Hickinbotham Revivalist Merlot is made from 100 percent Merlot.
The Merlot for this red wine was sourced from vines planted in 1989 and 1976 at 220-245m altitude on a western facing aspect on the estate. During harvest, we hand-picked, de-stemmed, whole berry sorted, then 100% gently crushed. We then cold soaked, with native fermentation, and pumped over daily with a minimum of 21 days on skins. Basket pressed with light pressing included in free run, heavier pressings kept separate and not included, drained directly to barrel. The wine was racked and returned three times during maturation for 15 months, aged in fine-grain Bordeaux coopered barrels of which are approximately 25% new.
Review:
Deep ruby. Lush cherry-cola, blackberry and mocha qualities on the deeply perfumed nose, which is complemented by suggestions of candied rose and vanilla. In a round, generous style, offering sweet dark berry and fruitcake flavors that are supported by an undercurrent of juicy acidity. Pliant tannins frame an impressively long, sappy finish that strongly repeats the cherry and floral notes. 50% new French oak.
- Vinous 94 Points
Hoopes Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Our flagship wine is, and always has been, the soul of our farm. Crafted from our ten-acre vineyard in the heart of Oakville, planted in 1983, it was previously a fruit source for a number of famous estates until we started winemaking ourselves. The soil is dense in geologic composition, featuring four different types of soil. One, volcanic, is unheard of in the Oakville sub-appellation, with the exception of To Kalon, and is rarely, if ever present, in valley floor vineyards. We harvest this vineyard in fourteen small batches, despite the small size, to ensure the perfect balance of acid, flavor, and tannins. "
This wine's deep garnet hue invites you to dive into the nose as it opens with soft fruity-floral aromas of lilac and rose petals then moving into red fruits, pencil shavings, honey and plum. The aromas are deceptively delicate and refined with an ethereal quality. The mouth is more concentrated leaning towards ripe, rich black fruits. Juicy blueberry and sweet licorice flavors carry into the mid-palate with an open, spacious and inviting character. Lush, elegant, tannins support a mouthwatering finish with a savory aspect and notes of black tea bringing the wine to a balanced and layered close.
Review:
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville brings more elegance and finesse. Coming all from Oakville and aged 28 months in 50% new barrels, it has perfumed red and black fruits, lots of spicy oak, medium body, and just a seamless, pretty, elegant profile that's going to evolve nicely for 10-15 years.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Hoopes Chardonnay Napa Valley is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Serendipity was in the morning air when Maya and Sophie took Lindsay for a walk down a Yountville country lane. Maya, the feisty one, spied a jackrabbit and bounded off in hot pursuit. When Lindsay caught up with her, she found herself surrounded by some fine looking Chardonnay vines. Always on the look-out for the best fruit for Hoopla, with some neighborhood super-sleuthing, Lindsay tracked down the vineyard owner and kept talking until she got his handshake. That chance discovery gave us really great Chardonnay that we offer at a really great price. In fact, chasing rabbits is exactly what we’re talking about. This cheeky Chardonnay will make you want to get into some mischief too.
Our goal with the Hoopla Chardonnay is a fresh juicy wine showcasing flavors and aromas of the grape. A long cool fermentation and aging in stainless steel shines helps preserve the luscious aromas and fruit characters in the wine. Classic notes of fresh pineapple, ripe pear and Fuji apple greet the nose with a lovely warmth and creaminess in the mouth from aging sur-lie in tank without the introduction of oak. This mid-palate breadth yields to an open, clean and refreshing finish. We find ourselves reaching for this crowd-pleasing wine time and time again without fail.
This wine is delicious with roast chicken and buttery mashed potatoes, fish tacos, Chinese chicken salad, lobster mac and cheese, triple crème Brie slathered on French baguette and salt & pepper flavored kettle-cooked potato chips.
Review:
"I was blown away by the 2020 Chardonnay, a clean, crisp, vibrant expression of Chardonnay that has medium to full-bodied richness, wonderfully integrated acidity, and a distinct sense of minerality in its citrus, stone fruit, and white flower-driven aromatics. It's shockingly good and tastes like it cost 3-4 times its price."
- Jeb Dunnuck (February 2023), 96 pts
Hoopes Chardonnay Napa Valley is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Serendipity was in the morning air when Maya and Sophie took Lindsay for a walk down a Yountville country lane. Maya, the feisty one, spied a jackrabbit and bounded off in hot pursuit. When Lindsay caught up with her, she found herself surrounded by some fine looking Chardonnay vines. Always on the look-out for the best fruit for Hoopla, with some neighborhood super-sleuthing, Lindsay tracked down the vineyard owner and kept talking until she got his handshake. That chance discovery gave us really great Chardonnay that we offer at a really great price. In fact, chasing rabbits is exactly what we’re talking about. This cheeky Chardonnay will make you want to get into some mischief too.
Our goal with the Hoopla Chardonnay is a fresh juicy wine showcasing flavors and aromas of the grape. A long cool fermentation and aging in stainless steel shines helps preserve the luscious aromas and fruit characters in the wine. Classic notes of fresh pineapple, ripe pear and Fuji apple greet the nose with a lovely warmth and creaminess in the mouth from aging sur-lie in tank without the introduction of oak. This mid-palate breadth yields to an open, clean and refreshing finish. We find ourselves reaching for this crowd-pleasing wine time and time again without fail.
