Daou Vineyards Patrimony Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Paul Hobbs Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Since our inaugural release last year, this wine has quickly become one of the most compelling in their portfolio. Offering a gorgeous deep purple hue, our 2019 captivates with a bouquet of crushed blueberry, summer savory spice, and a delicate tobacco leaf note. The palate is remarkably balanced with well-integrated

tannins and fresh acidity that wraps around boysenberry and black fig along subtle notes of rosemary and a crush rock minerality, which lends tension through the long finish.

Review:

With an attention- getting purple-black hue, this astound- ing red is silky but manages to eke out teeth-grabbing, dusty black-tea tannins. A host of flavors, among them graphite, black raspberry, violets, and Worces- tershire, sends a message of intensity. Earth and soil notes are apparent, sur- rounding a mineral component within the wine's deep core.

-Tasting Panel 98 Points

Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Russian River Valley is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.

Crafted with precision from six pedigreed sites comes a wine that beams with pale straw hue. The newest vintage brings wonderful aromatic intensity: candied lemon peel, white florals followed by crisp green apple. A creamy and viscous texture on the palate is buoyed by white nectarine and dried apricot that’s balanced with a vibrant acidity, bringing focus to the wine’s finish that lingers with hints of flinty mineral notes.

Review:

-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points

Nickel & Nickel Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay. 

The 2023 Nickel & Nickel Truchard Chardonnay opens with enticing aromatics of tropical fruit, tangerine, and a hint of honeysuckle. On the palate, it presents a bright and vibrant profile, with a natural lift from its fresh fruit flavors and lively acidity. The tropical and citrus notes are complemented by a subtle brioche character, while the oak imparts a pleasant roundness, bringing balance and weight to the wine.

Review:

The freshness and pure fruit flavors of this generous wine ring clear as a bell. Crisp green apples, Bosc pears and subtle oak spices like vanilla bean and toasted almonds fill the palate. While medium-bodied, it feels full and generous and has a lingering finish. Drink now or hold.

-James Suckling 94 Points

Winemaker Joe Harden ages his Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay for 10 months in 30% new French oak, with minimal stirring and no malolactic fermentation, allowing for a slightly more pronounced oak presence. Truchard, one of Carneros' most esteemed sites, is characterised by rolling hills with ideal sun exposure and cooling breezes. Harden sources fruit from eight distinct blocks across the vineyard’s expansive 109 hectares, with harvests spanning roughly a month. Among the selections is Clone 809, a Muscat clone that adds floral aromatics and a touch of baking spice. The Truchard Chardonnay exhibits a silky texture on the palate, layered with citrus peel and tropical hints of apricot and peach. A rich spine of acidity is further heightened by vivid mineral tension, creating a wine that is both racy and rich. Elegantly balanced, it’s a delightful sipper with impressive depth and vibrancy.

-Decanter 94 Points

High gloss metallic paint with a forged iron big-block under the hood - our 2018 Hillstone Vineyard is a real show car. Deeply fruited with hi-tone huckleberry from a prime hillside site in Rutherford, the wine has a thick powerband with crushed stone and coffee bean, retaining polish and precision straight through the tail pipes.

Review:

Lots of pure cassis and blueberry- like fruits as well as licorice, graphite, and crushed rock-like minerality, emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillstone Vineyard. It's a full-bodied, opulent, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon that doesn't pull any punches on the fruit or texture scale, yet has ripe, present tannins, a light, elegant texture, and a great finish. Give bottles an hour in a decanter if drinking any time soon, or better yet, hide bottles for 2-3 years. It's going to evolve for 15+ years in cold cellars.

-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points

Morlet Family Vineyards Mon Chevalier Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 94% Cabernet Sauvignon 6% Cabernet Franc .

Located on the hillsides of Knights Valley, near Calistoga, this vineyard benefits from its proximity to Mount St. Helena, whose warm and windy climate is ideal for the long ripening of the Bordeaux red varietals. Handcrafted by using classical winemaking techniques, this special wine is dedicated to our son, Paul Morlet.

Dark red with a hue of purple. Intense and complex bouquet of red, black and blue berries intermixed with notes of blueberries, minerals (graphite, wet river rocks) licorice, fresh blond tobacco and a hint of lavender. Full bodied, the palate is reminiscent of the nose, with a richly tannic yet round frame and a great intensity. The hillside tannins and the classical aromatic complexity create a harmonious ensemble, leading to a very long and elegant finish. Built to age for decades, this collectible wine opens up after a few years of cellaring and is particularly representative of this special vineyard from the hillside of Knights Valley. Mon Chevalier features the interaction of the loamy, well drained and rocky volcanic soil, the typical sunny mountain climate and the low-interventionistic Morlet winemaking approach.

Propietary Name Mon Chevalier

Name Meaning My Knight Named after our son, Paul Morlet

Type of wine Vineyard designated

Appellation Knights Valley

Vineyard singularity Morlet Family Estate Hillside 1100-1200 feet elevation Rhyolitic, loam & volcanic ash

Typical harvest date End of October

Picking Manual, small lugs, refer truck

Sorting Cluster by cluster, berry per berry

Fermentation Through native yeast Tank and Puncheons

Upbringing 16 months French oak from artisan coopers

Bottling Unfiltered

Cellaring time Decades

Serving Room temperature

Decanting recommended

Review: 

The 2017 'Mon Chevalier' is rich, deep and unctuous, with all the character that makes wines from this site so exciting. Graphite, inky blue/purplish fruit, spice and lavender infuse the 2017 with tremendous complexity. In the glass, the 2017 is savory, rich and expansive, not to mention hugely appealing.

-Vinous 96 Points

Collemattoni Brunello di Montalcino is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.

Color: brilliant red with burgundy reflects; Bouquet: penetrating with memories of wild black fruits, black cherry and noble wood; Taste: warm, dry and persistent

Coming from a parcel with 10-15 year old vines planted in sandy clay and marl soils.
Harvest is 100% destemmed with a soft pressing, fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature of 28-30°C, pumping over for the first week of maceration followed by skin-contact maceration for 20-25 days with rack and return technique (delestage).
Malolactic fermentation completed.
Wine is slightly filtered before bottling.

Review:

"Black cherry and plum with a touch of smoke , vanilla. And toast on the nose. Powdery tannins coat the mouth and has a long persistence. Powerful and fresh while a little warming on the finish."

- Decanter Wolrd Wine Awards (June 2023), 97 pts