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Finca Sobreno Crianza Toro is made from 100% Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo)
8 months in American oak barrels + 6 months in bottle
Deep-red cherry color with purple tones at the edges.
Nose: Intense aromas, good combination of black berries with toasted nuances from the oak. Balsamic and spicy underscore.
Taste: Potent bouquet, meaty with very fine and ripe tannins. Long and persistent aftertaste.
Soil types
The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clay and lime-stone, which produces a dark lime-bearing topsoil, with fine and coarse sands.
The vines are minimu 30 years old and planted at a very low density (900 plants/hectare), with reduced production levels in the range of 4,000 kilos/hectare.
Winemaking and aging
Following selection, the grapes were destemmed, crushed and the must underwent cold maceration at 10º C for four days prior to fermentation, which took place at a constant 28º C. The total maceration period lasted approximately 20 days.
Finca Sobreño Crianza was aged for at least eight months in American oak barrels of less than four years. Another six months in the bottle rounded out its ageing process.
Pairs well with any type of meat, bird, roasts, cheeses, seafood in sauces or pasta.
Review:
"Biscuit-like aromas with grilled nuts and chocolate oak-influence, across ripe dark berries. The palate has a very succulent, sweet-fruit core with plenty of ripe mulberries and plums. Supple tannins. Drink or hold."
- James Suckling (July 24th 2019), 92 pts
Finca Sobreno Seleccion Especial Toro is now called Finca Sobreno Tempranillo Reserva Toro.
Finca Sobreno Tempranillo Reserva Toro 100% Tinta de Toro from selected old-vines plots and aged during 14 months in American oak.
Production: 8,500 cases/year.
Deep dark cherry red color with dark purple tones. Powerful yet elegant nose, refined and stylish with ripe berry fruit, spicy complexity with scents of clove, sandalwood, vanilla, chocolate. Muscular, elegant yet silky smooth taste shows fruit preserves/jam blackberry and chocolate truffle. Concentrated and rich but not sweet with superb length. A good match for venison or wild boar with a fruit-based sauce.
Soil types
The wine is 100% Tinta de Toro from selected old-vines plots (over 40 years old)
The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clay and lime-stone, which produce a dark lime-bearing topsoil, with fine and coarse sands.
Harvest: In Toro summer temperatures were lower than usual and only rose over 40°C on a few days, which compensated for the dry conditions. Fresher nights from mid August also helped vines to reach optimum ripeness in the six weeks leading up to harvest –which was carried out between September 19 and October 10- and tamed alcohol levels. Tempranillo (Tinta de Toro) grapes ripened well – bunches were small and clusters were loose and healthy. Yields were low but the wines show intense color, good fruit profile and ripe tannins, which will be help to achieve roundness and good mouth feel in the finished wines. The fresher summer also resulted in slightly lower alcohol levels and a slightly higher acidity and this bodes well for quality in wines destined for ageing.
Winemaking and aging: Following a careful selection, the grapes were destemmed, crushed and the must underwent cold maceration at 7º C for five days prior to fermentation, which took place at a constant 28º C. The total maceration period lasted approximately 20 days. This wine was aged in new and one year old American and French oak barrels for 14 months, followed by another 24 months minimum in the bottle.
Winemaker: Oscar Martin
Technical specification:
TA: 4.88 grams / liter
pH: 3.62
SO2 free: 76 mg/l
RS: 2.23 grams / liter
A good match for venison or wild boar with a fruit-based sauce.
Flaunt Russian River Valley Sparkling Brut is made from 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir.
This Brut is absolutely lovely. It is drier than the previous versions with only 1.5 grams of residual sugar. It is powerful and brisk with well integrated bubbles. There is an immediate hit of lemon zest with touches of nectarine and plum. Mid palate you notice the warm notes of brioche and a slight kick of white pepper on the finish.
This Russian River Valley Brut is a blend of wine from two vineyards in the Russian River Valley. It is approximately equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These two grapes work wonderfully in Sonoma County’s maritime climate where the long, cool growing season allows for adequate ripeness of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay while maintaining superb levels of natural acidity. Dianna Novy always loved the Russian River Valley for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, first as still wines, and now as Sparkling Wine.
Review:
"This crisp Brut offers fresh aromas and flavors of ripe pear and apple with a leesy fresh bread note. It is mouth filling with fresh acidity and has a sense of refinement, finishing long and chalky. Try it with oysters. A blend of 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir with 3 years en tirage."
- I-winereview.com (December 2022), 92 pts
Force Majeure Epinette is made from 46% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot.
Epinette is Force Majeure's Right-bank Bordeaux-inspired blend, and was named after an avenue in Libourne (France) that leads to Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the home of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Epinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to their home in Washington state.
The wine itself is a blend of primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, proportions of which change depending on the vintage. The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in lower areas of the vineyard with deep, well-drained soils, much less rocky than the soils of our Rhone varietals.
