before pressing to avoid excessive tannin, whereas the Syrah fermentations averaged 16 days. All varieties were triple sorted with multiple green passes in the vineyard, cluster sorting, and a final berry sorting before gravity-filling each tank. Aging for 18 months in 225L Barrels (54% New French Oak, 36% Once Used French Oak).

Review:

"The 2017 Sawbones checks in as 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Syrah, and 14% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in 54% new French oak. Its deep purple color is followed by stunning notes of blackcurrants, cassis, lead pencil shavings, chocolate, and crushed rocks. Pure, full-bodied, loaded with sweet fruit, and beautifully balanced, it's one hedonistic yet elegant beauty from this team that knocks it out of the park.”
- Jeb Dunnuck (October 2019), 96 pts