Domaine Nico le Paradis Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
The cool climate vineyard that belongs to Laura and her sister Adrianna Catena feels like paradise itself to Laura. It is lined by trees and fruit orchards, with majestic views of the Andes. Inside the 12 Hectare vineyard, there is a little house with two tiny bedrooms and a kitchen, where Laura dreams of spending a whole month reading books-Laura's version of paradise. The little house is affectionately named Chateau Laura. About the Vineyard The tiny parcel where Le Paradis is grown was planted in 2011 with Dijon 667 Clones over two acres. Wine Production The grapes from this small parcel were elaborated in 15 separate microvinifications.
All the microvinifications were fermented with indigenous yeast. 20% of the microvinifications were fermented with 100% whole clusters in oak roll-fermentor of 600L and low temp (22 Celcius degrees). 40% were fermented with 20% whole cluster in small vats of 800L and 40% fermented in small vats of 800L without sulfites until 4%V/V of alcohol.
Review:
From soils rich in calcium carbonate and sand, in a vineyard 1,600 meters above sea level, this wine comes from a selection of 2.7 hectares that produced very little fruit in 2016, just barely enough to fill 800 bottles. But watch out for this white, with its edge, its minerality, those saline notes that are so characteristic of chardonnay from the chalky Gualtallary soils. The wine was aged for a year in used barrels, and it has some of the toast, but here it’s the deep minerality that dominates.
Patricio Tapia - Descorchados 96 Points
Double Diamond by Schrader Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon stands to outshine the award-winning 2019 vintage with even deeper concentration and complexity. On the nose, the wine leaps from the glass with ripe blackberry, cassis, black cherry, and red plum, with a lovely herbaceous undertone. The palate expresses juicy red and black fruits with hints of black tea, damp earth, vanilla bean, lavender, and just a touch of flint. With fine-grained tannins and mouthwatering acidity that lingers through the long finish, this wine is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come.
Double Diamond is sourced exclusively from a complement of prime vineyard estates. Sourced from the same famed vineyards as its beloved inspiration Schrader Cellars in Napa Valley’s world-renowned Oakville AVA, including our To Kalon Vineyard.
Review:
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is cut from the same cloth, with plenty of richness and depth, yet it stays slightly more focused and tight on the palate, with medium to full-bodied richness as well as beautiful darker currant, cassis, darker chocolate, graphite, and hints of flowers. It's concentrated and has beautiful mid-palate density, ripe yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's another undeniably delicious, hard-to-resist Cabernet Sauvignon from the talents of winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Give bottles a decant if drinking any time soon and enjoy over the coming 10-12+ years.
-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
Double Diamond by Schrader Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon offers concentration, lively acidity, and refined tannins that have become the hallmark of the 2022 vintage. The nose holds notes of black raspberry, toasted cedar, juicy plum, and pennyroyal mint—a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon signature. The palate is mouthwatering with intricately woven layers of blackberry compote, dark chocolate shavings, oolong tea, and flint. The dynamic flavors carry across the mid-palate in vivid harmony into a long, floral finish. This wine is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come.
Barrels: 54% new French oak, 46% second-use Schrader Darnajou French Oak
Double Diamond by Schrader Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Barrels: 54% new French oak, 46% second-use Schrader Darnajou French Oak
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon offers concentration, lively acidity, and refined tannins that have become the hallmark of the 2022 vintage. The nose holds notes of black raspberry, toasted cedar, juicy plum, and pennyroyal mint—a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon signature. The palate is mouthwatering with intricately woven layers of blackberry compote, dark chocolate shavings, oolong tea, and flint. The dynamic flavors carry across the mid-palate in vivid harmony into a long, floral finish. This wine is ready to drink upon release but will cellar well for years to come.
Double Diamond is sourced exclusively from a complement of prime vineyard estates. Sourced from the same famed vineyards as its beloved inspiration Schrader Cellars in Napa Valley’s world-renowned Oakville AVA, including our To Kalon Vineyard.
DuMOL 'Chloe' Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Our first vintage of Chloe was 2000, and although the vineyard mix has changed over the years, the wine has always focused on the central Russian River Valley district to represent the richest side of DuMOL Chardonnay. The wine has lower acidity than our coastal wines, making it more approachable in its youth, and the flavors focus more on orchard fruits than citrus. The neighboring El Diablo and Flora Marie vineyards sit overlooking the river on gravelly loam soils and provide the wine's deep fruit generosity. These are the first vineyards we harvest each year as the lean soils really advance their crop’s ripening. We offset this fruit richness with grapes from our Green Valley Bressay Estate, which overflow with tense structure and coastal acidity. It’s a seamless combination that produces a thrilling result, and Chloe is the first of our designate Chardonnays you should open each vintage.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are akin to peach, apricot, oatmeal and anise. Fresh thyme and honey notes combine with tangerine and lemon curd. It’s a deeply textural and expansive wine that gently glides along the palate. Lively acidity and spicy notes of ginger and white pepper provide lift and energy to the finish. A beautiful, layered, and richer style to enjoy soon after release. Drink between late-2024 and 2029 and serve no cooler than 55º F.