This wine is delicious with roast chicken and buttery mashed potatoes, fish tacos, Chinese chicken salad, lobster mac and cheese, triple crème Brie slathered on French baguette and salt & pepper flavored kettle-cooked potato chips.
Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2018 Abercrombie reflects the highs that can be achieved in a superb vintage when thoughtful and deliberate winemaking combine with exceptional vineyards. The color is a vivid, deep ruby, tingeing purple and betraying the wine's youth. The bouquet evolves in a measured fashion as the wine slowly aerates, filling the glass with textbook Cabernet perfume of powerful dark fruits, rubbed bay leaf, cedar, coffee beans and vanilla. Intensity and purity of fruit is the standout feature, and this transmits seamlessly to the palate, where the profound structure and effortless length also take centre stage. The harmony of rich fruit, clean and vibrant acidity and fine, abiding tannins speak to the beguiling nature of this young wine and the glorious future that awaits its patient custodians in ensuing decades. This is true West Australian Cabernet.
Named for Walter Abercrombie, the much loved Great Grandfather and mentor of Jeff Burch, the owner of Howard Park Wines, this is Howard Park's finest Cabernet Sauvignon.
Howard Park’s winemaking philosophy is to craft elegant, age-worthy wines from our best sites in the Margaret River & Great Southern regions of Western Australia. Critical site selection, meticulous viticultural practice and detailed winemaking underline each Icon wine.
Review:
This is really fine with such polished and manicured fruit and tannins that deliver a thoroughly refined and beautiful palate with sweet dark fruit, from currants to blackberries. Long, long finish. Hard not to drink now. But one for the cellar. Try after 2025.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Hugl Gemischter Satz is made from 50% Grüner Veltliner, 40% Gelber Muskateller and 10% Riesling.
Gemischter Satz" has a long history in Austria. It is a field blend where different grape varieties are picked at the same time and vinified together:
In Vienna, the tradition of planting different and complementary grape varieties together in a vineyard – then harvesting and fermenting them together as well – has survived to the present day as Gemischter Satz. Thanks to the dynamic efforts of ambitious winegrowers, this traditional rarity has grown in stature and recognition to become the calling card of viticulture in Austria’s capital city.
Gemischter Satz is very popular in Vienna’s Heurigen (the Viennese term for wine taverns). Historically, Heurigen were simple places, where vineyard owners would open their doors during wine season to serve glasses of this years wine and juices to guests. At most, a plate of cold meats and cheese could be served along with the delicious wine.
For the traditional wines of Wiener Gemischter Satz - the planting of different grape varieties together in one vineyard - a unique style profile has been developed; a style that reflects the wine's origin-typical aromas and flavours. The regulation for the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC requires that at least three white quality wine varieties must be planted together in one vineyard that is listed in the Viennese vineyard register as Wiener Gemischter Satz. The highest portion of one grape variety must be no more than 50%; the third highest portion must be at least 10%. Wines without vineyard indication must be dry and without any prominent wood flavour. The Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC can be marketed with an indication of vineyard site also. Single vineyard wines do not necessarily have to correspond with the “dry” taste indication, and they cannot be released for sale prior to March 1st of the year following the harvest. Minimum alcohol % of 12.5%.
Adds an enthusiastic Herbert Schilling, head of Vienna's Regional Wine Committee: “With the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, we've achieved a milestone in the consistent, years-long quality policy for wine growing in Vienna. The new regulations sharpen the origin profile of Wiener Gemischter Satz and, at the same time, reflect Vienna´s diversity in the glass.”
Hugl Gemischter Satz is made from 50% Grüner Veltliner, 40% Gelber Muskateller and 10% Riesling.
Gemischter Satz" has a long history in Austria. It is a field blend where different grape varieties are picked at the same time and vinified together:
In Vienna, the tradition of planting different and complementary grape varieties together in a vineyard – then harvesting and fermenting them together as well – has survived to the present day as Gemischter Satz. Thanks to the dynamic efforts of ambitious winegrowers, this traditional rarity has grown in stature and recognition to become the calling card of viticulture in Austria’s capital city.
Gemischter Satz is very popular in Vienna’s Heurigen (the Viennese term for wine taverns). Historically, Heurigen were simple places, where vineyard owners would open their doors during wine season to serve glasses of this years wine and juices to guests. At most, a plate of cold meats and cheese could be served along with the delicious wine.
For the traditional wines of Wiener Gemischter Satz - the planting of different grape varieties together in one vineyard - a unique style profile has been developed; a style that reflects the wine's origin-typical aromas and flavours. The regulation for the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC requires that at least three white quality wine varieties must be planted together in one vineyard that is listed in the Viennese vineyard register as Wiener Gemischter Satz. The highest portion of one grape variety must be no more than 50%; the third highest portion must be at least 10%. Wines without vineyard indication must be dry and without any prominent wood flavour. The Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC can be marketed with an indication of vineyard site also. Single vineyard wines do not necessarily have to correspond with the “dry” taste indication, and they cannot be released for sale prior to March 1st of the year following the harvest. Minimum alcohol % of 12.5%.
