| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Central Coast) |
| Winery: | Kynsi Vineyards |
| Grape Type: | Chardonnay |
| Vintage: | 2019 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Kynsi Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
A complex nose of white nectarine, marzipan, citrus peel and pineapple upside down cake with a full palate, offering nuanced flavors of Asian pear, lemon curd and Calimyrna fig.
The Bien Nacido Vineyard is located in the Santa Maria Valley on the South Central Coast of California, just east of Santa Maria. The topography of the valley features transverse ranges with an east/west orientation, opening up to the Pacific Ocean. The climate is strongly influenced by the ocean providing ideal temperate growing conditions for Chardonnay. Early spring warming, mild summer temperatures and late arriving cold fall temperatures provide a long growing season for the development of rich color along with concentrated and complex flavors.
Sojourn Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The core of Sojourn Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay is from the same vineyard source as the highly-acclaimed Sojourn Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot noir wines. This wine features a combination of Clone 95 Chardonnay from Sangiacomo Roberts Road Vineyard and Old Wente Clone from Sangiacomo Vella Ranch. The Roberts Road block, planted in 1998, provides minerality and vibrancy. The Old Wente Clone selection is known to produce distinctively small clusters, low yields, and results in elegant, complex wines that round out this blend. These ranches are perfectly suited for growing Chardonnay, with cool climates and well-draining soils.
Sojour Chardonnay is fresh and lively, fruit-forward with bright acidity, stone fruit, citrus and apple flavors that leave your mouth watering.
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points
Adelsheim Vineyard Chardonnay Staking Claim is made from 100% Chardonnay.
Review:
-James Suckling 92 Points
Argot Simpatico Ranch Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Powerful aromas of key-lime, white flowers, orange blossoms and a fierce, flinty, sauvage note define a wildly complex nose. Once in the mouth, gracefully pronounced textures coat the palate delivering an exotic interpretation of cool-climate Chardonnay character — lime peel, orange blossom, ginger and clove —lingerings deep into a vibrant finish.
Planted 1978. Shallow volcanic soils on the gently-sloped, south-facing foothills of Bennett Peak on Bennett Valley’s floor. One of California’s coolest Chardonnay vineyards. In the final year of 3-year draught cycle, Simpatico Ranch saw its earliest ever harvest and smallest crop, exposing a reserve of exoticism and minerality previously untapped. A watershed vintage for both the vineyard, and appellation. Night harvested by hand on 9/16, whole-cluster pressed direct to barrel; no settling to ensure maximum lees contact. Barrel fermented on heavy lees. Malolactic fermentation. 16 months in French oak, 50% new. Finished 2 months in steel tank, low Sulphur during barrel elevage.
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Alejandro Bulgheroni Lithology Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc.
Here the Cabernet comes to us typically flawless, and the wines are as such. There is blue fruit, blueberries, black plums, blackberries, and cassis to the aromas, as well as stones, mineral, chocolate, fresh tobacco, and subtle herbs. It is incredibly full-bodied, but at the same time effortlessly drinkable, with ultra-smooth tannins and a positive, long, upturned finish. 70-75% new French oak is the norm for us with Dr. Crane, and those flavors are absorbed to become a vanillin complexity, sweetness, and length. An unbelievable wine.
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points
Alejandro Bulgheroni Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alejandro Bulgheroni Estate Lithology is a series of single vineyard and AVA-designated wines made from select sites within Napa Valley. Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is produced solely from fruit grown in the historic Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard planted in 1865 by W.H. Crabb and represents Oakville's famous bench land.
Review:
The 2019 Cabernet Franc Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard just shines for its bouquet, which is classic To Kalon with its floral, incense, spicy, red and black-fruited aromatics. These all flow to a medium to full-bodied, utterly seamless Cabernet Franc that’s balanced, has laser-like precision, and a great finish. This isn’t the biggest or richest wine in the lineup, but it’s Cabernet Franc in all its glory, with soaring aromatics and complexity, ample richness and texture, and a beautiful sense of finesse and elegance. It’s going to keep for 15-20 years with no issues.
-Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points
Composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is a barrel sample with a deep garnet-purple color. It needs a fair bit of coaxing to unlock scents of blackberry pie, warm blueberries and cassis plus suggestions of spice cake, underbrush, candied violets and chocolate box. The full-bodied palate brings forth loads of earthy layers to accent the rich, black fruits, framed by plush tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and fragrant.
-Wine Advocate 97 to 99 points
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Lithology Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is one of the very finest wines I have tasted from Alejandro Bulgheroni's Napa Valley project. The 2019 To Kalon captures all the pedigree of this iconic Oakville vineyard, and yet also remains nuanced and wonderfully finessed for an intense wine. To Kalon Cabernets are rarely this elegant, but the Bulgheroni 2019 sure is.
-- Antonio Galloni 97 Points
"Proprietor Alejandro Pedro Bulgheroni established this label in 2014. Entirely estate fruit, comprising beautiful rich berry scents, oak, crushed rocks and a saline minerality tinged with dark chocolate. Enveloping, full and broad-shouldered. Saturated dark berry fruit, chocolate layer cake, vanilla and dried herbs de provence round out this Cabernet with its fierce tannins that are nicely integrated.
