Patria 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Ranch Napa For the better part of the last 19 years Anthony Biagi has been crafting wines in Napa Valley for Paraduxx, Neal Family Vineyards, PlumpJack, and Cade Wineries and currently for Hourglass, Sinegal Estate, and Amici. Following his parent’s sage advice “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life,” he finds himself extremely fortunate that he has been able to do what he loves from the day he graduated from college. Following a dream he set decades ago, Anthony founded Patria (homeland) in 2013 with Kimberly Jones. Perched at 1,400 feet, in the eastern hills of Napa valley,…
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Joseph Phelps Vineyards 2016 Insignia; 2013 Insignia; 2006 Insignia I recently wrote about Joseph Phelps Vineyards having its roots dating back to 1973, and reviewed some of their wines I tasted on my Napa trip. While many of the early Joseph Phelps wines were made with grapes from the Home Ranch in St. Helena, Joe also sourced fruit from outside growers. But as the winery continued to grow and he traded earlier efforts in Riesling and Chardonnay for Cabernet, Merlot and other red Bordeaux varieties, he began acquiring vineyard land in the Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap District, and Oak Knoll District AVAs. These vineyards became important sources of Insignia and…
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Spring Mountain Vineyard 2008 Elivette 2005 Elivette Continuing on with my Spring Mountain Vineyard visit, see my November 12, 2019 review of their 2006 & 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon and its history. Spring Mountain Vineyard is an 845-acre estate on the eastern slopes of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley. Only 225 acres of the estate are planted to vine, representing 135 discrete hillside vineyard blocks with many soil types, exposures, and microclimates. A substantial portion of the vineyard is planted in densities of over 4,000 vines per acre and trained…
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Joseph Phelps Vineyards 2016 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir Pastorale Vineyard I recently wrote about Joseph Phelps Vineyards having its roots dating back to 1973, see October 25, 2019 review of Joseph Phelps 2016 Napa Sauvignon Blanc & 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard. While many of the early Joseph Phelps wines were made with grapes from the Home Ranch in St. Helena, Joe also sourced fruit from outside growers. But as the winery continued to grow and he traded earlier efforts in Riesling and Chardonnay for Cabernet, Merlot and other red Bordeaux varieties, he began acquiring vineyard land in the Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap District, and…
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Hall Wines 2015 Eighteen Seventy-Three Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Jack’s Masterpiece Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 Bergfeld Cabernet Sauvignon Continuing with my Napa adventures, see my previous Hall Wines post on October 29. Today I will discuss 3 of their wonderful Cab’s. Since first working in her family’s Mendocino vineyards, Kathryn Hall dreamed of a place to showcase fine wines alongside expressive art and masterful architecture. The Halls acquired the historic St. Helena Bergfeld Winery in 2003 and re-opened as HALL St. Helena in July of that year. With a rich history spanning 150 years, HALL St. Helena’s location was once the home of the Napa Valley Co-Op, producing 40% of Napa Valley’s…
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Spring Mountain Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon The new Spring Mountain Vineyard was once three separate properties each with its own vineyard and winery: Spring Mountain Vineyards “Miravalle” 257 acres, Chateau Chevalier “Chevalier” 120 acres, and Draper Vineyards “La Perla” 435 acres. The upper most property on the estate, La Perla, was founded in 1873 by Charles Lemme and expanded by the Schilling Spice family. Originally 285 acres it had the first Cabernet Sauvignon planted on Spring Mountain. The old winery remains today along with much of its original equipment and horse drawn carriages and wagons. Immediately…
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Silver Oak 2014 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon When Raymond T. Duncan first visited the Napa Valley in the late 1960s, he was taken by the region’s rugged beauty. He was also wise enough to understand the potential of the fledgling wine industry. In the 1970’s, he began to buy land in both Napa and Alexander Valleys with the goal of planting vineyards. But with his home and business in Colorado and no viticulture expertise of his own, Ray approached Justin Meyer, whom he had met through mutual friends, and asked him to plant and manage the vineyards. Then working at Christian Brothers, Justin agreed with one condition: in addition to managing…
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Jamie Slone Wines Duo Cabernet Sauvignon (Reserve) 2013 In the Fall of 2018 I took a trip to Santa Barbara, CA to visit a few selective wineries and taste some of their current offerings, particularly the Rhone blends. There were four of us tasting wines and my comments, on each of the wines tasted, incorporate nuances from everyone’s palate. It was a great trip, the wines were outstanding and the folks I met at each of the wineries were extremely informative, helpful and very generous with their time. The wineries have “Wine Clubs” which offer some tremendous, small production, wines that can only be obtained directly from the vineyard. I…
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Kathryn Hall 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Kathryn Walt Hall is the proprietor of Hall Wines and has been involved in the California wine industry since her family first purchased a vineyard over thirty years ago. She has had a distinguished career as a successful businesswoman, community activist, and including a United States Ambassador to Austria. Kathryn Hall and her family have been grape growers in Mendocino County since 1972. The Walt family owns 63 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in the Redwood Valley and has sold their grapes to such wineries as Fetzer, Parducci and Beringer. Kathryn managed the family vineyard from 1982…
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Robert Mondavi 2013 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Robert Mondavi Winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest. Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Oakville Cab has an alluring dark purple, almost inky color with loads of blue and black fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc,…