Adds an enthusiastic Herbert Schilling, head of Vienna's Regional Wine Committee: “With the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC, we've achieved a milestone in the consistent, years-long quality policy for wine growing in Vienna. The new regulations sharpen the origin profile of Wiener Gemischter Satz and, at the same time, reflect Vienna´s diversity in the glass.”
I Brand Cabernet Franc Bayly Ranch is made from 100% Cabernet Franc.
This 100% Cabernet Franc is produced from vineyards located in Tres Pinot Creek, (along San Andreas Fault Line), at only 800 foot elevation. A great locale for Cabernet Franc to exhibit Loire-like structure overlaid with the bright fruit befitting California sunshine.
Review:
"This is a sprightly, textural, mineral-driven bottling that's immediately fascinating yet will be a joy to watch evolve. Light in the glass, it begins with aromas of cranberry, nori wrap, herb-dusted strawberry and a hint of dried blood. The palate shows a rusty edge, offering dried strawberry, crumpled oregano and a hint of green peppercorn. Drink now through 2034. - Matt KETTMANN"
- Wine Enthusiast (Septmember 1st 2021), 94 pts
Indwe Pinotage Coastal Region is made from 100 percent Pinotage.
Pinotage is a true South African grape variety, Our signature grape smilar to the Blue Crane being our national bird. Indwe Pinotage grapes are meticulously sourced from our grape producers along the Coastal region of the Western Cape ensuring complexity, depth and purity of fruit. The wine is layered with sweet cherry notes, and subtle hints of mocha and vanilla flavors.
Reverdy Jean Sancerre Rouge is mader from 100% Pinot Noir
The wine is spicy and juicy with cherry aromas, and proves the point that power is not necessary for a fine wine.
Johann Michel Cornas is 100% Syrah
This Cornas is a blend from 2 different vineyard sites:
- 60% of the final blend is from vineyards located on a hillside (16 year old vines on the "coteau"), planted on sandy soils, decomposed granite and some rocks, giving the structure, spiciness and licorice flavors to the blend.
- the other 40% of the final blend comes from the bottom of the slope (40 years old vines on the "pied de coteau"), planted on sandy soils, bringing acidity and balance to the wine.
Expressive, deep, rich, silky and juicy. Well structured and round, it displays red fruit, leather, black cherry, liquorice and black berry aromas.
Review:
"Bright and intense both in color and in aroma. Hyper-fresh, searching berry fruits, this is electric. Rounded, with plump berry fruits that are concentrated and fresh. The tannins are intense too, grippy and strict on the long finish. This is almost painful to taste at this stage, but should be excellent in time. Vines with an average of 35 years of age, from lieux-dits Saveaux, Patou and Les Côtes, all destemmed and then aged in two- to five-year-old demi-muids. - Matt WALLS"
- Decanter (Rhone 2021 en primeur, October 1st 2022), 96 pts
Johann Michel Cornas Cuvee Jana is 100% Syrah.
Black raspberry aromas, licorice, sizzled bacon and smoke. Elegant and pure with depth and well-integrated tannins.
Jana is the name of Johann and Emmanuelle's daughter.
Manual harvest, selection of the grapes from the "Chaillot" parcel, full clusters, fermentation in tanks for 3 weeks, daily remontage and pigeage. Malolactic fermentation in oak barrels and aging on the lees for 12-18 months in barrels (new old barrels) The average age of the vines is 11 years. Yield: 25 hl/ha
Review:
"Dark purple. Highly perfumed, oak-spiced black and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and potpourri on the hugely perfumed nose, along with hints of licorice, smoked meat and mocha. Stains the palate with concentrated, spice-laced blueberry, cassis, cherry-vanilla and espresso flavors that turn sweeter as the wine opens up. Broad, polished tannins add shape to a strikingly long, smoke- and spice-driven finish that strongly echoes the floral and blue fruit notes. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (December 2022), 97 pts
Alejandro Bulgheroni Lithology Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
We only produced a scant 50 cases of this wine this year, far too small an amount considering how great it turned out. There’s that typical saturated to the rim deep purple color, with intense cassis, herb, and milk chocolate, bricks and forest floor, black plum pudding aromas. In the mouth, there’s a great balance, with notable oak and vanilla notes intertwined with dense black fruits. It’s an opulent and plush style, yet finishes with sweet grippy tannins.
Codirosso Chianti is made from 90% Sangiovese, 7% Canaiolo, 3% Colorino.
Vinification: fermentation in stainless steel at controlled temperatures for 7 to 8 days with an additional 7 to 8 days on the skins. The juice is pumped over daily for 10 days at the beginning of the fermentation. The wine is then racked and goes through malolactic.
Ruby red color with purple reflections. Intense vinous bouquet with hints of violets and dark cherry fruit.The flavor is full of ripe fruit and a hint of spice. It is well balanced and dry. The finish is persistent and satisfying.
Food pairing: grilled, braised or roasted meats