Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet.
This Napa Valley wine is a blend of their Howell Mountain fruit and a small quantity of valley floor fruit that they purchase. This valley floor fruit contributes to the wine’s earlier approachability and softer tannic structure.
Review:
I loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which I think is a step up over the 2018, although both 2019s show a much more elegant profile. Ripe currants, plums, roasted herbs, violets, and incense notes all shine in this medium to full-bodied, ripe, supple, layered beauty, which has fine tannins and a gorgeous finish. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming 15 years.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Filippino Elio Barolo Riserva is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
This 100% Nebbiolo offers a fruity, floral and spicy bouquet of red roses, raspberry, cinnamon and cocoa. It is generous, enveloping and elegant in the mouth, yet intense and full-bodied.
The grapes undergo a soft crushing and destemming leading to a clear must. This must ferments in steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 26°C and macerates for 20-25 days. After racking, the wine undergoes a lengthy maturation in oak barrels, which is continued with a lengthy bottle-ageing. Bottle-ageing confers the wine’s final character, at which time the wine is sent to market and from there to consumer tables.
Reviews:
On the savory side, this red opens with freshly mowed grass, hay and eucalyptus aromas before revealing cherry, strawberry, rose and mineral flavors. Fleshy, with a matrix of dense tannins flexing their muscles on the finish. Shows excellent potential. Best from 2023 through 2042.
-Wine Spectator 96 Points
Floral and red fruit nose. Supple attack, very polished and concentrated, with fine-grained tannins and ample acidity. This has a linear drive, precision. and a very long finish. The rewards will be substantial for the patient consumer.
-Decanter 97 Points
G.D. Vajra Barolo Ravera is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
The Barolo Ravera shows a striking balance of all tones. Red and dark fruits on the nose are interlaced with mineral hints and the iron tones which are such a signature of Ravera. The wine has brilliant drinkability, with a layered, ample mid palate and a racy finish.
Review:
Seamlessly stitched together, the G.D. Vajra 2018 Barolo Ravera reveals tight layering and smooth texture. Fruit comes from an amphitheater of vines with Tortoniana epoch sandstone clay that is typical of parts of Barolo and Novello. What stands out here is the mineral character of the wine. It frames a dark core of plum, dark cherry and soft spice.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 94 Points
G.D. Vajra Bricco Delle Viole Barolo is made from 100 percent Nebbiolo.
The Barolo Bricco delle Viole shows the signature verticality of its vineyard. The wine is beautifully layered and - while restrained as it’s always the case in the youth of Bricco delle Viole - it also shows a complexity of layers with purple flowers, sweet spices and mineral tones. The palate is noble, with a refined acid spine and profound tannins that promise a long aging potential.
Among the historical vineyards of Barolo, Bricco delle Viole is the highest and the closest to the Alps. It rises from 400 to 480 meters above sea level, on the Western ridge of the village. Its name, “Hill of Violets”, originates from the flowers that blossom early here due to the perfect south exposure. Up above the fogs, Bricco delle Viole enjoys the earliest sunrise and the last sunset every day. Thanks to its vines dating back to 1949 and -now- 1931, a dramatic diuturnal temperature range and this pure light, Bricco delle Viole generates a sophisticated and profound Barolo DOCG of bright aromatics, chiseled tannins and subtle minerality. 2018 is a vintage that shows many nuances of Bricco delle Viole: beyond the signature verticality of this site, the wine offers high tones laced with mineral nuances and plenty of energy and youth.
Review:
The 2018 Barolo Bricco delle Viole is not super intense, but it is balanced in its own way. The wine is subdued but complete with softly yielding tannins to support an elegantly streamlined mouthfeel. Bricco delle Viole is a high and cool growing site in Barolo at 400 to 480 meters in elevation with characteristic Sant'Agata marl soils with fossils. The wine represents a selection of fruit from over seven hectares. With fermentation in steel tank and aging in large Slavonian oak, you are invited to a silky, lifted and beautifully delicate experience with an accessible personality.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points
An elegant version, this red features rose, black currant, cherry, mineral and a hint of eucalyptus aromas and flavors. Linear in profile, this is solidly built on a graceful frame, with finely woven tannins and vibrant acidity.
- Wine Spectator 95 Points
Hahn Estate Lucienne Chardonnay Lone Oak Vineyard is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Reviews:
Lemon blossom, grapefruit rind, pastry flake and a hint of ash show on the nose of this single-vineyard expression from the Hahn family. It's suave and broad on the palate at first, then it chisels down to pinpoint acidity, delivering flavors of apricot, lime zest and chalk before the slightly nutty finish. Matt Kettmann
-Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
Pine Ridge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Malbec.
While admiring the cranberry red hue, forward fruit aromatics of black cherry and cassis begin to make your mouth water before the first sip! On the palate, juicy notes of blueberry compote and cherry cordial meld seamlessly with hints of cinnamon and cream soda. The wine methodically transitions from the bright, round entry through the viscous midpalate and onto a broad-shouldered finish. This is where hints of clove, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow are juxtaposed with those of dark roast coffee and Bing cherry. This wine can be enjoyed now but will benefit from another 10 to 20 years of bottle age.
It pairs beautifully with a vegetarian chili and cornbread slathered in a generous helping of sweet cream butter.
Review:
Alluring nuances of rose petal, tobacco and cinnamon lead into a ripe, chocolaty palate of black cherries, cocoa and raspberries as a soft, velvety texture achieves a very smooth mouthfeel.
-Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
Patricia Raquin Chablis Vieilles Vignes is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes: Golden color with slight green hints. Very fresh nose with some white flower notes. Very light oak flavors on the finish with vanilla notes.
VINIFICATION: Alcohol fermentation in thermoregulated temperature (22°C) in stainless tank with fine lies remontage.
Very light filtration - vinification only with natural yeast (no yeast added). Aging in 500 liters barrels for 5 months.
VINEYARD: Kimerigian Marl
HARVEST: Harvest by hand.
Best over any white meat, fish and cheese. Also as pre dinner drink.