| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Napa) |
| Winery: | Hertelendy |
| Grape Type: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Vintage: | 2016 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
No Syrah terroir in Sonoma County compares with Sonoma Mountain’s northwest crown—cool fog-affected mornings, sun-bathed afternoons, cooled by persistent coastal breezes, and temperate evenings. The soils in Steiner’s Syrah blocks — ashy and moondust-like, littered with decomposing sea bed — further contribute to the unique nature of this site. After a 3-vintage hiatus, I am thrilled to be back working with Steiner Vineyard’s Syrah. By its nature, this slow-to-ripen, cool-climate site produces fabulously deep, intense, structured wines. Now, raising a big, brawny Syrah is no rare act of alchemy. It is the wonder of Steiner’s terroir — a magical elegance and beauty, informing the inherent power, depth and intensity — that makes this bottling so special. 2016 produced a classic wine that deftly balances massive flavors and texture, while retaining vital freshness, and a palpable sense of cool. Production was low, so get it while you can. Simply a “WOW” wine, not to be missed.
VINEYARD: Steiner Vineyard. Located at 1,100 ft, on the northwest crown of Sonoma Mountain. CRUSH: Early morning harvest by hand, October 1st, cluster and berry sorted, destemmed and crushed. FERMENT: 5-day cold soaks, followed by 14 day native fermentation in open-top bins. AGING: 20 months, French oak, 100% new, mixture of 300L hogsheads and barrique shapes. Never racked prior to bottling. Bottled unfined, unfiltered.
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
Avennia Red Willow Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Red Willow Cabernet is a true blockbuster.
Coming from one specific block of 30 year old vines at this iconic vineyard, then strictly barrel selected, this is the essence of powerful, old vine Washington Cabernet. After all of our efforts promoting the idea of the Bordeaux blend, it would take a pretty compelling argument to suspend that idea and make a 100% varietal Cabernet. In 2016 Red Willow provided us with just that. Each time we tasted it in the barrel, the belief grew that this was something special. Something we can't make every year. In the end we were won over, and decided to make a limited amount of this wine. But don't be fooled, as this too is a blend and a selection. Each year as we are tasting the grapes as harvest approaches, we notice that the vines near the bottom of this long, steep west-facing slope, are a little different. The vines at the bottom are in a little richer soil, and get a little more water, so we pick them separately, sometimes even a week or ten days apart, and keep them separate in barrel.
This wine is all from the top of the vineyard, with its lower yield and poorer soils giving more concentration and interest. Then further, nearly every combination of new and used French oak barrels were trialed to find the best blend. It's not enough just to use the four best barrels, but to trial each combination to see how they complement each other. For a wine with this much mass, 100% new French oak was used for the first time at Avennia. It is a wine that needs a little cellaring to start, but should last a very long time.
Review:
"The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Red Willow Vineyard is 100% Red Willow Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend roughly 20 months in close to 100% new French oak. Blackcurrants, smoked herbs, chocolate, and graphite notes all give way to a full-bodied, plump, rich, concentrated effort that's going to be better with short-term cellaring and keep for two decades."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2018), 94-96 pts
Avennia Valery Red Blend is made from 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc
Valery is named for the patron saint of wine in the St. Emilion region that inspired it.
We started with old vine Merlot from a stony block in the heart of the Yakima Valley and added complex, aromatic Cabernet Franc from the Horse Heaven Hills. The result is a balanced, complex wine with the elegance and ethereal perfume that this blend of two of Washington’s best varietals are known for.
The nose on this wine is very perfumed, almost exotic with notes of fresh violets, red plum, winter mint, fresh herbs and crushed limestone qualities. The palate is poised and balanced, with red fruits and mocha powder encapsulated in limestone. The finish lingers delicately, with the Cabernet Franc asserting a light tobacco and herb note, giving depth. A compelling wine that will continue to unwind for 7-10 years in the cellar.
Review:
"Brought up in 30% new French oak, the 2016 Valery (70/30 Merlot and Cabernet Franc) offers more black cherry and earthy, herbal notes as well as a medium-bodied, seamless, beautifully balanced style. It too shows a vibrant, fresh, yet concentrated style that has a Bordeaux feel in its weight and texture."
- Jeb Dunnuck (April 2019), 93 pts
"Good medium-dark red. Aromas of blueberry, mocha, licorice and violet are a bit darker than those of the 2015 version. Dense and penetrating, with wild flavors of dark berries, licorice and game given lift by rocky minerality and a minty nuance. Chris Peterson slightly acidified his Cabernet Franc from Champoux Vineyard, which he added to the wine for richness. This beauty may yet tighten up in the bottle.- Stephen Tanzer"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2018), 92+ pts
Charles Krug Peter Mondavi Family Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection has a deep garnet-purple color and features exuberant notes of crushed black cherries, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of unsmoked cigars, menthol, yeast extract and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and opulent in the mouth, it has a solid line of plush tannins and plenty of backbone freshness to lift the generous fruit to a long fruity finish.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points
Crown Point Estate Selection is made from 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec.
The 2016 Crown Point Estate Selection exhibits a heady aromatic array of baking spices, ripe red and black fruits, with deep intonations of earth and minerals. The palate is elegant and bright, with appealing acids and nuanced notes of savory mocha and dried herbs. Polished and seamless, the tannins finish with a comet-like trail of textural opulence highlighted by glossy flavors of baked berry pie and warm toast. Recommended drinking window: now through 2030s.The 2016 Estate Selection is representative of all five red Bordeaux varieties. The selection process starts in the vineyard and continues on through the winemaking process: only the best lots make the final blend. All blocks were harvested & fermented separately. The individual components were blended after 12 months in barrel. Total time in 225 liter French oak barrels was 26 months.
