| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Napa) |
| Winery: | Duckhorn |
| Grape Type: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Vintage: | 2017 |
| Bottle Size: | 1500 ml |
Kinsella Estates Jersey Boys Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Pure 100% cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard continually astonishes. Loads of loamy soil notes followed by blue and black fruits give this cabernet massive depth and beautiful integrated tannins. Milk chocolate, crème de cassis and tobacco give this massive wine the depth you come to expect with Napa cabs, but it is all Sonoma County, all from our magnificent little private valley which sees sun all day! We buy no fruit; we sell no fruit.
Jersey Boys Vineyard (Kevin Kinsella is the largest individual investor in the hit Broadway show "Jersey Boys")
Jersey Boys is a six-acre vineyard that was replanted in 2008 with four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, handpicked by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown.
Wow…just Wow!! This wine has it all. Not as “big” as past vintages this wine is gangbusters right out of the gate. Ripe blackberry, juicy and rich with a wonderful chocolate core. Has a dusky quality that we have seen in this vineyard in the past that tricks your brain into thinking the wine is older than it is. It’s pure. It’s rich. It’s delicious! Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
Any vegetable or meat in the grill. Delicious with Chocolate as well.
Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
20 months in French oak (only about a third of that is new oak) and for 20 more months in bottle before release
Our winemaking "style" is solely determined by this place or terrior we call "Paradigm." Winemaking is agriculture when you own your vineyards and are able to farm them to promote the very best Earth will give you. All of our selections of wines are made from five varietals on the estate. Every wine is 100% farmed and grown by us.
Complexity in our wines supported by luscious fruit and acidity is our hallmark. Our efforts during harvest and barrel cellaring concentrate on maintaining the freshness from the first day we handpicked each vineyard block. Simple winemaking protocols are employed while crucial “timing” oriented winemaking decisions rule each day.
Review:
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
-Joe Czerwinski (Robert Parker) 92 Points
Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc .
True to their heritage of producing top-tier Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine showcases a seamless blend of elegance and strength. It begins with captivating aromas of dark red berries and cardamom, leading the way to a defined palate that showcases flavors of fig jam and boysenberry pie. Firm, dusty tannins provide a sturdy foundation, guiding you to a long, focused finish that denotes a harmonious blend of mountain and valley floor fruit.
"As usual, the Duckhorn team finds a way to show off quality Napa Valley fruit. Layered fruit and spice aromas and flavors include blackberry, currants, rich oak toast and baking spices that linger through an extended finish that shows a fully integrated, ready-to-drink-now wine that will age a while as well. While not as easy to find as the company’s flagship Merlot, it’s worth hunting down. Contains 5% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc. 93 Rich Cook"
-Wine Review Online 93 Points
Avennia Sestina Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc.
The story of this wine - The Sestina is an ancient form of poetry from Medieval France. Just as a modern poet can fill this form with new expressions, Avennia uses the traditional Bordeaux blend to express Washington. Sestina is their vision for an old vine, complex blend where all of the components complement each other. This wine is designed for the cellar, so the emphasis is on structure, balance, and complexity.
Winemaker Tasting Notes - “Good deep ruby/garnet color, with aromas of black cherry, fresh black currant, dark mocha, cigar box, and graphite. The palate is lively and dense with mountain berries, mocha, vanilla honey, damp earth, and wildflowers. The finish shows a distinct chalky minerality and beautiful tension. This is a classically balanced and ageworthy Sestina. Drink 2025-2040.” - Chris Peterson, Winemaker
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
-Anthony Mueller (Robert Parker) 94 Points
-Stephen Tanzer (Vinous) 93 Points
The estate Cabernet Sauvignon is grown primarily along the southwest ridge of the vineyard. The vines produce small berries with bountiful flavor, concentration and intensity, but also a good degree of finesse, excellent structure and layers of complexity that will continue to develop during extended bottle aging for those who want to cellar and age their wines. The wine is powerful, elegant, full-bodied.
