As a fifth generation Napa Valley winemaker, Joseph learned his way around a vineyard long before he was able to drink wine. By the time he was 19 he knew that he would continue his family’s winemaker legacy, working alongside his father at Caymus Vineyards. In 2001, he created Belle Glos, with a focus on vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs from California’s best coastal regions.
More recently, he has launched a number of new brands under Copper Cane Wines & Provisions. Joseph has a keen interest in contributing to the evolution of the wine industry, by discovering new winegrowing locations and experimenting in the cellar. He is thrilled to release BÖEN – an expression of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made in his signature style of rich, ripe fruit flavors balanced with bright acidity and judicious hints of toasty oak.
Joseph has always focused on making wines that best represent the region in which the grapes are grown. In California, the abundance of sunshine and warm days over a long growing season contribute to wines that are rich, bold and robust – a style that he and his family have always loved.
To produce wines that are round, opulent and supple, Joseph studies the physiology of the vine throughout the growing season. When the green canes begin to lignify, or turn to wood, they take on a copper hue. This color shift signals that the green character and harsh tannins have been purged from the vine, and thus the resulting wines – the grapes are ready to be harvested. While other wine-growing regions of the world may struggle to get a fully ripened crop each vintage, it’s the norm in California to be able to achieve optimal ripeness. Joe strives for this each and every vintage.
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Montes Alpha M 2019 is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot.
Montes Alpha M is the result of an extremely limited production and a rigorous selection of the grapes, one by one, led by Aurelio Montes. Coming from the Colchagua Valley, it is one of the best and most awarded wines of Chile. The vineyards that give rise to Montes Alpha M are located in the Apalta zone of the Colchagua Valley. The soils are of granitic origin and are shallow in the upper, mountainous sectors. They vary in the clay content, depth, amount of organic matter, and especially the types of rocks and stones they are made up of. The soils origin can also range from fluvial to glacial, which shows the great diversity of soils in our vineyards. Some zones are influenced by the Tinguiririca River and others by mudslides and the detachment of material from high above in the mountain chain that delimits the valley.
Review:
Deep nose, but really fresh at the same time. Currants, blackberries and chili-pepper chocolate with cedary and meaty undertones. This is really juicy, with a tight, tensely framed palate, underscored by lots of creamy, dusty tannins. A lengthy, refined and elegant expression of cabernet sauvignon, but a strong statement from Colchagua. Drink or hold.
-James Suckling 97 Points
Just south of the winery, Bacigalupi Vineyard straddles Westside Road in the upper reach of Russian River Valley. The 125 acre vineyard encompasses a range of terroir, from heavier valley floor soil along the Russian River to alluvial clay loam on the rolling hillsides. The fruit is sourced from a superb block of 25 year-old Wente Clone vines located on the western slope of the site. Bacigalupi was the source of the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that, famously, beat the French wines at the "Judgement of Paris" in 1976.
Bacigalupi Chardonnay has a nose of lemon zest and vanilla bean. The palate opens with red pear and Meyer lemon, and brioche toast and honey comb notes on the finish. Like well-made Chardonnay from great vineyards around the world this wine benefits from getting some air, will age for years, and is best when served chilled around 50 degrees. This wine will evolve in the bottle for many years to come. A terrific wine from one of Sonoma County's top sites for Chardonnay.