Sill Family Vineyards 2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON, Atlas Peak Sill Family Vineyards is a family-owned and operated exquisite boutique winery with estate vineyards producing ultra-premium, very limited production carefully hand-crafted wines. As a Court of Master Sommelier, Winemaker, Igor Sill became passionate about Bordeaux wines after being introduced to Château Margaux, Château Latour, Château Haut-Brion and Château Lafite Rothschild in the late 1970s by H. Lyman Emerson, a renaissance gentleman and noted fine wine collector. Continuing with a bit of Estate history: In 1996, the Sill family acquired the Blackrock Terrace block along the Silverado Trail, known as the Princess’ property. In 2003, Mike Nunez began performing vineyard management for SFV…
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Sill Family Vineyards très Rosé de Chardonnay 2017 Sill Family Vineyards is a family-owned and operated exquisite boutique winery with estate vineyards producing ultra-premium, very limited production carefully hand-crafted wines. As a Court of Master Sommelier, Winemaker, Igor Sill became passionate about Bordeaux wines after being introduced to Château Margaux, Château Latour, Château Haut-Brion and Château Lafite Rothschild in the late 1970s by H. Lyman Emerson, a renaissance gentleman and noted fine wine collector. A little about the old history of the Estate: The Sill Family vineyards has a long history dating back to the early 1800s where the Wappo Indians, a Native American Indian Tribe inhabited the Napa Valley…
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Jamie Slone Wines P1 Red Blend 2014 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 recommend…
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Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2013 It began in 1998 when a group of Italian and Argentine friends came together to make a dream a reality, bringing Argentine wine to the global marketplace. Argentina is regarded as one of the dynamic regions in the world. Only 4 countries produce more wine than Argentina. Significant investments in technology have improved the winemaking production in the past several years, with many premium quality wines, Achaval Ferrer Quimera among some of the best. A blend of 50% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot & 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in 100% new French oak but in 2013, half of the wine was put in smaller 160 liter…
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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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B.R. Cohn 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Gold Label Founded by Bruce Cohn in 1984, B.R. Cohn Winery is located in the heart of Sonoma Valley. Bruce Cohn bought the land now known as Olive Hill Estate Vineyards in 1974. The small family operated winery is surrounded by the 90-acre Olive Hill Estate Vineyards, where soils warmed by underground natural hot springs and gentle ocean breezes create a unique microclimate resulting in ideal growing conditions for outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. This Gold Label offering from founder Bruce Cohn, who (for us older rockers) managed the Doobie Brothers, one of my favorite groups of the 70’s. Mr. Cohn, when not managing the Doobie Brothers,…
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Bodegas El Nido Clio 2011 The Bodegas El Nido & Gil Family Winery is located in the Valley of the Aragona, 10 kilometers north of the town of Jumilla, in the “top boundary”, so named because it is the highest altitude in the municipality. The vines are planted on soils mostly of limestone and very stony surface. The winery began bearing fruit in 2001 as a result of the partnership between the Gil family and Chris Ringland, one of Australia’s best winemakers. The first harvest sold was 2002 under both El Nido and Clio brands. A personal favorite. Dark red color with intense aromas of ripe fruit, floral notes and…
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Chateau De Sales 2010 Pomerol Chateau de Sales, situated in the Right Bank appellation of Pomerol, is an estate with a long and prestigious history. Owned by the same family for over 500 years, the chateau is the largest in Pomerol with 47 hectares of vines. The soil of Chateau de Sales is characterized by an omnipresence of iron oxide, called “crasse de fer” locally, which gives the wine a distinct personality. The majority of aging for Chateau de Sales wines takes place in traditional concrete tanks, spending only 6 months in oak barrels, to preserve the wine’s qualities of freshness, fruitiness and terroir expression. Chateau de Sales has been…
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Caymus 2012 40th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon In 1971 Charlie Wagner and his wife Lorna Belle Glos Wagner asked their son Charles (Chuck) Wagner, who had just graduated from high school, if he would be interested in joining them in starting up a winery. If Chuck declined the offer, Charlie and Lorna were planning to sell out of their ranch in Napa Valley and move to Australia. Chuck accepted his parents’ offer to launch the winery, Caymus Vineyards. The Wagners produced their first vintage in 1972, consisting of 240 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then, Caymus has focused their efforts in the production of quality Cabernet Sauvignon. Back in…
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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,…