Bottled unfined and unfiltered.100% free run
Pumpovers and punch-downs, up to 45 day macerations
Native yeast, 5 day cold soaks
22 months in 75% new French oak barrels
Fermented in concrete and stainless closed top tanks.
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
-Anthony Mueller (Robert Parker) 95 Points
-Wine Spectator's Insider 93 Points
-Stephen Tanzer (Vinous) 92 Points
Kinsella Estates Jersey Boys Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker: Thomas Rivers Brown
Pure 100% cabernet Sauvignon, this vineyard continually astonishes. Loads of loamy soil notes followed by blue and black fruits give this cabernet massive depth and beautiful integrated tannins. Milk chocolate, crème de cassis and tobacco give this massive wine the depth you come to expect with Napa cabs, but it is all Sonoma County, all from our magnificent little private valley which sees sun all day! We buy no fruit; we sell no fruit.
Jersey Boys Vineyard (Kevin Kinsella is the largest individual investor in the hit Broadway show "Jersey Boys")
Jersey Boys is a six-acre vineyard that was replanted in 2008 with four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, handpicked by winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown.
Wow…just Wow!! This wine has it all. Not as “big” as past vintages this wine is gangbusters right out of the gate. Ripe blackberry, juicy and rich with a wonderful chocolate core. Has a dusky quality that we have seen in this vineyard in the past that tricks your brain into thinking the wine is older than it is. It’s pure. It’s rich. It’s delicious! Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown
Any vegetable or meat in the grill. Delicious with Chocolate as well.
Duckhorn Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 2017 is made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Petit Verdot.
Lush, energetic, and intense, this gorgeous Cabernet begins with aromas of blackberry, huckleberry, and chocolate, as well as hints of mint, cardamom, clove, and graham cracker. On the palate, it displays lovely brightness, with firm, resolved tannins framing flavors of boysenberry and black currant. As it evolves in the glass, subtle sweet and savory notes are revealed, carrying the wine to a long, focused finish.
Review:
This is a Napa Valley cabernet that does everything right. Renee Ary blends fruit from Duckhorn’s estate with grapes from growers, including 12 percent merlot to point up the luscious texture, aging it for 16 months in French oak barrels (half of them new), without the wine becoming overtly oaky. It’s a wine of elegance and restraint, delicious in its sweet purple-plum intensity, succulent in its earthy tannins. Those mineral tannins retreat into the finish, allowing the savory fruit to move in. Accessible now, this will only improve with a few years in bottle.
-Wine & Spirits 94 Points
Co-founded by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn in 1976, Duckhorn Vineyards has spent forty years establishing itself as one of North America’s premier producers of Napa Valley wines. From its modest inaugural vintage of 800 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and 800 cases of Merlot in 1978, to its addition of Sauvignon Blanc in 1982, Duckhorn Vineyards has crafted a tradition of quality and excellence that continues today.
1981: Alex Ryan begins working at Duckhorn Vineyards during summer vacations from high school. After university, Alex joins the winery fulltime and comes up through the ranks in the vineyards and production before ultimately becoming CEO and president.
1982: Building on Dan and Margaret’s early passion for Bordeaux-varietal wines, and their desire to make an elegant and enticing white wine, Duckhorn Vineyards produces our first vintage of Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc using grapes from Marlee’s Vineyard, and a handful of other top winegrowing sites.
1989: Recognizing that the great emerging Napa Valley mountain vineyards are producing wines of exceptional character and quality, we produce our first Howell Mountain appellation-designated wine.
1999: After 20 years of only being open for by-appointment tastings, we break ground on our Duckhorn Vineyards Estate House and Tasting Room adjacent to Marlee’s Vineyard in St. Helena.
2003: Renée Ary joins the Duckhorn Vineyards team under then winemaker, Mark Beringer. Throughout her first decade at Duckhorn Vineyards, Renée learns every detail of production moving from lab manager to enologist to assistant winemaker to associate winemaker in charge of Duckhorn’s Sauvignon Blanc and Monitor Ledge Vineyard wines.