"
-Jonathan Cristaldi 100 Points
Kynsi Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
A complex nose of white nectarine, marzipan, citrus peel and pineapple upside down cake with a full palate, offering nuanced flavors of Asian pear, lemon curd and Calimyrna fig.
The Bien Nacido Vineyard is located in the Santa Maria Valley on the South Central Coast of California, just east of Santa Maria. The topography of the valley features transverse ranges with an east/west orientation, opening up to the Pacific Ocean. The climate is strongly influenced by the ocean providing ideal temperate growing conditions for Chardonnay. Early spring warming, mild summer temperatures and late arriving cold fall temperatures provide a long growing season for the development of rich color along with concentrated and complex flavors.
Kynsi Winery is a family run operation focused on producing distinguished wines in limited production. Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah and unique red blends are carefully sourced from highly regarded cool climate vineyards along with Pinot Noir from their Estate Stone Corral Vineyard in the Edna Valley.
Owner/Winemakers Don and Gwen Othman have been immersed in the Central Coast wine industry for over 30 years with their specialty wine equipment business Bulldog Manufacturing. Don is widely recognized for his creation of The Bulldog Pup in 1986, a gas pressure racking wand that transfers wine from barrels without agitation or oxidation. While originally designed to gently transfer delicate Pinot Noir, “The Pup” has become an indispensable cellar tool for achieving superior clean rackings preserving richness and complexity in high quality barrel aged wines. They continue to manufacture and distribute the Bulldog Pup worldwide today.
Over the years, Bulldog Manufacturing provided the opportunity to work alongside some of the most respected winemakers in the industry. Don and Gwen gleaned volumes of diverse winemaking philosophies that helped lay the foundation from which their own distinctive winemaking philosophy emerged. Life is an evolution and in 1995 Don and Gwen founded Kynsi Winery located in the heart of the Edna Valley on California’s Central Coast. Today they are joined by their daughter Kala who grew up in the business and son-in-law Michael, each sharing the vision and values on which Kynsi has been built. Together, they all work very closely to maintain the quality and consistency of the Kynsi portfolio.
Their Story:
When the winery was first started in the old dairy, it had been decades since it had ceased operations and the grounds had been cared for. There was a gopher problem, and not your average garden infestation but a plague of historic proportions. In search of wisdom, it was discovered that barn owls are gopher’s #1 predator. Astonishingly, a nesting pair can process up to 40 gophers a night when feeding their young.
Barn owls are not nest builders, so 2 wooden boxes were installed in the old barn and within a couple of weeks there was a nesting pair. They had 4 owlets that first spring and wiped out the also breeding gophers. As the pellet pile grew under their boxes, nature was being put back into balance. The owls single handedly saved the ranch and the wise female in her preening pose was chosen to represent the brand, a pedestal duly earned. To honor family heritage, they chose the Finnish word “Kynsi” meaning talon to go with the beloved barn owl.
Review:
“The medium-bodied palate is so tightly wound at this youthful stage, slowly revealing layer upon layer of fragrant black and red fruits with loads of mineral sparks, supported by beautifully fine-grained yet firm tannins and seamless acidity, finishing with epic length and a whole firework display of mineral and floral notes. This is gorgeous. ” Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent 100 Points
Reynvaan Foothills Reserve Estate Syrah 2021 is made from 100% Syrah.
Reynvaan Family Vineyards was founded in 2004 by Mike and Gale Reynvaan in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, with son Matt Reynvaan as winemaker, and has become one of the most sought-after names in the state for its Rhône-inspired, estate-grown reds. The Foothills Reserve is a barrel selection from the family’s high-elevation Foothills in the Sun Vineyard, planted in 2008 on loess soils over deep basalt in the foothills of the Blue Mountains.
Walla Walla Valley Syrah is prized for two very different terroirs: the basalt-cobblestone Rocks District, known for savory, meaty, olive-and-mineral character, and the wind-swept loess hillsides that lend structure, freshness and lift. The Foothills site sits among the latter, giving a Syrah of both power and energy.
Review:
A total masterclass, the 2021 ‘Foothills Reserve’ is a barrel selection wine that comes from the Reynvaan’s high elevation estate Foothills In The Sun Vineyard. The site is set on Loess soils with deep basalt deposits and I have been writing about the potential of this site for more than a decade. Today, wines from this high-elevation location are every bit as good as those from their Rocks District vineyard. Hoisin sauce, beef drippings, menthol, and shades of wild blackberry all combine on the nose. The palate is utterly seamless with serious tension, weight and mouth-watering acidity. It offers La Landonne levels of flavor complexity, yielding blood orange zest notes alongside red cherry candy, cigar ash, wet stone and pipe tobacco that all brilliantly meld together on the palate. Showing seriously good flavor and aromatic range, enjoy this simply stunning Syrah now and over the next ten plus years to come. Drink 2023-2037.
Owen Bargreen, 99 points
Review:
-Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points
-Wine Enthusiast 97 Points
-Eric Guido (Vinous) 96 Points
-James Suckling 95 Points