Bydand Pinot Noir Umino Vineyard is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir.
This small, sustainably farmed vineyard perches on a south-facing ridge in the Sebastopol Hills area of the esteemed Russian River Valley AVA, and has produced exceptional Pinot Noir for Bydand since their first vintage. Third-generation farmer David Umino rejected early assessments that the site was too cool for viticulture, and planted Pinot Noir there in 1996. The cold maritime winds in fact help to modulate ripening, and protect the grape’s natural purity and balance - resulting in fruit-driven wines with expressive red fruit and dark berry flavors, balanced with crushed rock and mouth-watering freshness. Velvety tannins coat the palate, providing an alluring and persistent finish.
This site combines the best of the earthy west Sonoma Coast and well-fruited Russian River.
A new wine for the new century: BriO de Cantenac Brown was born in 2001.
Through the style of its label, but also through the quality of our work from the selection of the lots to the bottling, it aims at expressing the modernity of our Château.
The lots supposed to be the main part of BriO are pre-selected because of their evolution all through the year, which means that we focus on each different lot of the winery, from the budburst through the flowering to the ripeness control.
A meticulous attention
The lots for BriO often need more work: more leaf pruning, some green harvest, for example on the young vines, to help them to deal with the weather conditions.
Our two labels are made from vines located on a beautiful terroir where you find gravelly soils, and we want the vinification of BriO to lead to an elegant wine with lots of flavours, a compromise between strength and finesse.
So, if you like the fruits, you can start to drink it from 2 to 5 years after the harvest.
The blend between Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot is different for each vintage but the Merlot percentage is usually more important than the one in the Château Cantenac Brown.
The 12 months-long ageing in 20% to 25% new oak barrels is traditional; we rack it every 3 months. Before the bottling, we do the fining with egg whites.
It is on purpose if the bottles of BriO are different from the ones of Cantenac Brown: we want BriO to become a brand on its own, and it’s true that we talk much more about “BriO” than about “BriO de Cantenac Brown”.
We want BriO to be a wine you drink before, during and after a meal; just for your pleasure.
Charles Krug Peter Mondavi Family Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Review:
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection has a deep garnet-purple color and features exuberant notes of crushed black cherries, mulberries and blackcurrant cordial with touches of unsmoked cigars, menthol, yeast extract and pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and opulent in the mouth, it has a solid line of plush tannins and plenty of backbone freshness to lift the generous fruit to a long fruity finish.
-Wine Advocate 95 Points
Jubilation is our newest wine in the Colgin Cellars collection. Jubilation is our Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine created with a selection of barrels that display earlier drinking characteristics from our three hillside vineyards. As our vine age has matured and small additions have been made to our original holdings, we had the privilege of increasing our selectivity. Following the blending of our single-vineyard wines, we were fortunate to have a collection of barrels that conveyed the same elegance and complexity for which we are known, yet on a more supple, approachable frame. Jubilation is a wine ready to enjoy now, with the pedigree to age gracefully in the cellar, maintaining the Colgin Cellars’ hallmarks of perfume, freshness, and minerality. The inaugural bottling of Jubilation from the 2016 vintage was released in late 2020. Future vintages are destined for select members of the fine wine trade.
The Marjorie vineyard sits in the center of the Cristom Estate with a gentle slope from 480 feet to 600 feet over some of the most consistent volcanic soils on the entire Estate. A little bit unique to itself, most of the Vineyard is planted over a moderately deep volcanic soil with some very rocky areas in the north and southeast corners. The vineyard wants to produce elegant wines of finesse with bright red fruit and succulent acidity.
Review:
Dark ruby, the 2021 Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard takes on a darker mineral profile with forward aromas of wet stone, black raspberry preserve, and layers of baking spices and crushed purple flowers. Moving to the palate, the wine is medium-framed, with ripe tannins, an angular texture, fresh acidity, and a spicy finish. This certainly needs more time and will gain complexity with time in cellar.
-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
Darkly alluring, the 2021 Pinot Noir Marjorie Vineyard is perfumed with dusty violets and lavender, giving way to dried black cherries. Luxuriously round, with juicy acidity, this cascades across the palate with crisp raspberry fruits as rosy inner florals amass toward the close. Hints of blood orange pucker the cheeks as the 2021 finishes staining and long with long lingering chalky mineral tones.
-Vinous 95 Points
Aromatically the wine lifts from the glass with a combination of perfectly ripened red and black fruits, with a graphite smokiness and a hint of mulling spices. On the palate, their is a youthful tannic structure and a floral flavors alongside the fruity notes.
Spicy cologne lifts from the 2021 Pinot Noir Paul Gerrie Vineyard, with both high-toned and darker notes of sage, menthol, bergamot, and cranberry cocktail. Medium to full-bodied, it’s tightly coiled, with tremendous length, gripping ripe tannins, a bright spine of acidity, and mouthwatering salinity that lasts long on the finish. It offers up great mineral texture and will need 3-5 more years in bottle.
- Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is made from Clairette blanche & Rose, Grenache Blanc & Gris, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul and Picardan.
Gold bright green color. Expressive nose with pear and stone fruits aromas (peach, apricot) with jasmine and roasted almonds notes. The mouth is smooth and fleshy like stone fruit we can smell, with a long a nice finish.
Review:
Always terrific, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is no exception, and readers who love vibrant, age-worthy Rhône whites can safely buy this cuvée in just about every vintage. Based on 30% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 25% Bourboulenc, 22% Roussanne, and splashes of Picardan and Picpoul Blanc, the 2023 reveals a medium gold hue as well as textbook aromatics of pear and orchard fruits intermixed with honeyed flowers, chalky minerality, and subtle green almond nuances. This balanced, medium-bodied, vibrant white is very much in the fresh, focused, yet still textured, approachable style of the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points