Review:
"The 2018 Epinette is the Merlot-dominated release from this team, and it's 79% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, all from the estate vineyard on Red Mountain. Lots of smoky black cherry and darker currant fruits as well as notes of chocolate, graphite, lead pencil, and chalky minerality emerge from the glass, and this full-bodied beauty is beautifully textured, with a stacked mid-palate, velvety tannins, and a blockbuster finish. It's up with the finest Merlots in the New World and will drink brilliantly for at least a decade, if not longer."
- Jeb Dunnuck (May 2021), 97 pts
Force Majeure Epinette is made from 79% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot .
Epinette is Force Majeure's Right-bank Bordeaux-inspired blend, and was named after an avenue in Libourne (France) that leads to Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, the home of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Epinette is also the name of a musical instrument akin to a piano, as well as a word for pine tree, which is a fitting nod to their home in Washington state.
The wine itself is a blend of primarily Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, proportions of which change depending on the vintage. The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grown in lower areas of the vineyard with deep, well-drained soils, much less rocky than the soils of our Rhone varietals.
Review:
The 2018 Epinette is the Merlot-dominated release from this team, and it's 79% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, all from the estate vineyard on Red Mountain. Lots of smoky black cherry and darker currant fruits as well as notes of chocolate, graphite, lead pencil, and chalky minerality emerge from the glass, and this full-bodied beauty is beautifully textured, with a stacked mid-palate, velvety tannins, and a blockbuster finish. It's up with the finest Merlots in the New World and will drink brilliantly for at least a decade, if not longer.
Previously known as Grand Reve, Force Majeure has skyrocketed to the top of the pyramid in Washington State, in no small part due to their talented winemaker, Todd Alexander, who moved from Bryant Family in Napa to Washington State to focus on this estate. While the focus is on their Red Mountain Vineyard, they make a bevy of world-class wines from throughout the Columbia Valley. Anyone doubting the quality coming from Washington State these days owes it to themselves to try these wines.
-Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points
Force Majeure estate Syrah is made from 100 percent Syrah.
The Force Majeure estate Syrah is cultivated in a combination of the 8 soil types that exist in the vineyard, with most of it being planted in very steep, very rocky locations, but some also planted in deeper, loamier soils.
The estate Syrah typically exhibits a broad spectrum of black, blue and red fruits, dried herbs and jasmine, fennel, smoked meats and crushed rock along with very fine tannins, great length, balance and complexity.
Appellation Red Mountain Varietal(s) 100% Syrah
Soil type Very steep, rocky locations, but some also planted in deeper, loamier soils
Vinification 22% whole cluster, remainder destemmed. Fermented in concrete, open top and closed top stainless. ~25% new French oak for 18 months, mostly larger format (300L to 500L) Native yeast, cold soak up front Macerations up to 30 days; pumpovers and punch-downs 100% free run. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Production 500 (9-liter cases)
Review:
The 2020 Syrah Red Mountain Estate has a splash of Viognier as well as 22% whole clusters. with the aging occurring in 25% new barrels. Impressive red and blue fruits, as well as graphite and chalky minerality all emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, balanced, and concentrated, while staying light on its feet and balanced. It has serious tannins and will demand bottle age.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93-96 Points
Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man, Joseph Krug, to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Since 1843, the House of Krug has honoured this vision with each new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée: the most generous expression of Champagne.
Review:
The NV Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition is a delightful blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Pinot Meunier and boasts an attractive and captivating aroma of dried fruits, pastry, lemon oil, marzipan, spring flowers and ginger, with hints of almond and vanilla notes that become more pronounced over time. This medium to full-bodied wine is precise and well-structured, with a fleshy core of fruit and a sapid, incisive finish. Crafted around the 2015 vintage, the blend comprises 131 reserve wines from as far back as 2000 (42% of the total blend) and is expected to age beautifully over the next decade.
-James Suckling 99 Points
For many wine lovers or consumers, wine tasting is the preserve of professionals or real connoisseurs. People still have this image of it being a complex, technical, precise and highly-formalised process. In fact, wine tasting isn’t and shouldn’t be just that. No, it should be straightforward, convivial, interesting and fun. Tasting a wine should provoke curiosity, excitement, pleasure and dreams…
When you taste a Château du Retout wine, you use all five of your senses: the sense of touch when you pick up the bottle to gauge its temperature, the sense of hearing which allows you to enjoy the sound of he popping of the cork and the wine being poured into the glass, and then, of course, you use your senses of sight, smell and taste when you drink the wine:
The Médoc grape varieties and soils give us wines with superb, dense, dark hues, ranging from deep garnet to ruby-crimson, taking on brick red shades with orange tints with age.
Very intense and expressive aromas with powerful notes of black fruit such as blackcurrants and blackberries. In older wines, the nose develops a spicy bouquet of liquorice, leather and marshmallow mingled with the vanilla scents created by well-integrated oak.
Harmonious, elegant and velvety, with smooth, round tannins, that can be appreciated from the wine's entry to the palate through to the finish. These are delightfully full-bodied wines with great aromatic persistence.
Review:
"Shows the ripeness of the vintage, with dark currant and blackberry framed by singed cedar and vanilla. Ends with a tug of warm earth, a light twang of iron and a steady grip. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2034."
- Wine Spectator (TOP 100 wines of 2024), 92 pts and #45 on Top100