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
Mollydooker Velvet Glove Shiraz is made from 100 percent Shiraz.
Sticky plum jam and spicy nutmeg aromas are alluringly prominent on the nose, whilst berries and mocha weave
and envelop your entire palate. The finish is incredibly smooth and silky, with elegant fruit flavors that linger in your mouth. An outstanding example of a perfectly balanced Shiraz from McLaren Vale.
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.
Dark Cabernet color with beautiful aromas of black cherry, cassis, plus 5-spice, vanilla. Big, ripe and mouthcoating across the palate. The flavors are similar to the aromas with ripe fruit, berry/cherry pie, moderate tannins, and nice length. This wine shows enough structure to be age-worth, yet soft and balanced enough to enjoy upon release. Flavors linger in this tasty, dense wine. Tastes like Oakville. -Heidi Barrett
Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Reine des Bois is made from Grenache 75 %, Mourvèdre 10%, Syrah 10 % , Counoise 3% & Vaccarese 2%.
This premium cuvee - whose name means "Queen of the Woods" - is from 65-year-old vines, planted on Villafranchian-era terrasses. Yield is 30 hl/ha.
Deep ruby red; opaque. Aromas of red fruits change to wooden touches of leather, black truffles and coffee. Fat, concentrated and full flavored with a very long liquoriced and fruity finish.
Pairs with red meats, sauce dishes, game animals (woodcock, wild boar) and semi mature cheeses.
Review:
"Huge and powerful, but so fresh. This has great driving intensity, with even bigger, more structural tannins than the domaine’s other cuvée. A rampaging Châteauneuf that will take time to settle, and will always be wild. Long, vibrant and chiselled. An absolute beast. Mordorée has been massive but overripe in the past; it's still massive but with this vintage the ripeness is more controlled, and it has transformed into something extraordinary. Fermented and aged 80% in stainless steel, the rest in old barrels. - Matt WALLS"
- Decanter Magazine (September 17th 2023, Part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022: Report and top-scoring wines), 98 pts
Falletto di Bruno Giacosa Asili Riserva is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
Intense red garnet color with orange highlights. Notes of raspberry and wild strawberry are layered with floral aromas of rose and violet. On the palate, good structure is matched with freshness of fruit and sweet, silky tannins.
Review:
Sweet and succulent aromas of tangerines, freshly cut ripe strawberries, cherries and flowers follow through to a full-bodied palate with sleek and dense tannins that run the length of the wine and then fan out into a dense, vivid finish of fruit. It’s chewy and seriously structured with finesse and energy. Silky texture. This needs at least four or five years to come together and open.
-James Suckling 98 Points
Review:
Lastly, and a wine that will be a candidate for perfection in 4-5 years, the 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Centenaire reveals a deep ruby/purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of black cherries, licorice, iron, nori, and peppery garrigue. As with the base 2019, the estate did an incredible job with the tannins, and this wine is flawlessly balanced, with ultra-fine tannins, no hard edges, and the sheer class to evolve for 25+ years. This is a perfect example of power with no sensation of weight or heaviness. The blend in 2019 is 84% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, and 6% Syrah, and it wasn’t destemmed and was brought up mostly in concrete tanks, with just 6% in very old barrels.
-Jeb Dunnuck 98 Points
It is hard to imagine with the Lithology range receiving 298 points out of 300 for the three single-vineyard wines, that there could possibly be a wine above them. But there is, and it is our Estate wine. Blended several times very intently by masters of their craft Philippe Melka and Michel Rolland, this is the ultimate expression of our house’s work. Positive, full-bodied, and quite powerful, there’s the expected crème de cassis and blackberry from St. Helena Cabernets, with mineral, herb, subtle tobacco and vanilla, plum skins, and pie crust, purple flowers, forest-conifer notes, and very fine tannic structure. It is a magnificent, and magnificently elegant expression of this house, and when asked recently, Monsieur Rolland stated plainly to me, “oh yes indeed – this is the best one, the best yet…”
Review:
The flagship 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Alejandro Bulgheroni comes from a selection made by winemakers Philippe Melka and Michel Rolland, mostly from Rutherford and Oakville fruit. Aged 20 months in 78% new French oak, it has incredible aromatics of black and blue fruits, spring flowers, and graphite to go with a massive, full-bodied, concentrated style on the palate that somehow stays graceful, weightless, and elegant. This tour de force in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is guaranteed to put a smile on your face over the coming 20-25+ years.
-Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points
Grand Veneur Cotes Du Rhone Les Champauvins Blanc is made 100% Viognier. Located in the area known as "Les Champauvins", close to Domaine Grand Veneur. The soils are clay-sand and limestone. They enable the white grape varieties to ripen slowly, thus preserving their excellent aromatic finesse.
A great Viognier, conceived and produced with finesse and freshness in mind. Bright, limpid pale yellow color. Intense, delicate nose of floral and white-fleshed fruit aromas. Fresh, mineral and airy on the palate. White peach and pear aromas are the most expressive. The fruity characters are long-lasting, evolving into notes of apricot after a few hours' aeration.