Review:
Deeply colored, the 2016 Estate Selection checks in as 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec that was brought up 26 months in 75% new French oak. Deeply colored, it has a smoking good bouquet of crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, lead pencil, camphor, and hints of chocolate. This gives way to a powerful, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon that has plenty of sweet tannins, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, no hard edges, and an awesome finish. I’d happily put this beauty in a lineup of top Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.
-Wine Enthusiast 97 Points
There’s an impressive amount of complexity on the nose of this bottling by winemaker Adam Henkel, from crushed graphite and concentrated black strawberry to cinnamon pastry, licorice and a brush of herbs. The sip is intense, with leathery but chiseled tannins presenting flavors of charred black currant, licorice, black olive, dried flower and white pepper
-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points
Hertelendy Legend is made from 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.
Review:
“The most expensive of these new releases, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hertelendy Legend is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, and 1% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, all aged 23 months in a mix of French and Hungarian oak, 90% being new. It offers a rock star bouquet of crème de cassis and jammy blackberry fruits intermixed with notions of white flowers, graphite, and white chocolate. This deep, layered, thrillingly textured beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness and depth, building tannins, and a great finish. Give this super-rich, powerful Cabernet 4-5 years of bottle age, and it will cruise for 20+ years.”
Jeb Dunnuck, 98 Points
Hertelendy wines represent our Old World family tradition over many centuries, from 18th-century Veltlínske zelené (Grüner Veltliner) and Rizling vlašský (Welschriesling) vineyards near Budatin Castle in Slovakia to Hungarian wines produced by our ancestral Great Uncle Gábor Hertelendy (below). He created two varietals in his basalt-mountain vineyards overlooking Lake Balaton: Szürkebarát (better known as Pinot Gris) and Kéknyelű (a rare Hungarian white wine grape only found in the Badacsony wine region). Unlike the majority of common grape varieties used in viticulture, Kéknyelű cannot self-pollinate. Kéknyelű is rare today because it requires both male and female specimens for pollination, so it occupies double the space to reap half the yield.
Great Uncle Gabor’s manor was half-way up an extinct volcano on the north shore of Lake Balaton where his wine profited from the rich soils resulting from the very hard (volcanic) basalt rock. Gabor sold all his white wine to the Badacsony cooperative, so bottles never adorned his Hertelendy name. He only allocated two acres to wine production, and family members from Budapest would all volunteer to assist with the harvest. Gabor et al continued producing wine even after the confiscation of his land by the Communists, who allowed him to stay and work on his former land as a hired hand.
Today, Hertelendy family traditions have been reborn in the New World with quality vintage selections from the Napa Valley to bridge both sides of the Atlantic. It is also unique that regardless of where Hertelendys make wine, volcanic soil within their respective terroir has always been a staple in Hertelendy winemaking throughout generations.
Hertelendy Vineyards sources its fruit, not just from our 4+ acre mountainside 1365 ft elevation “Rockwell Ridge” estate vineyard (35 ft below the Howell Mountain AVA demarcation line) planted in 1993, but also from ultra premium vineyards around the Napa Valley including areas like Oakville, Atlas Peak, Pritchard Hill, Silverado Bench, Coombsville, and the Russian River Valley for our Chardonnay. The majority of Hertelendy’s red vitis vinifera grapes come from tuffaceous rocky soil that is located on the steep, western facing Vaca Mountain slope (with Oakville being the exception). These slopes have volcanic ash, red clay, and granite-like sub soil, getting the best of both worlds: mountainside structure and rich flavors from the valley floor. These hillside locations, blessed with low fertility soil, consistently produce wines of unusual intensity and concentration. The rocky terrain provides excellent drainage and naturally stresses the vines, producing wines of character, complexity, and elegance.
A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with notes of blueberry, cassis, a hint of lavender followed by a myriad of exotic spices, some hazelnut, thyme and an element of licorice. Firm, mature tannins—evidence of Ten's ageability—are followed by a long, velvety finish.
Enemigo El Enemigo Gran Enemigo is made from Cabernet Franc.
Gran Enemigo Agrelo is intense, balanced, and elegant. Cabernet Franc brings light notes of eucalyptus and thyme, Malbec provides ripe black fruits, and oak provides a touch of chocolate and vanilla. Certified Sustainable by Bodegas de Argentina.
Gran Enemigo Agrelo pairs beautifully with steak, veal, and roasted game birds such as chicken, turkey, and duck.
Reviews:
The 2019 Gran Enemigo Agrelo Single Vineyard shows the completeness of the vintage, a year with good yields and a cooler winter and summer. The result is a very balanced wine with full development of aromas and flavors, moderate ripeness and good freshness and balance. It has a fine texture, some chalky sensations and a dry finish, despite the fact that the soils have no limestone. The vines here are over 40 years of age.
-Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97 Points
#73 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
The 2019 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Agrelo also includes 15% Malbec from the clayish soils of Luján de Cuyo. Aged for 15 months in foudres, this purplish wine reveals enticing cigar ash notes alongside blueberry and plum aromas, with a subtle cedar backdrop. Dry, rich and plush on the palate, it quickly tightens due to its fine-grained, reactive, clay-like tannins. This long-lasting red lingers on the ashy notes, beautifully layered and crafted with a modernist touch in a slightly cool vintage.
- Vinous 97 Points