2006: Duckhorn Vineyards crafts its debut vintage of The Discussion. Embodying the depth and complexity of our world-renowned Estate program, The Discussion represents the pinnacle of the Duckhorn Vineyards portfolio and our belief in the timeless union of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlo
2014: After more than a decade of mastering the Duckhorn Vineyards style, Renée Ary is named the fourth winemaker in the four-decade history of Duckhorn Vineyards. In the years to follow, Renée is recognized for making some of the finest wines in the history of Duckhorn Vineyards.
2015: After four decades of working with its sought-after fruit, we acquire Three Palms Vineyard. Widely recognized as the finest Merlot vineyard in North America, Three Palms becomes the crown jewel of our Estate program.
2017: Duckhorn Vineyards celebrates the milestone of our 40th harvest in Napa Valley with an array of events, and a special 40th Anniversary Harvest logo adorning all 2017 vintage Duckhorn Vineyards wines.
Every now and then, in life and in wine, we are presented with unique opportunities to express ourselves and create something truly remarkable.
When rare opportunities arise, we need to capture, nurture and develop them so that their potential is fulfilled. So when Torbreck was given the opportunity to work with one of the most famous vineyards in the Barossa Valley, it became almost inevitable that the resulting wine would be truly remarkable.
In 2003, Torbreck growers and fourth generation descendants of the Seppelt family, Malcolm and Joylene Seppelt, asked our winemakers to create for them a small batch of Shiraz from their old Gnadenfrei vineyard in the sub-region of Marananga.
Planted in 1958, the five acre vineyard is traditionally dry grown and comes from an original Barossa clonal source. South facing, on the eastern side of a ridge separating the Seppeltsfield and Marananga appellations, these aged vines have been meticulously hand tended, traditionally farmed and pruned by a grower with a lifetime’s experience on Western Barossa soils of very dark, heavy clay loam over red friable clay. The resulting low yields of small, concentrated Shiraz berries make the vineyard the envy of all winemakers in the Barossa.
We looked longingly at the wine when it was returned to the Seppelts, knowing that it was the best we had ever made. In 2005 we convinced the Seppelts to sell Torbreck the fruit and The Laird was born. In 2013 Torbreck purchased the Gnadenfrei vineyard, securing The Laird’s reputation as one of the world’s great single vineyard Shiraz wines.
Torbreck is the name of a forest near Inverness, Scotland and you’ll find more than a passing nod to the Celts in our wine naming conventions. The Laird of the Estate in Scotland is the Lord of the Manor and master of all he surveys.
Review:
I poured the 2017 The Laird, set it aside and got about doing other jobs for 45 minutes or so, to give it some room to breathe. And it does breathe. It has its own pulse and beat and life, and it flexes and moves in the mouth. This is incredibly enveloping, with aromas reminiscent of campfire coals, charred eucalyptus, lamb fat, roasted beetroot, black tea and a prowling sort of countenance. In the mouth, the wine is bonded and cohesive and seamless, there are no gaps between anything, no space between fruit, oak and tannin; it all comes as one. While this is a singular wine, it is so big and concentrated that it needs no accompaniment other than some fresh air and a good mate. It's denser than osmium and is impenetrable at this stage.
Octopoda Pinot Noir Russian River 2024 is made from Pinot Noir.
A medium-bodied Russian River Valley Pinot Noir aged in French oak, offering bing cherry and red raspberry fruit, gentle spice and a supple, silky texture — a versatile, food-friendly bottling from one of California's benchmark Pinot regions.
Winery Info: Octopoda is made by the Precision Wine Company, founded by Trevor Sheehan, who spent nearly a decade collecting and trading fine wine and learning winemaking in Bordeaux and Burgundy before launching his California label. The project sources from top vineyard sites to make characterful, value-driven wines.