Sonvida Estate
Almost 20 years ago, Sonia and David went back-packing in the wine country of Northern California and fell in love with the idea of owning a vineyard.
SonVida is Sonia's life and David's dream. After an international career in television news for the BBC, ITN and CNN, Sonia began her adventure in wine. She is a Certified Sommelier of the Court of Master Sommeliers, and is studying for an international Wine MBA at the Bordeaux Ecole de Management, a grand ecole in France.
After a career as a foreign correspondent for Reuters and ITN, David is now a diplomat with the United Nations. David is also a Certified Sommelier of the Court of Master Sommeliers, and holds an Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) of London.
SonVida is in the heart of Malbec country, the Valle de Uco, in a small area known as Altamira, close to the village of La Consulta. Their neighbors are Chandon, Catena, and Achaval Ferrer. Close by, sharing the valley, are O.Fournier, Clos de los Siete, Finca La Celia, and Lurton.
Their terroir is defined by the Andes. They are at 1,029 meters above sea level. Snow melts high in the mountains, and waters the vines. The earth is strewn with rounded pebbles, carried down the Andes over millennia, by streams and glaciers. The sun shines brightly 330 days a year. The cooling nighttime breezes help the grapes keep their freshness and mature with full flavors.
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This new red wine blend is produced from Suisun Valley, a remarkable AVA that has become the Wagner family’s second home. A 30-minute drive from Napa, Suisun has ideal soils and climate for a variety of grapes. The Walking Fool is named after a long-ago relative who was often seen traveling by foot – thus earning this affectionate moniker. Featuring Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, this wine is smooth and lively, with juicy raspberry, notes of espresso and softly fine tannins.
The 2019 Heart of the Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps our most sophisticated bottling yet from this superlative site. The color is an impenetrable purple/black with almost no rim variation. The aromas are exotic and dusty: wild strawberries, black raspberries, dark chocolate, sandalwood, fennel and fresh violets explode in the glass. On the palate, the wine is dynamic with incredible precision and finesse, managing vibrancy alongside terrific structure. The tannins are fine and ripe, supporting deep flavors of currant, blueberries, black plum, fresh herbs and spice that broaden through a long, rich finish. Classy and age-worthy, this will continue to grow in the cellar over the next 15+ years.
We know great wines are made in the vineyard. Vintage after vintage we work with our growers and vineyard managers on the best practices to yield the highest quality grapes we can for that given season. We share common goals, a work ethic, and meticulous attention to detail that increases our chances of success substantially. Whether it's pruning, thinning, changing the canopy, or varying the vine nutrition, we work side by side to get the best results.
Harvest decisions are made by the ripeness of fruit, sensory analysis, and the weather. From year to year decisions are driven by both flavor and physical maturity. We are looking for the moment where the flavors and balance of the grape hit true phenolic ripeness. Our team did over 6,000 miles to and from the vineyards in Steve’s truck during harvest as we sampled 2-3 times per week to ensure our picking decisions were spot on. From bud break to the barrel and finally, to bottle our goal is to stay true to our ideologies. Exacting winemaking, cellar, and lab practices drive our goals of making the best wine we can.
The art and science of winemaking is a continuous learning adventure. The true balance of winemaking is achieved when science and art collide creating a bottle of wine well worth drinking. That’s what excites us as a team. All of our flagship wines are made from only the best barrels that we painstaking select over several months. Once this is done, we begin the blending process, all double-blind, until months later we select each wine that we believe reflects the character and quality of the site and vintage.
Review:
"Simply stunning, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Heart of the Hill exudes focus and precision on the nose, with rich and chewy dark fruits and a clear line of oak through the center boosting the roundness and complexity. Dusty red and purple flower tones flutter out of the glass. Full-bodied, the palate shows a still tight and chewy core but should last a couple of decades. This wine lives at the intersection of complexity, finesse and precision. It has a long finish, where the flavor of the wine remains expressive and vivid for moments beyond—with flavors of blackberry, cassis, cinnamon and nutmeg. "
98 Points - Robert Parkers's Wine Advocate