Review:
A Central Russian River Blend, the 2022 Chardonnay Chloe is a bright yellow hue and captures a wide spectrum of citrus with notes of orange, Meyer lemon, fresh pineapple, toasted spice, and a hint of almond through the mid-palate as well as a nice lift of citrus on the finish. It’s a beautiful wine offering a richer tone through the range. Drink 2024-2034.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
Our organically farmed high-density Estate parcel sits at the top of the ridge amongst the diverse coastal forest. Although the soil is sandy, there’s a vein of clay in the subsoil that holds winter rain and allows us to dry-farm the vines. The tight spacing keeps the clusters and soil shaded during the summer heat, which allows the fruit to retain all the nuance of the site. The wine produced here has a character - a signature - all to itself and cannot be replicated elsewhere; it's the antithesis of fruity, forward, easy-to-understand Californian Chardonnay. The grapes are small with thick skins, producing a high level of fruit extract, which translates to deep texture and structure in the wine itself. Concentration allied to freshness is the essence of this wine, and it ages beautifully in bottle for ten to twelve years.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are incredibly complex and diverse, akin to citrus oil, preserved lemon, sage, fennel and caraway. The wine is deep, powerful, and layered with oyster shell freshness cutting through the natural density. Lemongrass, spearmint, and grapefruit power the finish, which pulsates with intensity. You could decant this for an hour before serving to hasten its development. Drink between 2025 and 2030. Serve no cooler than 55º F.
Review:
From a site surrounded by dense forest on two sides, the 2022 Chardonnay DuMOL Estate Vineyard is a bright straw hue and has a more vibrant aromatic nose of fresh mint, bright lime, flint, crushed stones, and white peach. Medium to full-bodied, it boasts a remarkably firm structure with a bit of tannin, a chalky texture, and a savory slanting profile, and it’s long and persistent on the finish. It has an assertive but crystalline feel and a crunchy brightness. It demands a bit of time. Drink 2025-2035.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
Dark crimson in color, with deep garnet hues. A concentrated array of aromas of mulberry, blackberry and dark plum indicate the richness to come, while savory and complex notes of charcuterie, cedar, sage and five spice tease the senses. Plush and velvety on the palate, the wine has intense fruit concentration with plum, red currant, blackberry and anise flavors, yet an enchantingly elegant and refined structure. Layers of silky tannins reveal the impressive depth of the wine before giving way to an incredibly long finish.
Review:
This has a very complex nose, offering so many facets of spices and fragrance with florals and orange peel, as well as crushed stones, ripe black cherries, blackberries and dark cherries, earth, chocolate and more. The intensity and power here is very tightly held and it has a build of such precise tannins, which carry very intense and assertively ripe blackberries, dark cherries, ripe plums and blueberries. So much on offer here. This has a very bold, intense feel. Exceptional vintage. One of their finest. Try from 2028.
-James Suckling 100 Points
Corne Loup Tavel Rose is made from 60% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 10% Syrah, 15% mix of Mourvèdre, Clairette & Carignan
Elegant, refreshing, food-friendly and versatile, this Tavel offers mouth-watering aromas of strawberry and berry pie.
Corne Loup Tavel represents the pinnacle of the rose pyramid quality wise that can be achieved in the Southern Rhone. The town of Tavel has been famous for its rose wine since the time of the Popes in Avignon (1300's). Tavel is about 2,300 acres in size and produces about 500,000 cases yearly of 9 liter cases, plus can age for 2-3 years, unlike many other roses. Produced from a blend of Grenache, Cinsualt, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan, the wine comes from a famous sub-parcel called the Plateau de Vallongue between Tavel and Lirac AOC's.
The 20 hectare-vineyards are located in the hamlets of Oliver, Campet, Vestides and Vallongue. The Tavel from this producer is a blend of all 3 soils types you can find in the AOC:
Dry and lively, it is an ideal wine for barbecues as it makes a wonderful sipper that's also capable of matching with a wide variety of summer foods, including grilled chicken, seafood and summer salads